When You Fall Off, Get Back On ... A Little Later

As the snowstorm of the century nears Chicago, I’m really pining for warmer weather and being out on my Harley. My father got me interested in riding years ago, but I never did anything about it until last year. Truth be told, it was my father who finally did something about it. We had seen a really sweet 2008 Harley Sportster 1200XL Custom bike at the local dealership and talked about how cool it would be for us to ride together. I figured it was just talk, but he went out the next day and bought it. He wouldn't let me take over the payments completely, but finally agreed to let me pay a larger share. I think it's his way, as we get older, of keeping us connected.

I had that bike for about three months before I took the Riders Edge class. During that time before the training, I bought helmets (half and three-quarter), a leather jacket, two sets of gloves, boots, glasses, and a slew of accessories for the bike itself, like a Lindby engine guard bar, headlamp accessories, a reach seat to get me closer to the controls, mini foot boards and so on. At several points throughout the buying process my mother (the voice of reason) kept asking me “what if you can’t learn how to ride it or if you don’t even like it?” She was worried the spending would have all been for nothing. 

Let me tell you why she had reason to be worried. About two weeks before the Riders Edge class, my dad decided it would be good for me to take the bike out for a spin around the block. Now, I hadn’t had ANY experience with the bike up until that point. Sure I can shift gears (my last three cars have been manual transmission), but I wasn’t familiar with the weight of the bike or how to turn it or any of that. I did watch a Jerry Palladino video beforehand, but really, who learns how to ride a bike for the first time watching a video? Sure you can pick up techniques, but it’s not the same as in-person instruction. So anyway, back to the first day on the bike … I was nervous and rightfully so. I rode down the street in a straight line in first gear getting comfortable with the weight and with braking. Then I turned a wide corner and was so excited. My dad was following nearby on his bike encouraging me to shift to second. I increased my speed to a whopping 20 mph and shifted to second. I made it almost all the way back to his house when I knew I needed to slow down before turning onto the street before the driveway. I tried to shift into first gear but my foot got stuck. My new boots had deep grooves on the bottom that interlocked with the pegs (which have since been replaced with the mini foot boards). I freaked out. The bike was almost at a stop, my foot was caught on the peg and I didn’t know what to do. I dropped the bike and luckily freed my foot before the whole bike could land on my leg. At that point my dad was a little further down the road and had just seen me standing there next to the dropped bike. I was on the verge of tears and I refused to get on the bike again. I know that my father took my failure personally and was upset that I didn’t want to get back on right away. He said some insulting things and we left it at that.

At the Riders Edge class, one of the instructors said one of the worst ways to learn is from friends and family members because they can’t give you the same kind of instruction that you’d receive in a classroom/course setting, plus you’re likely to pick up their bad habits. Out of all the money I spent on the bike and accessories, taking that class was the best investment. It left me feeling confident and excited to get back on the bike again.

Since then, I’ve taken some nice short road trips, but I’m ready for something bigger. I can get through winter and the potential 24 inches of snow that may descend on my driveway this week  because I have warmer weather thoughts of  adventure.


My baby