Eurygnomes
18th August 2005, 13:48
Hey all.
I'm not sure whether one of the other people on my course (and on the site) posted this last night, so I'll refrain from sharing too much,
but
I PASSED!
Which is pretty cool. And so now, I'm taking off that L-plate (well, I will when I get something back from LTNZ, I sent i my 'graduation package' this morning) and am able to go at 100kph on the motorway. Thanks Str8 for giving me the L-plate on Tuesday night - it flew off at some point on the way to the CBTA course (which sounds SOO lame, "Hi Andrew, you won't believe it but...")
So...what's the layout?
Well: first you arrive. Derobe. Sit. Watch video of Black Prince (tosser - imho). Discuss. Watch video of 'how to ride safely'. Discuss. Watch something else. Discuss. Discuss Special Crash Unit investigation of serious (okay, fatal) motorcycle/truck collision (with paused moments so that we can do hte 'investigation' ourselves). By then it's lunchtime (I interject a lot okay?).
Grab lunch.
Then it was onto the bikes and ride in formation (ADVICE: DON'T knock the kill switch when you all pull over 25m after leaving parking lot for someone else's problem, you end up looking like an idiot) and off to Upper Hutt.
Riding in formation is hard. DOn't believe anyone who tells you otherwise. Or maybe it's my mother hen instinct - I keep checking that everyone's still there (headcount) and that we're all in good distances etc, as well as looking out for cars etc! Plus, I had to keep reminding myself that just because we were in a group, doesn't afford me space to become complacent - you still have to keep an eye on road surfaces, looking far enough ahead etc.
Anyway - got to the GM carpark. Pottered around on cones (countersteering - with one hand folks!) and then around some circles ('the circle of doooom') and then did some threshold stopping. A copper came along and earbashed our instructor so we did a lot of the cones/circles while that was going on. One of our lads lost his chain (poor thing) so there was a bit of maintanence learning as well (yay - I found my toolbox - AND managed to open it - bonus points to me!).
The threshold stops were fun, the copper remained on site - and two of our lads managed to get their back wheels up (their first, and possibly last, legal stoppies!!). I didn't. In fact, it was all I could do to not lock the back. Finally the cop told me to 'rest' my foot on the back brake not push on it. Et voila. No skidding/sliding/locking. YAY!
Then a formation ride up into the valley out that way. Learning how to take lines from the instructor - hand signals for a rotation of tail-end-charlie. Then back into town. For the test.
Dum dum duuuuum. (that's a minor harmonic scale going down...1, 3, 5...)
First we had to go down this street, along a 80k zone area, back into a 50, then do a U-turn in a safe manner (with indicating etc). Okay...no problem. I may have not calculated a gap particularly large, but I accelerated without an issue. Knew I'd be pulled up for it though! :(
Then I led the group along another bit (I think) till we got somewhere else. Everyone's in best riding stance, indicating at lane changing/lights, giving way where appropriate (to EVERYTHING) and leaving big enough gaps to drive lorries through. Keeping an eye in mirror for instructor (though completely incapable of telling who he's watching anyway!). Another U-turn then back to another meetup point (these points are about 500m from one another...) over some roundabouts (smallest roundabouts in teh world) and some bumpy ped. crossings. Last segment: instructor says "count the stop signs between here and there...". I approach first one saying to self, "ONE STOP SIGN Mwahahah" (in best Count Dracula from Sesame St voice) and then thought, 'Oops...that means STOP Nomes" and JUST stopped in time (dumbarse). Merged like zip (with indicating) from the right, and then pulled off into bus station where we were told the results.
YAY.
Ride to town more 'invigorating', but hell, my 'back off' signal worked a charm three more times! Beeped as left the group at the Terrace turnoff on mway...and then home to get warm again! :)
Here's to going on the next one, getting the appropriate bit of paper, then my motorcycling life to begin in earnest! :)
Congrats to all who were on the CBTA yesterday - it was a ball. And I'd ride with you lot any day of the week.
I'm not sure whether one of the other people on my course (and on the site) posted this last night, so I'll refrain from sharing too much,
but
I PASSED!
Which is pretty cool. And so now, I'm taking off that L-plate (well, I will when I get something back from LTNZ, I sent i my 'graduation package' this morning) and am able to go at 100kph on the motorway. Thanks Str8 for giving me the L-plate on Tuesday night - it flew off at some point on the way to the CBTA course (which sounds SOO lame, "Hi Andrew, you won't believe it but...")
So...what's the layout?
Well: first you arrive. Derobe. Sit. Watch video of Black Prince (tosser - imho). Discuss. Watch video of 'how to ride safely'. Discuss. Watch something else. Discuss. Discuss Special Crash Unit investigation of serious (okay, fatal) motorcycle/truck collision (with paused moments so that we can do hte 'investigation' ourselves). By then it's lunchtime (I interject a lot okay?).
Grab lunch.
Then it was onto the bikes and ride in formation (ADVICE: DON'T knock the kill switch when you all pull over 25m after leaving parking lot for someone else's problem, you end up looking like an idiot) and off to Upper Hutt.
Riding in formation is hard. DOn't believe anyone who tells you otherwise. Or maybe it's my mother hen instinct - I keep checking that everyone's still there (headcount) and that we're all in good distances etc, as well as looking out for cars etc! Plus, I had to keep reminding myself that just because we were in a group, doesn't afford me space to become complacent - you still have to keep an eye on road surfaces, looking far enough ahead etc.
Anyway - got to the GM carpark. Pottered around on cones (countersteering - with one hand folks!) and then around some circles ('the circle of doooom') and then did some threshold stopping. A copper came along and earbashed our instructor so we did a lot of the cones/circles while that was going on. One of our lads lost his chain (poor thing) so there was a bit of maintanence learning as well (yay - I found my toolbox - AND managed to open it - bonus points to me!).
The threshold stops were fun, the copper remained on site - and two of our lads managed to get their back wheels up (their first, and possibly last, legal stoppies!!). I didn't. In fact, it was all I could do to not lock the back. Finally the cop told me to 'rest' my foot on the back brake not push on it. Et voila. No skidding/sliding/locking. YAY!
Then a formation ride up into the valley out that way. Learning how to take lines from the instructor - hand signals for a rotation of tail-end-charlie. Then back into town. For the test.
Dum dum duuuuum. (that's a minor harmonic scale going down...1, 3, 5...)
First we had to go down this street, along a 80k zone area, back into a 50, then do a U-turn in a safe manner (with indicating etc). Okay...no problem. I may have not calculated a gap particularly large, but I accelerated without an issue. Knew I'd be pulled up for it though! :(
Then I led the group along another bit (I think) till we got somewhere else. Everyone's in best riding stance, indicating at lane changing/lights, giving way where appropriate (to EVERYTHING) and leaving big enough gaps to drive lorries through. Keeping an eye in mirror for instructor (though completely incapable of telling who he's watching anyway!). Another U-turn then back to another meetup point (these points are about 500m from one another...) over some roundabouts (smallest roundabouts in teh world) and some bumpy ped. crossings. Last segment: instructor says "count the stop signs between here and there...". I approach first one saying to self, "ONE STOP SIGN Mwahahah" (in best Count Dracula from Sesame St voice) and then thought, 'Oops...that means STOP Nomes" and JUST stopped in time (dumbarse). Merged like zip (with indicating) from the right, and then pulled off into bus station where we were told the results.
YAY.
Ride to town more 'invigorating', but hell, my 'back off' signal worked a charm three more times! Beeped as left the group at the Terrace turnoff on mway...and then home to get warm again! :)
Here's to going on the next one, getting the appropriate bit of paper, then my motorcycling life to begin in earnest! :)
Congrats to all who were on the CBTA yesterday - it was a ball. And I'd ride with you lot any day of the week.