New biker, new bike, new member, etc

[sneakercat]

Hello-

Just bought a 2004 GZ250 a few days ago- it's my first bike. After a few early mishaps (stupid me, ran the battery down adjusting the rear brake light when I adjusted the pedal- went to go for a ride afterward- no juice! No juice= no ride!) I took my bike out this AM for her first ride. I'm in the Burlington, VT area, so this was no mean feat- it was a brisk 28 degrees out! Got a bit of frostnip on a finger (I thought my leather gloves would be warmer than they are), but otherwise the gear I had was great for the cold. Spent about an hour in an abandoned commuter parking lot. Practiced the turns, swerves, etc that I learned in the MSF class last year and haven't had a chance to do yet since I didn't have a bike then- and generally introduced myself to my new bike and vice versa. Now that it's the heat of the day and hitting the mid-40's temps, I took her out again and played another hour with the cages out and about and felt okay- cautious, cognizant of my utter lack of experience, but in general on the right track. Need more practice, practice, practice!

I was looking at getting a VStar 650 as my first bike, and the instructor at the MSF course flatly informed me I wasn't ready for it. Remind me to write that guy a thank you note. I think that, right now, a ~330lb, 250cc bike is right on the money for me to safely learn on. I can buy the bigger bike next year if I want. This year is for learning, and hopefully not killing myself in the process.

Glad to have found the forums. I'm already picking up valuable information and am looking forward to learning more. Got a lot of ground to cover before I can call myself an experienced rider, but, hey- everyone's gotta start somewhere. I figure I'd rather revel in my noob-ness and work to move on from that, than pretend to be better than I am only to have be disabused of that notion with my face skidding 50mph down the asphalt!