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Learning to Ride at 75

mpp1

Well travelled
Location
Gujarat, India
That's the plan. Going to work on those rights turns from a stop.

I've been checking out the youtube videos on it. What do you think of this one?

This guy is very informative and yes if the safety course is a no-no then def spend a lot of time in the parking lot and take extra time before you put yourself on a busy road with a lot of traffic or one with a higher speed limit.
Gotta say this is one way to get that butterflied in the stomach at your age but more power to you bud just take extra time and try to ride at least once every day if even for a short ride, familiarity will give you confidence.
 

Cpt.Sparkles

Well travelled
I don't think I got up to 70 mph until well over 4000 miles.
I was one back road running SOB though. :sneaky:
It would take me 25 miles to make it to a town 10 miles away so as to avoid 55 or faster roads.

Pretty sure I did my 1st 1000 miles in a parking lot or getting to one.
Got chased out of 3 of them. Shopping center guard totally lost his shit for some reason. (they were closed)
Some other dude was running after me & making threatening gestures, wanting me to approach.
I maintained a perfect 2 car gap but that didn't stop him from trying like hell to catch a motorcycle on foot. What a lunatic.

After I was able to extend my range to 20 miles, I hung out at the DMV and played around in their license testing lot after 5pm.
Surprisingly, no problems ever & there was even a picnic table to rest at.
See if you can find one of those. The lines and cones are all setup.
 

Laserman

Well travelled
Staff member
Location
Yuba City, CA
Tuned over my first 1,000 miles on the bike today. Now I can call myself a seasoned veteran. Right? :)
Hey, congratulations! God willing, many more to come!

I remember when I was a young kid (mind you, you were almost 30, at that time GJC :p ) I was fascinated by the little speedometer/odometers one could get for bicycles. They just started getting digital back then, and every bicycle I had from age 8 on had an odometer of some kind. My high-school bicycle, a Diamond Back Ascent, accumulated 32K miles in 2.5 years. Once I hit 200K miles on these chevrolegs I quit counting lol. That was 25 years ago this year.

A successful mile ridden or driven is always a plus in my book, should that book matter :D
 

Andy131

Well travelled
Location
Manchester UK
Definitely baby steps is the way to go.
Take your time and always ride at your own pace, not just today but every day, we have bought Royal Enfields to enjoy the ride not to race
 

Andy131

Well travelled
Location
Manchester UK
Full face (flip front) helmet so my face is well out of the blast, but your chest is certainly a parachute - then again the wind blast is a big part of the fun.
Naked bike & open face helmet to me says enjoy the cruise, really enjoy the raid acceleration, your not really set up to be a missile.
 

Lost in the 60's

Well travelled
Location
Mobile, Alabama
Full face (flip front) helmet so my face is well out of the blast, but your chest is certainly a parachute - then again the wind blast is a big part of the fun.
Naked bike & open face helmet to me says enjoy the cruise, really enjoy the raid acceleration, your not really set up to be a missile.
I wear a full face helmet but I took the visor off. It gets too stuffy with all this Gulf Coast heat and humidity. I wear glasses, so that's enough eye protection. And I agree the wind blast is part of what motorcycling is all about.
 
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Lost in the 60's

Well travelled
Location
Mobile, Alabama
Took my first out of state ride. Went to Mississippi. But the state line is only about 20 miles from my house. The whole round trip was 46 miles total. I went by way of a back road called "Old Pascagoula Road" and came home via US Highway 90. That way I kept covering the same ground to a minimum. I avoided I-10. The last time I went out that way by car about a week ago there were sections of uneven pavement and grooved pavement associated with a resurfacing job. I'm not ready for that just yet.
 
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Lost in the 60's

Well travelled
Location
Mobile, Alabama
I'm up to 1358 miles now. Took another short ride on the interstate. About 5 miles worth. That's going to take some getting used to. I stayed in the slow lane and held it at 70 on the speedometer which is probably more like a true 65. It's a bit unnerving when one of those big 18 wheelers pulls up along side you. I feel like a flea next to an elephant.
 

Laserman

Well travelled
Staff member
Location
Yuba City, CA
It's a bit unnerving when one of those big 18 wheelers pulls up along side you. I feel like a flea next to an elephant.
Haha yeah, just about every ride on a bike is like that - a rollercoaster ride between feeling insignificant and feeling like you're king of the world! What a rush.
 

Eatmore Mudd

Moderator
Staff member
I'm up to 1358 miles now. Took another short ride on the interstate. About 5 miles worth. That's going to take some getting used to. I stayed in the slow lane and held it at 70 on the speedometer which is probably more like a true 65. It's a bit unnerving when one of those big 18 wheelers pulls up along side you. I feel like a flea next to an elephant.
👍
 

Lost in the 60's

Well travelled
Location
Mobile, Alabama
Took another ride today and put on 22 miles so now I'm up to 1380. I'm getting better at shifting, but still occasionally missing a gear. So far I have been riding in regular jeans and a T-shirt. I know. I don't wanna hear it. The northern Gulf Coast is the heat and humidity capitol of the continental US. That's my excuse and I'm stickin to it. But today I decided to wear an unlined Wrangler jean jacket over my T-shirt. I know, still nowhere near up to standards for protective gear. The temperature when I headed out was 90 degrees with a heat index of 97 and that jacket was miserable. So it's going back into the closet till things cool down. By the time I started out it was 2pm and it appears that labor day weekend traffic was already building up. I was thinking that I might try another short run on the interstate as my route takes me over two interchanges. But when I looked down at I-10 I chickened out. Traffic was at that point where it isn't quite heavy enough to slow anybody down, but still so thick that it is virtually impossible to maintain what I feel is a safe following interval. In other words white knuckle city.
 

DirtFlier

Getting there...
Location
Ohio
I was an MSF instructor for 16 yrs and people who are self-taught are usually missing lots of skills, some of which can help avoid having a serious accident. You should find a way to get to a class somewhere, maybe even in the states?
 

Lost in the 60's

Well travelled
Location
Mobile, Alabama
I now have 1,414 miles on the bike. I did 5 miles today. I had planned on a longer ride but by the time I got 2 miles from home it started to rain like a cow pissing on a flat rock. The forecast had said "scattered showers". This one scattered right on top of me. By the time I found a place to turn around I was totally soaked. And on the way back I got stuck at three lights. One was pretty short. It did that annoying thing of waiting until I had to shift down to first and then it turned green. But the other two caught me right at the beginning of the cycle which seemed to take forever as I sat there with sheets of rain pouring down on me waiting for the light to turn green. By the time I got home it was down to a light drizzle but I was dripping wet. This is I think the third time I've gotten caught in heavy rain. I guess that's par for the course here in Mobile which is the wettest city in the lower 48 with an average of 70 inches of rain per year.
 

Eatmore Mudd

Moderator
Staff member
I now have 1,414 miles on the bike. I did 5 miles today. I had planned on a longer ride but by the time I got 2 miles from home it started to rain like a cow pissing on a flat rock. The forecast had said "scattered showers". This one scattered right on top of me. By the time I found a place to turn around I was totally soaked. And on the way back I got stuck at three lights. One was pretty short. It did that annoying thing of waiting until I had to shift down to first and then it turned green. But the other two caught me right at the beginning of the cycle which seemed to take forever as I sat there with sheets of rain pouring down on me waiting for the light to turn green. By the time I got home it was down to a light drizzle but I was dripping wet. This is I think the third time I've gotten caught in heavy rain. I guess that's par for the course here in Mobile which is the wettest city in the lower 48 with an average of 70 inches of rain per year.
I the book of Genesis when it rained for 40 days and 40 nights Noah called it an apocalypse.
In Seattle we call it January.
 

Lost in the 60's

Well travelled
Location
Mobile, Alabama
I the book of Genesis when it rained for 40 days and 40 nights Noah called it an apocalypse.
In Seattle we call it January.
Seattle has more rainy days than here, but your rain is mostly light drizzle. When it rains here in Mobile it pours. So we end up with a lot more total volume per year.

 

Eatmore Mudd

Moderator
Staff member
Seattle has more rainy days than here, but your rain is mostly light drizzle. When it rains here in Mobile it pours. So we end up with a lot more total volume per year.

Not discounting Mobile at all.
Folks can call it light drizzle but I don't think they ever spent a whole wet season here. It rains a LOT and it's always always COLD.
I should shut up and be grateful it doesn't get Africa hot here.
 
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