Tuesday, July 12, 2005

I am SO getting a motorcycle!

Ok, so I finished the motorcycle safety course. And I passed! Considering I didn't even know how to turn on a motorcycle when I got there, I think I did darn good. There was a little bit of classroom time, but it wasn't a focus. The instructors really wanted us to get some good time on the bikes. I used a Honda CB125T for learning purposes. It's a pretty small bike, but it was perfect for my comfort level. There were a couple Nighthawks and a few Suzukis, but I like the one I got, plus, mine was RED.

One of the most difficult things they taught us was the U-turn. They put us in a box about the size of 5 parking spaces and told us to make a figure 8 inside the boundries of the box. I only managed to do that once the whole time I was there. They also taught us how to corner, using the outside/inside/outside method on curves. There were times when I was at a 45 degree angle to the pavement...it rocked. They taught us to swerve quickly. That was fun. They taught us how to come to a quick stop. They taught us other stuff, too, but it's too much to just list.

So...now I can be a safer motorcycle rider. Also I get a discount on insurance and sometimes they say dealerships will give ya a discount if you took the course. All I gotta do to get my endorsement on my license, is to wait for my certificate of successful completion, take that to the DMV, pay them $15 and get my new license! WooHoo!

The class had 12 people, 4 of which, including myself, were women. All passed, but two of the women, the oldest, about 60, and the youngest, about 21/22. Most of the guys were older gentlemen who used to ride years ago and were wanting to get back into riding and wanted a refresher course. It was an interesting mix once you threw in the two instructors. One had really long hair that he banded up in a long pony tail. They were funny. We all teased the chain smokers who kept trying to sneak off for a smoke. We had fun. I really enjoyed my time there. And I'm glad I did it.

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