Out of the blue, I was talking with my oldest son and he decided that he really wanted to go for a ride. Then, as we were getting closer to going, he balked. Too worried/nervous/scared about something.
I talked him through things, saying that my primary goal when giving anyone a ride is to make them feel safe. I pointed out the trunk on the back of my bike, which is something he could lean against. We did a "dry sitting" on the bike with the engine off so he could learn how to mount/dismount, where to put his feet, and what not to touch.
Pretty soon, his nerves were calmed and we got ready to set off. In stark contrast to how I learned, I made sure he was all geared up - riding pants, riding jacket, gloves, and a helmet:
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| Pre-ride walkthrough |
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| I always get on first |
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| Be careful to not touch the pipes! |
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| Settling in |
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| Ready to roll |
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| Nice and easy |
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| Second gear is just fine |
I immediately noticed that he was very uneasy in the turns. As people sometimes do when they first ride pillion, I could feel him fighting against the lean. Beyond that, I just focused on being smooth and steady, not too fast.
We stopped 5 minutes later at my Mom's house. He was thrilled to surprise her since we arrived on the motorcycle. We discussed relaxing back there and not fighting the lean, then took a slightly longer way home. I could tell he was much more at ease.
When I was tucking him into bed that evening, he said, "Dad, I don't understand why you ever drive a car. I'm only going to have a motorcycle when I grow up!"
That made me smile.
We went for a slightly longer ride about a week later. It was getting on towards evening, and we went for a 20 minute loop. We saw a pair of buck deer and a doe, the sun setting in a fiery red ball, and enjoyed the cool evening breezes. It was another wonderful ride.
I'm looking forward to many, many more opportunities to go 2-wheeled exploring with him!
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