I am 65 - soon to be 66, and I learned to ride in the dirt.  We lived on a farm and had plenty of land to ride on - my best friend also live on a farm and it had an abandoned strip mine on it.   My dirt bike was very durable, and it easily survived me learning how to ride and stay upright.  I learned about slippery wet leaves and braking/cornering, I learned how to properly modulate the front brake for the kind of surface I was riding in, I learned how to brake hard and fast, I learned about all kinds of things that can make you drop a bike in an instant.  As I got better and honed my skills I got to be a good rider and eventually got good enough to enter and win motocross and hare scramble races.

Dirt is pretty forgiving - asphalt and concrete is not!

I watched your video and wondered how people learn to ride on asphalt?  I can't see how anyone can learn to ride well in that environment and not get hurt.  Learning how to ride often involves a screw up or two......and it sure would be nice if that happened on the wet grass or dirt instead of asphalt!

A couple years ago I was riding with another fellow who had loaned his spare motorcycle to his brother.  His brother was a new rider and was doing pretty well - we were down in TN/NC and on the 2nd day or riding we headed to the Tail of the Dragon.  We were going slow and taking it easy - there was no traffic as it was October and barely 40 degrees.........we had the place to ourselves.  The Dragon has lots of pull off areas and I chose one to stop and see how everyone was doing.  I pulled over and came to a gentle stop without even taking notice of the wet leaves on the pavement - it was fall and they were everywhere.  My friend pulled in and likewise made a graceful stop - his brother pulled in and grabbed too much front brake and went down as the front wheel locked up and skidded on the wet leaves.....he had not yet developed the ability to recognize that wet leaves deserve some respect!  (As does loose gravel).

I wish both of you well and hope for the best - and a pain free learning experience.......I just get really nervous when people learn to ride on pavement!

Thanks for the kind words, support, and even bday wishes! She's very methodical and has a great neighborhood to practice in. It's huge and almost zero traffic.

I rode over this afternoon for our first dad/daughter ride. She did great but struggled often with starting off on small grades. I trailed and made use of the S40's 4-ways. I asked several times if she was sure it was in 1st gear. She was.

We rode a bit, stopped in a small parking lot with shade, then rode more. I have to say I was very proud to be there for her first taste of street riding. I actually mentioned Dave's story about wet leaves on The Dragon. We haven't done The Dragon, but did recently drive the Moonshiner 28 which ends at The Dragon.

We also discussed both going through the next phase of MSF which is with our own bikes.

About to wrap up, we stopped at a T for a right uphill turn to head home. She tried several times and grew increasingly frustrated, nearly to tears, but the bike continued to stall. I'd already asked about 1st gear.

She put the stand down and dismounted, taking off her helmet, intent to walk home and abandon the bike. I also dismounted and secured my bike, then got on hers.

My first two tries 2 up were stalls. The third was successful with tons of clutch slippage. But barely. The little CBR is torque challenged...and possibly overloaded.

She was in 2nd and yes I should've checked. We figured she was likely in 2nd for at least some of her other struggle starts.

'Twas a nice birthday indeed. And I'm glad to hear TX requires the MSF.