Learning From A Pro

A behind the scenes look at my training with Robert Simmons of Be The Boss Of Your Motorcycle.

Have you ever felt afraid to ride a motorcycle or unsure about your skills?
I’ve been there too, and I want to share with you what worked for me.

I started as a hesitant passenger and now I ride my own touring motorcycle with confidence.

To give you a sense of where I’m coming from, I grew up in a family where motorcycles were strictly off-limits—seen as dangerous and not something you’d ever consider doing. For most of my life, I never even entertained the thought of riding one.

My biggest fear when I started riding my own motorcycle was not being able to handle it on the road and having something catastrophic happen. And, I thought it was going to take a long time to learn to ride well enough to ride anywhere with my husband.

Once I had my MSF endorsement, I was street legal, but the street was the LAST place you would find me on my motorcycle. At least not for the next 1,000 miles. I had just gone from not knowing how to turn a motorcycle ON to being “street legal”.

At the same time, Mike had introduced me to a couple of YouTube channels that taught how to operate a motorcycle. I saw a woman who was 4’10” riding a H-D road king and I was so inspired…there had to be a technique to what she was doing… she couldn’t even touch the ground. I wanted to ride like her!

Then there was this channel called Be The Boss Of Your Motorcycle. The channel name alone really resonated with me. I wanted to Be The Boss Of My Motorcycle! And the host, Robert Simmons, was a retired highway patrol lieutenant from NYC! Bingo! I had found my moto-mentor on YouTube!

I was coming from a place of not wanting to die on a motorcycle. My first priority was to learn from an expert so I could avoid building bad habits from the start.

I started integrating the steps Robert taught into my practice drills that my MSF coach had given me. That’s when I found my confidence increasing… to my amazement, these steps actually made doing the exercises much easier and I felt more in control. This reinforced my belief that I could actually learn how to ride with confidence.

These small wins kept me going, and they’ll keep you going too.

My motorcycle fear and anxiety were being replace with confidence and poise. Well, I was a long way from poise, but I was on the right track.

Once I realized that practicing slow-speed drills was the pathway to riding like that 4'10" woman and I learned that only 2% of riders rode with that level of skill, I wanted to demonstrate that it’s not as difficult as you might think. It can be learned. It’s accessible and fun. And, it will enhance whatever enjoyment you presently get from riding 1000-fold!

Don’t let fear hold you back—start with one small practice session, and see how it changes your perspective. It will take consistency to really build these techniques into your riding habits. But I can promise you this, it’ll be worth it! Especially if you are hesitant and feeling stuck.

Thank you for reading & watching. I’m excited to share more tips and content focused on fearing your motorcycle less and enjoying the experience of riding more in upcoming videos.

Practice with Purpose so you can Ride with Confidence!

CHAPTERS
00:00 April 8, 2023 My MSF Course
00:15 April 13, 2023 My 1st Time on My Own Motorcycle
00:37 July 2023 - Be The Boss Practice Session #78 @BeTheBossOfYourMotorcycle
01:31 November 2023 - Be The Boss Practice Session #87 @BeTheBossOfYourMotorcycle
01:43 February 2024 - Sebastian Practice Session #27 @OwnThe24
02:19 July 2024 - Be The Boss Practice Session #101 @BeTheBossOfYourMotorcycle
02:22 September 2024 - Be The Boss Practice Session #116 @BeTheBossOfYourMotorcycle
02:42 April 2024 - Be The Boss Practice Session #96 @BeTheBossOfYourMotorcycle