As you probably know, I have been teaching Motorcycle Safety Foundation rider education classes for over twenty years. It is a lot of hard work, but very satisfying to see the students learn and become better riders. It is interesting how I happened to begin teaching.

I had always wanted to ride and finally decided to take the plunge and buy a bike. Mr. Buckley, the gentleman that sold me my first bike (a '79 Honda CX500) suggested that I take a class so I checked into it and found an opening. Some things I learned came easily for me, such as clutch control, but I struggled hard with other things. I had a lot of difficulty with the swerve. It just didn't make sense to push the handlebars the way I wanted to go instead of steering them. But I finally passed and was very proud.

About two weeks later, I was driving along a two lane road near Lakeview, when a car approached from the right. I was watching it carefully, just as they taught us in class. The car seemed to be approaching the intersection a little too fast to stop. So I slowed down some and extended my fingers over the clutch and brake in case I had to stop quickly. Sure enough, he did not stop and pulled right out in front of me! I pulled in the clutch and applied the brakes, HARD! My mind was racing, processing everything at once; the car's position and speed, how fast I was stopping, if anyone was behind me or in the oncoming lane. This is not a drill! More front brake! More front brake! As the bike shifts its weight onto the front tire for more traction, I continue to add more pressure to the brake lever as the forks compress hard. The car driver now looks up and sees me for the first time stomps on his brakes and stops right in front of me! Now he's REALLY in my way and I see I am NOT going to get stopped in time! I release the brakes, push hard on the handlebar and swerve around him and back on the brakes again! When I finally stopped, I was right beside his driver's door. I looked down at him and he looked up at me. I started to open my mouth, but he ducked his head and took off. "Hey, come back here!" I wanted to have a talk! I wanted to discuss his IQ and his parentage! But it's probably just as well that I didn't. At that point I pulled over to the side of the road, got off the bike, and sat down with the shakes! I hate it when I have an adrenalin dump!

When I got back to town, I called my instructor and told him "Hey, that stuff you taught me really works!" (He already knew that.) "I owe you paybacks, how can I help?" The rest, as they say, is history.

It's NEVER too late to learn to ride and get your first bike. Congratulations to Jenny and thanks for her ENTHUSIASM! We often have very mixed classes. When I started teaching, it was mostly young people needing their endorsement, with maybe one or two girls per class of twelve. Now it is mostly adults; with only about 20 percent young riders, adults who want to learn to ride, or have ridden in the past and are getting back into it, now that their children are raised. And we are seeing more women than ever. They do not quite make up half of all students yet, but it is getting very close. It is a lot of fun to see the enthusiasm in the new riders. Jenny was such a rider. Jenny had never ridden before but had always wanted to. Now that her nest was a little less full, she had the time to pursue her dream. Her story illustrates a big part of the reason I enjoy teaching so much.

Start Class With The Basics

We had the usual mix of students that week. A couple of young fellows, and the rest were adults with about half men and women. We tried to fit the riders to motorcycles as best we could. Time to get started. "This is the clutch, it is not an `on and off' switch... You put the bike in gear and ease it into the friction zone. That is the point when you can feel the bike want to move. Put your feet forward and let the bike pull you ahead about a foot. Now pull in the clutch and push the bike back with your feet. Feel the point at which the clutch begins to tug you forward." So far so good. We progressed through the day and everyone was keeping up well. When we got to shifting, Jenny had a little trouble because of the boots she was wearing. They were thick soled and were difficult to fit between the shifter and peg. Even when she struggled with an exercise, she never failed to give us a big smile at the end. She was having fun! Well the short story is that she improved a lot and accomplished much, but it was just too much to learn in one weekend. Determined to ride a motorcycle, she went for a few hours of private lessons and easily passed the re-test the second time. She worked hard for it and earned her MSF card! Shortly after that she bought a Harley Sportster. Her license plate even shows her pride and says "MIBIK". Now she stops by once in a while and with that great big grin says "I went on a ride yesterday! I went here, and here and here! It was beautiful, I loved it!" I always tell her that I enjoy her enthusiasm. She is doing something she always wanted to do and loving it. When was the last time you showed that much excitement for riding?

Expect to ENJOY Your Riding

We all enjoy our riding and derive great pleasure from it. I'm always telling people that going for a short ride on a motorcycle is like taking a short vacation. In a car you are driving with about 10% of your attention, while you are thinking about other things, listening to the radio, etc. You take a car to arrive at a destination. You take a bike for the trip, the destination is just an excuse for the ride. On a bike you get to see everything and be a part of it. You feel the motion of the bike. You can smell all kinds of things (some good, some bad). On a recent trip out west, I was amazed how many cattle farms were in Kansas. I didn't see them, but I knew they were there! Piloting the bike demands more of your attention and leaves less time for extraneous thoughts. You can't worry about money problems or things at work when you are riding! Just can't happen! So the bike gives you a `mini vacation' from all of those things. That's part of why so many of us are dedicated to riding. Bikes open up a whole new universe for people who have not experienced riding before. Our students find a release that they didn't know existed. The reward for instructors who help them is a huge enthusiastic smile and the knowledge that they will be safer riders enjoying this for years to come. This is a big part of why I continue to teach these classes. The next time someone says they always wanted to ride, but don't think they can, encourage them to take a class and give it a try. Or if you have had a class, inquire about becoming an instructor, you'll never regret it! Let's share the enthusiasm!

As a footnote I have to apologize to Jenny. I mentioned that I wanted to use her to illustrate the pride and enthusiasm that many new riders have. She said "Oh really?" and I accepted that as a `yes!'  Thank you Jenny for allowing me to share your story.

Ride safe.

-LC