I was lucky to get out for a nice ride today before Hurricane Henri drenched the city.

The route was my usual: up the left side of the Hudson, down the right side. The northernmost destination is rarely defined in advance; I just go as far north as I have time and energy for. To date, I’ve gotten as far as Albany but I’m hoping to go much further in future trips.

I kept today’s route easy and relatively short since I got out of the house late and didn’t want to ride home in the dark and certainly not in the storm.

On the way up I stopped in Nyack for a milkshake and guitar picks, then rode Route 59 west to Sloatsburg. From there, I crossed Harriman State Park on the beautiful Seven Lakes Drive, over the Bear Mountain Bridge and down the Goat Trail, with a stop for groceries in Westchester before returning to Manhattan.

I can tell I’m growing more confident and safer with each ride, but I’ve still got a long way to go before I can call myself anything other than a beginner motorcyclist. Although I’m getting pretty good at braking and cornering, my shifting is still clunky and amateurish. There’s a ton of other stuff I’m not great at yet. Not even good.

Case in point: In downtown Nyack, I almost tipped-over when doing a tight low-speed turn from a standstill. But fortunately I was able to stand up the bike, sustaining only light bruises to my pride.

My motorcycling skills are very much a work in progress. But even with the occasional embarrassments, I’m having a ton of fun being a beginner motorcyclist.