Actually, Christine's enthusiasm is infectious. When we finally shift up into second gear, she lets out a big whoop of excitement. Unfortunately, we spend a lot of time in first, learning to feather the throttle, slip the clutch, and drag the rear brake. As Christine says, "Going fast is easy; going fast is fun. Going slow is hard work." It is indeed, but that's also where you need real skill. We practice pause-and-go, slow-speed cone weaving, stopping on a hill, and stopping and turning. During breaks, she discusses issues such as lane positioning (she favors the center of the lane); signaling your intentions; protecting your space; among other things that are of specific concern to motorcyclists.
When we finally progress beyond walking speeds, the real seduction begins: listening to the revs climb, leaning into the turns, swerving the bike by swinging your hips. As we develop the muscle memory for the motorcycle's unique controls, it frees the mind to take in the sensations. By the end of the day, we reach third gear and maybe 30 mph, which I'd say is the adrenaline equivalent of about 80 mph in a car.
Motorcycles aren't EPA rated for fuel economy, but the Ducati people estimate that the bikes we drove should return mileage somewhere in the 40s. That may not be reason enough to trade in your four wheels for two. But saving gas isn't really why people take up motorcycling anyway. "We ride motorcycles to look cool and to have fun," says Christine. For me, at least, it was a lot more about the latter than the former. As an absolute beginner, I can't say riding a motorcycle is easy, but it's definitely cool.