new here, new bike, new permit and scared silly

[Gina]

Hello to all fellow bikers although some may not consider me a fellow biker because my Kymco 250 is a scooter not a motorcycle. But have mercy. I'm in my 50's and am just learning. (If I were a cat I would only have two lives left by now anyway.)
I have been reading everything I can get my hands on about biking since I wrecked my 1st scooter (Yamaha Majesty 400) the second day I rode it. After recuperating for several months from my knee injuries, arm injury and the dreaded ego breaking injury, (not to mention the destruction of my lovely bike that had been in mint condition), I enter this forum as a new woman--a changed one--a smarter one and a scareder one. (I know.... scareder is not a word--(I'm an English major)-but heck, it just reflects my feelings better).
Thanks to all who have shared your bike riding wisdom. I will keep coming back here to learn from you and share my own experiences. The script note at the bottom of this page is the last words I was able to say before leaving the road to play tumbleweed with my bike.
Until then, remember what Helen Keller said: "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."

Gina

[wrecks]

[Thumper]

Hiya!

If scooter riders are not welcome here, then they shoulda kicked me out when I got my MP3 last August I started out on a cruiser, then had a sport standard, but dang my scooter is fun!

Riding injuries are definitely no fun...I locked up the front brake on my SV650 in Feb '08, and while the bike was repaired to looking brand new, same couldn't be said for my body. I rode it for a few more months, but kept getting stuck on it...hitting the ground made worse a bad back and hips, and I just couldn't get on and off it without help (and trust me, when you have to ask total strangers to pull your leg off your bike in the Taco Bell parking lot..that's when you know you need a new ride.)

That's why I went to a scooter...and I figured the MP3 was spiffy, so why not get the cool new toy. Every once in a while I think I might want to get a cruiser just to have a "real" bike, but nothing beats the sheer fun of my scooter.

Riding is riding...have fun with it!

[sv-wolf]

A warm welcome to you Gina. Hope you enjoy the boards here.
And above all, congratulations on sticking with it and getting back on two wheels after your spill.

Regards

Richard

[blues2cruise]

The more you ride, the more confident you will become. Enjoy!

[Gina]

I enjoyed receiving welcomes! Thanks everyone! Maybe someday we'll ride past each other and give the biker's wave. I can't wait to actually give the biker wave. Knowing me, it will be a great accomplishment just to be able to wave and drive at the same time anyway!
Well, here's something I wrote about a terrifying experience I just had yesterday and what it left me thinking about. Maybe it will strike a nerve or maybe you will just scoff and consider it drivel. But I post this driving drivel with pride---glad to still be alive to write drivel.

Untouching

I might as well have been on the edge of the world
Getting ready to jump off
according to the weak, sick feeling running through my veins.
Bike between my legs—motor running—highway before me
And I’m scared—new biker scared—babe in the woods scared.
So scared I couldn’t even imagine what I wanted the wheels to do—
So scared I couldn’t believe that the motorcycle would obey me
And lean to the left
to smoothly cross the yellow line and transport me on down the road.

I make a loser’s attempt—knowing while I did it that I
Should have leaned more—should have turned the throttle more
And two heart-pounding seconds later, I am on the other side of the road
Feet on the pavement in failure—off the road as far as I can get
Without going into the yard that only a few seconds ago had been across the street from me.

I stood there straddling my cycle—in a state of shameful terror, unable to even swallow and then—I saw a woman walking towards me.
She was going to her mailbox
While I sat there---shaking---dry-mouthed--- watching her
She got her mail without acknowledging me
Without even looking at me----and turned to walk slowly back down her sidewalk
Head bent
While she searched her mail.

And through the tumult still going on underneath my helmet
I wondered
If a car had swooped down over the hill and knocked me into the air to land at her feet
Broken like a bird that slammed into a windshield
Would she have noticed me then?

I think so. I think she might have even forgotten her mail—maybe even dropped it to the ground before she screamed.

But why do I have to meet death
To even be acknowledged
By my neighbor?

Regina Russell

[blues2cruise]

Good poem. Have you take riding lessons? If not, it would be a good idea to do so. That may help with some of your issues.

[jstark47]

Welcome to the site, Gina.

I saw on another of your posts that you're scheduled to take the MSF soon. Without squelching your enthuisiasm, can I gently encourage you to leave the bike be until you take the course? Your posts sound as if you're experiencing some target fixation, which can be perfectly normal for a brand new rider. MSF will help you deal with that, and it works best if you don't develop negative riding habits that have to be unlearned during the course.

(By the way, scooters are motorcycles - I used to ride one!)

[Gina]

Thanks for all the feedback. I have learned a lot just from reading everyone's posts and blogs.
Someone just commented that I may be experiencing fixation. I agree. That is exactly what happened to me the first time I wrecked and I still battle it. I keep practicing in a field behind my home and I'm doing figure 8's in it at slow speeds and just getting a lot of the basics down. I found out that when I look ahead as someone on here told me to do, a lot of my problems vanish. It keeps me from micro-managing my bike and it keeps me from fixating on the ground below me.
I've been down the road about three times now---just for short spurts--very short spurts and I come back to the safety of my long driveway and field. My back field looks like a track now.
I'm getting my leathers--bought the boots today and I already have a good helmet and gloves.
It's nice to talk to people on here who care enough to give me a warning even if they don't know me. I appreciate that.

[bsa_bob]

i just sent you a PM