That's my girl

[lucian]

Fortunate enough to have our daughter home with us this summer for a spell. What's the first thing she ask .  Is my bike running?  Well  after a carb rebuild  and a new coil{ left the key on too long messing with the directional s  ]  she's back on the road. A little rain is no match for Lindz and her beloved little goose.

[yogidozer]

Road trip! Camping gear, camera, jiffy pop! 

[lucian]

Mama bear isn't too happy about the whole thing but if  Lindz wants to ride I want to make sure she knows a little first. She actually does pretty well for a newbe. For right now she's confined to the hood until she masters the hills and stop and goes.

[yogidozer]

Mama bear isn't too happy about the whole thing but if  Lindz wants to ride I want to make sure she knows a little first. She actually does pretty well for a newbe. For right now she's confined to the hood until she masters the hills and stop and goes.

low traffic roads, experienced rider to teach her, she'll be fine.

[inditx]

 

[lucian]

Thanks guys. The funny thing is a couple years ago , without our knowledge, she got her mc endorsement in a six hour instructional course in Mass.
She hasn't been around lately to practice but is determined to relearn what she has forgotten and get up to speed so we can ride together. Part of me is exited for her and part of me is worried shitless. Probably just like our parents were. Pretty hard to tell her it's too dangerous and  then take off on my bike.

[smdl]

Where's the dog that used to chase her around?   

Nice to have a child who shares your interests!

Cheers,
Shaun

[lucian]

  Good memory Shaun!  Still got the dog,  but  keeping her off the bikers for now. Too many lawyers in the hood.

[smdl]

 

[Socalrob]

I ride with my son.  When he was learning it was pretty nerve racking.  Now he just zooms ahead, stops, and waits for me.  I think we are riding up the Crest tomorrow for breakfast.  Maybe he will take the Guzzi.

[Rhodan]

   You're a good dad.  I imagine there's a lot of things we did/do that make our parents nervous. 
Great to see the pics of your daughter out riding.  The best thing we can do is help them grow wings to fly.

[lucian]

Here's the video of her with the dog for those who haven't seen it. She made this while we were away and had no idea she was taking it out round the hood. What can you do?   

> https://youtu.be/p_zaK7Vqs4w

[smdl]

That's the one!   

[JohninVT]

That’s great!  She looks tiny.  I know all of the feelings you’re experiencing (good and bad).  Here’s Sophie on a camping trip:

[lucian]

Awesome John!  I wish my daughter started at Sophie's age on the dirt and trails. That Honda trail is a great bike to learn on and her smile says it all.  And yeh, Lindz is tiny , but very determined. Were taking her and the bike to a big vacant parking lot tomorrow to "  work on a few things" suggestions welcome.

[sign216]

Part of me is exited for her and part of me is worried shitless.

That's exactly how I feel when I occasionally send one of my kids out on a bike (or moped). 

[Muzz]

They grow up too quick eh Lucian. Looks like the apple didn't fall too far from the tree.

Our son is coming up 50 next year and we ride together. On the open road his tweaked 1200 Sporty is ahead of me. Come the tight twisties and it's a different story, the Breva runs rings around the Sporty.

[JohninVT]

Awesome John!  I wish my daughter started at Sophie's age on the dirt and trails. That Honda trail is a great bike to learn on and her smile says it all.  And yeh, Lindz is tiny , but very determined. Were taking her and the bike to a big vacant parking lot tomorrow to "  work on a few things" suggestions welcome.

Soph took the three day course and got her license in March but she's been practicing on her CT90 for a year.  I taught her the basics in her high school parking lot last summer.  My suggestion is to cut a bunch of tennis balls in half and use them to replicate the course.  I know your daughter has her license like mine but I still bring her to the high school now and then, lay out the tennis balls and have her practice.

Tennis balls are quicker to lay out than chalk and she won't dump the bike if she hits one unlike a plastic cone. 

[n3303j]

Here's the video of her with the dog for those who haven't seen it. She made this while we were away and had no idea she was taking it out round the hood. What can you do?   

> https://youtu.be/p_zaK7Vqs4w

Watched the video. Enjoyed the spirit of the act.
Was disturbed by the bare hands  (and other missing safety gear).
Was bothered that she ran every stop sign.
Been through 3 Massachusetts MSF courses and they teach ATGATT and adherence to traffic regulations.
The road is a dangerous place. It is best to develop proper and precision riding habits right from the beginning. They may save your life.
As a parent I always was concerned about my offspring riding. But I made an effort to give them every advantage I could to protect them. Didn't want to ever think "I should have put them in better gear" if they got hurt.

[antmanbee]

I was concerned that she was looking down or not very far ahead most of the time.

[lucian]

Thank you all for the replies. I agree there is a lot of shocking stuff going on in that video. No gloves , boots, no stops on occasion, the dog factor, and yet she survived, as did the dog , thank god.  I survived a lot worse on bikes as a young kid .  I know for a fact she is way smarter than I'll ever be so all I can do is offer up all I can and hope for the best. Thank you guys for helping out . I'll get some pics tomorrow  for you all .  I'd love to see this generation being the next guzzi enthusiast.

[JohninVT]

She was wearing shoes that covered her ankles.  She was wearing a helmet and jacket.  She was in a familiar neighborhood with decent lines of sight at the intersections and looked both ways at every stop sign.  She didn't go much over 20mph, which is bicycle speed so no gloves isn't a huge deal.  It looks like she's still learning clutch feathering and engagement and that's easier without gloves at first.  Sure, she should have ridden a couple blocks over to get away from the dog but riding is 90% judgement and 10% coordination.  She certainly has the coordination part.  I'm sure Lucian talked to her about the dog, rolling through stop signs and the gloves.  That stuff comes with time and gentle persuasion.  You can't TELL a teenage girl anything.  You can only provide direction and advice that isn't overly patronizing and hope it gets through to them.       


Is it ideal?  No, but I'll make sure not to post Sophie's very first ride on her CT90 where she was wearing no helmet, shorts and flipflops.  She never got out of first gear and that's brisk walking speed.  Some of you guys would probably report me to Child Protective Services. 

BTW, that is about the most perfect first bike/gateway drug into Guzzi masochism.  It sounds like it runs great.           
 

[Sasquatch Jim]

 She blew through every stop sign sometimes at nearly 10 mph.  How did she pass the course?  At least the dog had enough sense to stay out of the driving lanes except when crossing to the other side.  By the way, the valves make too much noise.

[Tkelly]

Get Proficient Motorcycling by Hough for a good explanation and illustrstion of real highway cornering skills.

[twowheeladdict]

I was concerned that she was looking down or not very far ahead most of the time.

How do you know where she was looking?  She probably just didn't have the camera in line with her eyes.  It takes some practice to get the camera angled correctly.  Sometimes I want to see some of the bike when making a video.  Sometimes I want to catch all the scenary.  Sometimes I will even make my helmet point to the right slightly but my eyes are still looking down the road.

I would not have continued to ride with at idiot dog bouncing all around.

[antmanbee]

I considered that maybe the camera was just adjusted pointing down a bit. It looks to me though, that it is probably pointed where she is looking. On occasion she does look up to a more normal view while riding and when she is first starting it looks like she is gazing at the gauges and switches in a natural way and not further down the tank.
That and the assumption that most new riders have a tendency to look down just in front of the bike and not ahead. But I obviously don't know for sure. 

[lucian]

No,. dogs not an idiot, I'm the idiot that lets her chase me around the hood on my mountain bike.  Unfortunately she likes chasing us on the MC even more because it's  faster. You can't out run her on a pedal bike in this neighborhood.  Funny thing is she will only chase us and ignores other bikes completely.


Anyway, we had a good practice session yesterday at an empty parking lot where my brother works.  I brought a couple cones and she did great doing slow speed figure eights and slow stop and starts. We worked on downshifting a little from second to first and she really is doing better with playing the clutch. She did manage to drop the bike once while attempting to sudden stop on a slight pitch. She was a little slow getting her foot down on the downhill side and when she did it was too late and she couldn't hold it up. She did the right thing and bailed off clean without getting pinched. No damage but a slightly bent rear brake pedal. We straightened it out and went right back at it. She learned a lot about timing when to be on or off the pegs. I think the little goose is a little heavy for her at this level but she is determined to stick with it. I may keep my eyes out for a tu 250 or such so she can learn more on a lighter machine and then move back onto the v 50.

 

[smdl]

 

[Muzz]

Looks to be a good size for her. I see in the second photo she is quite comfortably flat footed at rest.