Thanks folks! There may not be much gold laying around the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, but I obviously struck it rich here. I spent a couple months reading through many threads before signing up last August. Went Premium Member from the gate because I was so impressed with the knowledge base here and members' extraordinary willingness to share. It's only my opinion, but there are single threads here worth the premium fee, and there are a LOT of threads.
Anyway, after learning from a landlord in the 1980s why I needed a bike, it remained a dream until now. Gave myself an '09 KLR650 on my 66th birthday. I had to have a biking friend test drive it, since I had never ridden a bike (he's lying - he rode a bike for about fifteen seconds in 1979 - he thinks this doesn't count).
I only got my M1 enhancement (I hear some folks need Viagra for this) the week of my 67th birthday this year.
I'm not shy about busting myself for my mistakes and blunders in the hopes that others may avoid them. I was taking the excellent CMSP motorcycle safety training course last October, when I had an accident - on their bike. Friends said it was a freak accident. You had an accident and you're a freak is what they said. I love my friends.
As for my crash, think Laugh-In's Artie Johnson on his tricycle. I hope members around my age smile at this reference. But I also heard that if you remember the sixties, you weren't a participant.
When you're taking the safety course, be cautious and try to make adjustments if you fall outside the human norm, physically. At the class I took, all the bikes were 250s. Small. Tiny. I stand at 6'-6". With size 16 feet. Have paws to match. If you're around my size, see if you can bring your own, larger bike, as long as it meets their requirements: 450 cc max., fully operational, registered (in CA) and insured. And check for other requirements as well - that's probably not a complete list. Just ask the instructor in advance - they're very helpful.
So their bike was fine, but size-wise I was a poor match for it, I misapplied the controls, had a walking-speed crash, and received an injury which I lived with (not healing) for over two months. The week of Christmas it became a medical emergency, requiring immediate surgery to fix. Then a couple months of recovery and getting back on my feet and my bike, retaking and passing the safety course, by pre-arrangement using the tallest, largest bike they had.
And now I'm practicing, practicing - having a grand time. I believe I absolutely know, and this is forever, exactly why we ride. Thanks again for making newbies like me feel welcome!
First name Aaron, last name pretty much the opposite of my handle.
Oh yeah, my down-time from the bike of almost 6 months led to it having a problem, which I couldn't find much info on here (there was a little), solved, and so my next task is to post about it over in the gen 2 wrenching arena. And to honor Paper's request.
Anyway, after learning from a landlord in the 1980s why I needed a bike, it remained a dream until now. Gave myself an '09 KLR650 on my 66th birthday. I had to have a biking friend test drive it, since I had never ridden a bike (he's lying - he rode a bike for about fifteen seconds in 1979 - he thinks this doesn't count).
I only got my M1 enhancement (I hear some folks need Viagra for this) the week of my 67th birthday this year.
I'm not shy about busting myself for my mistakes and blunders in the hopes that others may avoid them. I was taking the excellent CMSP motorcycle safety training course last October, when I had an accident - on their bike. Friends said it was a freak accident. You had an accident and you're a freak is what they said. I love my friends.
As for my crash, think Laugh-In's Artie Johnson on his tricycle. I hope members around my age smile at this reference. But I also heard that if you remember the sixties, you weren't a participant.
When you're taking the safety course, be cautious and try to make adjustments if you fall outside the human norm, physically. At the class I took, all the bikes were 250s. Small. Tiny. I stand at 6'-6". With size 16 feet. Have paws to match. If you're around my size, see if you can bring your own, larger bike, as long as it meets their requirements: 450 cc max., fully operational, registered (in CA) and insured. And check for other requirements as well - that's probably not a complete list. Just ask the instructor in advance - they're very helpful.
So their bike was fine, but size-wise I was a poor match for it, I misapplied the controls, had a walking-speed crash, and received an injury which I lived with (not healing) for over two months. The week of Christmas it became a medical emergency, requiring immediate surgery to fix. Then a couple months of recovery and getting back on my feet and my bike, retaking and passing the safety course, by pre-arrangement using the tallest, largest bike they had.
And now I'm practicing, practicing - having a grand time. I believe I absolutely know, and this is forever, exactly why we ride. Thanks again for making newbies like me feel welcome!
First name Aaron, last name pretty much the opposite of my handle.
Oh yeah, my down-time from the bike of almost 6 months led to it having a problem, which I couldn't find much info on here (there was a little), solved, and so my next task is to post about it over in the gen 2 wrenching arena. And to honor Paper's request.
