First Fall

[alanmcorcoran]

Well you didn't hit the car and didn't permanently damage yourself, so this is probably a plus. Courses and books aside, I think there's nothing quite like an accident to instill some discipline into your riding. I haven't had the Geezer down yet, but I had barely 200 miles on my Kawasaki when I was nearly run over by a pickup, so, I can sympathize with the "damn! that was quick" feeling. I laid down the Strat twice at low to no speed and scratched it up, never fixed it and it doesn't bother me much anymore (although I was pissed when it happened.) You'll get over it. If there is bare metal, though, you might want to clean and paint it to avoid rust.

Don't be shy about the front brake - it's the real stopper on the bike - but pay attention to what mrlmd sez - you got to be going straight and upright when you hit it. Also, it's a good habit to practice applying BOTH brakes for panic stops, even thought the rear one doesn't do much. There are some advanced techniques that rely on using the rear brake to manage your centrifugal forces while applying throttle, but I think it's too soon for you to be worrying about that. Try to connect your hand squeeze with foot pressing though, so it's instinctive the next time it comes up (and it WILL!)