Mid May I rode my bike to a funeral, it was about a 40 minute ride. I still hadn’t ridden the bike a whole lot, I was under a 1,000 miles. I was in the parking lot trying to maneuver it into a parking spot, when a couple of cars came in by me so I was trying to hurry to get out of their way. I turned the wheel a little too much, and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to hold it up so I set it down. An older gentlemen that was in one of the cars helped me lift the bike up, and his words to me were “wow that’s a heavy bike”. All the way home I kept thinking and wondering did I go to big? When riding I don’t have a problem, it’s just when going extremely slow or from a stopped position that it’s heavy to move around.
My friends were good, they said everyone goes down at some point. It’s just a matter of when. Which is true, I’ve got that behind me now…
This spring the weather really affected my arthritis, that was one of my issues when I set the bike down. I decided to have acupuncture done to see if that would help aliviate any of the pain and stiffness. It’s taken a few sessions, but my wrists are pain free.
Another thing I did was get a personal trainer, knowing that getting my body physically stronger would also help with my confidence and with moving the bike around.
Going on this trip and being on the motorcycle everyday, I know I need to stay physically fit. Sitting all day can cause issues with the back if I don’t do stretches and exercise.
The internet is a great resource to find information right at our fingertips. After I questioned my bike I researched on utube picking up and maneuvering bikes. An article I was reading said to Google Police Rodeos and watch how they maneuver slowly around a course. They say it’s not the size of the bike or the size of the person. It’s learning to control the break, clutch and throttle to work together.
MyIronHorseJourney 