Lively Women

KK’s Live Healthy Journal: 7 Things Learning to Ride a Motorcycle Taught Me About Myself

by Kristen King on July 18th, 2008

I’m writing this post while in the air over central California, on my way to a conference in San Francisco. I’ll be blogging about the conference at www.inkthinkerblog.com and tweeting about it, too! Follow me for updates. We’re beginning our initial descent and we have only 123 miles to go! At 531 mph, we should be there in no time at all.

I’m a worrier. I’ve always been a worrier. I remember getting sick when I was about 10 years old and missing a week of school, and by the time I was well I had convinced myself that if I went back to school, my parents would die because I wasn’t home to make sure they were alive. For years after my brother died back in March of 2003, until recently in fact, every time two or more people I cared about were in a car together, I was convinced that they would die in a fiery crash. I see I child running and I envision him falling. I see a man eating a hot dog and I envision him choking. I worry about EVERYTHING.

So you can imagine how thrilled I was when my husband started riding motorcycles. Are you imagining it? Okay, take what you’re imagining and kick it up about a billion notches and that’s where I was the first time my husband left to go for a ride after taking a motorcycle class. I was convinced that I would never see him again. I actually had a panic attack and would have collapsed had he not grabbed me because I was hyperventilating.

Now, before I go on, I need to point out that I’m not usually that freaked out about worrying. It’s something I do all the time, so I’m used to it, as strange as that sounds. It’s kind of a downer, but I don’t generally have violent physical reactions to worry. That was decidedly an exception to the rule.

He was finally able to leave the house when we agreed that I would follow him and his riding buddy (who fortunately was a family member familiar with my, shall we say, idiosyncrasies) in the car while they took their ride. By the end, after the blood flow had returned to my hands, which were aching at that point because I was gripping the steering wheel so tightly, I was able to see how good my husband is at riding his bike, and how much he loves it. I was able to get a handle on my fear and, for the most part, let it go.

I even managed to ride with him from time to time. I learned that I like Harleys. I started watching American Chopper even when Jesse wasn’t home. But after he got his Ducati, one ride was enough to know I would never get on THAT thing again! What seemed comfortable and cool while it was on a stand in the garage was terrifying on the road. I seriously almost threw up in my helmet, I was so sure I was about to be thrown from the bike at any moment. I almost made Jesse leave me on the side of the road and come back for me with the car. So it wasn’t exactly at the top of my list of things to do to learn how to ride a motorcycle myself.

Because he thought it was really important that I confront my fear, and I reluctantly agreed, Jesse enrolled me in a motorcycle safety course at the community college. Three days, three hours of classroom time, 10 hours of ride time, and a motorcycle license if you pass the test at the end.

Well color me surprised, because after all those years of worrying, it turns out that I’m quite the little natural when it comes to riding a motorcycle! I picked it up quickly, and I was darn good. I got 100% on the written test and passed the driving test with a 92%. Who’d a thunk? And during the process, I learned a whole lot more than just how to find and label the primary and secondary controls on a standard American bike and how to perform U-turns in confined spaces. I learned a lot about myself, too.

1. The more water I drink, the more powerful I feel. That one sounds a little silly, but I noticed a major correlation between how much water I consumed between exercised and how strong and in-control I felt on the bike. I felt refreshed and alive, vibrant even. I downed at least two full Nalgene bottles each morning, and I have been pounding the water ever since, with a major increase in my energy level.
2. My body is capable of amazing things. In 30 minutes of riding around in a circle, I developed muscle memory that allowed me to stop on a time several hours later using skills I hadn’t touched since the early morning without even thinking about it. I focused on the movement, told myself I would remember it, and did, on the first try.
3. When I stop overthinking, my instincts kick in. Another rider stopped short in front of me and I simultaneously slowed, downshifted, and steered around the other bike without panicking. And then I stopped and I still wasn’t panicked. I was proud of myself for doing it.
4. The less I compare myself to others, the better I feel about what I’m doing–and the better I do it. Going into the class, My goal was to learn how to operate a bike and be able to get on, get off, and stop without dropping it. I wasn’t trying to be the best, to be the fastest, to do anything other than learn something. I just focused on myself and I ended up learning just as much from watching the other riders objectively as I did from listening to the instructors.
5. Things that seem scary can actually turn out to be really fun. I honestly don’t remember the last time I had more fun doing something I absolutely positively did not want to do. I didn’t sleep the whole night before because I was so freaked about it, but at the end of the first day, I didn’t want to go home. Same with the second and third days.
6. Even the worst case scenario isn’t that bad most of the time, and chances are, I can handle it. The worst thing that could possibly have happened during the class was crashing or dropping the bike. And although I didn’t crash, I did stall going up a hill, and in my efforts to push the bike out of the path of oncoming traffic after I couldn’t get it to restart, it crashed to the ground. Despite my best efforts, it was just too heavy for me to pick it back up. Emotionally, I was crushed. But one of the instructors came over and showed me what to do, restarted it (with some effort, to my relief–it wasn’t just me), and after making sure I wasn’t hurt, sent me on my way. I was shaken, but…
7. Picking yourself back up after a failure means it’s not really a failure. After a few more exercises, I had my confidence back and I reconquered that same stall-inducing challenge later in the day. I felt like I could conquer the world. And I was also relieved to know what to do if my bike ever fell over. :)

All in all, taking that motorcycle class is one of the best things I think I have ever done. Although my husband did come at the end of the last day to take some video of me, which I will upload once I get back from San Francisco, I went alone and didn’t know anyone in the class. I did it. I did it myself. And I have never, ever been so proud of myself. I conquered my fear, and I’m even excited about riding now. With gas prices the way they are, we might pick up a used bike for me to use for small errands and local meetings and the like instead of firing up the Honda Pilot.

And plus, I read an article in National Geographic Explorer at the doctor’s office the other day that said that learning new things, particularly challenging things that use strategic and problem-solving skills develop new areas of your brain and improve your survival abilities and stress-management skills, so that’s an added bonus.

Weight: Couldn’t tell ya
Goal Weight: 121 lbs.
Workout: Running through the airport today, chasing the dogs to give them flea and tick treatment this morning
Meals: Luna Bar, Yogurt Parfait, Hummus and Veggies with Pita

Tags: womens health blog, womens health, women, woman, health, learning to ride a motorcycle, motorcycle safety course, biker chick, trying new things, outside your comfort zone, classes to take with your partner, personal growth, real weight loss stories, inspiration, lively women, kristen king

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