Resources
FirstRides resources
Training
See our training video from professional trainer Brian Garrahan of Garrahan Offroad Training to see what to expect.
Recommended bikes
Here are popular learning bikes and their weights so you may start your search for your own machines now:
Razor (electric) 350/400 - 70lbs
Yamaha PW50 and Suzuki JR50 - 89lbs
Razor (electric) 500/650 - 98lbs
Honda XR/CRF50 and Yamaha TTR50 - 110lbs
Suzuki DRZ50 - 119lbs
Suzuki DRZ70 - 121lbs
Honda XR/CRF70 - 128lbs
Yamaha TTR90 - 145lbs
Honda XR80 - 152lbs
Honda XR/CRF100 - 165lbs
Kawasaki KLX110, Honda CRF110, and Yamaha TTR110 - 168lbs
Yamaha TTR125 - 180lbs
Kawasaki KLX140 - 205lbs
Honda CRF150F - 236lbs
Podcasts
4/21/22 Racers Alley - 57 minutes in
9/30/21 Racers Alley - One hour 36 minutes in
7/26/20 Motorcycles and Misfits - 35 minutes in
7/9/20 Racers Alley - One hour 40 minutes in
2/27/20 Racers Alley - 26 minutes in
11/24/19 Motorcycles and Misfits - 18 minutes in
10/24/19 Racers Alley - 56 minutes in
7/11/19 Racers Alley - One hour and 20 minutes in
See the pages below to continue your motorcycle training and find out about the sport in general. See the bottom for other altruistic enterprises taking place in other sports and forms.
Beginner
The first step in learning to ride a motorcycle should be to learning to ride a bicycle. Balance is key. Experience is invaluable.
The Strider® Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit incorporated in South Dakota in 2007. The Foundation’s primary purpose is to distribute Learn-To-Ride Programs to schools and organizations commited to teaching children, those with special needs, or the elderly how to ride.
These children's books teach kids: motorcycles are fun, safety is always first, girls and boys ride, there are many kinds of motorcycles, and only cool people ride motorcycles.
Monkey Moto School private motorcycle and scooter training in the San Francisco Bay Area provides skills and confidence not just for your license test but so that you can feel confident and have fun where it counts -on the streets.
The San Francisco site has been awarded California Motorcyclist Safety Program Certificates of Merit for Overall Site Quality, Overall Student Improvement, QA Compliance.
See lead trainer Brian's videos on YouTube:
Instructional motorcycle camp designed for all ages, skill levels and various disciplines of riding and racing. Find out more about the camp on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HawkMazzottaMotoCamp/
National organization offering beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes.
CMSP is the State approved motorcycle rider training program for getting your Mi motorcycle license endorsement. There are about 200 training sites statewide. Use the map function on the website to find a location near you.
Total Control is the contractor that runs the CMSP and controls the content of the courses and provides intermediate and advanced rider training courses in addition to the basic rider training under the CMSP.
The MCrider Motorcycle Training You Tube channel is chock full of videos aimed at helping you learn and keeping you safe. MCrider provides weekly videos on motorbike skills and strategies to help you become a better rider.
This one-day course provides comprehensive training in all aspects of street riding for all types of motorcycles. Z2 RoadRider 2.0 offers 1:1 coaching and keeps class sizes small to address individual needs.
International
This is a non-profit organization, advocating and supporting the use of motorcycles and scooters for transportation, and providing information about everyday utility riding to the public.
The mother of all motorcycle organizations, this one was founded in 1904 and continues to represent motorcycling around the world. See racing coverage on www.fim-live.com and fim-europe.com.
National
Formed in 1903, as the Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM), this organization still represents riders nationwide. It fights for riders rights and sanctions racing.
Black Girls Ride is not an exclusive racial statement; it is an inclusive celebration of all women who live to ride. It’s the positive, fearless, unapologetic, take charge attitude they exhibit on these machines, as they navigate the streets of their respective cities.
Find coaches across the U.S. at this excellent portal. Sign up to become a listed coach at usmca.org.
This detailed description from consumernotice.org contains top risks for motorcyclists, reasons to wear a helmet, and solid safety tips for new riders and old.
State
American Bikers Aimed Toward Education (ABATE)
This organization has statewide chapters aimed at promoting safety, protecting rights and helping others. See for example: ABATE of: California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and many more.
Regional
Come and experience the thrill of riding down the iconic Hwy 1 with breathtaking views along the way with multiple types of rides to choose from . Make sure you look for our other rides in California and our one trip a year to another country!
B-360 utilizes dirt bike culture to end the cycle of poverty, disrupt the prison pipeline, and build bridges in communities. Through a STEM education program, community engagement, workforce pipe-lining and events , we equip disconnected youth and adults with the skills to secure educational and career opportunities in STEM fields, while changing perceptions dirt bike riders and engineers.
BikeSmart has been a CMSP approved training site using the MSF curriculum since 1999. Their rider coaches are all MSF certified and last year were ranked in the top 5% in the state of California.
Also look for street- and off-road oriented motorcycle clubs in your community. They are a fantastic resource, wealth of knowledge and huge network of riding opportunities and friendships.
DDC strives to promote a riding collective for women and men, of all rides, riding styles and levels of experience. From the beginner to the pro track rider, we are a safe, non-judgmental group of women and men who seek to foster the best possible riding experience through community planning, support, socializing and riding together.
RUTS is a non-denominational group of Christian off-road enthusiasts. Their purpose is to be an evangelistic outreach to those who need Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. They have Southern California and California Central Coast chapters.
The Youth Off Road Rider's program in AMA District 16, which inspired FirstRides, offers youth an opportunity to experience dirt bike riding in a safe environment while being coached by their youth peers.
Environmental
The BlueRibbon Coalition is a respected national recreation group that champions responsible use of public and private lands, and encourages individual environmental stewardship.
They put their time and sweat into the trails they love as the largest on-the-ground volunteer organization in the Sequoia National Forest so trails stay open to everyone.
Tread Lightly! is a national nonprofit organization with a mission to promote responsible recreation through ethics education and stewardship programs.
Altruistic and cool
We love other sports besides motorcycling and see ways they too can help the world.
Black Surf Santa Cruz aims to tear down barriers that oftentimes keep our oceans segregated. By taking a strategic focus on both physical and spiritual wellness, we aim to create a community of healing for our Black Indigenous, and People of Color Community in Santa Cruz.
City Surf Project is a non-profit that connects underrepresented youth to the ocean and themselves through surfing.
CTN started as a program of CompuMentor (now TechSoup Global) in August 2001 at a regional community technology meeting of the America Connects Consortium. CTN thrives as a regional collaboration of informed technology and empowerment professionals that work within their communities to share skills with their neighbors.
Playing for Change encourages peace through the exchange of music globally. The organization uses a mobile recording studio to capture and spread the sounds created by professional and amateur musicians around the world.
The Sounds True Foundation creates equitable access to wisdom-based tools and practices and shares teachings and practices to empower people on their life journeys.
Surfercross is an event that former motocross racer and current Joe Gibbs Racing MX team manager Jeremy Albrecht started in 1998 to bring surfers and motocross riders together for a couple of days of fun.
The annual event in southern California pairs the world's best motocross stars and surfers for one day of moto followed by one day of surfing with fundraisers held during the event.
Waves for Change aims to turn previously disused township beaches in Africa into hubs for surf skills training and social justice.