Rider coach Rich Terrillion helps student Christine Rodriguez during a beginner motorcycle safety course at Germanna Community College recently. View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

UNEASY RIDER For bikers, safety is more than wearing a helmet Story by JENN ROWELL Photos by JASON KINDIG

Despite the risks, the thrill of the open road draws many to motorcycles

Date published: 6/18/2006

HE LOVE OF RIDING keeps them going, but the potential dangers bring them to an empty parking lot at dawn on a Saturday morning to hone their skills.

Why ride motorcycles?

"If you have to ask, then you'll never understand," said Scott Gaber, a rider for over 40 years.

Gaber joined other riders in the parking lot at Germanna Community College's Locust Grove campus recently for a weekend-long safety course.

"It's the freedom, the wind in your face," Gaber said of why he rides. "There's so much more out there, the smells, the sights. You see a lot more when you're on a bike."

But the view comes with risks, as illustrated by the wreck last week of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger, who was not wearing a helmet, suffered a broken jaw and other injuries.

Virginia law requires all riders to wear helmets. In Pennsylvania, riders 21 and older who have been licensed to ride for at least two years, or who have passed a safety course, don't have to wear helmets, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

The hazards of riding a bike--with or without a helmet--are why training programs at Germanna and other sites help prepare riders with strategies to avoid wrecks.

"We want to survive while riding and to have fun, too," said Lindsay Walker, program coordinator at Germanna.

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation, a national organization, established the program in the 1970s. The current curriculum has been in place since 2003.

About 850 riders complete the program at Germanna annually, and about 85,000 are trained in similar programs across Virginia each year, according to Walker.

"The demand is awesome," Walker said.

The class at Germanna, which is held most weekends, is booked through October. But cancellations do occur, and Walker recommends interested riders call the college to see if there's an available spot.

"Anything worth having is worth waiting for, and this is worth having," Walker said.

Two classes are offered at Germanna: the Beginning Rider Course and the Experienced Rider Course.

The objectives of the beginning class include riding in a straight line, turning, shifting, braking and hazard avoidance. The experienced class builds on those skills.

But the most fundamental component of each class is safety.

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Date published: 6/18/2006