Adventures Don't Have to be Big

Adventures don't have to be big. Take the time to make small adventures every day. Bigger isn't always better.

Where are the small adventures in your own neighborhood? Taking just a little time from our busy day to appreciate the little things and create small adventures can make life more fulfilling.

The Good Life

Graduating class of 2015!

This week I became certified by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation as a RiderCoach. It was a fun, challenging and amazing experience, and I can't wait to teach motorcycle riding and safety to beginners! 

MSF helps people learn to ride a motorcycle, and to do it safely and responsibly. In 2010, before I started riding, I took the Basic Rider Course, and to this day I credit my coaches for creating a fun experience that helped motivate me to make motorcycling an important part of my life.

Now that I'm in a place in my life where I have a lot of flexibility in how I spend my time, I chose to apply to take the course so I can help others enjoy the same experience, and maybe even get them hooked on motorcycling. I told the good folks at Team Arizona I was interested, and when a training opportunity came available, they chose me as a candidate.

The training sometimes felt like boot camp, and not just because it was held on Luke Air Force Base! Nine straight eleven-hour days in the Arizona sun (ok, the first two days it was freaky cool in the mid-80's), classroom work, and some long days on our motorcycles learning training exercises.

"How bad can it be?" you ask? Well, legitimate question. It got a pretty hot (I think we hit 100 a couple of times), I had to pass written, skills and coaching tests, and we were challenged, criticized (constructively, of course), rated and scored. Not everyone passed, and MSF is clearly serious about ensuring that qualified and competent coaches are teaching. Fortunately, I made the grade, but it came with a lot of work and some stress.

My fellow students were mostly military guys (passing the Basic Rider Course is a requirement to ride a motorcycle on base), a couple of retirees, and Kate, my new buddy and the only other woman in the course. It took the guys a few days to get used to us, but they quickly figured out that we weren't there to be cute, and started treating us like one of the gang. I'm sure we never experienced their true potential for vulgarity, jokes and mahem, but I sure appreciated it when they clearly started expecting the same skills and knowledge from us as they did the guys.

We did the training on our own motorcycles, which was interesting and challenging. They young guys rode sport bikes, the old guys rode cruisers, Kate's going to turn her cruiser into a bobber, and I had the only standard naked. It's amazing how bikes match a person's personality. (Not sure what mine says about me - that I like to be naked?).

Most of my 25K miles of riding has been on twisty canyon and back roads, so that's where my strongest skills are. I quickly learned how weak I am on tight maneuvers, and while I improved a lot during the course (thanks to some generous extra time from my instructors), I still have some work to do. One of the things we teach students is that you have to constantly practice your skills, and that remains true no matter how long you've been riding. One guy (who's been riding for 40 years) rode off one of the exercises, claiming that the course was set up wrong and couldn't been done by a novice rider. Unfortunately, the truth was, he just couldn't do the exercise on his bike.

I'm not criticizing though, trust me. I had to demonstrate a tight weave as one of my assignments, and I spent extra hours practicing until I got it right. I wasn't about to be the chick who couldn't ride the exercises, and both Kate and I spent extra time making sure that didn't happen. Yeah, we were over compensating, as some of the guys had trouble, too, and never got them all right. I'm not a "girl power" kind of girl, but I'm pretty proud of us for doing a good job.

At the end of the day, this training wasn't about us, though. The last two days we taught an actual class of real students, four of whom had never been on a motorcycle. The whole class was excited about that, and we all took teaching seriously. The lone female student has dreamed of riding a sport bike since she was a kid, and it was such a pleasure to watch her and the other beginners succeed. I'm proud to say that they all passed the course, and I sincerely hope that they enjoy a lifetime of fun, safe and adventurous motorcycling.

And, that's what it's all about.

Luke Air Force Base

It's really cool to watch the fighter planes take off all day. 'Lil Trip is the closest I'll ever get to operating one of these, but a girl can dream.

A New Adventure Begins

I'm enjoying day 7 of training as a Motorcycle Safety Foundation RiderCoach. About 10 other motorcycle enthusiasts and I, if we pass, will be certified to teach the fundamentals of safe, responsible motorcycling to those who want to learn. On day 3 of the training, I probably wouldn't have described myself as "enjoying" much. It's been 11-12 hour days in the Arizona, most of it outdoors learning skill exercises. We had freaky cool weather the first 2 days (mid-80's 😉) and now we're pushing triple digits.

My fellow trainees are mostly military guys (we're training on Luke Airforce Base, which is super cool in itself), which leaves Kate and I as the lone females. (Don't worry, we're holding our own, thank you very much). So, yeah, I'm spending my days with buff military guys, riding motorcycles. No complaints here. Now that two of the three tests are complete, anyway. (Yes, I passed the first two). This weekend were teaching the class to real students. Yikes. We'll be evaluated on our teaching and coaching skills, and then set loose to talk friction zone, apex, and slow-look-press-and-roll to anyone who will listen. I can't wait.