Newbie's thoughts

I am still a newbie on two wheels.  The first time I ever rode a motorcycle was in motorcycle safety school back in August.  I went in the course with no knowledge of how a motorcycle works, what the mechanics of riding involves, or even knowing what a clutch really does.  See, I have never even ridden a stick shift car, so the motorcycle was a world away from familiarity.  The safety course was primarily a safety course but they drill into you muscle memory.  I came out of the course knowing how to operate a motorcycle with some amount of muscle memory.  Nothing is actually like riding on your own on the street after the course however.

That is where I felt a complete newbie when I first took the wheels on the streets of Toronto.  Even before that, there was a fear I will drop the bike trying to get out of my garage.  My parking spot is three floors down in the basement garage of my building, so the thought I'd have to ride up the ramps was a bit scary--will I flip backward when riding up, and what will I do if I get stuck midway up the ramp?  As it turned out, the school did not teach you how to handle stop and starting on a slope, so I dropped the bike the first time I tried to get out of my garage.  The darn garage door sensor did not pick up the motorcycle so did not open the door.  There I sat on the slope holding on the front brake.  Not knowing what to do and starting to panic a little under my helmet, I started rolling back.  I let the bike drop on the spot rather than rolling back with it.

Since then, I have learned how to stop and start on a slope.  I feel a lot more comfortable riding the streets of Toronto and the highways now, although rain and sleet/snow still make me nervous.  Rain shouldn't be a problem except that Toronto has many streetcar tracks and manhole covers that get slippery when wet, and sleet/snow, well, they're just damn slippery for anything moving.

I still consider myself a newbie.  There are things I still think about when riding.  I think they should be fully automatic.  Things like switching on the left/right turn signal should be second nature.  I often have to find the switch to activate it and find it again to deactivate it, and also forgetting to deactivate it.  Then, there is a fear that some bigger vehicle will rear end you.  I don't trust the drivers on the road.  You gotta watch out for yourself.  You can avoid things in front of you but you might not see what may come up from behind.

Riding a motorcycle is a lot of fun.  It'd be a lot more fun if the road is made for motorcycles only.  A dream.