Take a Motorcycle Riding Class
I was hesitant to write this up because I wasn’t sure if I was going to go back and try again, but I think I decided that, no, it really wasn’t for me. My dad was really into motorcycles and had wanted one for his entire life. However, my mom put her foot down and said NO. He had four kids and she knew enough people that had injured themselves on motorcycles. Not only that, but from childhood, my dad had the nickname Danger Dave.
After my mom died in 2018, my dad decided he was going to live life to the fullest; even if the fullest was a bit reckless at times. Road trips, skydiving, and yes, getting a motorcycle. He would go out for rides on nice days and even did a few long trips with my aunt and uncle and their friends.
After he died in 2021, I decided I wanted to learn how to ride as well so I could experience what he felt. Maybe I would even go on my own trip.
I spent years looking at various classes, a lot of them were on weekdays or days that conflicted with races I’d signed up for. Finally, I found a Saturday/Sunday that I was free, so I signed up. The place was just a couple miles from my house and by the end of it, you would be able to have your motorcycle endorsement on your license.
Prior to the class, you had to complete several safety videos, which made me realize just how much goes into riding a motorcycle. I always give huge berth to motorcycle riders because there are so many in Florida, but I have seen more than enough bad riders who take unnecessary risks. As a major rule follower, I knew that wouldn’t be me.
I showed up to the class bright and early and met the other people in the class. Out of the ten people in the class, I was one of two people who had never been on a bike before. So it was me and another lady who were learning from scratch; everyone else was very experienced, but wanted to become “legal” and have their endorsement. Some had been riding their entire lives, so the class was a nothing to them.
We were assigned bikes and I was quickly a hot mess on two wheels. As you may or may not remember, I struggled an insane amount learning how to drive stick shift. Remembering to shift up and down and around and keep track of everything was awful. I stalled so many times. I wiped out and ended up with some bruising. I was struggling. I needed more practice time than the instructor was allowing.
The program is designed to take you through skills that you need as a rider, but our actual time on the bike was much less than it should have been. Because the vast majority of people were already good riders, the instructor considered the practice portion done much quicker than it should have. Between sections, he was endlessly talking about conspiracy theories, politics (that were not my beliefs and said straight up falsehoods), and generally just being a giant asshole that bragged about getting settlements from drivers out on the road.
By the end of the day, I was frustrated and crying. I felt worse about motorcycle riding than I had when I first got on the bike. 80% of the class time was waiting around, listening to the endless shitty chatter of the instructor, and reading the manual. The real thing I needed was to LEARN to ride a motorcycle, but I didn’t get that at all.
When I got home, I realized I did NOT want to go back the next day. I showed up the next morning and told the instructor and his assistant that I didn’t think the class was for me and I was withdrawing myself from it because I wasn’t even close to the level I needed to be at to complete any of the day two riding and skills. The assistant was really nice and caring, but the instructor didn’t give a fuck.
Sadly not a good experience, but an experience nonetheless
