January 24, 2014 1:36 PM PST
Well, back when I started riding in '76, I wasn't old enough for a drivers license yet and when I got my license ( to drive a car ), I had no idea that there was such a thing as a MC license ( no, really ! ) -- But wait, it gets better .... So for years and years I've been riding and have a CDL ( since I was an over the road trucker ) now, fast forward to 2003 when I bought my Softail, which was my first NEW motorcycle. As I'm filling out the paperwork, the salesperson asks me -- "you do have a license, right ?" I replied, "Oh yeah Linda, I've been licensed since '77 and have a CDL". She then stated, "Do you have a motorcycle license ?" Well, we had joked with each other so much during the sale that I seriously thought that she was kidding, so much so that I actually called DMV ( of course just to be safe, I didn't tell them my name ) and asked if there was such a thing. Imagine my surprise when I learned that I had been riding for 25 years without a license ( the DMV rep called me "lucky" ). So I went through the Due Process to get legal and, just TWO DAYS after getting my MC license, I was stopped at a random road check ( while on my bike ) and I could see the State Trooper's thumb line up on my license where the "M" endorsement is -- Of course everything was in order so he handed my license back to me an waved me on. Yeah, talk about being lucky !