Riding Motorcycles: My Story

It all began in 2002, when my husband wanted to buy a motorcycle. I had no clue that he even knew how to ride one. We had been married for almost twelve (12) years at that point, and he never mentioned it before. You know how the story goes, when a man gets something on his mind that he thinks he really wants, he will not be quiet until he gets it.

So, my husband finds this used sport bike (aka crotch rocket) that he just had to have. We buy the motorcycle and he rides it home, no helmet, no eye protection, no nothing. When we get back home, he looks like he has been on a three day drunk, and he doesn't even drink. Lesson learned, always where eye protection and besides, it's the law. Most states also have a helmet law. Be sure that you know the law in whatever state you will be riding in. Ignorance of the law is not a defense.

My husband is having all kinds of fun riding his sport bike. He rides our daughter and she is loving it. He rides me and I'm not so sure about it, it is dangerous after all. But, everything else is dangerous in life. I could slip and fall in the bathtub and die. There are pros and cons to everything we do, you just have to determine what is right for you.

My husband kept asking me to ride the motorcycle. I use to ride twenty (20) years ago, and I just really did not want to ride it by myself. For one thing, I could not reach the ground completely, I was on my tiptoes. So, one day we were outside and I don't know what came over me, but I decided to ride his motorcycle. Well, I started down the driveway, I stopped and decided I needed to turn around because I did not want to get on the road. I started turning slowly, and then, all of a sudden, that thing took off like a rocket. Hence the name crotch rocket. It all happened within just a few seconds. There I was, on the ground, still hanging on and giving it gas. I was hooked under the barbed wire fence and wasn't going anywhere.

My husband came down the driveway and turned the motorcycle off and I jumped up. Tore my best pair of jeans, and my leg. My husband turned and walked back to the house and got the 4-wheeler, he was going to pull the motorcycle out from under the fence. Me and all my brilliance said, "if you pull it with the 4-wheeler you are going to tear it up." So we wiggled it out and he took it back to the house. After $500 worth of work on the motorcycle, it was up and running again.

Can you believe this, my husband says, "you want to ride it again?" I said no and told him that if he wanted me to ride, I wanted to take the safety course for motorcyclists. We got the information on the course, and we signed up. That's what I said, we signed up. My husband took the course with me. I also told him that if he wanted me to ride that I wanted a Harley-Davidson motorcycle - - - I thought that would stop the whole motorcycle riding thing right there, but it didn't. He went and bought me one, so I was really obligated to ride then, and we have been riding ever since and we love it. I have had a few spills in the driveway, low speed, first gear (1st time there was a mud puddle & 2nd time there was loose gravel at the end of the driveway), but all in all it has all been good.

I would recommend that anyone wanting to ride motorcycles sign up for the safety course in your area. The course is well worth the money and the time. I received my certificate from the safety course and went immediately and got my endorsement on my driver's license. Have fun and ride safe.