10 Things I Learned During My First Year On A Motorcycle

Paul Tuff is a grad student from Chapman University who recently started riding motorcycles as an affordable and fun way to get to and from school. As it turns out, Paul discovered that motorcycles are much more than just cheap transportation, and the fun part of riding is just the beginning of an experience that is opening up a whole new world of two-wheeled adventures for him.

As a new rider, Paul wanted other new riders to be aware of some things that he's learned during his first year in the saddle, and also to help them enjoy the experience as he has. Thanks to Paul and our sister site, Moto Intro, for sharing Paul's story with us. We encourage you to visit www.MotoIntro.com for more new rider-oriented features like this.

1. Life Will Never Be the Same
I thought getting a bike would be fun, maybe even awesome. But, truly, there is nothing like riding. The experience invites a sense of infinite possibility. No matter how trivial the destination, riding always feels like an adventure.

2. I Learned To Love My Bike Like a Horse
Motorcycling is a scary, exhilarating experience that bonds a rider to their bike, like a cowboy to their horse, or Han Solo to the Millenium Falcon. I bought my bike thinking of it as a vehicle, but soon it was more like a friend. I even named my bike "Flynn" after Errol Flynn, the cavalier movie star. Every good bike ought to have a name.

3. Every Road Has a Personality
Riders experience the world around them in a way drivers can't. From our handlebars to the saddle, we riders feel the road under us. We learn to respect the subtle differences mile to mile. We learn where the pot holes are or when the asphalt gets smooth on the road home.

4. The Discipline of Being "Present"
Fundamentally, riding a motorcycle requires one to be present with one's surroundings. You can't ever let the adrenaline rush of a good ride distract you from the traffic ahead, but you also can't let the stress of traffic you just rode past distract you from the road ahead. Being in the moment is the surest way to stay alive, and it's also the only way to really soak up everything a ride has to offer.

5. Cars Don't See You
Really, they don't! I was once turning onto a freeway ramp when a hybrid suddenly swerved into my lane. I steered out and dodged it, (thankfully), and then turned to look at the driver. I could see their face, and could tell they were totally shocked to have suddenly found me next to them. But, that's just the way it is. Smart riders understand they are, for the most part, invisible to the average car driver and take necessary precautions.

6. Splitting Lanes Is (Sometimes) a Terrible Idea
Splitting lanes is a controversial subject, especially in California where it is not legal, but neither illegal. As a resident of Los Angeles, I frequently split lanes, but I have to always be sure the conditions are safe and that I'm feeling up to it. If you're not the most mentally acute that day, or everyone around is swerving in and out of the fast lane, do your family a favor and stay in the lane. You'll get there soon enough.

7. Splitting Lanes Is (Sometimes) a Lifesaver
It's always frustrating when traffic suddenly slows down, so it's sometimes simpler to just cut through it. It can also be much easier on your body. Straddle riding through heavy traffic is very tiring when done for ten, twenty, or thirty minutes at a time. If the road is a parking lot and it's legal (or not illegal) to split lanes, save your strength and carefully cruise on.

8. You Can Learn To "Read" the Road
Riders learn to read the road like a person's body language. By paying attention to the flow of traffic, and the conditions that influence motorists to act the way they do, a rider can develop a natural "sixth sense" for traffic and thus be able to handle themselves with grace and ease through otherwise stressful situations.

9. Apparently, Cars Slow Down For No Reason. All. The. Time.
It never fails. Every day on the free way, there's at least one moment when I ride up behind a cluster of about twenty to fifty cars that suddenly slow down to about five or ten miles below the speed limit. And there is no cop to be found for miles! At first I wondered if there was an accident or construction ahead, and sometimes there is, but more often than not there's usually nothing, and I really mean nothing. I don't get it.

10. You're Not Just a Rider. You're Part Of a Family.
Every rider I meet is more than just a casual acquaintance, because we always have one, very personal thing in common. A heart, we are all risk-takers who believe life is too short to play it safe. Though you may only talk about sports or the weather, there is a silent but real bond shared among us, because we know that we share a passion for adventure.