We spent the first day in the class--boring--but informative. I just couldn't wait to get out and ride. (By the way, I had only ridden one motorcycle in my life up to this point, and only for two days, a few months ago.) The morning of the second day was spent entirely out on the course. I love the freedom and power that you feel when you ride a motorcycle. I learned a lot of defensive maneuvers and had plenty of time to practice them. Every now and again when I would do an exercise close to one of our instructors and they would try to talk with me, I would get nervous and mess up. I started going through each exercise mentally before I completed it, and that seemed to help calm me down. We then went back to the classroom and took our written exam. I only missed two.
The morning of the third day found us out on the range again. After we broke for lunch we did a few more exercises and then our instructors informed us that we would be taking our riding test-I got a little nervous. We were informed that if at any time during the exam we dropped our bike, we would be dismissed. I was about fourth or fifth in line and so was able to go through the movements I was going to make a few times. The first part of the test involved completing a figure eight turn in a small box and then swerving to miss an obstacle. After that portion was completed the rider was supposed to turn and look at the instructors to ensure they didn't have to redo any portion of the test. My turn came and I perfectly executed the different challenges. As I was coming to a stop I turned my head to look back at the instructors. I wasn't fully stopped, and sometimes there is a connection between turning your head and your handle bars, so my bike started a slow fall. I tried and tried to catch it, but wasn't able to stop its descent until it was about six inches from the ground. I was so relieved that I caught it! My only problem was that I was in an extremely awkward position to try to lift the bike back up. I held the bike at six inches off the ground for about ten seconds and then I mustered up enough strength to s-l-o-w-l-y pull it back up. After I got it up the entire course erupted in cheers! It was so embarrassing and funny. Needless to say, I finished the rest of the exam without incident.
After we had finished our exams, the instructors called us over to them individually to tell us how we did. I aced the exam, not getting a single point deduction! ( : The instructors then proceeded to praise my performance and asked me if I would like to teach the course. Hm. I asked if they realized my history on a bike was not long, and they assured me that they knew what they were asking. I told them I would consider it.
Now I just have to get my bike....
2 comments:
Coby has been oggling over motorcycles again...Thanks Kels!
Awesome Kelsey!
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