One of the things I love about motorcycling is that it's an ongoing learning experience. I don't think I will ever stop learning about riding nor would I want to stop doing so. Even as much of a know-it-all I can seem like at times, I'm the first to admit I don't know everything about motorcycle riding, not even close. In fact before I purchased my first motorcycle I knew nothing about motorcycles. I had ridden my friend's mini bike (powered by a lawn mower engine no less) a few times when I was about 12 but that was about it for my motorized two wheel experience. Needless to say this “vehicle” really didn't prepare me for what a street bike would be like some 12 years later.

So what to do? This was 1994 and the internet was in its infancy. There was no webBikeWorld.com, no svrider.com, not even a Nashvilleriders.com. I did have had some friends explain to me about counter steering and to look where you wanted to go. From magazines I gleaned some of the terminology and the basics of how the foot operated transmission worked. Other than these resources it was just trial by fire.

Fast forward to 2007 and I was looking to buy a bike again after nearly 10 years of not riding ( the gap in my riding is a short boring story) . This time I was going to do it right and I signed up for an MSF course which I should have done many years earlier. There was also the internet, with a site (webBikeWorld.com) that provided riders with reviews on gear, bikes, and among other things books! One book stood out in particular as I clicked through the various reviews. The book was Total Control – High Performance Street Riding Techniques by Lee Parks and I cannot recommend this book highly enough, though I’m about to try.

"Zen" can be defined as a total state of conscious awareness, body and mind. With apology to Robert Pirsig for cribbing most of the title to his book, safely operating a motorcycle is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one.

I took my first Motorcycle Safety Foundation course in 1985, and at that time they were teaching the S.I.P.D.E. method - an acronym that stands for Scan, Identify, Predict, Decide, Execute. Although it has fallen out of favor with the MSF since then, replaced with techniques that are thought to be easier to remember, it stuck with me. I firmly believe it has saved my life more than once.

Please check this out if you havent read it, it has saved my life more than once.

"Racing involves speed, concentration and commitment; the results of a mistake are usually catastrophic because there's little room for error riding at 100 percent. Performance street riding is less intense and further from the absolute limit, but because circumstances are less controlled, mistakes and over aggressiveness can be equally catastrophic. Plenty of roadracers have sworn off street riding. "Too dangerous, too many variables and too easy to get carried away with too much speed," track specialists claim. Adrenaline-addled racers find themselves treating the street like the track, and not surprisingly, they get burned by the police, the laws of physics and the cold, harsh realities of an environment not groomed for ten-tenths riding. But as many of us know, a swift ride down a favorite road may be the finest way to spend a few free hours with a bike we love. And these few hours are best enjoyed riding at The Pace.

A year after I joined Motorcyclist staff in 1984, Mitch Boehm was hired. Six months later, The Pace came into being, and we perfected it during the next few months of road testing and weekend fun rides. Now The Pace is part of my life - and a part of the Sunday morning riding group I frequent. The Pace is a street riding technique that not only keeps street riders alive, but thoroughly entertained as well."

Read the full article at Motorcyclist's site

As a female firmly in her 40’s learning how to ride a sports bike was not on my top ten list of things to do.
Thank goodness plans change.

Riding did not come naturally or swiftly for me.  In my mind there are implied “coolness” factors that go along with riding and if you’re not "cool" you’re hopefully a newbie (and not a *"squid"). My definition of cool is that you thoroughly enjoy riding and you do it well. My definition of a newbie is you know the basics of riding in your head but you are still working out the physical application of what you know. I could look cool to you if I am standing next to my bike in full gear, however, once I’m on the bike you may decide to reclassify me. Here’s why…

Coolness rule number one “Don’t drop your bike”.

Hills are the bane of my riding experience. Hanging on to a heavy bike on a seemingly 45 degree angled hill, during a red light, causes a series of explicative’s to roll out of my mouth. You’ve got to keep the bike from sliding backwards and you got to get it to gun forward swiftly and smoothly when the light turns green.  In other words you have to be coordinated.  I therefore have dropped my bike twice.

Based on my physical size, maneuvering a Suzuki Bandit weighing 418lbs back to the upright position is about as easy as picking up a refrigerator that has landed on its side. I have since gotten a 250 pound NX 250 and while it too had to be picked up, with coworkers watching, the mental and physical recovery was swift.   Bike weight can make or break the coolness factor.

Coolness rule number two “Don’t stall out when the light turns green”.

What’s up with the neutral gear?   Why is it so tricky to find?   If I can find neutral I can get to first gear, the gear I want to be in when I have to stop.  Being in second or third gear at a stop will pretty much guarantee a stall when it’s time to roll. (If you don’t ride, neutral is between first and second gear and it’s a pisser to find when your desperate for it).

Coolness rule number three “Stay within the lines when you’re turning”.

I once rode up on the sidewalk going around a corner too fast on one of my first outings. My bike munched a few shrubs but I finally landed back on the street. Fortunately I was riding the NX 250 which is an off road and on road  or "dual sport" bike. I am grateful for this bike because it puts up with a lot of newbie mistakes. The right way to go into a turn is to slow down, lean into the turn, look through your turn, and smoothly roll on the throttle as you exit the turn.  I wish for you, the new rider, good luck with that.

So why do I keep riding if I am such a newbie at it ?

Two reasons; it’s thrilling to ride when you’re riding well and I am part of a unique group of females (18%) who actually do ride.

Unique and thrilling, how can I say no?