[Tranquility]

Water Warrior, thank you for your words of wisdom and sanity ("Always Ride Safe in conditions you are comfy with"). I find that I will push myself juuuuuust outside my comfort zone to get a taste, then fall back to where I'm comfy ... and then before I know it, either a few miles or a few rides later, my comfort zone has increased. This goes for speed, turning (leaning) radius, dodging pot holes (dodging road kill, yuck!), etc. There's noooooooo hurry. The journey IS the destination!

rayzuki, keep an eye on alantf & Easy Rider. There's not much subtlety between them, but they mean no ill will. Well, maybe they do towards each other, but not towards Newbies like us. In fact, I picture them in my mind as two young brothers grappling on the livingroom floor with Mom yelling "I don't care WHO started it!! You're going to kill each other! STOP IT!!!!" :-)

Easy Rider, please know that I'm definitely a fan.

alantf, you get one free "I told you so" if Easy pounces on me sometime in the future. But just one!