What a weekend! I took my motorcycle safety and license course this weekend through The Ranch Harley Davidson. Chris and I absolutely loved going on motorcycle rides. There is something SO calming about feeling the sun on you, the wind in your face, smelling the smells of the great outdoors, and seeing the beautiful sights that just calms the soul. Even a road that would be mundane to travel in a vehicle can be wonderful on a motorcycle. Chris and my favorite short trip was taking 908 to Rockdale and either eating supper at Corona’s or getting a drink at DQ and then enjoying the ride home. Even though we loved the short drive, we traveled to Austin and Houston often on the motorcycle as well. I will never forget how excited I was the first time I got to give the official “motorcyle wave” when we passed another bike on the road.
Chris and I bought our motorcycle together last year, after a lot of research on what type of bike would be best for a 6’ tall passenger like myself, and would meet all of Chris’s requirements. We settled for a Suzuki Boulevard. The particular one we wanted wasn’t in production anymore and there was one new one left in the state, and we were determined to make it happen. It was our first big purchase together as a married couple and was so important to us. Chris named all his vehicles and gave me the honor of naming the new motorcycle. I settled on Stella after almost a week of throwing around different names. The only thing Stella didn’t have was a sissy bar for me. After the dealership looked for over a month and couldn’t find one they advised us to have one custom made. My grandfather Charles was so awesome and welded one custom for us.
I had been planning on taking this class for over a year, and had even started the online portion last year, but never actually signed up to take the class. I wanted to last summer, but just got busy, and the classes that were on weekends I had available filled up too quickly. Fast forward to now, and I am in a situation where I needed to get my license. I have our beautiful Stella, and no way to take her for a ride, plus the registration was due this month. It was time to buckle down and get it done. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous going into it.
I arrived to the class on Friday night at the Harley dealership, in my 12 passenger van Big Betty White, and could see the interest peaked as I walked inside. I told them I was here for the class, and they walked me on back. As I sat down in the class I quickly realized that I am the OLDEST person in the class, the ONLY female, and the only person with ZERO experience. I was intimidated to say the least. Thankfully I passed the written test the first night and would be able to move on to driving the next day. I was still nervous as we started Saturday morning along with freezing cold, but our instructor was so awesome, patient, and safety focused that he made the class fly by. I finished the first day of actual driving feeling confident and excited, and honestly surprised by my skills, plus I managed the cold by driving in my ski pants which was a sight. The last day of class we finished up skills and took the final riding evaluation. I was SO nervous, especially about u-turns, because they were the most difficult for me during the training. I was so fearful of screwing it up, and fearful of failing, but Fear is a Liar. I PASSED!!
This was such a great experience and truly an empowering moment for me. It reminded me that I CAN do this. It might not be easy, I might have a learning curve, but I can continue to enjoy the ride, even if it’s alone, and be the tattooed motorcycle mamma I love being!
Fear is a Liar 
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