As a newbie, I definitely appreciate the thread. My pledge is to definitely take it all to heart. I definitely plan to... - practice like crazy; nice techie office complex 1 block from my house with parking lots like artificial streets I will be going around for 100's of miles. - will NOT carry a passenger for a loooong time - practice emergency hard breaking, etc... - take it easy, using with all good tips from here and safety course - did I mention practice, practice, practice?