upcoming milestones

[VStar]

All steady progression, safely and confidently. I prefer county roads, too but don't mind the freeway to get home after a long day. Enjoy that advanced course.

[woodlandsprite]

Another good reason for living in the country!

it really is And I bet you have quicker access to small roads for riding - out here, I limit my riding to lower traffic hours and generally only ride on the weekends. I hope at some point to become comfortable enough to start riding the bike to work, but so far, I've done that only once, and I took surface streets rather than my regular path when I drive in.

I keep thinking back to how I was right after I got my endorsement and I've really come a long way, but still have plenty of room to grow.

[HarleyRdr]

I realize I'm weeks late but how was the course? Are you feeling more confident on the freeways? I actually prefer to ride through town when riding to work, I like the extra practice with starting, stopping, turns, watching everything, etc. The freeway is more monotonous and I worry I'll fall into a rut and not pay as much attention as I should.

[woodlandsprite]

Still nervous on the freeways - I feel like I get blown around a lot - Freeway speeds here seem to be faster than other places I've lived - including Oregon I am also much more aware that people seem to not be paying attn to the road and what's going on around them - I get really mad when I keep seeing people staring at their phones when they should be staring at the road!

[Mamaw Suze]

My grandson is taking drivers Ed and we were talking about texting etc behind the wheel. He was telling about things they show in class so I told him about the one I saw online where the guy drove under a semi. They found the cell phone with texts in his hand and his head in the back seat. He gulped real big and swore he would never text and drive. He said that visual was worse than any they had shown in class. He was going to tell the others. Maybe it will soak in to at least one other. We also talk about motorcycles and how vulnerable they are and watching for them because it's someone's grandma or mom or dad or sibling. he loves having the cool grandma that rides a motorcycle and wants to keep her safe so I expect he'll be telling them about seeing motorcycles too.

[woodlandsprite]

I must be getting more comfortable actually thinking about riding on the interstate as I am pondering and thinking more about riding into work...I've only done it once, but I'm contemplating it more - one of the challenging things is I do wear ATGATT and my office space is quite tiny. I could run into the office to change and then back out to lock my gear up on my bike (in my luggage) but it requires some more thought...

[VStar]

I have no problem riding the freeway, 60 mph - 75 mph, on the weekends, only. I'm too chicken to do the 50 mile round trip to work, crazy rush hour cagers, tacking through 4 lanes, no turn signals... nope, not on 2 wheels, nah nah nah.

[HarleyRdr]

I know what you mean Sprite about the difference in freeway speeds. I lived all my life in and around SF. Then came here. Felt like I was on a country road on the freeways! Even when I lived in SF when we went down to the LA area it felt even more intense! I was back in LA a few years ago visiting my brother and it's still insane there. But, like everything you get used to it. Stay safe and ride defensively.

[woodlandsprite]

Luckily for me, my commute is against the regular rush hour pattern...and the distance on the freeway is quite limited. Also I can go in slightly later to miss some of the traffic. I have been trying to watch for patterns as I drive in. It's spring break now though so not sure if I'm observing lighter than usual patterns right now

[OldMare]

I have the option of taking interstate, or a paved back road to work. The Interstate is OK. I take it if I'm running behind or want to get home faster. Otherwise it's the back road. I still live off a 4 lane expressway where no one goes 65 so the interstate doesn't seem much worse. Plus I've driven it forever now in the car and I know how everyone drives! At first, the speed made me nervous, but I'm past that. Now it's just keeping an eye on everyone else. I don't take it for granted that anyone sees me, esp when I'm in the passing lane. Of course, this isn't Chicago or such!