hedii's hope

Welcome to my world. :-)

The sun was shining and it was mid-60's on the island today. Last weekend I passed the new rider's course. This afternoon, I went to the storage unit for the first time since my 45th birthday last month, turned the key and lifted the door.

There she was... faithful and waiting for me. I could almost feel her breathe a sigh of relief. Yes, my sporty is a "she"... she is a part of me. The part of my core that's filled with hope. So shall she be named... hedii's Hope...

She had been sitting there in storage since January 2nd so I wasn't sure if she'd even start. After putting on my gear, I sat down on her gingerly. Then I breathed a sigh of relief. She whispered not to worry... she'd take care of me as I will of her. We are now a team.

Ok. First things first. I sat her upright and pushed up the kickstand. It was a little surprising that her weight wasn't more than I thought it would be compared to the Suzuki I rode in class. The seat was comfortable. The controls were positioned so much better than the little bike. Everything about her was perfect. She felt like home to me.

Ok... here we go...

FINE.

Fuel. Ignition. Neutral. Engine.

Got it. I remembered... *lol*

At first she didn't want to start. At Bounty's forum that morning I had read about sportys and how they might need a little more choke starting cold. That explanation ran through my mind as I pulled the choke all the way out and tried to start her again. Nothing. Just a click. I knew this might be a possibility and had plans to buy a battery tender if she didn't start. She told me to keep trying though, and after a few more attempts, she fired up.

Omg... she sounded so good! And felt even better...

Slowly we backed out of the storage unit. It's a skinny little space and barely fits the width of the bike. Still in neutral I walked her back and straightened her out. We were ready to fly.

The storage manager gave his permission for me to ride his lot anytime to practice. The units are in rows and columns and set up like a maze with twists and turns and two long pieces of slab from end to end. I looked ahead and shifted into first. Then back to neutral and back into first. I tried the brakes and moved a little testing the friction zone.

Wow. What a difference from the class bikes. The shifting was smooth. I didn't hardly have to touch her and she went back and forth in gear. The brakes weren't jerky. The throttle rolled like it was supposed to. No comparison to what I learned on. None.

I smiled. We were going to be fine. I remembered everything from the class and this time, none of it was difficult much to my surprise. It's like a light clicked on and everything worked. Hope was true to her word -- she took good care of me. I will always take care of her.

Spent a good portion of the afternoon riding in circles, practicing shifting up and down, cornering, figure eights, braking and more. Got her up to third on the long section and was able to downshift and brake like I was taught. Still don't feel comfortable looking down at my speed yet. Something to work on.

She made those corners so smooth that the storage manager asked me why I wasn't on the road already with her. He stated, "You don't appear to need the practice." He did admit that I made him a little nervous on the turns with how fast I was going. He asked if I was in third. I told him no, second. The speed I didn't notice. The instructor from my course reinforced over and over again the knowledge that we were to take the curves and corners at a pace we are comfortable with and that's what I did. I never went faster than I thought I could handle. It all felt "right". I never felt like I was going to lose control. She handled wonderfully.

Today, it felt like I have always rode.

Next week I'll be going to the DMV to get my license so we can hit the road. It feels wonderful to finally be home. Hope lives... inside of me. Riding Hope, well... it feels like being free.

***all smiles***