I was a little nervous about riding with other people. The thoughts running through my head ranged from 'What if someone wipes out and takes me with them?' to 'What if I suck at riding and everyone tells me so?'
It was not like that at all. In fact, afterwards someone told me that I kick ass on a scooter and am a really good rider, though I know I took corners a little too tight (out of fear from my past crash when I went over the center line) and didn't keep up with the group.
But we did four rides and were out several hours, and I felt much more confident by the end of it, the reasons being 1. I didn't have to worry about where we were headed or what road I should be looking for since we were following a leader. This kept my head and focus on what I was actually doing and what others on the road were doing. 2. Because I was in a group, I knew if I crashed, the people around me would know exactly what to do and would prevent a car from running me over if I was on the ground (a big fear of mine actually because I know it has happened). 3. Everyone encourages or corrects you at every step. 4. Cars pay more attention to you. Except for one, I saw that everyone who drove around us slowed down or stayed at their stop marks rather than inching out, which is what I'm used to, and which tends to create a lot of anxiety for me.
What really helped is that Hammy, our ride leader for the day, used to be in my shoes a year ago. He told me when he got his first scooter he brought it home, looked at it and asked himself "What the hell was I thinking? I'm gonna get killed!" He joined the Wild Hogs, which broke up and became the EZ Riders Scooter Club (you can find them on Meetup) and he now is a big spokesperson for the group, encouraging riding.
He even sent me an email addressing my fears before my first big ride and saying he would gladly ride around with me in parking lots to get me warmed up.
And everyone was super nice, not at all like I feared. (Of course my fears come from the mean looks from those rider super bikes that are likely stolen in my town. Yes, that is a big problem here. In fact, the police in this area are still looking for someone who broke into the Yamaha dealer in Exter, Pa., and took off with two expensive motorcycles in the back of a van.)
Will I go on another group ride? You betcha. Esp. with that fun group. (Heck, we visited 2 ice cream parlors in one day. How can you beat that! And they love to take rides to hot dog joints.)
Will I be more likely to ride my scooter on my own. Yes, but I think I need more practice on those turns.
