Bike Down!!

Parking Lot Practice? Who Me?
By Rick Ford, CA-1F

Hi All, Some of you may know me, and for those that don’t, I’m Rick Ford, the CA-1F Newsletter Editor. I am also a dedicated Gold Wing rider. I have been riding motorcycles for many, many years, so when I bought my first wing I thought no problem! Just another bike just a little bigger. Then I was invited to a chapter F dinner ride by a winger that had stopped to see if I needed some help. You see, I was sitting on the side of the road, broke down on my new wing, so I went and I was hooked. One of the things that I heard about at the meeting was the Parking Lot Practices, our chapter educator was telling everyone to come on out.

Well, being a little, how should I put this, self-centered, overconfident and yes, cocky! I thought to myself, I don’t need to spend my Saturday practicing, “Hell, I’m a great rider, been on motorcycles all my life”. The sad fact is that I kept telling myself that every time a parking lot practice came and went.

I log 1000 plus miles per week, not counting fun rides on weekends and holidays. That’s a lot of riding, so again I asked myself “why practice?” It’s funny how thing work out, just happens that one of the San Diego Gold Angel Drill Team members stood up at one of the meetings and invited everyone to come out and see them practice and even try out if you wanted. Well here goes that ego again. I thought, what the heck I could do that! So I went out on a Sunday just to see what it was all about.

To my surprise it looked like a parking lot practice, just a bunch of guys riding their bikes really slow through a funny looking obstacle course. Hey this should be a piece of cake! So I tried out for the team. I did the snake and the u-turns and the tight turns and a bunch of things I don’t even know the name of. We went from the Experienced Riders Course to the Top Gun Course. I am here to tell you that anyone can ride a bike fast, but I am living proof that not just anyone can ride a bike slow!

I’m not sure how many times Gunny (Dan Klukas), the Drill Instructor, yelled at me or told me to try it again, take a break, quit looking down, pick your head up, look at me, not the ground or even how many times I found myself picking up my pride and joy (wing) off the payment. Oh yea! Mister ego, I’m a great rider, dropped his bike more that once. Gunny taught me one thing and one thing well. I DON’T KNOW SH____T!! about riding a Goldwing. It may look easy and even seem easy, but to truly become a good rider it takes practice! And not just running around the streets or going to a motorcycle safety course once. I mean true dedication to riding safe, knowing how to handle an 800 lb bike in a slow turn or being able to swerve to miss an obstacle in the road, wearing protective clothing even when it’s hot and sometimes uncomfortable, and the comfort of knowing that the guy riding next to you also knows what he is doing.

Our motto of friends for fun, safety & knowledge is not just a motto or slogan, it is something that all of us have to practice and take to heart not just say! It really is true that my safety is your responsibility. I’ll probably never become a great rider, not like Gunny or Bulldog, our team Captain, but with a lot of practice and the help of a great instructor I hope to become a good and safe rider, and that is what counts! So the next time you see a PLP on the schedule, tell yourself I can make time for that, believe me, it can and will make a difference.

Rick “Wine Maker” Ford