Moto Broad

Surprise — it didn’t rain! The day was perfect; it was cool and dry, and the course was not mud, after all. Some women were taking the class because, like me, they ride on the street and wanted to get a taste of riding on dirt. One mother brought her teenaged daughter. Several women were trying it out because their husbands rode dirtbikes. And there was one charming 12-year-old with a blond pigtail flapping out the back of her helmet who had no trouble at all ripping through the course; her dad has built a motocross track in their back yard! I have a feeling we’ll be hearing more about little Madison in the near future.

The instructors, Teresa and Paula, were great. Patient, thorough, and realistic. No excessive praise, good constructive criticism. I was surprised how quickly I overcame my clumsy attempts to stand up on the pegs. Once I fully unfurled and found my balance, it became easy. I even shifted without falling over

The last exercise of the day involved riding up a small hill, turning around a cone, and coming back down the hill. From a distance, it looked painless; the hill seemed tiny. Until we walked up it and looked back down. Suddenly, it seemed steep and slippery. We attacked it from two directions. In the first exercise, we rode up the right side, rounded the cone, and turned left down the hill. Hey, not bad! But I always find turning left easier (I think most folks do). Continue Reading »