My First Year of Riding
Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 8:36 am
I hit the one year mark today. I ended with a bit over 16,000 miles. It was a challenged, rewarding time, and quite a journey from that terrifying first day of riding around the block in first gear, stalling 3 or 4 times after every stop. I made several mistakes along the way, but am satisfied with the overall outcome.
Deciding to ride was pure mid-life crisis: I took the plunge the day after my youngest daughter graduated from high school. As far as mid-life crises go, I figured a motorcycle was cheaper than a Porsche and safer than a 20 year old blonde.
I started badly, buying a bike on a whim, basing my decision more on brand and price than on rigorous research and comparison. But I lucked out--other than being sub-optimal to learn on, my BMW F800ST has turned out to be an excellent choice for me.
I then set out to teach myself to ride, armed only with Proficient Motorcycling and hubris. Somehow I muddled through. I had 600 miles under my belt when I took (and flunked) the BRC. Soon after that I took (and flunked) the test at the DMV for my M class license. After several months of daily practice, I passed the DMV test and the ERC.
I got through the initial learning process relatively unscathed. There were a couple of stall drops in the first week and one more during the ERC. They only resulted in minor scuffs, one broken turn signal lens, and some serious embarrassment (since I always waited until there was an audience present). I had a very vigilant and defensive driving style and was able to adapt and refine that for biking. It saved me from a number of potentially bad encounters with drivers and deer.
A couple of things helped my learning. First, I'm old enough to feel no need to impress anyone and never allowed my confidence to outstrip my ability. Second, I'm an autodidact (someone who teaches themselves stuff) and developed a rigorous process in which I became competent at one set of skills before moving to a more challenging one. Third, I have access to hundreds of miles of country roads with light traffic. This gave me a great learning environment (so long as I artfully dodged the wildlife and Amish buggies). I'd hate to have learned in an urban environment where I was thrown immediately into heavy traffic before I'd mastered basic techniques. Kudos to you who worked through that.
Toward the end of the year I'd return to routes I'd ridden a few months earlier and find that someone seemed to have removed the nerve-wracking curves and turns! My hands and feet developed a mind of their own. I went from treating the yellow "safe speed" signs for curves as divine writ to general suggestions (once I visually check for debris).
The vast majority of my miles were on my own bike, but I put 320 on a rented Harley Fat Bob at Myrtle Beach over Christmas, and will probably make that an annual event for a change of pace.
I don't know if I'll log as many miles in my second year of riding. I devoted a lot of time to the bike in the first year because I'd just finished writing a book (a three year project) and needed a psychological outlet. And I was dealing with a poisonous personnel problem at work. Now that I'm past both of those, I need to spend a bit less time riding so I can get some other stuff done. I do plan on some longer distance, multi-day trips. I didn't do any of those in the first year, and my biggest single day total was 320 miles. I'm also planning to retake the ERC at least every other year, and to work in the Riders Edge class on the off years.
Of course, my second year goal is now to have more than 16,000 miles.
Deciding to ride was pure mid-life crisis: I took the plunge the day after my youngest daughter graduated from high school. As far as mid-life crises go, I figured a motorcycle was cheaper than a Porsche and safer than a 20 year old blonde.
I started badly, buying a bike on a whim, basing my decision more on brand and price than on rigorous research and comparison. But I lucked out--other than being sub-optimal to learn on, my BMW F800ST has turned out to be an excellent choice for me.
I then set out to teach myself to ride, armed only with Proficient Motorcycling and hubris. Somehow I muddled through. I had 600 miles under my belt when I took (and flunked) the BRC. Soon after that I took (and flunked) the test at the DMV for my M class license. After several months of daily practice, I passed the DMV test and the ERC.
I got through the initial learning process relatively unscathed. There were a couple of stall drops in the first week and one more during the ERC. They only resulted in minor scuffs, one broken turn signal lens, and some serious embarrassment (since I always waited until there was an audience present). I had a very vigilant and defensive driving style and was able to adapt and refine that for biking. It saved me from a number of potentially bad encounters with drivers and deer.
A couple of things helped my learning. First, I'm old enough to feel no need to impress anyone and never allowed my confidence to outstrip my ability. Second, I'm an autodidact (someone who teaches themselves stuff) and developed a rigorous process in which I became competent at one set of skills before moving to a more challenging one. Third, I have access to hundreds of miles of country roads with light traffic. This gave me a great learning environment (so long as I artfully dodged the wildlife and Amish buggies). I'd hate to have learned in an urban environment where I was thrown immediately into heavy traffic before I'd mastered basic techniques. Kudos to you who worked through that.
Toward the end of the year I'd return to routes I'd ridden a few months earlier and find that someone seemed to have removed the nerve-wracking curves and turns! My hands and feet developed a mind of their own. I went from treating the yellow "safe speed" signs for curves as divine writ to general suggestions (once I visually check for debris).
The vast majority of my miles were on my own bike, but I put 320 on a rented Harley Fat Bob at Myrtle Beach over Christmas, and will probably make that an annual event for a change of pace.
I don't know if I'll log as many miles in my second year of riding. I devoted a lot of time to the bike in the first year because I'd just finished writing a book (a three year project) and needed a psychological outlet. And I was dealing with a poisonous personnel problem at work. Now that I'm past both of those, I need to spend a bit less time riding so I can get some other stuff done. I do plan on some longer distance, multi-day trips. I didn't do any of those in the first year, and my biggest single day total was 320 miles. I'm also planning to retake the ERC at least every other year, and to work in the Riders Edge class on the off years.
Of course, my second year goal is now to have more than 16,000 miles.
. 16K is alot of miles to put under your belt in a year. I think that you have probably figiured out the best secret to becoming an experienced biker: Getting out there and actually riding. I have taken the MSF BRC, purchased several books and spent more hours than I care to admit cruising motorcycle forums online. Those things are fine but the best way to improve your skills is to get out on the street. Glad you made it through your first year, here's to many more. 
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