I’ve long said that a road trip is the perfect therapy for a midlife crisis. There’s something about hitting the road to explore a new destination that rejuvenates your spirit and fuels your wanderlust.
I’ve always wanted to take an open air road trip on a motorcycle but I never have, for several reasons. I don’t own a motorcycle, I don’t have a motorcycle license, my wife, Denise, thinks they are unsafe, and she’s afraid I might get a tattoo because all of my friends who own motorcycles have tattoos.
I was recently approached with an opportunity to get paid to take a series of road trips on a Can-Am Spyder and write about the experience. This was like a dream come true! The Can-Am Spyder is the cool, funky looking, three-wheeled motorcycle that has two wheels in the front. It looks to be the perfect midlife-crisis-mobile. All I had to do was convince Denise to let me take the trips.
After a little research on the Can-Am Spyder website and seeing that it had three wheels, Denise felt comfortable enough to give me the go ahead provided that I take a motorcycle safety course, obtain my motorcycle license, and promise not to get a tattoo.
The two-day Basic Riders Course offered by the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) was well worth the $250 enrollment fee as motorcycles and helmets were provided for each participant. For each section of the course, the coaches would review material in the book and have us watch a video showing the on-road situations we had just discussed.
After the classroom instruction we got to head outside and rehearse the various maneuvers on an un-cranked motorcycle. Then we watched one of the coaches perform the maneuver before mounting our bikes and giving it a go ourselves. We received feedback from our coaches with each attempt as we practiced a variety skills like swerving, fast stopping, u-turns, navigating in(simulated) traffic etc. When the time came for us to take the skills test and written test, the skills and knowledge were second nature and everyone in our class passed!
Sometimes in the next few weeks I’ll get to meet my Can-Am Spyder for the first time! Once I bring her home, I’ll plan on taking a few road trips from Atlanta. I hope you’ll follow me on the journey and I’d love to hear your suggestions as to where I should go, what accessories I need for my road trips, and what color and style of Can-Am Spyder I should get.
Oh, yeah, one more thing – Can-Am Spyder is running a promotion with Danica Patrick on Facebook where one lucky fan will win a Can-Am Spyder of their own and another will get to Ride With Danica! You can enter online or visit a local dealer to enter: however, I want to discourage your from entering as it will improve my odds of winning:)
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