[Motorcycling] 7/14 Update -- Have License Will Travel...

[George Fazio]

OK, so I'll start with the big news for this update.  I am now a licensed 
motorcyclist in the State of Pennsylvania.  They don't tell you what your 
score was, so I have no idea how well I did.  But, I passed the skill 
evaluation and got the permit stamped.  Now I just have to wait for 
the "license addendum" to come (30 to 45 days reportedly).  Doug also passed.

I didn't get much chance to ride during the week.  But, Doug and I were out a 
couple times after the class.  The fun ride was going up to Rehrersburg (I 
think technically it's Bethel) for dinning at Kauffman's.  If you haven't 
been there, they serve up the food cafeteria style - mostly chicken, but you 
can get other stuff too.  It's basically a straight shot North on PA-419.  
After dinner, we came home via PA-183 so Doug could get gas.  It was only 
20-ish miles round trip, but it's a nice ride.

Tomorrow, I'm probably going to get up early to mow the yard, and then head 
over to Classic Harley-Davidson for their open-house.  Whether or not I take 
the bike is still up for debate.  The dent in the tank embarrasses me, and 
it'll be a Honda at a Harley dealer.  I'm just not sure I want the potential 
abuse.  If I was ready to trade the thing in, I'd definitely take it.  But, I 
just don't know what I want yet (and I'd like to at least get some of my 
money out of it).  My current thought process is, if I actually start riding 
into work, to get a Soft-Tail.  Otherwise, I'll probably get a Sportster 1200 
Roadster.  I thought about the Dyna too, but I'm just not digging it.  Maybe 
it'll grow on me in-between now and whenever I'm ready to get a new bike.

Regardless of whether or not I get to Classic's open-house, I'm definitely 
getting out of a good ride.  Not sure where, and I'm not sure that even 
matters.  I just want to get out and ride.  They're calling for PM T-storms, 
so hopefully I can get everything out of the way and get out before that get 
here.

The only thing I should probably keep practicing on a regular basis is braking 
fast.  It was the one thing I struggled with today a little.  Obviously, I 
was doing good enough to pass the test, but I don't feel that I have it down 
well enough yet.  Doug says he needs to practice slow maneuvering.  That was 
the thing I excelled in today at class.  I thought the figure-eight (double 
U-turn as they call it) was one of the easiest things on the course today.  
But, then he didn't have any issues with braking like I did.  So, I guess we 
can kind of coach each other on those points.

Anyway, I've been trying to do these updates on Sunday, but I couldn't contain 
myself to tell everyone (all five people including Doug and me) that I 
passed.  So, next week we'll try for Sunday again.  Hopefully, I'll have some 
interesting stuff to talk about.  I'm taking a "mental health" day (it's 
approved -- no hooky for me) one day this week (probably Thursday based on 
the current weather forcast), and I'm going to get the bike out and go 
somewhere -- maybe multiple somewheres.  The only way I'm going to get better 
is to get out and do it, and that's what I plan on doing.

If you have any "free" time and want to ride, just pick-up the phone and call 
me.  I won't always be available (though chances are in your favor), but I'm 
always up for a ride if I'm free.

George