After watching a day of club racing live and in person, I was grinning ear to ear and planning my career. Ok, career might be a strong word, but I wanted to ride! The ‘white noise’ in my brain was occupied by imagining myself tucked behind the windscreen, hearing the sounds of the race motors, and feeling the backlash of the other racers passing me. The main part – the sensible part – was trying to figure out the steps to get there. I was impatient (am STILL impatient!) but knew that it wasn’t something that could be rushed too much. The first step: finding a bike and learning to ride. Enter: Elie!
Elie owned a TTR125 – a dirt bike that’s relatively small and meekly powered. She was generous enough to loan it to this brand new beginner and Louie loaded it into his truck and we headed to another friend’s property with room to ride. I borrow the gear: helmet, jackets, and gloves and I wore my over-the-ankle hiking boots. The ride out to the property I was up and down emotionally. I was excited because this was the first step to racing and nervous because it was etched in my brain that I was undertaking something dangerous. I was thrilled because I knew deep down that I was going to love this new adventure and uneasy because wisdom says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But more than all of those emotions – I was determined to ride!
After showing me the controls – a little overwhelming with at least one for each extremity – Louie headed into the house and left me to my own devices. The first step was to concentrate on throttle and brakes. First gear would have to do for awhile. As I threw a leg over the bike, the nervous and uneasy emotions evaporated. This was it! Bike was already running and just sitting on top of it, I felt READY. Throttle – check. Brakes – check. I was off and running. Slowly. The balance came easy. The throttle control was not as intuitive as I had thought. Downright tricky. Too much and the bike shot out from under me, too little and I stalled it. But we had all day.
A short time later, Louie came rushing out of the house and over to where I had stopped. I was worried that I was doing something wrong – everything felt right, I thought I was doing fine but the look on his face said something different. I waited anxiously to see what he had to say – how to fix whatever what I was doing wrong. “Do you realize what you’re doing?” he asked. The blank look on my face turned to disappointment. I immediately jumped to the conclusion that I was doing something wrong. “Are you doing that on purpose?” was the next question. Disappointment became concern. What was I doing?! When I asked that out loud and steeled myself for the answer he replied, “those WHEELIES, did you intend to do them?!” I was shocked, then relieved, and finally thrilled! I was not only riding a motorcycle – I was a motorcycle Hooligan….certainly a shortcut to becoming a racer!
After I mastered the throttle (and a few more wheelies), it was time to add complexity to my already exciting adventure: Louie showed me the clutch and the shifter and sent me back out on the property to discover shifting and more speed! I had learned to drive on a manual transmission so this part was much easier for me – coordinating that with the throttle went me lurching around a bit though. But I was gaining speed! I was zipping around, shifting up, getting faster, and feeling smoother. Louie had gone back inside and it was just me and the bike. I loved it!! I spent the rest of the day zipping around the property, wishing for more open space to add more speed – hook line and sinker, I was in love with motorcycling.
Next up: Gear and the MSF.
Pick up a copy of June's issue of Street Chopper Magazine and their you'll find a great article from Sara Liberte of North Hills Cycle www.northhillscycle.com . She opens up about the realities of co-owning a custom bike building shop - busting some of the glitz and glam myths portrayed in TV world. I can't think of many who have their own "How-To" V-Twin manuals, a true testament to her seven years of hard work and grit. 
