Alyssa’s Adventures in the Mitten I LEARNED TO RIDE!
by Alyssa Locke
This month’s adventure was getting my motorcycle endorsement. It is something I hadn’t given a lot of thought to until the last year or so. Seeing other ladies out on the road, riding their own motorcycles, made me think: “I can do that!” Although I also love being a passenger and not having to do a thing but take in the beautiful scenery, I chose to take the class at Grand Rapids Harley-Davidson. It is a three-day course that consists of part classroom/ part range-riding. But first, you have to complete and pass an online e-course so you know the basics of riding a motorcycle. Although that is pretty much what you can expect for most motorcycle-instructional class curriculums, my surprise was how dedicated the Leonard family was at teaching us. My coaches were Russ and Bill Leonard, along with some help from Russ’s wife Jody and their son. They spend a lot of their weekends coaching and teaching students about learning the proper ways of riding. I have to admit I was nervous about taking the class, not having really any motorcycle driving experience. There were ten of us in the class—mostly guys who already had riding experience and the rest of us were girls with none. I quickly learned to be confident in all the exercises I was taught and to appreciate the patience that the coaches have! The range driving prepares you for your exam at the end of class. You practice over and over and get guidance from your coaches on what you did right or wrong and you get chances to correct it. They teach you to be a safe driver and how to handle situations that could arise suddenly. They really care about you being safe out on the road. The coaches also shared personal experiences with us and a lot of great advice. Unfortunately, some students struggled along the way and did not pass—but they were close. I’m happy to say I passed both range and written tests and now have my motorcycle endorsement! And I am glad it’s over! Since the classes were held during the last week of April, the mornings were freezing—27 degrees one morning! Brrr! I highly recommend learning to ride at GRHD Riding Academy with the Leonard family. It was a great experience overall and I plan to spend the summer getting more driving experience because as of last night I purchased my first Harley-Davidson motorcycle! See you out on the road!
16 JUNE 2018 THUNDER ROADS MAGAZINE MICHIGAN
www.THUNDERROADSMICHIGAN.COM
