djsubjective
2nd March 2016, 18:53
So ive just started my last year of a primary teaching degree and with all the placements we have and living rural, i was sick of forking out $ on gas driving a van that my wife wanted (but then she wanted my Levin instead) in and outa town by myself.
So I thought id test the waters, put my van on FB for a LAMS bike swap, and very quickly got some offers, the best by far being a 2013 Lifan LF250. So the guy drops it off, drives away in my van, and im thinking "Cant be that hard, or take that long to get legit for the road" Big mistake.
I didnt realize it would cost so much to get a class 6 licence, or that to id have to wait a few weeks to get the nearest available BHS test.
And then for the first 4 days i had it, i taught myself how to ride in the rain. But i learned to snowboard on ice, so im used to trial by fire :-)
So id got some riding under my belt, but i wanted take my final personal trial, a ride into Rotorua. Well, that was scary to say the least. The bike aint the friendliest over 75km/hr, and there is the notorious Te Ngae rd, the torture of all on 2 wheels. I pasted the first 4 streets, and at each one, a car driver looked, saw me, and then pulled out :no: So I diverted off into Lynmore and took the long way round.
So from all this, I have learned 2 fundamental lessons.
1. Riding a bike was everything i thought it would be, fun and exciting being so connected to the road and aware of the surrounding environment (including other road users).
2. Car drivers seem to think motorcyclists have 9 lives.
I contemplated carrying some golfballs for my next ride, but i got a cruiser to cruise, not to get all irate and give in to road rage.
So I thought id test the waters, put my van on FB for a LAMS bike swap, and very quickly got some offers, the best by far being a 2013 Lifan LF250. So the guy drops it off, drives away in my van, and im thinking "Cant be that hard, or take that long to get legit for the road" Big mistake.
I didnt realize it would cost so much to get a class 6 licence, or that to id have to wait a few weeks to get the nearest available BHS test.
And then for the first 4 days i had it, i taught myself how to ride in the rain. But i learned to snowboard on ice, so im used to trial by fire :-)
So id got some riding under my belt, but i wanted take my final personal trial, a ride into Rotorua. Well, that was scary to say the least. The bike aint the friendliest over 75km/hr, and there is the notorious Te Ngae rd, the torture of all on 2 wheels. I pasted the first 4 streets, and at each one, a car driver looked, saw me, and then pulled out :no: So I diverted off into Lynmore and took the long way round.
So from all this, I have learned 2 fundamental lessons.
1. Riding a bike was everything i thought it would be, fun and exciting being so connected to the road and aware of the surrounding environment (including other road users).
2. Car drivers seem to think motorcyclists have 9 lives.
I contemplated carrying some golfballs for my next ride, but i got a cruiser to cruise, not to get all irate and give in to road rage.