Everything I know about riding bicycles helped me immensely this past weekend in my Motorcycle Rider Course.
I already have my motorcycle permit, but with this course I can now bypass the DMV riding portion of the test and get my motorcycle license.
Really I would be happy to just have a permit forever because even with a "M" license I won't be putting a passenger on the back of my motorcycle (just like I won't sit a passenger on the handlebars of my bicycle....oh you have seen those people)...
Oh, yes, I realize she is in the front and not the back...but still.... these are DUMB people...they don't even have helmets on.
Survival of the fitness, I say...And my word, who let's the guy steer the bike? At least I would be smart and insist on being the actual bike rider, not the handlebar rider.
Do you think he took a BIG insurance policy out on her earlier in the day?
Did he put some happy pills in her wine"
Well, she is blond.
(sorry to me and all my blond friends, but in this case she is the poster-child for blond).
I am not riding after dark - on my motorcycle.
I am happy as can be riding my bicycle after dark. I have my awesome back reflector strobing enough to give someone a seizure, and my front light is so bright that it may as well belong to a '69 Volkswagen. The only difference is my bike light doesn't shine up into the trees.
(Man, I just had a flashback!)
I also am not going to be riding my motorcycle on the freeway.
Well, maybe if I was in a big group of motorcyclists and we were all going the speed limit.
Then it would feel more like a peloton.
But this.....NO! NO! NO!
My "M" license will arrive in the mail, but it won't make a difference. I still won't ride with a passenger, at night or on the freeway.
I am so motorcycle safe that I can barely ride my Honda Rebel in my neighborhood.
Really, riding a bicycle on the street seems way safer than a motorcycle.
So what are the statistics?
Well, I had to shut down the stats on motorcycles before I got sick to my stomach, but it was something like 8.2 percent of motorcyclist die in accidents.
According to the Department of Transportation only 1.9 percent of bicyclist were killed in accidents.
Do you think bicyclist are just smarter about riding out on the street with cars and big trucks?
During my Ride Rite training this past weekend I wondered how much "smarter" I was as a motorcyclist because I was already a bicyclist....
For example....I already knew about the outside/inside/outside for turning corners.
I already knew about slowing BEFORE I got to the corner and then speeding up through it.
When others in the class didn't know how to ride their motorcycle over the log in the road...I just quipped, "Can't we just bunny hop it?"
Yes, I got a lot of funny stares from the guys in the class.
And when at the end of the exercise the instructors asked how everyone like it, I was the only one to shoot out that I "love it....bring on more."
One guy actually sneered at me
Really, riding the motorcycle over the log was more like riding a horse over a log, but I didn't want to say anything because I was already pissing some people (MEN) off.
Similarities/Differences
On a motorcycle you have to wear way more gear to be safe.
I just don't think you could pedal a bicycle without having a heart attack wearing all the protective gear as you wear riding a motorcycle.
But here is the funny HAHA thing...I have gone WAY faster on my bicycle than I have on a motorcycle.
UHmmmm.
Makes me glad that I have St. Michael to call on to protect me with his sword, (or broom) whenever I go fast on (insert word motorcycle/bicycle).
And my fast is YOUR slow.
Just in case you didn't read my blog about my angels and St. Michael...here is the post:
Good thing I have lots of experience in swearing...I mean, swerving on my bike. It really helped me in my motorcycle class. I am an EXPERT swerver.
My bicycling experience was also good because, well, let's face it, for numerous years bicycling has been a man's world. MEN, MEN, MEN and more MEN.
Well, motorcycles are just like that and MORE!!!
In my motorcycling safety class there were 8 men and 2 women....
I don't know the stats on bicycles but when I ride the SART it is WAY more men than women.
I am just glad that I am one of the women!
Just give me two wheels and I'll do my best to ride them!!
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