I grew up riding mopeds and scooters and motorcycles and loved riding my cycle around campus at UTA and then as part of my workout routine in FortWorth. The wind in your face is a wonderful feeling you can not get in a car and finally in 2004 (after visiting the toys for tots motorcycle rally in downtown FortWorth December 2003 and seeing the 20,000 bikes), I decided to do a motorcycle safety course and get a motorcycle licence before deciding what to do after that.
The Texas RIDER course was what I selected and it was a 2 day course with half a day theory, one day on the bike and finally a test. Having ridden in India, it was easy for me to pass the test, but there was a lot to learn and small tricks that help at the higher speeds you go to in the US.
Some of the things I learned and remember are- Countersteering - steer left to go right! Look where you want to go - at a turning and the use of your front brake more than back brake.
Once I got my licence, I decided that I would first get a second hand bike (my 29th birthday was fast approaching and I needed to wow myself with a fun gift) and take it from there. I then decided on a budget - around 4000$ MAX and started shopping. I saw some bikes that were in the budget, but were LARGE - 1500CC and gas guzzlers - they would give less mileage than my Honda Civic!
I knew I wanted a cruiser and the bikes I was looking at were Hondas/ Yamahas and Suzukis. I was leaning towards suzukis since I had a Suzuki back home, but felt that the Honda Shadows and the Yamaha V Stars looked a lot nicers, and finally found a Honda Shadow 600CC bike that was 2 years old and had 10,000 miles on it for around 3,500$. I rode it back to the delta house and my roomies loved it.
I used Rik's leather jacket a couple of days and then got myself a summer jacket with an insert, a white helmet that was very visible from a distance, gloves and chaps. I was good to go.
I found that riding the bike was VERY relaxing for me and sometimes after a long day at work, I would take the bike out for a spin and it would refresh me.
Things I remembered from the safety class was that 50% of the fatalities in motorcycle accidents are from drunk drivers, so I decided that I would not drink even when I thought I would ride my bike.
I found that I was riding my bike daily and this became a healthier way of life for me :).
I had a log book on when I refuelled, when I lubed the chain, any accessories I bought, and would regularly go on 30-40 mile rides and started loving it.
The longest ride I had done in the first year was to Austin for the biker fest and it was a blast. I also did the toys for tots ride from FortWorth to Arlington December 2004 and enjoyed that as well.
I got a toll tag for the bike and would ride on the George Bush Turnpike and listen to music. Riding alone in the HOV lane was another highlight of owning a bike. Riding to the temple always got a few stares, but since my bike was not a loud noise maker, I didnt care :).
After we got married, Ramya wasn't sure she would like the bike, but after our first short ride to get some splitter cables for the mp3 player, she loved riding BI in the back and we would listen to the same music and communicate via the rear view mirror with thumbs up, thumbs down signals or a tap on my shoulder to stop for a bit.
We went to Oklahoma with Igor on his BMW, we went to small lil towns all around DFW, we even went on a nice long 3 day trip to Lukenback, Fredericksburgh and stopped by Waco to meet a dear (or should I say deer) friend. The ride out was on small back rodes and state highways, we didnt have too much time, so had to take the interstate back, which was not as fun.
Ramya was sad the day we had to sell the bike, but we had some good memories on it.
The Texas RIDER course was what I selected and it was a 2 day course with half a day theory, one day on the bike and finally a test. Having ridden in India, it was easy for me to pass the test, but there was a lot to learn and small tricks that help at the higher speeds you go to in the US.
Some of the things I learned and remember are- Countersteering - steer left to go right! Look where you want to go - at a turning and the use of your front brake more than back brake.
Once I got my licence, I decided that I would first get a second hand bike (my 29th birthday was fast approaching and I needed to wow myself with a fun gift) and take it from there. I then decided on a budget - around 4000$ MAX and started shopping. I saw some bikes that were in the budget, but were LARGE - 1500CC and gas guzzlers - they would give less mileage than my Honda Civic!
I knew I wanted a cruiser and the bikes I was looking at were Hondas/ Yamahas and Suzukis. I was leaning towards suzukis since I had a Suzuki back home, but felt that the Honda Shadows and the Yamaha V Stars looked a lot nicers, and finally found a Honda Shadow 600CC bike that was 2 years old and had 10,000 miles on it for around 3,500$. I rode it back to the delta house and my roomies loved it.
I used Rik's leather jacket a couple of days and then got myself a summer jacket with an insert, a white helmet that was very visible from a distance, gloves and chaps. I was good to go.
I found that riding the bike was VERY relaxing for me and sometimes after a long day at work, I would take the bike out for a spin and it would refresh me.
Things I remembered from the safety class was that 50% of the fatalities in motorcycle accidents are from drunk drivers, so I decided that I would not drink even when I thought I would ride my bike.
I found that I was riding my bike daily and this became a healthier way of life for me :).
I had a log book on when I refuelled, when I lubed the chain, any accessories I bought, and would regularly go on 30-40 mile rides and started loving it.
The longest ride I had done in the first year was to Austin for the biker fest and it was a blast. I also did the toys for tots ride from FortWorth to Arlington December 2004 and enjoyed that as well.
I got a toll tag for the bike and would ride on the George Bush Turnpike and listen to music. Riding alone in the HOV lane was another highlight of owning a bike. Riding to the temple always got a few stares, but since my bike was not a loud noise maker, I didnt care :).
After we got married, Ramya wasn't sure she would like the bike, but after our first short ride to get some splitter cables for the mp3 player, she loved riding BI in the back and we would listen to the same music and communicate via the rear view mirror with thumbs up, thumbs down signals or a tap on my shoulder to stop for a bit.
We went to Oklahoma with Igor on his BMW, we went to small lil towns all around DFW, we even went on a nice long 3 day trip to Lukenback, Fredericksburgh and stopped by Waco to meet a dear (or should I say deer) friend. The ride out was on small back rodes and state highways, we didnt have too much time, so had to take the interstate back, which was not as fun.
Ramya was sad the day we had to sell the bike, but we had some good memories on it.
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