Blue Ridge Beemers

First off, hey everybody, just joined this site (I've heard good things from some friends of mine who are members here).

I am a firefighter in Charlottesville and have recently become interested enough in motorcycles to overcome my fears of riding them. I have always loved them, but in all honesty its also been a "deep end of the pool" kind of thing for me.

In any case, I did have one question, where is a good place to go to try riding one for somebody who has never ridden ever before? Somewhere that can teach the basics, safety information, how to actually ride it, and most importantly (at least from my perspective) let you acutally try one out and see how it fits you.

And, as additional info, do these places (which I assume exist cause people learn somehow) require you to own your own bike? All your own safety gear? Anything else?


Thanks for taking the time to read this, hopefully I'll be out on the open road before I know it.

-Mike

Hey Mickey,

The best way is to sign up for a course held by the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation). They hold state-sponsored courses nationwide. I think the general feeling among experienced riders is that learning from your cousin/friend/whatever isn't the best way because you can learn a lot of bad habits.

Another good way is to ride a dirt bike, if you have the chance. With a bit of coaching you can do a lot of practice on your own before you ever go out on the street.

Mike,

I concur with Anton. A small dirt bike is a great way to learn before riding on the street. The MSF Basic Rider's Course offered through Open Doors:

https://www.opendoors1.org/Albemarle/

Mike,

One other thing. There's a term called All The Gear All The Time (ATGATT). Here's why it's a good idea:

http://www.speedfreakinc.com/content/ar ... queen.html

Thanks for the information, unfortunatly I can't really think of anywhere around here I could ride a dirtbike (There probobly is a place, but can't think of one off the top of my head, no friends with huge tracts of land or anything).

I'll check out the safety courses, as for all the gear all the time, thats no problem, I'm a pretty safe guy, its been pounded into my head all my life (first my mom, then my captain) so if I ultimatly decide that this is for me I'd have all the safety gear, I mean its my life right? No cost is too much.

That said, I would prefer not to have to buy a thousand dollars worth of safety gear before even trying it out, just incase it isn't for me (I've never ridden, no way to know for sure right now).

But I'll talk to the riding schools and take their advice.

Thanks again, I'll be back to let you know how things went.

Looks like the courses are all full (this is pretty common everywhere, not just in Virginia). Once things calm down a bit around here, maybe we can put together a dirt bike day somewhere. I can think of two XR200s and an XR100 we could scrape together.

A BRB Dirt Bike School? I'd be interested, but not on the GS!