First bike, first ride!

[altagirl]

I got my new bike on Friday! :yeehaw:

I bought an '02 DRZ250 and my husband got an '03 WR250. So Saturday morning we went out for my first day ever. The whole shifting thing seemed pretty weird and the first little while was more "ACK! What hand/foot whatever does what" than anything else, but I had a great time playing around. It's starting to feel more natural and I can't wait until it all works without having to think about everything so much. We went out again yesterday morning to an area that had actual trails and stuff and had a lot of fun. Definitely a lot of new things to work on - like controlling my right hand so the throttle isn't reacting to every bump and turn. The bike seems pretty easy to handle (compared to what I have no idea...) and things didn't get "out of hand" :) - well except for an incident where I was already at a complete stop and put my foot down with a light barely touching toe (like I would on a mountain bike) and flopped right over before I realized what I did. Oops. :eek: Well, at least I know I have no trouble picking it back up... I'm sure I'll get plenty of practice with that!

Yesterday I tried out Craig's WR250, which was really nice, but I think my bike will be plenty for me at this point.

My bank account is now crying, but it was a really fun weekend and I can't wait to get out again!

Any tips on things I should work on as a new rider? I've basically just been working on shifting, stopping, standing up on the pegs over bumpier terrain and gripping the bike with my legs to help steer and stay stable, and trying to keep the throttle movement independent of bumps in the terrain or whatever else I'm doing (which seems pretty tough at the moment). I'm tempted to work on cornering faster and stuff, but figure that the shifting and throttle control are more important at first. Any advice?

Hopefully I'll have some pictures later on this week!

 

[GETMETOCA]

Awesome!!!  Here's a link to Girlrider's Tips from the Oregon Off-Road School she held last year - Practice Practice!

http://www.girlrider.net/articles/oregonschool.htm

My first ride ever was on the fireroad at Carnegie and I remember having great difficulty when I needed to turn around and come back.  My friends made me try figure 8's in the parking lot, but mine were so WIDE :(   All a good memory anyway!

 

[bbbom]

Woohoo! Your first Stop N Flop! I only do those when there's a large audience. Usually with lots of kids so they can fall over laughing at me.

Natalie, it seemed to take me forever to learn to turn around on a fire road - the whole concept just seemed to elude me for about the first year.

 

[4EverOrange]

I am happy if I get through the day with only 1 bone head falls. :) I swear I have more scratches on my bike from those stupid things than anything else. Which is why hubby wants to lower my bike.

Congrats on the new bike!! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. One thing I can say, is don't give up. There will be times that you hate the bike, and maybe hate your hubby just as much as the bike for talking you into doing something so insane. :) It will get easier, but not overnight. It takes time. But in the end all the tantrums, crying fits, and rages, will be well worth it!!!!

 

[altagirl]

I've never outgrown stupid falls in mountain biking or skiing, so I'm sure they'll keep happening no matter what I'm doing - I guess at least there's never a question of whether body armor is a good investment for me!

And at least my husband has already seen me having a fit over mountain biking (usually when I get mechanical problems after several hours of climbing uphill in the blazing sun, at which point I'm typically yelling something about never doing this %!#@! trail again and I'm about ready to toss the bike over a cliff) - so he knows what to expect.... ;)

 

[bbbom]

Originally posted by altagirl
I'm typically yelling something about never doing this %!#@! trail again and I'm about ready to toss the bike over a cliff) - so he knows what to expect.... ;)

:scream: :think: Hey! That's my typical tirade on dirtbikes after I've stalled out on the goat trail from hell for the hundreth time and Karl is telling me I need to speed up because his bike is overheating! :thumb:

Sounds like you are quite prepared for a lifetime of dirtsquirting fun! :aj:

 

[Michelle]

I take it you've got a camelback or some other rehydration system?

I can't believe how many women have these fits at the side of the trail, I thought it was just me (no one I know does it & the guys look at me like I've come from another planet & wait for me to calm down - I'm getting better, I now just curse myself for having stuffed up again & actually graciously accept help - gracious for me that is hehehe).

Turning on fire roads still eludes me, I look for the widest place I can turn around in & often hop off the bike to turn - must be psychological, will have to work on that.

One bonehead fall? I wish. Actually it depends where I'm riding. Our usual forest I'm forever doing bonehead things, but the trickier rides I'm better, just end up cross-rutted or something else dumb.

Good on ya Alta on your first ride/bike & welcome to the club :) Has it got electric start? When you go out to practice something, just concentrate on that until it comes naturally, then move on. Check out Cindy's web pages for tips for beginners:
http://cindygross.tripod.com/dirtbike.htm

 

[altagirl]

Yep - it's electric start, which is really nice. As far as rehydration goes - I have a 100oz. camelbak that also carries my first aid kit and tools when we mountain bike - I'm still figuring out what will be going into it for longer motorcycle rides. So far we haven't been going that far from the truck to have to worry.

Thanks for the various websites with tips for beginners! Plenty of stuff to keep me busy for a while.

 

[firecracker22]

Congrats, sounds like you're doing awesome. Just relax and have fun!

As for trailside tantrums, YES INDEED, I have thrown a few of those. :eek:

 

[CJ Rider]

I feel some "new bike psych" happenin' in here; SWEET!!!

 

[dirty~d~]

Trail tantrums? Can't say that I've had one of those, but I HAVE spouted poetry that would make a sailor blush. :confused: