Saturday, October 1, 2011

I rocked my motorcycle class - PICTURES!

Look at all the pretty Honda 150's all lined up waiting for eager students.


I rocked my motorcycle class! It was awesome!! I learned new skills and am stopping & landing on the correct foot. I am so blissfully happy and very tired right now.  My instructor told me I have good technique and riding posture and even relaxed. It was an awesome day!!! So looking forward to tomorrow morning. My classmates all did well and the instructors are great!

The little Honda's are a nice bike to learn on.  They sure do take punishment though, all of us newb's ripping around the parking lot in 1st gear.  Some of them had heinous battle scars too. There were 10 of us in my class and we were all very encouraging to each other in times of stress and utter newb awesomeness. (six of us were women)  I had to laugh when the instructor wanted us to do Rock'n'Roll the bike, rocking the bike back with our heels touching and then roll forward onto the foot.  I couldn't do this because I was too short - lol, so I engaged the clutch and moved it forward.  There is a great sense of accomplishment going through the course and making the 90 turns, u-turn and slaloming the bike without touching your foot down.  At first I had a little panic when going through the cone turn, but then I got a grip and thought "Well hell, I make turns like this every day, this is just through cones."  After that I was good.  I never realized that a traffic cone could hold power over a human, but apparently they do to a new motorcyclist.

I am still grinning from ear to ear!



Before you learn  how to ride, you have to learn to push your bike around.

We pushed each other around the lot twice, to get balancing down.


Shortly after this we were riding around cones.

16 comments:

Troubadour said...

Congratulations, all that practice made perfect!!!

Trobairitz said...

Good job Dar. We all knew you'd be rockin' the class. Two thumbs up.

Dar said...

Thanks you guys!! My instructor told me I had good riding technique and that I looked relaxed. Yay! It was exhilarating. Think I am going to have to plan a trip down your way once the weather gets nice again & I have a little more experience under my proverbial riding belt.

SonjaM said...

I guess your scooter experience has helped gaining the right posture for the bike. Well done!
Be careful with those cones, they can be mean characters like jumping at you when you least expect it ;-)

Dar said...

Hi Sonja, you are absolutely right about the cones, they are mean little buggers! One was particularly bent on going under my tire repeatedly today. it was like fatal attraction. Today was a good day, I had some difficulty shifting the bike, I swear the clutch is toast. But then again it IS NOT my bike. Looking forward to next weekend.

Unknown said...

Dar:

I can't help but think that we forgot to thank Motorcycle Man for all his hard work and patience. And also to you of course, for retaining what you are shown. You're a natural, but you already know that

bob
Riding the Wet Coast

John Cloonan said...

Good on ya! looking good out there.

Rania @madsocial said...

Those are really cool bikes! When I did my class we didn't push each other like that.

Turtle said...

Too cool, I love those little bikes! Never seen those before. Our 250s were heavier, so no pushing here, either.

Instead, they made us demonstrate that we could ride a bicycle before they let us on the motorcycles.

Dar said...

Bobscoot - Motorcycle Man is the biggest reason I am out there at all. He helped me right from the get go and was never afraid to tell what I needed to do and when I was doing well. He is awesome and I think some day he should look at becoming a certified instructor. His patience is phenomenal. As for the natural part - thank you *blushes*

John - Thanks so much, I love tweeping on motochat on Fridays.

Rania. - The reason they have us pushing the bikes is to get familiar with their weight, but more importantly to see if we can balance. I also a, not sure I would like to unleash 10 newbs in a parking lot without knowing a few things. Lol

Turtle - I think we use 250s in the traffic course. The little Hondas are pretty sweet little bikes, but they have been punished pretty hard. Some of them have bent or broken signals, the outer casing OD the speedometer and engine indicator lights are cracked. They have various war wounds, poor wee bikes. I actually fell sorry for them because we gave them a pretty good beating ourselves. But they are good learner bikes,

Trobairitz said...

Thanks for adding the pictures Dar. You did so well.

I am confused when you say putting the proper foot down. Are they teaching you to only use one foot at a stop and to keep one on the back brake?

Such cute little bikes to learn on too. They don't sell those down here.

Rachel Stoneham said...

The people who want to ride a motorcycle take this as an inspiration. One should learn the basics, and it should be done with proper guidance from experts and trainers. Congratulations on rocking your class, btw! You will be a great "rider" in the future. Don't forget the safety precautions that were and will be taught to you. :D

Dar said...

Rachel - Thanks! The course gives you so much knowledge and skill, I am glad I did this way.

Ethan Rehman said...

You're definitely doing great with your motorcycle course. Congratulations! Motorcycling is a great and enjoyable thing to learn. But it also comes with great responsibility. I can see that you were wearing full protective gear while in your class. I hope you keep that attitude when you get out of your class and ride on the streets. Goodluck, Dar!

Dar said...

Ethan - Thanks for stopping by! I completed my class and acheived my motorcycle endorsement. I ride ATGATT everytime I am out on the bike, including hot weather. I do regular practice in a parkinglot to work on my skills and I take seminars when they are offered and I read a lot.

I love riding and an thoroughly enjoying it and can hardly wait for warmer riding weather.

Thanks for stopping by Scooterpie!

Claudio Mccarty said...

You rock, Dar! Taking a motorcycle class shows your eagerness to properly drive a motorcycle. The secret technique of learning to drive a motorcycle is to stay focused and relaxed. Also, never fear to stumble, since it’s part of learning. That way, you will be more driven to learn and drive with confidence.