My first bike was a Yamaha V-Star 1100. I bought it with cash from the sale of a house. I was so nervous about riding (NEVER rode before) that I had them put the bike on a trailer for me. When I Got it home I sat beside the trailer for a good 2 or 3 HOURS trying to get up the courage to back it off. It took me an hour of sitting on the bike, getting almost to the ramp, pushing the bike forward again (I can just imagine what the neighbors were thinking...perhaps drinking a beer or three while watching) before I could complete the task.
After pushing the bike into the garage I looked at it for another 1/2 hour or so before backing it out and going for a tentative ride around the parking lot of the apartment complex. See, I had the MSF class scheduled for the next week and had to RIDE it to the class!
I think my job as an H-60 flight mechanic helped me a great deal. My job involves using leverage to maneuver two soaking wet people on the end of a hoist dangling outside the helicopter door to the inside of the cabin. This is something I have never been able to do using strength alone. Never happen.
Learning to ride a motorcycle took similar mental preparation. Knowing I didn't have to dead lift the 650 lbs of bike helped too.
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