Even the enthusiast with the longest tooth can remember when
and where the passion struck, how they learned, or who taught them to ride. For
me, I was a 5th grader with a best friend whose older brother Jason
had an old 2-stroke Suzuki DS80 dirt bike. It might as well have been the
Millennium Falcon we thought it was so cool. When he fired it up and headed for
the railroad tracks you could hear it through the entire neighborhood. The
sound of that ring-dinger permeating the air triggered a biologically hardwired
alarm in me. An overwhelming, utterly consuming urge to sprint to the source washed
over me. Upon arrival, the plan was to beg relentlessly for a turn until he
could rebuff no more. Wear him down like the wind and the rain I thought. My
plan eventually worked. When asked “if I even knew how to ride” the most
eloquent fabrication of my young life coolly floated out; “duh…” With a leg
over the beast, a harrowing clutch vs throttle trial by fire ensued as my fake
till I make it plan came to fruition. 25 years later, many of which happily
spent in the motorcycle industry I sit in front of my keyboard recalling those
amazing days, and now I ask you; how did you
learn to ride? Share your story, heartache, and triumphs with us on our Facebook
page.
(via Dime City Cycles)