A neighbor’s advice

I am new to motorcycle riding. A good friend introduced me to it after he purchased his first bike. When I picked out my bike I had it delivered right to the house. The plan was to purchase the necessary gear (gloves, helmet, boots, etc), take a motorcycle safety course, and go for my license. Timing was such that the next safety course was a week away.

I bought the helmet and gloves and had high top sneakers (Adidas GSG9s) that would suffice. I got the courage up to roll the bike out of the garage and start practicing tight turns in my driveway. Well, that lasted all of two days. After that I started to venture down my gravel driveway into the cul-de-sac. Riding in a big circle was getting very boring very fast. I was getting anxious to ride on a real road in a straight line.

Finally my patience was gone and the day before my rider safety course I mounted the bike and rolled it outside for another practice session. I made it into the cul-de-sac and headed down the street. So far so good. I stopped right next to the stop sign and contemplated whether I should go left or right. I always went out left so I thought what the heck, I’ll go right and check out that area in the neighborhood. I pulled out of my street and shifted into second. Wow! That was easy! I’m cruising along now up the hill, passing an old couple walking their dog. I crest the hill and start going downhill. Hmmm, I don’t remember the hill being this steep. No problem, I read numerous books on the proper usage of the brakes. I gently squeezed the front brake while applying the rear brake and came to a good stop. Now here I was again. Either a left or a right were my options. Well if I went left I had no idea where I would end up. The right would get me into the beginning of a big circle around town. That’s easy enough, right it is. Now to take off. The rear of my bike is higher than the front and the road in front of me has one lane each way with no shoulder, just trees and shrubs. Your typical tight country road. I slowly pull out and begin to go right. Hey, why isn’t the bike going into the lane I wanted? I’m in the oncoming traffic lane! Okay, turn more. Wait, I’m out of road! Crap, where are the brakes! Oh no, no more pavement, just soft dirt! The bike makes it across the street into the soft dirt and tall grass on the side of the road. In slow motion the bike tips over on the left side with me under it. Great! Less than half a mile into my first ride and I dumped the bike (albeit gently) on the side of the road. I quickly got the bike upright and mounted the bike. Everything was fine. More dirt and grass on me than the bike. Now to get out of this mess. I roll the bike backwards out of the dirt onto a driveway about ten feet behind me. By now the person living in the house that I fell in front of came out with his young son. I managed to get the bike rolled backwards to his driveway when I realized oh great, the driveway goes steeply downhill. No problem, I read about this too. Hold the bike with the brake while applying throttle and smoothly roll forward. Heck, I did this when I was sixteen learning how to drive stick. How hard can this be? After stalling the bike the sixth time I stopped to regain my composure. The guy is still standing there watching me with his son. He is amused. I have the feeling he has a bike and is enjoying the moment. I lift up my visor and apologize for being in his driveway. He yells back, “no problem”. I stall the bike again. I turn to him, feeling real dumb at this point, and say, “this is my first bike. I’m taking the rider course tomorrow”. He smiles and says, “you should have waited for the course.” Great, a comedian! I lower my visor and give it my best attempt yet. The bike lurches forward out of his driveway and back onto the street I came from. The rest of the way home I kept the bike in first gear and wouldn’t pass 10 mph. I got the bike in the garage, cleaned off the dirt and waited for the safety class.