Choosing not to Ride-Have I made the right decision?
Hello all,
I am a first time poster (and this may well be my only post for reasons you will read below).
I have joined this forum because I need seasoned riders to assure me that I have made the correct decision concerning taking up motorcycle riding.
I have always loved the idea of riding a motorcycle and I have flirted with the idea of starting to ride for years. However, I have finally found myself in a position where I could afford to purchase a bike and I am pretty sure that I have talked myself out of it. I think I have committed the sin of so many want to be drivers by falling in love with the romance and mystique of the motorcycle rider while overlooking the hard realities of such a hobby/lifestyle. Let me walk through my situation so those who read this post can fully understand my situation.
Experience:
Next to none. I grew around people who were completely opposed to motorcycles so I did not know anyone who could help me learn how to ride a motorcycle, or even a dirt bike. I did try to ride a cousin’s dirt bike once when I was 15 but I could never get the bike out of first gear on my first and only ride.
About six years ago I tried to take the Motorcycle Safety course at my local community college but that was a miserable failure. I had never even sat on a motorcycle before. I had trouble releasing the clutch smoothly (I was dumping it). I was terribly out of shape (24 years old, over 300 lbs) on a 5’10 frame so I quickly got winded walking the bike around. (I am in much better shape now if that would help you with your responses.) And, finally, I was so inexperienced that I kept trying to stop the bike by putting my feet down and dragging them on the pavement rather than using the brakes. Like I said, it truly was a disaster. I quite the class because the experience was just so uncomfortable for me. I would also note that I was further embarrassed by the fact that I was the only truly green student in the class. Everyone else had riding experience.
Now, I will say that part of my failure during the class is due to my personality. I am truly a “type B” individual in the sense that I like to understand the concept as fully as possible before I ever attempt to practice the physical act. I had done research on how to ride a motorcycle but I had never actually been on one before. Now, I would be in a position where I could buy bike, keep it at my house, and practice even the most basic fundamentals in a very safe environment, working at my own pace. This, however, brings me to my concerns.
Concerns:
First, I don’t think I am the kind of driver who just naturally takes to motorcycle riding. I have only been in two wrecks. The first, while technically my fault, was really a systemic failure. The second was my fault in the sense that I saw someone in front of me commence a maneuver, I began to execute the same while looking to my left, and ran into the back of the person who had suddenly decided to stop short of what they were doing. However, I also have to admit that I can become easily distracted while driving due to my thoughts, more so than to things such as playing with the radio or talking on the phone. I think with practice I could learn to control this habit and focus my mind, but that is a very big “if” in an environment with a steep learning curve.
Second, I am willing to admit that I am afraid. I am afraid of being injured. I am afraid of being in a wreck. I am currently a poor graduate student and have been in school for almost 10 years at this point. I am especially afraid of suffering some sort of brain damage which would effectively destroy the work I have been dedicated to for the last decade. On top of that, because I am a graduate student and am poor, even though I have health insurance, I am scared that if I was physically injured I would be unable to meet the medical expenses as a result of treatment.
Third, I don’t have any support from those close to me. My family, though they do mean well and their hearts are in the right place, are opposed to me riding due to the above mentioned risks. For me, this creates feelings of guilt and anxiety that I think add to my stress levels and which would further distract me when riding.
Final comments:
One thing I will say in my favor is that I am a responsible person. I think that it is this devotion to being responsible that has lent to this serious consideration of my own abilities and made me question if I am meant to ever ride a cycle. What I am not sure of and why I am reaching out to this online community is to ask y’all if the concerns I have mentioned are shared by all novice riders or if they are unique to me and do they actually represent serious impediments to my success and safety when it comes to writing?
I am sorry for the length of this post but I do welcome any advice members of this forum could give me.
Best,
J.
Hello all,
I am a first time poster (and this may well be my only post for reasons you will read below).
I have joined this forum because I need seasoned riders to assure me that I have made the correct decision concerning taking up motorcycle riding.
I have always loved the idea of riding a motorcycle and I have flirted with the idea of starting to ride for years. However, I have finally found myself in a position where I could afford to purchase a bike and I am pretty sure that I have talked myself out of it. I think I have committed the sin of so many want to be drivers by falling in love with the romance and mystique of the motorcycle rider while overlooking the hard realities of such a hobby/lifestyle. Let me walk through my situation so those who read this post can fully understand my situation.
Experience:
Next to none. I grew around people who were completely opposed to motorcycles so I did not know anyone who could help me learn how to ride a motorcycle, or even a dirt bike. I did try to ride a cousin’s dirt bike once when I was 15 but I could never get the bike out of first gear on my first and only ride.
About six years ago I tried to take the Motorcycle Safety course at my local community college but that was a miserable failure. I had never even sat on a motorcycle before. I had trouble releasing the clutch smoothly (I was dumping it). I was terribly out of shape (24 years old, over 300 lbs) on a 5’10 frame so I quickly got winded walking the bike around. (I am in much better shape now if that would help you with your responses.) And, finally, I was so inexperienced that I kept trying to stop the bike by putting my feet down and dragging them on the pavement rather than using the brakes. Like I said, it truly was a disaster. I quite the class because the experience was just so uncomfortable for me. I would also note that I was further embarrassed by the fact that I was the only truly green student in the class. Everyone else had riding experience.
Now, I will say that part of my failure during the class is due to my personality. I am truly a “type B” individual in the sense that I like to understand the concept as fully as possible before I ever attempt to practice the physical act. I had done research on how to ride a motorcycle but I had never actually been on one before. Now, I would be in a position where I could buy bike, keep it at my house, and practice even the most basic fundamentals in a very safe environment, working at my own pace. This, however, brings me to my concerns.
Concerns:
First, I don’t think I am the kind of driver who just naturally takes to motorcycle riding. I have only been in two wrecks. The first, while technically my fault, was really a systemic failure. The second was my fault in the sense that I saw someone in front of me commence a maneuver, I began to execute the same while looking to my left, and ran into the back of the person who had suddenly decided to stop short of what they were doing. However, I also have to admit that I can become easily distracted while driving due to my thoughts, more so than to things such as playing with the radio or talking on the phone. I think with practice I could learn to control this habit and focus my mind, but that is a very big “if” in an environment with a steep learning curve.
Second, I am willing to admit that I am afraid. I am afraid of being injured. I am afraid of being in a wreck. I am currently a poor graduate student and have been in school for almost 10 years at this point. I am especially afraid of suffering some sort of brain damage which would effectively destroy the work I have been dedicated to for the last decade. On top of that, because I am a graduate student and am poor, even though I have health insurance, I am scared that if I was physically injured I would be unable to meet the medical expenses as a result of treatment.
Third, I don’t have any support from those close to me. My family, though they do mean well and their hearts are in the right place, are opposed to me riding due to the above mentioned risks. For me, this creates feelings of guilt and anxiety that I think add to my stress levels and which would further distract me when riding.
Final comments:
One thing I will say in my favor is that I am a responsible person. I think that it is this devotion to being responsible that has lent to this serious consideration of my own abilities and made me question if I am meant to ever ride a cycle. What I am not sure of and why I am reaching out to this online community is to ask y’all if the concerns I have mentioned are shared by all novice riders or if they are unique to me and do they actually represent serious impediments to my success and safety when it comes to writing?
I am sorry for the length of this post but I do welcome any advice members of this forum could give me.
Best,
J.