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* First, warm up the bike. THEN put on the gear.
* Gloves go on last and come off first. You can't remove a helmet while wearing motorcycle gloves, no matter how hard you try.
* The bangs have GOT to go. I don't care if I look better with them; they're just not helmet-friendly.
* High cartilage piercings are not compatible with full-face helmets. Studs work better than hoops.
* Riding laps around one's parking lot is a good thing. Yea and verily, even if you're on your five hundredth lap of the morning.
* Riding laps around one's parking lot first thing in the morning is better than coffee.
* You don't want to shift without holding the clutch in. No, you REALLY don't.
* Morning rush hour is not the time to practice shifting on West Peachtree Street.
* It's kinda hard to see through a face shield once you've hyperventilated and fogged it all up.
* Sometimes, when you've hit the limit of your skills and the traffic is on the heavy side, it's easier to walk a bike half a block home than it is to ride it.
* There is no such thing as a "light" sportbike - no, not even a 250 - when you're pushing it uphill.
* Surly-looking characters will suddenly become much nicer, and even helpful, when you explain that you're a new rider. If you're lucky, they'll even help you push your bike uphill.
* If you need easy access to something while you're on your bike... do NOT put it in your knapsack.
* Don't put it in that long, deep pocket of your jacket that goes all the way down to your waist, either.
* And remember that you can't do anything while wearing motorcycle gloves, other than ride a motorcycle.
* When you've put on a helmet over wet hair, you'll want to have a baseball cap handy when you take it off.
* When you've spent $350 on a riding coat, you WILL pull out the lining and wear it as a jacket, so as to maximize your investment. It also helps keep that happy glow intact while you're driving to work in your car.
* Pulling your car out of the same parking spot you've had for the last three years is suddenly a radically new and far more frightening experience, when your brand-new bike is parked next to it.
* A day with a motorcycle of your very own in it -- even when you don't really know how to ride yet -- is infinitely preferable to a day without. Even if you're getting a tooth pulled later that day. :)
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