Day 235 – Good Ride Today, but not Quite a Winner

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235/365 (August 23, 2010) – Not quite sure what to say about this. It was an interesting day, long, but interesting. And at the end of it I was tired and sore. So when I finally tried to figure out what to shoot after dinner…well, there was little Wall-E staring at me. And this was the warped result.

Today was my motorcycle road assessment practice. I rode out to Surrey early and spent a couple of hours riding around the area to get quasi-familiarized with it. People really drive like maniacs out there! I wanted to get a feel for speed limits and they are definitely higher than in North Vancouver. I had considered riding out to Horseshoe Bay on the off-chance that Kramer would have his class out there and then I’d follow them back as I was reasonably certain he would be my examiner at 3pm. But I wanted a bit more time in the area so I opted to head straight out. I also wanted a bit of time to re-familiarize myself with the Kawasaki Sherpa I rode during training. Wow! Did that ever feel weird! Half the weight, 1/5th the power, a strange upright sitting position. BUT! Turns on a dime, unlike my SV.

Before heading out, Kramer hooked me up with a radio and went through some pre-ride quiz questions. Did OK on those, then I hit him with a bunch of questions to clarify some road rules and expectations. The man was nuts in the lot, throwing pylons at our heads and throwing buckets of water at us. For the road test he was cool and calm, until he got in the truck and on the radio, then he spent a lot of time trying to get into my head! In a good way I suppose. In between instructions on where to turn, where to perform a U-turn (was terrified of that particular maneuver, so hard to pull it off on my SV, but turned on a dime with the Sherpa! Aced it in spades! Got a “Nice one” in my ear), when to pull over and park the bike, he kept telling me that I was pissing him off because I wasn’t making mistakes. I eventually solved that problem when he tricked me! He asked me to perform a roadside parking job. When I did it properly, he asked me to continue down the road when I was ready. I checked, signalled, pulled out, sped up….and heard “One for Kramer” in my ear. Followed by “Did you forget where you were?”. Shit! Still in the playground zone.

No mistakes after that. And at the end of it all he said that I was one of the best rides he’s assessed all year. But I still failed because of that damed playground zone. Oh well, that’s what the practice was for. Afterwards we had a good discussion about the ride and I feel a bit better about my road test later this week. He gave me a bit of a chewing-out over something that ICBC does not assess, but that they really hit us over the head with in the class. “Beware the left turner and slide to position 3 when one is in your range”. I usually do…today I didn’t, don’tknow why, but I didn’t. I know all it takes is one stupid mistake and a fail can happen, but I’m OK with that as through all of this a lot of lessons have improved my driving. But all it takes is one stupid mistake (like not seeing a left hand turner and/or failing to act accordingly) and you can die. I’ve had a class 5 for 27 years, and you get lazy about driving, develop bad habits. and assume that you’re a good driver, but going through the whole process again makes you take stock of your driving habits and everyone can use a bit of improvement. Must get into the habit of moving to position 3 whenever a left hand turner is ahead… I like riding, I’d like to keep doing it. It’s not about looking or acting cool, it’s about staying safe on the street, and that’s the lesson PRS really drives home. They consider every student as “family” and they want to keep their “family” safe.  Kinda cool actually, yes, it’s a business, but you never get that feeling there. They seem to really concern themselves with the bigger picture. I suppose it’s in their best interest too, doesn’t really send a great message when former students die.

The fear factor about the test is that the weather forecast is for rain. Sun for weeks on end….rain last Thursday when I had to take the bike in for service. Then just sun. Now rain again on the day I can’t bail. Sucks.

But, it will be what it will be. And hopefully I pass, but if not, more time to practice.