Just wondering, Whent down for the first time, now when I ride I am a little freaked out. How long did it take for those of you to feel comfortable after your firt time?

 

The first time I went down I was 15. It made her so happy that I couldn't wait to do it again.

Oh, wait.

The first time I fell over on my bike I was 17. I picked it up and rode away and was never freaked out in the least.

 

About a month for me.

 

Will let you know when I get it out of the shop.

 

I have fallen over twice on mine once making a slow u-turn and the second time I was loaded down with luggage coming home from Sturgis and pulled up to a stop sign not noticing the pothole to my left. When I put my left foot down, there was nothing there but a 6" deep pothole and over I went. Right now I am a little gunshy about falling over. For those of you that are old like me I remind myself of Henry Gibson riding a tricycle on Laugh-in and falling over when he stopped.

 

A girl ran through a stop sign and I ended up with a broken right foot.
I heard all the horror storys of people dying on bikes and was constantly asked if I was going to sell my bike. I told them, "hell no as soon as I get a walking cast I'm riding mine again. (it was my step dad's beemer that got totaled). I was 25 at the time though. Young, immortal and heal fast.

If worried, just practice on low traveled backroads until you feel okay with other traffic.
Or take a Rider's Edge/MSF class to gain your confidence back.

 

HAH! That's what I was thinkin'! But we digress...

I was a youngin' too when I first went down and like Terry, got back on and put it out of my mind. I think what it does is keeps you from getting too complacent. It seems like a lot of bike accidents happen when you stop really paying attention. So now... I pay attention!

Anyway GM, glad you weren't hurt. Now use that freaked out feeling to your advantage & benefit by staying alert. You know, they say that everyone goes down at least once in their lifetime and you got your once out of the way - should be smoooth sailin' from here on out!

 

the first time I went down was when I was 16, and it took me a while before I was comfortable on a bike again...more than a year.

It took that long because for nearly a year I was still healing from the drop. I did it right for a first timer. This was back in the late 60's, so the Gear Police weren't nearly as numerous..I was wearing a t-shirt, shorts, sneakers ad a helmet; no gloves or boots. It was relatively low speed (around 30 mph) and a cage pulled out in front of me at an interesction and I t-boned the passenger door.
I flipped over the bars, over the top of the car and landed on my A** and elbows...initially.
That was immediately followed by about 30 feet of tumble and roll, ending up with me lying on the pavement with about enough intact skin left on my body to cover a grape.
My buddy, who had a way with words said that I looked like I'd gone 15 rounds with a pissed-off Bobcat.
9 surgeries to graft some of the remaining intact skin onto other spots with none left, infections, physio...a year long recovery.
the first few times on a bike had a measureable pucker factor, but they left fairly quickly. I've nver ridden without a helmet, good leather jacket, boots and gloves at a minimum since. I KNOW how bad skin grafts hurt, and never want to go through that again. (Crosses fingers) I also havent been down in the 40 years since, and I hope it stays that way. if it doesn't, I figure I'll avoid the road rash...probably break every one of my rapidly aging bones, but I'll still be PURTY!

 

When I was young I rode dirt bikes. Dumped, tumbled, crashed them. Got back on and rode. Sometimes it took a few minutes, if the wind got knocked out of you. If you were battered and bruised you might take it easy for the rest of the day.

My worst accident on a street bike involved a deer. 2 week later (As soon as I was able to move my left arm again) I was riding. Damn sling drove me nuts flapping in the wind.

 

Been ridin' for 58 years...things were tough then..........started in my Mammy's womb as she sat in the sidecar of Papa's old 1934 Beeza Sloper...hit my first patch of gravel when I could barely walk but stayed upright ..and immediately after that papa bought me a Black Shadow with blocks on the footrests and launched me into the world....I've had one, two and three wheel drifts, ridden a tightrope over the gorge on my old Panther 600, relaxed durin' a spin round the wall-of-death, ridden through a hurricane with only flip-flops and a beany hat, took a wrong turn into an autodrome on the way back from the gas station and broke the lap record on my Velo Viper, ridden the firewall whilst eating an icecream on my 1954 Whooler, won the 1958 ISDT on a Rudge Whitworth, rode through the Himalayas on a Scott Squirrel with a bean can replacing one cylinder, rode the TT every year since I was six, jumped a ravine and 27 buses lined end to end on my brother's Sunbeam,.........then I went to highschool and left all this kindergarten stuff behind for some real ridin...........................and in all these years....never laid mi' bike down......

........try tellin' that to the youth of today, and they won't believe ya..