About 40 yrs ago, on my first and only attempt at riding a motorcycle, I (stupid and fearless) dumped my friends fathers Electra Glide, that he took without his dad's permission. We were skipping school, and I was lucky if I weighed 105 pounds at the time.
I gashed up my leg and scratched up the bike and needless to say had a bad time of it. His dad was none too pleased either. I was afraid to go near the things ( not to mention my buddy's dad) from that point on.
A couple of years ago I met up with my brother and a friend down in Florida, for a guys only vacation. They decided to go rent Harley's for a day and cruise around the Tampa Bay area. I couldn't go because I had no license, but probably wouldn't have anyway, with the memory of my last experience etched in my mind.
The following year, they decided to go to England and tour the countryside on rented motorcycles, and once again I couldn't go because I couldn't get past that first episode. They had a great time and all I could do was look at the pictures.
Some guys at work were talking about getting bikes and going riding up in the mountains here in Colorado, and I thought that sounded like fun, but didn't think it would go any further than talk. But one of the guys ended up going and buying a used BMW and was having a blast on it. I thought of what I would do if I wasn't afraid, if I didn't let my fear stand in the way of my life experiences.
My girlfriend went back home to Jersey for a vacation, and for some reason I found myself on Craig's list, looking at motorcycles for sale.The first bike I looked at was an '02 Suzuki Volusia with 2,700 miles on it.
It looked awesome and the colors were blue and black. I called the guy and he was moving to Alabama the next day, and would have to come back and ride the bike there if he didn't sell it. I offered him $3500.
(he wanted $4,000) and he reluctantly agreed!
I was able to get a friend to borrow a trailer, and rented a storage space to park it in. I had it in there for a month before I told my girlfriend I bought it.( she hates bikes). I took the safety course but was unable to finish it because I sprained my ankle. But after a while, I started to practice by riding around the neighborhood, and got a buddy of mine that rides a trike to go around with me. Eventually I worked up the courage to go out on the roads and have since put about 4,500 miles on her.I didn't know anything about that bike except I liked the looks of it, but it turned out great. Not only riding, but doing the mods to make it mine.
I'm no veteran , but I can hold my own as a rider now. I love to ride and have made a couple pretty long day rides of 100+ miles. I am really glad that I was able to overcome the past, or I would never have known what I was missing all those years.What a great feeling!
Be safe everyone!