Daily weigh in for Mother's Day Sunday May 11th

120.  happy mothers day to all. i am grateful i am still able to call my mom.  today's miracle is hubby mowed the 2 food tall lawn.  think i will work on the deck container plants.    diane

101.4 lbs today.

So I'm mostly done with my motorcycle lessons and I'm proud to report that I rode across the Golden Gate Bridge today, WITH a passenger on the back (the passenger was my teacher)!  I also should report that I am SO NOT READY for the hilly street of San Francisco, however :-)   I think the Vespa will continue to be my daily rider, but I'll invest in small, used motorcycle to practice on in the coming months.

The good:  I barely stalled the motorcycle out, even on hill starts (which, btw, SUCK).

The bad:  I sometimes pull the clutch in while simultaneously opening up the throttle.  This makes a big revving noise that gets me no where, but scares the hell out of me and I just want to stop in the middle of traffic.

The ugly:  I dropped the bike once (but just the once, on a hill start, and I learned to pick it back up, too).

On the whole, it's been a great experience.  Am I a motorcyclist?  I think I'll need 1,500 miles on a motorcycle to find that out.

Have a happy Mother's Day, everybody!

Fiona

Fiona you did very very well!  I don't remember exactly how many times I dropped the bike in my two day course but I'm certain it was at least 4 times!  That's what taking the course is all about.  

I actually think you will know if you're a motorcyclist before you've got 1500 miles under your belt too.  Improvements will come quickly, I promise!  So take a rest after what was undoubtedly a tiresome weekend, and then begin dreaming about getting your motorcycle and licence. Again, great job!!!

Thanks Linda!  Yes, I'm tired and my clutch hand is really sore! 

In California, the Vespa is considered a "motorcycle" so I actually already have an M1 license.  It's like passing a driver's test on an automatic transmission car - you get the same license as the guy who passed on a manual transmission car.  Is it different in Canada? 

I think I'm at least two bikes away from the Street Triple of my dreams :-)

Thanks so much for showing me that we short girls can ride!

f

I had forgotten about the licensing differences. Here, anyone who can drive a car can ride a scooter (Class 5), but a motorcycle is a completely separate licensing process (Class 6).  

You will get there sooner than you realize Fiona!  The shifting process is the 'easy' part of riding - you already have the other skills, which are developed over time. Get the motorcycle - I'd suggest something in the 30-40 horsepower range (cc's are different) that weighs around 400 pounds and you will do very well with a relatively short learning curve.  

Even though you are new to the clutch, I am certain you are a much better rider than I am. The clutch is easy to master while the skills you already have are much more difficult to master!

Thanks Linda.  I highly doubt I'm a better rider.  I was almost in tears attempting hill starts today - just barely managed to keep it together!  I think 400 pounds might be a little too much bike for me right now, but we'll have to see.  I guess it would depend on the bike...This is just way too much fun!

Thanks again and have a good night!

f

Happy Mother's Day Linda!! 

Hugs

Donna

Thanks Donna!  I hope you've had a great day too :)

134.8 - all I can say is "it's about damn time!"  On my way down to 130 :-) 

130.0 - Go, girly!  Still thinking 140-145.0 is the place for me to stay, but my body  doesn't want to go there- let away stay there.... hmmmmmm