Motorcycle Training Course - Day Three

Every day while we were doing the cone hopping thing on the range, we would see Boeing 737s just lifting off the runway which ended right next to the training range. It made it a little harder to concentrate as I like to watch planes too.  

I remember when my dad had taken us to the Abbotsford Airshow (about 1977 or 1978) to see the SR-71 Blackbird. The organizers of the show put the pilots' voices on the loudspeaker so we all could hear them talking to the tower. The jet started out from Nevada and the pilots said, "Put the coffee pot on and we'll be there in 20 minutes!" And it was, and what an awesome sight, like something out of Star Wars.

(Google Photo)

  

Now we've never had anything like that fly out of the airport here but I have seen these flying over many times.

(Google Photo)

The pilots who go on to fly the C-130 Hercules and CF-18s and Auroras for Canada's Air Force all start at Moose Jaw down the road from us. Plenty of times they use my city as a visual reference to practice their precision formats for air shows across North America. They are known as the Canadian Snowbirds.

Okay, back to the range...day three started as day two with the sore muscle thing, and the same -3 C temp. I also had a few new bruises to show for my efforts. It warmed up to 5 C as the day went on, so that by the end of the day, I had actually unzipped my jacket a little and stopped shivering!

This day the instructors set up a pseudo traffic scenario using painted lines as lanes and intersections. Here was a chance to stop, use your turn signals and rear brake to let someone know you were going to slow down before they piled into the back of you. Because I'm sure you all know by now that motorcycles have three brakes: Your front brake, your rear brake and the engine brake. Here's where I was reminded to tap my rear brake a few times every time I intended to stop. 

By the way, I have been practicing this for the last seven winters with my little car too, it's just so icy in places that if people aren't given enough notice to start slowing, they can't stop in time. A practice I picked up when I downsized from my Ford Crown Victoria. People can't miss that car, they were huge!

There were some tense moments watching people get the hang of making their way around the lanes. It was terrific practice before we headed out to do the real thing.

Then we had to do the U-TURN! Tighter than the "S" curve, I tried and tried and tried, but chickened out each time halfway through, always riding straight off the range into the grassed bumpy rutted area. It was a good chance to see that my balance riding off-road has not gone away, but that was not the point of the exercise. I had a few different instructors try to help me - they were so nice - but each one ended the same way. Off to the toolies I'd go. 

Maybe it was because I'd gotten brave and chosen the Suzuki 400 that morning which was bigger and more powerful than the trusty little Yamaha 200, but whatever it was, it just wasn't going to happen. In fact, on one of the re-entries back onto the paved range from the toolies -there was a bit of in incline - I didn't give the Suzuki quite enough power to get out of the dirt and stalled the engine, and then guess what? First guesses don't count! Yes, I dropped another bike! 

No damage whatsoever except to my pride. The  policeman who was taking the course too rode over on one of those Honda CBR 125 and offered to trade as he had seen what happened. I thanked him but told him I wasn't comfortable on those and he rode off. Well, he was literally back within two minutes with another trusty little Yamaha 200 and offered me that. I took up his offer and we traded. Before he zoomed off, he made sure I was alright. What a nice man, and I'm sure that's the quality his superiors saw in him to grant him his badge: resourceful and caring.  

About 3:00 pm that day, the instructors had half of us sit it out in the middle of the range to make more room. Most of us had gotten pretty good (some downright cocky)and there were some near misses with a small area to ride in. So there was a rotation of sorts to go through the obstacle course again - but with less riders you could go faster as your confidence soared. 

The lady with the new baby had been watching my son ride and turned to me to say, "Your son has no experience with riding? It must be so gratifying to see him achieve this!" I believe she felt that one day she would like to be standing there watching her son do the same. It was nice to hear as it was a leap of faith letting him try this.

The last part of the day was doing the "road test". As they walked us all around to show us what they were testing for, I was pleasantly surprised to not see a u-turn test. If that had been part of it, I would not have passed. I had decided earlier that day that that was something I would work at on my own bike in a parking lot after the course. Since then, I have done some figure eight work trying to get tighter and tighter but it is still a struggle.

The first test consisted of starting out from a little box, sharp turn right on a curve, gathering a certain speed and then stopping with your front tire in a little painted box. 

The second test was what I call the "be ready" test to swerve left, right or stop again, only you had to go faster. At this point, the instructor asked us not to run over him because he had had an accident the previous summer, and could not get out the way fast enough with a bungled leg! Those guys had nerves of steel to stand there in front of rookie riders!

The third test was to ride as fast as you can and then an emergency stop on a curve so that your tire was over a certain line and they could see the front forks go down. 

At the end of the day, the head instructor handed me my little certificate and pin and told me to spend some more time in parking lots before heading out onto the big roads. I assured him I had already planned that and thanked him for his lessons. 

Going through this experience restored my sense of fun and adventure. I will go forth with caution and practice. Already in two riding seasons since, I've noticed a change. 

Until I get back on my Suzuki in May, there's always some fun to be had drifting around corners in all the snow we have with my car. Now, there's a u-turn I can do!

Have a good one... 

 

   

  

Motorcycle Training Course - Day Two

I am having a hard time getting moving on this next piece of my training story - I feel today the exact same way I felt after day one training - sore all over. I was painting yesterday. Took five hours of kneeling, sitting and stretching to cover up all of that yucky dark, dark brown trim that was all the rage in the 70s when our house was built. If you've painted a room lately, you'll know what I mean. I don't mind painting though, it's therapeutic in a way - your mind can drift away to think about things while your body carries on with a mundane task.

Back to training day two - it started with a too early alarm jolting me awake and then my muscles let me know that they were not happy with the previous day's activities. Holy cow! Every single one of my muscles hurt. A cup of coffee and breakfast and we were off to the training range again. There wasn't much conversation in the car on the way there, so I know my son felt the same way.

The temp was -3 C (27 F) and when we arrived at the range, the motorcycles were all warming up in anticipation of the day. I laughed out loud when I saw everyone else climb out of their assorted vehicles because they were all moving slowly and awkwardly too. 

We had a half hour instruction in the trailer and then got sent out to practice for an hour. This went on all day - in for a bit, out for twice a long. Wouldn't have been so bad if the trailer had been heated so you could warm up, but that's not how it went. 

Day two consisted of learning to change gears up and down, making big sweeping arcs around cones and practicing your stopping. Changing gears came back instantly. Riding around little cones was much more challenging... 

I got told more than a few times to get my feet quickly back on the pegs when I started off each time. There was a tendency to keep them hovering on each side of the bike until I knew for certain I was moving fast enough I wouldn't need them quickly. I'm thinking that's leftover from off-roading when we were in gravel or sand, but it exasperated one instructor every time he caught me at it. By the end of the course, it was no longer a problem. We were told that by leaving your feet close to the ground, you may get your foot caught and twisted if something happened. Get them on the pegs quick and tuck them in.

Then we were asked to take the bikes around a fancy little tight "S" curve.  Well, after three hours of trying all morning I was about ready to throw in the towel. I could not keep my front wheel on that little bit of white painted line.

The instructors had set up various stations so that we weren't all doing the same thing at the same time. There was an obstacle course - first get it into third gear as fast as possible and be ready to swerve either left or right or stop suddenly. Then carry on with the wide sweeping curves, then stop and wait for your turn at the dreaded "S" curve. Followed by cone hopping and then another quick emergency stop to make the front forks depress. If the front of the bike didn't go down, you weren't going fast enough or trying hard enough we got told.

We had lunch and watched a few videos of deer leaping across highways just missing motorcycles. Then some more lectures from the head instructor who mentioned we all looked beat. 

He showed us what happens to your helmet when it is dropped just from desk height - a loud crack - said to replace it if this happens or it's five years old. 

He said not to ride when you are tired, on medication, have been drinking or are distracted by a problem. I noticed that one of the young women had left by that point, she'd had enough. If she had come along with someone else, they could have given her some support that she didn't have to master it all that day!

Right, it was time to get back on the bike and conquer that "S" curve. I tried again for a bit and pulled off to the side for five minutes away from the group. This was the point in that whole weekend that stands out so clearly for me. I could not get that stupid thing, I was just about exhausted trying.

I sat there with the engine running contemplating my options...I looked across the range at everyone else.  Some riders had gotten so good at the curve that their pegs were scraping the pavement with those legendary head turns. They were so graceful, it was almost like magic watching them. Others like me were just missing it. I really did think about riding the bike back to the compound and get in my car and wait for my son to finish for the day. As I've learned since, 90% of motorcycling is mental, the rest physical. If you don't focus, you won't succeed. I could see that my son had picked up the "S" very easily, he was a natural and was having fun. I decided then to try once more - what kind of example was I setting for him if I just quit because it got too hard? 

So I took a deep breath, gunned the engine and lined up again for my turn at the curve. As I approached it, I turned my head to anticipate each next curve and arrived on the other side having done it! The instructors were jumping for me...I had finally done it and then proceeded to do it 20 more times, first in first gear and then in second gear! I even tried it once or twice in 3rd gear but I was catching up to the person in front of me too quick and had to slow down. The sun came out just at that minute, I kid you not. 

My son lined up behind me for the next one and gave me a double honk as only the meep-meep horns of bikes can give. Why do they have such wimpy horns??

For the rest of the day, it was nothing but fun and when I did actually climb back into my car at the end of the day, I felt exhilarated!

The day was not totally without its mishaps however. While I was waiting to go on one of the "S" curve maneuvers, I had one foot down, the other on the shifter, the wind came whistling along and pushed me to the left. Down I went! I picked myself up, picked the bike up and noticed the clutch lever was broken. The instructor was not happy with me and we had to walk the whole range back to the compound to get another bike. He told me that a new lever would cost $400. He was quite upset, but I think he had spent the afternoon picking bikes up because the wind knocked everyone over that day, and they were probably worrying about all the repairing that was going to go on that evening. I felt bad and offered to pay for a new one but was told not to worry about it.

So I picked another bike of the same breed and started out again. This one's clutch lever was different than the last one and I ended up doing a wheelie. That freaked one of the instructors who was getting set to catch me, but I found the balance and put it down safely. I thought he might come over later and say something but he didn't. I was surprised and then elated - I had done my first ever wheelie without meaning to. 

Back home for the night to get more rest for the last day - Day Three.
 





 

Motorcycle Training Course - Day One

The best way to get back on the road safely was to take a refresher course. You needed a learner's license to take the course but since I had kept the "M" endorsement on my driver's license all the years I wasn't riding, I did not have to rewrite the learner's exam. I just had to show up with my helmet, jeans, gloves, boots and jacket to the training range.

On the first day of registration - March 1 - I signed myself and my son up for the three day course. He had expressed an interest in riding so I made a deal with him: you go with me for the course and then you could buy a bike and we will practice together. Of course, I was very nervous as a mother to have my child out on a bike in the world of traffic that doesn't always give a hoot whether you need part of the road too, but I felt that I was giving him his best chance to stay safe by taking this course and becoming aware of the dangers.

This happened two years ago on April 30. The first day started at 6:00 pm with a meet in a cold trailer with 18 other riders. The trailer heater was broken the whole weekend, temp hovered about -3 to 3 C (26F to 37F) it was not warm, and it was very windy. I overheard one of the wives say to her husband, "You had to be in the very first class of the year didn't you!" She wasn't mad, just bugging him as she was just as frozen as me.

It was cold that weekend, but I was just as impatient to get going on the whole biking experience again...so impatient that I almost foolishly didn't wait to take the course before picking up my bike from the dealership. The thing that stopped me was the dead battery. I had arrived mid April all ready to ride it home and the bike would not start. I had called ahead to say I was coming down but for some reason they hadn't checked it. So they would call me later after it was recharged. When I arrived back home disappointed, I got to thinking...it was sign that I really should wait, take the course and then go back and get the bike to bring home. That day I listened to my intuition, but I really, really wanted to get the bike. If I had not listened, I may have crashed the bike in my haste by thinking it would be so easy to just hop on and go. I was not thinking clearly that day and the universe let me know. A life lesson learned that day...

Back to the training range...there were 6 instructors - one of them being a woman who had been riding for years and pulled up in a huge Ducati, she was a neat gal and inspiring.There were 20 students comprised of a mixture of genders and ages: 

--A married couple where the guy was getting back into riding and his wife wanted to try it too. He rode the little Honda 250 Rebel cruiser and was fun to watch because he was like 6 foot 4 and you can imagine him wrapping those long legs around that bike. By Sunday morning his wife confided to me that she was not going to ride her own, she'd be more than happy to be the pillion rider. I respected her decision as I knew she had tried really hard but just was not having any fun. She wasn't bad though, but you just know, don't you? 

 --Another married couple had two brand new Harley Sportsters and a new baby. She was very petite and I could not imagine a Harley being small enough for her! She did just fine, enjoyed it and was looking forward to lots of parking lot practice at the end of the course with her new bike. 

--Next was a mom and her daughter (early twenties) who were going to give it a go...and another young women who I never spoke with...there was always so much going on!

--A lady in her mid-fifties - who was told she couldn't do that by an uncle, so she was going to do it anyway just to show him. At one point I thought I might have to use my rusty first-aid training as I saw her going toward a steep ditch and narrowly miss it... I don't know if she passed the course, but I do know she had fun and had passed her goal to try it! 

--a couple of young guys in their late twenties who had not had a good day on the only 20 minutes they had spent on a bike. They had split the cost of the bike and knew at that point they had to get some training. They got really good once they got going!

--a mom with two teenage sons - they had ridden off-road as she had and she wanted them safe on the streets now too. 

--a police officer who had one of those gorgeous Yamaha Vstar 900s and felt he was now past his "going too fast days" in his late 30s. He told me he liked my jacket and asked how it worked for me in the women's version of his Joe Rocket. 

--the rest of the students were guys of various ages - a couple asked me what I ride and some others were just there because they had heard that you had to take the training course to get your full endorsement; otherwise they would not have bothered at all. (Yikes!) It is not a requirement at this time, although the instructors would like to make it that way to keep riders safer. As it stands right now, you can write your learner's exam and go riding out in traffic without any training whatsoever...scary concept eh?

The bike I rode all weekend was the Yamaha TRW 200. My son preferred the Honda CBR 125.  

That first night there was about an hour and a half   of in-class instruction and then as much riding time we could get in before it got dark. We learned to "rock and roll" which was helpful to remember how far to let that clutch out before you killed the engine, and then stopping instructions before we were allowed out in the giant parking lot to practice in first gear. Then like magic, I just popped it into second gear when the engine needed it without even thinking about it - that's a long buried muscle memory that just came back on its own. More practice going around and around and I was feeling somewhat okay with the experience but still quite nervous. The head instructor warned us again and again that what we were doing was a dangerous sport and that kept ringing in my ears as I rode around. I was dealing with an unfamiliar claustrophobic-feeling helmet that kept fogging up until I opened the visor one notch. 

The bikes all had duct-tape all over them and you could tell they had been dropped many times. By the end of that first evening, I dropped one myself when I went to swing my leg off and forgot to put down the kickstand...oww. One of the older guys ran over to pull the bike off me before I even got out from under it. I thanked him but was mad and embarrassed at doing something so stupid. Bruises on knee and calf but did not break anything on the bike thankfully. It was at 9:00 pm, dark, cold, I was very tired and it was raining. My first doubts about what the heck I had signed up for began to creep into my consciousness...Perhaps this was not something I should be doing?  


As I drove home with my son (who was having a blast and doing well for someone without any experience with riding), I told him I had to give it my best shot that weekend. If at the end of it, the instructors told me that I really should not be on the streets, and I was not feeling competent, I would not carry on with this journey. But with the knowledge that I had tried, I would not regret it.

Day Two next...