Motorcycle crash course.. emphasis on the crash.

By Michael Moodie g09m2875



Riding a motorbike is something I have always wanted to do but just never quite had the chance. “We're never going to buy you a bike,” my parents told me. “We don't want you to become a big smudge in the middle of the road.” I've never given much heed to my motorbike dreams since then, not until I had a knock on my door and an offer to learn to ride.

I felt pretty apprehensive at first. When I was a kid I had always imagined riding a motorbike was like riding a very big bicycle. After my first try at getting the bike to move however, I found that there was much more to it than just that. Clutch left hand, front brake right hand, gears left foot, back brake right foot.. it is a lot to remember for someone who used to sit on his bicycle, “Vroom, vroom!!” and then ride off as fast as he could. After several tries and only two stalls later, I was off and moving at what felt like break-neck-speeds, but what the speedometer told me was actually 20 k's and hour. It was an accomplishment none-the-less, and from there on I only got better.

Eventually, after I had finally mastered moving the bike in the right direction, we decided to move on to dirt roads. It was much more challenging technically, but there was much less chance of me riding into something. I had started to master riding the bike well, and despite the sand and gravel sliding beneath my tires, I managed to stay on and look ever-so-slightly as though I knew what I was doing.

Riding that motorbike was an experience that I will never forget, and hopefully it is an experience I will have again. It gave me a sense of freedom and exhilaration that I had never felt before. One day I might just run the risk of becoming a smudge in the road and buy myself my own bike.