First recommendation: take riding lessons. And I'm not joking. Hubby and I were driving behind a guy who had gotten his first bike and he was going around a slight bend (and I mean SLIGHT) in the interstate. He could not mentally make his bike lean -- we were watching and screaming at him in our truck to LEAN! He didn't -- he was all the way off the shoulder in gravel and (luckily) had slowed way down by the time he got there and EVERYONE on the road had slowed down behind him. In between the two sides of the interstate was one of those cable guards that works great for cars, but can be death to a biker. I was shaking for a couple hours after that just thinking about how close the guy and his wife were to being killed. And I was ANGRY that he didn't know what the heck he was doing on a new bike and was on the interstate, 2 up. A riding class is a MUST!!
I ride dirt bikes alone, but I am only a passenger on the road. If I ever decide to get my own bike, I will take a safety class and do some track time before I get out on the road.
*Off soapbox*
That said -- welcome to biking! It's a hoot! :-)
I will NOT be over confident.
Fortuniately I have a lot of good friends with bikes and they will not let me out alone until they approve. That's the way good bikers are.