Thursday, May 11, 2023 Motorcycle Mama

I’ve spent my whole life not having the experience of being on a motorcycle and I’ve always considered that to be the best default position to take. I’ve never watched someone on a motorcycle and thought, “Yes, that’s the thing I want to do someday.” It’s not been on my bucket list unless you consider it being on my bucket list to keep away from motorcycles for the rest of my life.

Then my husband bought a motorcycle. That took some getting used to all by itself. But then he started hinting that he’d like me to try riding with him as a passenger. Inwardly I said, “NOPE.” Outwardly I also said, “Nope,” but not with all capitals, so as to soften it. Nevertheless, he persisted. I realized that it was really important to him that I give it a chance, so “nope” became “okay, if it means that much to you.” Then came the fateful day that he enrolled the two of us in an advanced motorcycle class with the goal of him learning how to ride with a passenger and of course me learning how to be a passenger. I marked the day on my calendar and devoted some time to both dreading it and praying for peace about it. I’ve been at this crossroads between fear and faith before. When you pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there be any hurtful way in me and lead me in the everlasting way,” you better know that the Lord is going to do just that. (It’s not my prayer, by the way, it was written by King David.)

Yesterday was the big day! That’s a spoiler since now you know that I did, in fact, survive the class. We had a cheerful instructor named Jed who said in all his years of teaching, he’d never before had someone in his class that had never even been on a motorcycle. Nice to know that I’m breaking new ground in more ways than one. Also I was the only one there as a passenger, I was the only woman in the class and the oldest person. Yay for me!

Here’s how I thought the class was going to go: I’d get on the back of the motorcycle and we’d ride back and forth in a nice straight line making the gentlest of possible turns to come back around. Ha ha ha ha ha!!! What was I thinking? Instead, we did “S” turns, “U” turns, swerves, weaving in and out of markers on the pavement, hard stops, leaning turns (Lord, help!), etc. I did a lot of praying. Each time some new maneuver got explained it sounded like we’d be taking our very lives in our hands to try it so I’d try to back out, but my patient and gracious husband continued to encourage me to keep on with the experience since the whole reason we were there was so he could learn how to do all those things with a passenger.

I’ll be honest: it was a rather stressful experience. I’ll be honest again: I’m glad I did it. When I explained to the class afterward that it had been a big deal to me and I’d had to face my fears, one of the other students, a fellow closer to our age said, “And who better to face them with than your husband?” Who, indeed?

I’ll probably lean into the curve on this one in the morning.