Easing On Down the Road: Basic Riding Class, Day Three

Today was the first day of the range work for the Basic (Motorcycle) Riding Class I'm taking. Was it tough? Parts of it. Was it fun? All of it.

I did have some trouble with bits and pieces but mostly, I feel like a bad-ass. :)

We started by getting in touch with where things are and worked the process of starting the motorcycle. Did I get everything right? Nope. The first time I tried to start the bike, I was a little nervous and forgot to engage the clutch. The bike stayed nice and dead, and I felt like an idiot. Once I engaged the clutch, all was well. 

Having driven a manual transmission car for many years, I am familiar with the idea of clutch and gas and how the two work together. So, it wasn't too tough to get the hang of starting off from standstill. Engage the clutch and there's power to the back wheel. You start moving. Roll on the throttle a little and you are good to go. My trouble came when I tried to roll on the throttle without using the clutch to mitigate. I would jerk forward.

Here's the thing. As I suspected, I am fine with foot first, hand second for a car. But, hand first, foot second, and rolling the throttle instead of pressing on the gas gave my brain a good shake. It will be a while before I'm completely used to it, for sure. Figuring out the way you do clutch and throttle is an art form. They should give PhD's on exactly what needs to happen. After a while, I finally started to get a real inkling. Actually, starting was easy. I got how to release the clutch and get into what they call the friction zone, pretty easily. But in moments where you're breaking and you need to clutch and release the throttle at the same time and moments when you are accelerating and you need to use the throttle? They can be very tough.

I liked that the instructors said that the bike would tell you when you were doing things right because everything would feel smooth. And conversely, you'd know you were doing something wrong if things felt rough or jerky. Once I got the hang of the transitions, things got a lot more silky. 

One of the biggest things I had trouble with was maintaining good control while going slowly. Consequently, I also had trouble knowing exactly what to press or lift or squeeze once the trouble started. So, if the bike started shaking, I sometimes didn't know what to do. I ended up drilling into my head that I need to engage the clutch and it helped. The biggest trouble I had was when I came up on the people in front of me, too quickly. If they were going slowly, and I got to them, I had trouble getting my brain and body to engage and do what needed to be done to fix the problem. That will need to be something I learn from practicing, but I think it's vitally important. I didn't necessarily need to stop in the moment, you see. I needed to slow down and I needed to know how to do that right when it needed to be done. Thinking quickly when you are unfamiliar with the controls can be a challenge. Big time.

The parts I loved. 

First, I feel like a bad-ass. And here's why. When I was borrowing gear from Yermo, he showed me a pair of riding boots that had big plastic tabs on the sides. "These are for when you lean over far enough that you scrape along the ground," he said. "Cool," I thought at the time. "But I'll never need those because I don't ever plan on leaning far enough over to scrape anything on the ground." I couldn't be more wrong. Today, I leaned over on some of the turns to such an extent that I did indeed scrape my boots. And now, of course, I know I'm going to need those very cool boots. As a side note, both instructors commented on how well and how far I leaned to take some of the turns.

Second, Riding at speed. Yermo and Duncan have both told me that once you get some speed, the bike rides straight pretty much by itself. And yep. That's absolutely true. And I love riding at speed. Everything was tons easier - maneuvering, shifting, turning, pressing, etc. Moving around the cones in slalom style felt easy, natural, just a joy. And I was able to press into the handlebars pretty easily to get around those babies. What great fun. And a side note pressing into the handlebars. It sounds completely counter-intuitive to press the handlebars in the direction you want to go, but it is absolutely what you need to do. And you don't turn the handlebars when you press. You just press out and a little down against the grip. That was confusing to me until I figured it out, and it got lots easier.

Third, looking at where you are going and pressing into a turn (I have the feeling lots of people don't really believe that pressing into a turn [counter steering] will turn you at speed, but boy is it an accurate description of what happens.) I love this. Also, you don't look where you are. You look where you want to go/turn. Doing that somehow automagically makes the bike go towards where you want to turn.

One of the exercises was to ride the perimeter of the range and shift from second to third and back again multiple times. This exercise really helped get me used to shifting. I had been trepidatious about shifting and my ability to shift up or down or whatever, but some time spent riding while doing it over and over again helped tremendously.

Challenges:

Getting used to how to break properly was a challenge. All four limbs need to be doing something and doing it in the proper order. Yikes. And then, you have to remember to first engage the front brake (right hand) and then once you feel the forward momentum, you need to squeeze progressively more. 

Seeing other people fall. One of the women in the class locked up her front wheel on one of the quick stops we were required to do. The bike went sideways, and she flew through the air. She said she was okay but wow, it looked scary. 

Final thoughts:

Now, all I need to know is can I pass? Will I pass? And how long before I get my own motorcycle? I can definitely see how the right one is incredibly important. I know for myself, the Suzukis we are using in class will not do for me. I'm going to need to lean forward more because the straight up and down sitting, absolutely doesn't work. It makes me slouch and more than an hour doing that will kill my back. 

As I gain experience riding, I will get a better idea of what I want in a bike. Do I want speed? Do I want comfort? Do I want maneuverability? And what trade-offs will I make for any of these? I'll answer these questions much later, but they are already flitting around in my brain. Luckily, I have experts in my corner who will help me find and nurture my motorcycle and my motorcycling habit. :)

All in all, though, I wouldn't trade today for the world (and big thanks to Dayle for dropping by and taking pics). There's a freedom to riding that I didn't realize I was missing. Various friends have said, "You're going to feel free when you are on the bike." "Sure," I thought. But boy, I didn't really know until I leaned into a turn. Freedom isn't quite it, though. It's more like soaring. 

Tomorrow, we finish the range work and do our test for getting the waiver to get our M Class license. With luck, my next post will start with the words, "I did it!"

Easing On Down The Road: Basic Motorcycle Riding Course, Day 2

Last night, I had the last class session for the Basic Riding Course. (To see the post on the first class, go here)

The relaxed vibe continued. Les, the instructor talked us through the rest of the concepts in our MSF booklet. We talked everything from blood alcohol levels to skids, to swerving. And again, we watched videos on how to do what needs to be done for the various topics.

In order to get the most out of the class, I volunteered to do everything Les asked us to try. No one else was standing up and I figured that I might as well try it now. So, when I asked about the feeling of shifting the clutch from first gear up into neutral or from second gear down into neutral, he asked me to get on the bike (a Suzuki GZ250. See below for a similar bike) and try it. I did, and it was relatively easy to feel the shift from second into first, but not so much from the other way around. See, the thing is that to switch from second down to neutral or first, you press down with your foot on the shifter. In fact, to go down to any lower gear, you press down, like you do with a manual transmission clutch. To go up in gears, you press the clutch with your left hand, and then you place your left foot under the shifter and lift up to either get into neutral from first, or go up any of the gears from there on in.

Here's my problem: I owned a manual transmission car for years. So, I know exactly how to use my feet and hands to press the clutch, place the car into the gear I want and then use the friction zone to engage the gear and ease on the clutch. So, that "split your feet and hands" thing is not hard for me at all. What I think will be hard? I'll need to split them into doing different actions from those in a car. See, while in a car, the clutch is what you first press with your foot (and always down, never up). On a motorcycle, the clutch is on the left side of the handlebars. It looks just like a left hand brake on a bicycle. So, my brain will need to adjust to thinking of the thing that looks like bicycle brake actually being the clutch. And I will need to start thinking of engaging the clutch as something I do with my hand rather than with my foot. And the exact opposite thing happens with the shifter. On most manual cars, the gear shifting is done with the hand. On a motorcycle, the shifting is done with the left foot. So, while I know exactly how to shift the clutch on a car (left foot first), and change gears (right hand second, here in the USA), my brain might rebel at the thought of clutching by using my left hand and then shifting with my left foot. About the only thing similar to a car is that braking (rear brake) is done with the right foot (while the front brake is similar to a bicycle in that it looks like a bike brake on the right hand side of the handlebars). Likely, I will need to start thinking of this as a whole new animal, and myself as a complete newbie in order to make heads or tails on how to do this. I'll keep you posted on how I do.

The other thing I tried were the beer goggles. No, really, they had them. They are these bizarre goggles that simulate how you see when you are drunk. Les asked for volunteers, and I tried it. He put blue tape on the floor and first he had me walk it without the goggles like I would if I were being tested by the police. Without the goggles, I did fine. Then, I put on the goggles and it was like being in a disturbing classroom-looking Fun House. Everything was weaving and woozy-ing. I walked the line and was told I did pretty well, but while the line I walked was pretty straight, I wasn't terribly near the actual tape. And the thing is that the goggles only give you impaired vision. They don't impair your judgment or your physical movements. So, add those in because of actually drinking alcohol, and it's a recipe for some bad times.

In the end though, I did what I came to do. Les administered the 50-question multiple guess test (only three guesses per question) and we all took it. How did I do? I passed. 100%!

I feel proud. On Saturday, we start the range work. We'll be on the GZ250s and we'll be practicing starting, stopping, turning, swerving, and whatever else they need to throw at us to make us street legal. Luckily, I have friends who are willing to coach me on how to progress as a rider and one friend in particular has been gracious enough to line up a motorcycle for me to use to practice and improve. So grateful to Yermo Lamers of Miles By Motorcycle for this.

The coursework itself? Pretty easy. The range? I'll let you know Saturday.

Ease On Down the Road: Basic (Motorcycle) Riding Course Day One

I have recently become good friends with people who ride. They infected me with motorcycle fever, and I decided to get my M Class license and become one of the lucky few who travel the world on two wheels (and a motor).

One of these "instigators," sent me the link to the Howard Community College's Riding School's Basic Riding Course with a "Not that I'm pushing or anything" included in the text. So I signed up to take the class, and as part of my process, I've decided to blog about it. In fact, I might just blog about the entire process from soup to eventual nuts.

First, a little history.

Many moons ago (read more than twenty-five years ago), I rode a few times. And more recently, I have ridden scooters. But, I haven't been on a motorcycle for a long time. And like my friend Yermo of Miles By Motorcycle says, even a few months or weeks off the bike will make a rider somewhat rusty. So, I'm considering myself a complete beginner. And I signed up for the Basic Riding Course.

The cool thing about the course (here in Maryland) is that if you take it and pass it, it's like going to the MVA and taking the test there. If you pass this class (both classwork and range work), you get a waiver and can go get your M Class license from the MVA. Pretty cool, right? So, how could I not?

Things to know about the class: One, be there on time. If you are late, you don't get to take the class and there are no refunds. Two, they have gear if you need it, but it's better to have borrowed some from someone else, if you can. Three, they require that you have good, sturdy, over the ankle boots, which they don't provide. Four, the instructors are knowledgeable and super friendly (at least Les is, and that's fabulous).

The students in the class come from various backgrounds. A few are currently students at the college. One is a retired fighter pilot. A few others are also retired military. Several are like I am. We all have the bug to varying degrees. And at least one is already riding but needs to get legal. At first, I thought I might be the only woman in the 12 person class but at the last second two other women came in. It makes the class more well-rounded and that feels pretty good.

One of the coolest things about the classroom? There's a Suzuki GZ250 sitting in the middle of the room. And we were encouraged to get on it and see how it feels. It felt great! When we walked in, there was the usual paperwork to fill out. Part of it is the release form that says something like, "I promise not to sue anyone if some kind of horrible thing happens to me while I am on one of the school's motorcycles." It makes sense. Pretty much everyone has you sign something to make sure you won't sue so this was par for the course.

The class itself was broken up into discussion and videos. Les had us broken up into groups of three and we each took a section of the book to discuss and then present to the class, depending on which topic we were talking about. So, for example, when we were going over gear, I presented on the different types of helmets, what they are made of the DOT and Snell seals of approval, and why you want to have one to begin with. Other people took jackets, boots, gloves, etc. When we were talking about turning, stopping, accelerating, etc., each group took a section, discussed it and then presented it to the rest of the class. It was an easy format in which to learn, although I do believe the stuff I presented will be the stuff I most retain.

The videos are informative but not overly exciting. They do give you information you need to know and that is of great benefit. They also outline the various acronyms you need to know. There are things like SEE (Search, Evaluate, Execute),  TCLOCS (Tires and Wheels, Controls, Lights and Electrics, Oil, Chassis, Stands) and FINEC (Fuel, Ignition, Neutral, Engine cut-off switch [or as Les calls it, "the Red Thing"], and Choke/Clutch).

I'm hoping that in the moment, I'll know what all these things are because I'm sure a bunch of them will be on the test. Right now, though, they are sort of swimming in my head. I'll know on Wednesday if I pass and the test is 50 multiple guess questions so hopefully, my brain will get out of its own way, and I'll do okay.

In the end, the class has a chill vibe and it's easy to relax and focus on picking up the information we need to know as well as the bits of wisdom Les doles out as we go. "Just something to think about" is his code for, "this is practical knowledge that will likely save your butt." And when we come across a concept that will be on the test? He has us stomp our feet. So, when I presented the main differences between a motorcycle and a car, he had me stomp my feet for emphasis. "This," he said, "is something you'll definitely need to know."

I'm looking forward to Wednesday. We'll be taking the test in preparation for riding on Saturday and Sunday. If we don't pass the test, we get a do-over within 30 days. Here's hoping I won't need that.

I'll let you know how Wednesday goes.



In the meantime, a big thanks to Duncan and Yermo for starting me down this road. It's going to be a helluva ride.