RideTaleWyatt FossettJune 14, 20173 Comments

RT001 - Check the Choke

RideTaleWyatt FossettJune 14, 20173 Comments

Ready Player One

This is it friends. After years--as long as I can remember, actually--of contemplating, and observing motorcycle culture, I've decided to embark on a huge adventure.

Part of my life, and my career as a writer, is stalling. Pun only slightly intended. My mind is a storm and I've been trying to quench the thirst of the thunder, while not killing the lightning. A game I've been losing as of late. So I've been taking more time away from a keyboard. Nearly every chance I get to disconnect from that, and ingest or converse rather than create. But I need it. I have to find those flowers again, and hopefully never stop smelling them.

Ever since I was a little kid, I froze in place when I heard the roar of a motorcycle engine. I would stare, and flip through motorcycle magazines at the grocery store. I looked up to people I knew that rode. My grandfather's bike, sitting in his garage, was a shrine that I would find myself kneeling in front of--sometimes without even noticing I had drifted into the garage.

As someone who has never liked passenger vehicles, and has closely listened--enamored by the tales--to countless stories regarding the birth of freedom and clarity, it is time for me to ascend beyond the bystander role.

Two Wheels, Two Reasons

There are two very distinct reasons why the idea of starting this chapter of my life is alluring.

Community is everything here. That's a phrase used a lot in circles around the globe. Industries, and companies the world over claim to be inclusive, and I have no disillusion that motorcycle enthusiasts are "pure", but I have yet to see blatant disrespect between two motorcyclists for anything that has to do with their shared passion.

The support between enthusiasts and riders is insanely prevalent. No matter what you ride, and why you do it.

Solace and Peace of mind is something I strive for. A life-long over-thinker, and stress-case, I have an addictive personality that I've stifled (on purpose) since I was a teenager. The abuse of substances, and anti-sobriety have led to strict constraints on that part of my native self.

Already in my study, I've found that my creative mind is blooming, because it's not fighting with my obsessive mentality to own the majority of my power. Here is something that I come into knowing very little. I have endless amounts to learn, and so much to consider and tinker with. Completely engulfing the overwhelming part of my mind. It's working.

Life Astride

I've been studying like mad. Reading nearly any type of paper or literature on the subjects of riding, being safe, and functional breakdowns of motorcycles, their parts, and their engines. Culture is a big part of that too. Learning what to keep my eyes out for. What to avoid. Who not to talk to, and how not to act.

All of that goes the same for video study. Watching mechanic shows, motovlogs, and documentaries on the subject with a wide-spread viewing angle has helped me feel extremely prepared sitting at the starting line to this self-paced race for clarity.

Last week (Friday the 9th of June 2017) I took my motorcycle license knowledge test at the ICBC office in Kerrisdale Vancouver, and passed. I studied my ass off, and read the handbook front to back twice in the few days leading up to my exam, so it's possible I wasn't as surprised with my flawless outcome. Even though my "test anxiety" was set to full, I managed to squeeze my way through it. And have to pay respects to my partner, whom filled my head with positivity, and continues to encourage my adventure/learning with faultless expressions of confidence. I really wouldn't be able to do any of this with the sincerity I have been, without her support.

This week, I start my private motorcycle riding lessons. Destined for the full license by the beginning of the summer months, and eying at least a few solid months of riding this year.

Yesterday (June 13th) I both gathered my starter gear--look for a post about that on the Bike/Gear page--and attended a very awesome event held in Vancouver.

There's a ton ahead of me. I'm thirty percent terrified, and seventy percent excited. But I'm one-hundred percent in.