[djmcmath]

Not an unfamiliar story, and glad you're safe.

A room-mate of mine bought a 1000cc sport bike to learn how to ride. Two weeks in, I get a call from him in the hospital; he's ridden into a ditch at speed and ripped his kneecap off. He learned, and is now a serious safety advocate. When I was learning to ride, he'd say things like, "Yup, go ahead and do that, it's perfectly safe, as long as you don't *ever* lay the bike down..." lol.