New to the T.E.A.M.

One early spring day I was out for a ride towards New River to meet up with a like minded group of motorcyclists and friends. As I was enjoying the bright azure blue sky and the floating cotton candy like clouds overhead,  all served up at the perfect temperature of 80 degrees, with all the beauty the Arizona desert can present me,  I paused and asked myself, what drives someone to want to ride a motorcycle? What catalyst in their life precipitates their desire to do something that in all likelihood they have been told there whole life "Are you crazy? Motorcycles are dangerous! You’re going to kill yourself!" I can still hear my mother’s voice echoing in my mind. Maybe it’s the idea of freedom. Maybe it is a little rebel streak. Maybe the sense of being a little on the edge is what appeals to them. Or maybe in some cases they have been on a dirt bike since they were old enough to throw a leg over that little 50cc machine of wonder. Truth is that the answer to that question is different for each of us. For me the answer to that question of why, is that the only time I can truly feel in the moment without distractions and have total focus is when I am in the saddle, helmet on and bars in hand.

Now, unlike driving a car that for almost all of us was always considered simply a right of passage when we were 16, to become a motorcyclist is a clear choice that we consciously and deliberately make.  I find this to be a particularly exciting question of the human spirit to be answered. Now I have been riding off an on since my early teens, but not seriously on the road till 1999. I myself did not take the MSF BRC course until 2011.  What is really interesting about that fact is that even though it took me 12 years to do it, I learned more in the 2 days with a rider coach, then perhaps I learned in 5 years of just putting around town, That point in and of itself was not lost on me, and indeed was quite a revelation for me. In the days and weeks following completing the course, I thought what a joy it would be to be able to share that same surge of knowledge, and rider enlightenment with others.  A year later an email arrived in my box from T.E.A.M Arizona, asking the question, “Do you want to be a Rider Coach”? And I thought “Yes” This is the opportunity I have been hoping for.  Now after spending the last several weeks with the T.E.A.M AZ Staff members Bill, Paul, Greg, Jack, Mary, and Kevin from San Diego, and the rest of the group of new Rider Coach Candidates, I have achieved the first part of my goal which was to get certified as an MSF BRC Rider Coach. Now I said the first part, because the real joy and challenges will come from spending time with the people coming to T.E.A.M for training who are not only making the choice to ride, but to learn how, in a professional, proven, and safe manner. To hear the stories why they are taking the class, to seeing their faces on the range, at that moment when their feelings of fear and apprehension give way to joy, and a smile washes over their face.  That will be the reward I seek. So in the coming months I hope to meet with more of my fellow Rider Coaches, and learn whatever I can from not only being more effective, but to hear the great stories I am sure you all have to share. My name is Don Nelson, and I am a new Rider Coach…. See you on the range….