...was awesome, scary, exciting, adventurous, beautiful, and tiring. I would throw in more adjectives. But, I think you all get the point.

Some of the riders I've met over the past month invited me to take a ride to Miami with them, which is about 40 miles from where I live. Now, I've gone 40 miles on suburban roads, but not on the highway. And to make matters worse, we were taking I-95. Let's just say I was feeling a tad timid. Despite being scared, I put on my jacket, helmet, pants, gloves, shoes and headed out on the Green Bandit (the name I gave for my bike) :)

I met up with the fellas at a gas station south of Fort Lauderdale. Just 3 of us. A GXR-750, Ninja 750, and me. Fueled up, we took the 95 South ramp toward Miami and merged with strangely normal traffic. I was shocked because I was expecting more cars. I can't tell you how happy I was about that. The cool thing was the other two knew I was a newbie and made sure I got in the lane with them while holding off the cars behind us.

After about 10 seconds, I was comfortable. The wind, as usual, was still a pain. But, all was good. The 250 held her own. Very fun. Of course, the other two opened up there bikes and did well over 100 in some spots. But for the most part, we did about 85 the whole way down.

There were at least 100 motorcycles on South Beach. All shapes and sizes. Of course, I was the only 250! :D As usual, everyone asked if I had a 600. And then I just point to the 2 lovely "250R" decals on the back of my bike that I put on last week. It happens every time I meet other bikers. Never fails. One guy that worked in the area ran across the street to look at the bike. He said, "I've never seen the new 250 before. So, that's how they look." All I could do was laugh.

On the way back, we rode in the HOV lane which was empty and wide open. Feeling a little adventurous, I opened up the Green Bandit for the first time. Wow!!! I am so glad I bought the 250. I am very happy, and comfortable, with it's speed. I can't see myself going any faster than 110. It's amazing how different it feels going that speed on a bike versus a car. No comparison.

Beautiful weather and being around some cool people made for an excellent day. After this trip, I realize that I'm tired of the straight roads. I want some twists and turns and hills. I think the bike would like that too.

Nice write up Andre. Glad you enjoyed it - now just keep it safe OK?

Sounds good! I was on I95 going to Miami once as a passenger in a car and that scared the s*** out of me (too much random traffic doing too much random stuff...) so fair play doing it on a bike :)

Nice write up Andre. Glad you enjoyed it - now just keep it safe OK?

Absolutely. Safety first!

This reminded me of the first day I bought my bike.

I've always wanted a motorbike ever since I saw mordeth13 was new with his cool vlogs with his ecstatic appeal of riding his motorcycle. I thought to myself someday I will get one too.

Ever since hearing that a new gen 250r is coming out I've only been dreaming of owning a motorcycle. It just made it seem more possible to step into the world of motor biking. I was only 17 at the time and didn't have a job. During the summer of 08 (age 18) I finally found myself a job at a local restaurant and a part time position in AnF. There was only one thing in my mind which is "start saving money like mad". I didn't really save as I spent it on motorcycle gear (jacket pants gloves helmet boots) basically "The Works".

Now summer of 09 rolls along and I saved enough money for otd price on a new 250r. I was hesitant in getting it since I've never rode anything on two wheels with a motor other than a 150cc scooter during a visit to China so I took the MSF course with a buddy.

In the course I was amazed to see a variety of people who would like to learn how to ride. In fact I was a bit timid since me and my buddy was only 18/19 at the time. So later during the on course session I was talking to myself "finally I get to ride a motorcycle". Everything went well during the course and soon passed the licensing test. This license threw me into a different mindset that anything else as I now have the privilege to ride and the funds to buy a bike.

That summer I was just debating if I should get a used or a new bike. I was just arguing to myself the whole time in my head between the pros and cons of the two. Finally I decided on getting a used bike. In my opinion as a beginner its best to buy a bike that's broken in and in good condition so it's more forgiving for myself. I was also deciding on getting a 06-08 650r since getting a used for my budget is possible.

In college I had a few friends that ride. One bought his and sold it after a few month of riding due to his personal issues and the others bought them from craigslist. Recently I heard that one of them got a r6 for a steal from Ohio and I was like "sh*t Ohio? That freaking far?!?" I guess only the insane would go that far. The thinking to myself, "if one of my friends from college got his bike from Ohio and drove all the way back why can't I?". So it seems like I'm going insane myself as well. Thus the search for other areas began.I was worried about cops pulling me over without a plate so I limited myself to places that don't need to pay tolls such as Peoria and Champaign in IL.

One random Wednsday night while having insomnia from staying up late all summer long I decided to look up the good o'l craigslisting for Chicago. I found nothing on my budget 650s none, 250s too pricey being it used, and zx6s would love to someday but looking at it for the hell of it. Then Peoria and Champaign, BINGO found a 09 250r thats for 2.7k in Peoria and a 06 650r for 3k nea Champaign. Was debating on the two as the 650 has high mileage ~6k and the 250 only have 1.6k. Plus they are the same distances from Chicago.

I then emailed both and waiting for fate if the 250r is real I should go with that than the 650 because I'm a beginner. That day both emailed me back, but I decided to haggle. I called for 2.5k on the 250r and 2.8k on the 650r. The one with the 650r only want a firm 3k and the 250r agreed for my price, but he have a guy who is checking it out on Friday. I knew I couldn't make it as I have class and work during the weekends so I set up an appointment time for both at Monday. In advance I told the guy about the situation of the 250r and if he does sell it I will definitely get his bike without a doubt.

Monday rolls along and the guy with the 250r shoot me an email regarding that he still have his bike and if I want it he is going to get things prepped for my arrival. I didn't hesitate and immediately set up the time I'm going to arrive at Peoria.

After school I brought my buddy along who took the MSF course with me to drive the car back as I ride the motorcycle home. Indeed it was a great trip to Peoria as I drove the 3 hours to get there I was overly excited to the point I was speeding up a bit to make it there earlier.

So there I was a soon to be owner of the bike and the owner of the bike inside his garage. Me and my buddy checked everything from head to toe. i was surprised his tires still have that faint line in the contact area from the factory. The previous owner even said it has never been to the highway before. I really trusted him as tire and chain wear show very limited riding. It was basically new, stock except a CW fender eliminator.

After the transactions, I tested the bike around his neighborhood. Perfect... There I was with my new motorcycle near daybreak. As we started to hit the open road I felt liberated. It was as if I was in a Kawi commercial when a glance down on my shadow of me riding down the freeway with trees and agriculture as scenery. It wasn't until 8 we started hitting the long haul of 130 on our way back home, because we seriously needed to eat so we stopped by at a Micky D's near the highway route.

Now with temperatures dropped to the 40's I started to feel chilly as we exited Mc D's. I rolled my eyes and thought to myself this is one heck of a motorcycle adventure that just started.

congratulations! I still remember my first ride and the excitement of picking her up - that grin won't go away for quite some time now :D

...and the evolution of a motorcyclist continues... :thumbup:

have fun & be safe

:ride:

It was cool that your fellow riders provided some lane protection for you on the highway because they knew you were a newbie. But it wasn't cool for them to push the speed up to triple digits with a newbie in the group.

While group rides are a lot of fun, they can also pressure you to do things that you may not be ready for. Just be careful out there.

I'm a newbie and have yet to get on the highway. I am excited and scared at the same time. These are great stories! Thanks for sharing. Be safe and ALWAYS wear your full gear! :D

The first trip on the highway is fun. I mean I went just short of the top speed :D. But after a summer of riding on the highways here it's always funny when I zoom past a 600/1000 taking it easy.