Gonna take a course this Summer.. with my 64yo father!

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Was cleaning the gutters inside & out w/ my dad today and got to talking about his plans to get a motorcycle licence on his next day off, and then his plans to register for riding school. I told him it's on my to-do list, just not a priority in my life.. but that I could go get mine & take the course at the same time and then buy some super cheap old pos to ride around on. He said that would be nice, so, I'm gonna do it. My older brother has had his bike licence for years & has an old ~1999 Honda Goldwing. My dad figures he'll get something like a Honda 750 & wants to plan a trip to Sturgis for a couple years from now and just go take like a month or so and ride down to Sturgis in South Dakota for the big annual massive motorcycle meet. I could wait to spend time & money on stupid s**t like motorcycles, but, he can't because he's dying of cancer. So, rather than put this off for another decade or three, I figure wth, why not do it now with my dad?

It's kind of exciting, too, because this is the thing he wants to do before he dies. I do lots of exciting things that I want to do, but this one I'm stoked for because he's stoked for it. Guess that means I'm going to have to work a whole lot more and skip out on parties and things this Summer I'd otherwise spend money on - but - for my dad; I'm okay with that.

For those who get around on 2 wheels feel free to recommend anything street legal that'd be suitable for 6'2" tall me w/ long legs & arms. It'd be nice to have a short list of old, cheap, suitably sized bikes to search craigslist for.

Sounds really cool, my dads a few years senior to yours... Wish we did other things than watch basketball and jeopardy.

Wanted to learn to ride bikes few years ago but realized I barely know how to drive

Ha!

Yeah, we don't do a lot of anything together, really. He watches tons of sports on TV, and I don't follow any sports or watch much TV at all. I get outdoors and do things (kiteboarding, mountain biking, snowboarding in the past etc.) and he's never been interested in any of those things.. and also is extremely risk averse and always took the safe route as he was the primary bread winner for a family of 6. So, I get that mentality.. couldn't risk getting injured and then being unable to provide for his family. But now he doesn't have the exact same pressures and can afford to spend some time doing things he wants to before he dies, sooo, this. Hopefully he has a good decade left, but, never know, could be any shorter amount of time. (Prognosis = average life expectancy 5 years, long term 10)

I've been driving since I was 16.. smashed a bunch of cars along the way but the last handful of years or so I've been a much better driver. My balance, coordination, and fine motor skills are all way better than they ever used to be so I don't foresee riding a motorcycle being an issue. I've ridden a few off road in the past, and my current car is a 6 speed manual that I've driven over 33,000 kms in the last ~15 months, soooo.. I think I'll be fine on two wheels with a different clutch. I would NOT have been fine 6 years ago, though. Gotta know and listen to your body with these sorts of things.. riding around on 2 wheels in traffic isn't something to go do if you know your body doesn't function well enough to allow you to do it safely.

Ah man, that sounds cool. I'm growing the confidence to go back behind the wheel slowly. Currently being carried by Uber/Lyft/my brother from time to time.

Me and my dad's relationship's kind of more Homer and Bart than anything else, besides the fact that I'm really reclusive and he's an easily misunderstood-stubborn type, socially, we've kinda' accepted things as-is

Has our first classroom session tonight (myself, my twin brother, and our dad) and everything went very well.

At the end of class one they had the students from the previous class who just wrapped up their road ride come in and give us tips on what would have made them progress faster/better through the class. That was pretty valuable. One guy had never ever been on anything motorized with two wheels before and basically he did fine and felt safe so that’s confidence inspiring, especially for my brother who doesn’t drive.

More classroom stuff tmw night, then parking lot stuff all weekend, and road rides next week.

Talking to myself here, I realize, but that's the point of this particular post.

Yesterday was our first parking lot day. Today a much longer 2nd day. Then evening/night road rides Mon/Tues after work.

Anyways, this course is the most comprehensive beginning class available here & covers all kinds of things I never would have thought of - stuff like tactical survival lane positioning (straight from military shooting training) for the best sight lines & to be seen.

But the talking to yourself bit is neat.. we're all supposed to talk to ourselves through the entirety of every training exercise (Not hard for an Aspie!) as it keeps you focused on doing & learning exactly what you're supposed to. It's an actual educational/training technique. It's used in shooting, flying airplanes, everything as it helps you override your brain's distractions & body's reactions. It's VERY interesting how the more you talk to yourself out loud the better you get at practicing the various drills. I'm going to force myself to talk out Loud a LOT more today to get the most out of this as I can. They compare it to a pilot running through a checklist verbally as he does his thing, or a bomb technician defusing a bomb & talking himself through every step. When you say it, you do it, and you miss nothing because you're focused on what you're doing in that moment.

Just thought I'd put that bit out there for anyone else here who's thinking about getting on two wheels, or learning anything else physical, because we can use some of our natural AS traits to our advantage in these scenarios. It's kinda neat.