TheBanyanTree: a dream realized.....

[Gloria]

You're prepared (mentally and physically) and that's the most
important thing.  I'm so proud of you for realizing such a fantastic
dream!!

You and the bike shall cruise as one.   Enjoy the rides!!

Dreamer



On 10/12/10, Sachet <MountainWhisper at att.net> wrote:
> I've been doing things in increments.
>
> First I saved up for my chaps. Don't ask me why it was important that I
> get them first.....but somehow they symbolized more than any other piece
> of gear..... that I was truly serious about making this particular dream
> become reality.
>
> Got a great deal on them, too; which is of paramount importance. And I
> bought them with money I earned from selling some of my college
> textbooks. So it's not coming from the family budget. That's very
> important, too. I got chaps instead of pants because that way I can just
> remove them when I get to work and be all set. Plus, they look & feel so
> badass. <g>
>
>
> Hmmmm wait, *first* I had a friend take me out on his bike to teach me
> the basics, so I would know if I was too stupid to be let loose on the
> road or not. And I did very well even with his 6'3" 220 lb.'s behind me
> adding a weight differential that he kept reassuring me was making it
> harder for me to steer. I refused to ride his bike on my own. What if I
> tipped it over and damaged it?!?!? But it did confirm that I did very
> much want to get my own bike.
>
> Sooooo....then I got my motorcycle permit. Which is so stupidly
> backwards. They let you loose on the road on a bike with absolutely no
> experience with the permit for up to 18 months, THEN you have to take
> the riding test to get your license. Why not require the riding part of
> the test FIRST?!?! Geez. It's such a crazy set-up.
>
> So anyway, next came the helmet. That had to be very special. I wanted
> it to be feminine, but not too girly. My first boyfriend from high
> school, with whom I am still friends, describes it as: "Attitude...with
> a feminine streak. Perfect for you!". His comment made me smile, because
> that was my goal. And safety. Always with the safety or my brother (the
> Critical Care paramedic) will kill me for free. ;-)
> http://tinyurl.com/293oyld
>
> The first weekend in October I subjected myself to 2.5 days of intense
> physical, emotional and psychological stress as I took the Motorcycle
> Safety Foundation course and got my certification. Twelve hour days that
> wore us all out, but soooooo worth it.
> http://online2.msf-usa.org/msf/Default.aspx
> Actually, the best part about the course is that now I know how much I
> don't know and will be more cautious.
>
> The Monday following the course, I went and got my license.
>
> That's when I got serious about shopping for bikes. I took the advice
> from my course instructors, a few of the classmates who had bought bikes
> and my neighbor who is my motorcycle guru and went to Blue Ridge
> Rider's. *With* a guy who knows bikes backwards and forwards. I am so
> bad at haggling. I just don't get the reason for it, and it is indeed a
> fine art. All I had to do was "try on" various bikes in my price range
> and let him do the bargaining for me. This turned out to be a very good
> thing because my first choice had some carburetor issues that I wouldn't
> have known about if not for him testing it out for me. But we found one
> that I liked a lot, met my criteria for size, handling and price, felt
> great and met all his guy criteria. And he got me a great price!
>
> Then, because Asheville traffic is totally insane he road it home for me
> (an hour NW). In a thunder and lightning monsoon of a storm. On steep
> twisty mountain roads that are fun when it's dry and sunny, but
> treacherous in bad weather. I had such a tension headache by the time we
> got home from worrying about him riding it in such bad weather since I
> was hydroplaning even in my safe dry car. How would I explain to his
> wife and kids that something had happened because he was so insanely
> stubborn and insisted on riding it home even though I kept saying it
> could stay there until the weather cleared up, even if it took a couple
> of days?!??! I was ready to punch him by the time we got home. I still
> may. His wife wants me to. <g>
>
> So the big day is here and I am so excited I can barely stand it. And
> it's raining so hard it took me 20 minutes to get home from the
> neighbors garage (where my bike is parked until I figure out my parking
> situation) and their garage is only a minute from my house, as the crow
> flies. But I took their driveway down onto the road and then it started
> raining so hard and it's so completely dark out I couldn't see my hand
> in front of my face and I overshot my own driveway because I was trying
> so hard to stay in the middle of the road so I wouldn't stumble into the
> creek which is lots higher and rushing considerably faster than normal
> due to all the stupid RAIN! When I could finally see *something* I noted
> that the lighted windows I was seeing up the mountain were triangler in
> shape and ours are rectangular, so THAT meant I was way down the road on
> the curve and so then I had to carefully feel my way back up the road in
> the pouring rain to find my own freakin' driveway. It was a bit freaky
> there for awhile. No way on this planet was I going back to the
> neighbors to explain that I couldn't find my way home. But ya know, it
> would have been nice if one of the guys had thought to offer me a
> freakin' flashlight! Of course, I usually always carry one, and they
> probably assumed that I had one, but since I was so excited about my
> bike I wasn't thinking clearly. Thass my excuse. <g>
>
> And now it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow. And on Thursday it's
> supposed to be very windy with gusts up to 35mph. I may get to ride this
> week. <sigh>
>
> But.
>
> In the meantime, I get to learn how to change my own oil and sparkplugs,
> etc. I want to know how to do all this stuff myself. It's my bike, my
> responsibility and my dream. It's a pretty amazing thing when another
> dream becomes reality.
>
>