Right in the middle of the last exercise of the day on the first riding day, I crashed.

The last exercise involved starting in first gear, getting quickly into second gear and stabilizing at 15 mph, then cruising past a "cue cone" and coming to a complete stop by engaging the clutch, rolling off the throttle, and using both the hand and foot brake to come to a stop in a defined distance.

I blame my boots for the crash. (Just kidding.)

I had trouble all day with shifting because the boots have such big clunky toes I couldn't tell when I'd successfully shifted.

The boot shifting challenges, combined with my tendancy to roll back on the throttle, revving the engine when I was using the hand brake, and my inadequate use of the clutch and foot brake, caused me to lock the front wheel while sending a blast of power to the rear wheel. Somehow (and this is the part I'm not really clear about), that caused the bike to sort of hop sideways around the front wheel.

I stayed aboard for a second or two, then saw the tarmac rushing up to meet me. I turned my head just in time to hit on the helmet side instead of the face shield.

The instructor was there in a flash, lifting the bike off of me and checking me out thoroughly before she let me stand up. I was embarrassed and a bit sore, but clearly unhurt. After I got to my feet both instructors asked if I was sure I was OK and if I wanted to sit out or continue. I opted to get back on and try again.

I was just a bit banged and scraped. I did get some blood on a good white shirt and tore a hole in a new pair of jeans.

That great helmet from Joern made a really loud noise when it smacked the pavement, but my head came though it just fine.

I think I threw a bit of a damper on our happy little group for a minute or two, but after another circuit or two of the exercise drive path most everybody was smiling again, and I managed to complete the exercises without additional incidents.

By the end of the class, I was tired and sore and very glad to get back on the blue streak and head for home. Lucky for me I had a week to recuperate before the second and final riding class, and before the class riding test.