Any women riders?

Glad to know I am not the only one who has fallen down. Listening to some riders I know you would think that most people jump on a bike and just go! As to the first ride...well, we have a little back road near my house that is pretty straight so I convinced the BF that I was ready to just ride down it about a half a mile and back. Anyway, never made it down the street. I got to the end of my dirt road where I was suppose to take the left turn and stopped about 5 feet too soon, attempted to inch forward so I could see if any cars were coming...all of a sudden I see a big red truck in my rearview and was like "Oh crap I gotta go!" opened the throttle and ended up in the yard across the street. I was so nervous I forgot to "look" where I wanted to go so I went straight instead of left. Man that was embarassing! Dude in the truck had to come over and see if I was alright, and the BF comes cruising back down from the road and I just wanted to die. Well, lesson learned; I am not ready for the road! lol. Practice, practice, practice.

I think taking a slow skills couse is a great idea. It does seem like the slow manuvering is the hardest. Everything feels easier at 30+mph...5mph not so much.

Thanks, I will check that out. I do have to keep reminding myself that it takes time...so hard to be patient!

Hmmm...Gerbings, good idea. I do like being warm.

Tip .. Get the full liner.. NOT the vest ....
And gloves.... Heck I had my gerbings liner on yesterday....

AdventureBunny, take the riding course. It will make a world of difference in your confidence. Learning from friends or a boyfriend is rarely as good as learning from a pro following a proven method. My brother forgot to transfer his motorcycle endorsement when he moved to Texas from Nevada since he didn't own a bike at the time. When he bought a new bike he took the MSF instead of the hassle of getting an appointment with DPS for an on the bike test, having his wife or someone else take off work bring proof of inspection and insurance for the car they would drive the instructor in. Came back saying that even after riding 20 years he'd learned stuff he didn't know in the class that made him a better rider. I've heard similar from quite a few other people.

+1 on what CD said.. .

+ 1,000,000

When I was first learning I hopped off my 500 lb street bike, and forgot to put up the kickstand. That beast pinned me to the ground, and a very attractive neighbor had to pull it off of me.

Everyone is going to make rookie mistakes, but practice makes perfect.

I'll join the mob and say classes will be good to boost your skill level. I'd also suggest doing more dirt riding, as that will boost your pavement skills as well.

You'll get there

totally agree...


so how about the neighbor???



j/k

I am planning on taking the class, but there are no more this year. I have to wait until next season, so that is why I am just practicing for now. There is only a few more weeks of decent weather left so I will just stick to the dirt and the parking lot and then take the class in the spring. Althugh I sometimes wonder how it will help my nerves if they don't let you out of a parking lot either? I mean, I have pretty much done all of the skills they teach already, it's just being "in traffic" that makes me panic.

AdventureBunny, while you may not leave the range you will be learning skills and how to react with a bunch of other people on bikes around. It isn't just a parking lot but a series of skills task ranging from weaves, tight circles, figure 8s, quick stops and having to turn with very short notice, all without dropping or stalling the bike.

I had a pretty serious accident in April, low speed crossing railroad tracks at a rally's photo scavenger hunt. I wasn't doing anything stupid but the train tracks crossed at an angle on a road with a shitload of potholes. I picked what looked like the best line to cross only to discover a hole I couldn't see paralleling the tracks exactly the "right" width to trap my front tire and yank the wheel hard to the left. I couldn't pull the handlebars straight because the wheel had slotted in and dropped into the hole. Bike bounced up and shattered the top of my tibia, broke the fibula and to round off the effect dropped back down onto the other ankle requiring a screw and washer to fix it.

I was told 12 weeks before I could even think about putting weight on the right leg since it would take at least that long for the 18 pieces they put back together with a plate, screws and bone grafts to be strong enough. Fortunately I heal quickly and well so was walking again at 8 weeks and back on small scoots at 15 weeks. However, I will also take the MSF course again when my son takes it next month in preparation for getting his license as a refresher. That's how important I think the MSF course is.

Another good MSF resource that's not offered at all MSF courses is their Dirtbike School. The large MSF facility in Alpharetta, GA, offers the BRC, ERC, ATV school, Trike school, and several different dirtbike courses (one day, two day, family fun dirt school, skirts in the dirt women only dirt school) and it's an absolute blast. Look around in your area - I hope there are other MSF facilities that offer this, it's been invaluable. I took the two day class last year for the first time, put about 8500mi on my DR650 (and it wasn't upright all the time! ) then took it again last month with some girlfriends. Tremendous difference in what I could do this year compared with last year.

I'm so sorry to hear that! That sounds like it was (and probably still is) very painful. I am glad that you are feeling better though. And believe me, I understand how important it is and I will be taking the MSF course as soon as possible. I want to have every advantage that I can to minimize the risk of getting hurt (or hurthing others). Take care.

I will have to see if they offer something like that here, thanks!

Yes I believe I am a woman glad there are more of in here!

Our MSF had us going over 2x4's :eek1
That was trippy... But a great experience...
I don't know if they still do that...

Hey I have a good read up in my sig line ..
I won a contest....You can read both the full story w/all the photos .. And the published one...

Welcome! You gonna ride/camp the Angel Ride down there end of October?

Back in the saddle again...<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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Husband sold the boat and bought a 04 Yamaha XT225. Since we only used the boat three time this season. So far we have used the bike more than the boat. What a good idea.
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Can’t wait to ride it as soon as this pinched nerve in my right shoulder goes away. <o></o>

Please remember........... ATGATT!!!

Hope she continues to heal quickly and gets back on the 250.