I FINALLY LEARNED TO RIDE A DIRT BIKE AT 35 YEARS OF AGE

I may work with the team at Centennial Auto-Sport And Tire, but I don't really work among them. I don't possess their skill set, I don't share their mechanical backgrounds, and I have little experience with the machines they service and sell.

In other words, until April 2019, I had not ridden a dirt bike since before I began school. A lot of muscle memory is lost in 31 years.

As I sat atop a pre-owned Yamaha TT-R230 behind my garage - engine running, heart pumping, kids watching, HR manager recording, wife pondering - memories of my one and only dirt bike ride came washing over me. 

REMEMBER
I was on the warning track of a baseball field near Bissett Lake in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. If my memory serves me right, the 50cc Suzuki was orange. It was running, but it wasn't moving. I remember a firm shove in the back from one of my three older brothers and suddenly I was off. I'm sure in the weeks that followed I remembered wheelies and extreme speeds, but as I sat on the seat of the Yamaha 31 years later, a more accurate depiction of events became clearer. My brother jogged beside me as we looped the field.

That was it. My motocross career got off to an early start and then instantly halted. Eventually, like a lot of younger teenagers, I wanted a motorcycle of some kind: a Honda CBR or Yamaha R6. There's this impression of freedom that comes with gas-powered two-wheelers, a feeling of troubles escaped and stress relieved and going places just for the sake of the going, rather than the places. 

4 WHEELS
Acquiring an ATV from Centennial in the spring of 2018 was a big step forward. Here was a machine that could provide me with plenty of open-air freedom while also accomplishing a lot of work around the yard clearing snow and hauling firewood. Plus, with a PEI ATV Federation trail pass, I'd be able to see parts of the Prince Edward Island I'd otherwise never venture.

Fast forward one year from the ATV purchase (still an excellent decision) and the curiosity had not abated. Summerside CAST manager Rob Compton sent me home one Friday evening with a 2013 TT-R230, along with instructions about the choke and a lesson in how to jump start the Yamaha, "just in case." The general concepts make sense to somebody who drives a manual-shift car, though the details are obviously different. 

HOW TO
Rather than a clutch operated by a left foot, the clutch is at my left hand. Rather than a shifter controlled by my right hand, it's controlled by my left foot. Rather than a throttle that's prodded by my right foot, it's twisted with my right hand. And rather than a single brake pedal, the rear brake is just ahead of my right toe and the front brake is at my right hand. 

Simple, right?

There I was behind the garage, not exactly brimming with the confidence of a 16-year-old who's waited all his life to wheelie across the backyard. With age comes a heightened awareness of responsibility. The cerebral risk/reward balance is notably different after two decades of driving cars. 

I slowly let out the clutch, gain some momentum, give it a bit of throttle, and I'm on the go. Clutch pulled, toe the shifter up into second, twist the throttle as the clutch goes out and the Yammy and I are loping around the yard. Slowly but steadily, with arms too straight and hands squeezing too tight. But we are on the move.

OK, to be fair, there's a lot more to riding a motorcycle than learning how to get going. But Job No.1 is complete. I can ride.

And because it was April in Prince Edward Island, my soft back yard will now wear permanent traces of TT-R230 on its sleeve.

Find The 2019 Yamaha TT-R230 In Centennial Auto-Sport And Tire's Inventory.