View RSS Feed

bosslady

How it started...

Rate this Entry
I guess you could say I've never really had any hobbies as such. Nothing I've ever come across could take my fancy or my interest, rather, for any longer then a week or two, maybe a few, have just always kind of lacked the motivation to get interested in any one thing, for any length of time...

About 2-3 years ago I met a good friend who is also now my flatmate, "M". I've never really known anyone who rode a motorsicle but M did, and it seemed pretty cool, bad ass, haha. When summer rolled around I started tagging along to his track days. Manfield, Taupo, Hampton Downs etc. Don't know how many I've been to now, quite a few I guess. Some good, some bad, a lot of them filled with expletives and grumpiness for things that wouldn't go proper on his bike. But it was "cool" to see all the people on their bikes, nice to get out of Auckland, great to be able to support my friend and learn a thing or two and even though I was just the support crew (or pit bitch, apparently) I could already see the comradery without even being a biker myself, pretty cool!

Anyway, it must have been from the beginning of last year towards the end of last year especially that I started getting told by M (though I don't think he ever seriously thought I would do it) as well as an older couple we'd made friends with (from the Naki that go to track days), that I should get a motorcycle too. I ummed and ahhed about it for awhile, but never really thought I would do it. Why? Any excuse really, money, fear, I'll never be good enough, I'll hurt myself, fear, people will laugh at me, failure etc...

I don't know what it was that made me do it in the end but one day I decided nope, I'll go for it, at least I'll be able to say I tried if I fail (and actually although I was hoping I wouldn't, I kind of thought I would, fail, that is).

Booked in my BHS/Lesson with Rider Training in Albany on the 24/11/12. I don't know what I was thinking, that I'd just hop on a bike and it'd be all gravy from there? I didn't think I'd be awesome, but I'd underestimated how good I WASN'T. It was hard, I can't drive a manual (car), my balance is questionable, my coordination - also questionable, heck I'd never even turned a bike on!! If it were not for the patience of my Instructor, Steve, I think I would have ended up a crying mess in that carpark! Anyway after falling over with their bike once and almost doing it a couple times more, I s l o w l y got through the BHS and passed. Think you can get out of 15 marks before you fail? I got 10, I think... not that great but a pass is a pass I guess. The following day(s) many very large bruises ensued.

What did I do next? Went home and told M I'd failed, cause I wanted to surprise him with my awesomeness (lol).

For a few weeks I'd been doing research on the internet, lurking and reading threads on here etc. etc. and had settled on getting a GN250 which suited my budget anyway. Borrowed enough money from the bank for my bike, a full kit of gear and another couple of lessons with an instructor. I should have saved but I wanted it and I wanted it now!

28/11/12 I had an acquantance help me choose a bike/test ride it for me. This is where I met my sweet GN250. She came with a screen/visor, factory sissy, sissy with padding on the back (I guess for a pillion) and a chain lock. Managed to knock a few hundy off the asking price so was happy about that. She had just over 7k on the clock when I got her and was a little bit neglected, aesthetically. Kept it at the sellers house until my acquiantance could pick it up on the Saturday.

29/11/12 I booked in my Learners theory for the following day, I didn't realise that if they weren't busy, you could actually walk right in and do it then and there! Needless to say, I wasn't at all prepared... I know I could have waited and studied for a week or two before sitting it but I thought fuck, I'm on a roll, why not? I swatted all night and did countless practice tests, I must have been up until midnight. I did heaps of free tests on: http://www.drivingtests.co.nz/roadcode/motorbike/ Then I went here and paid I don't know, twenty bucks? and did the "real" test 15 times http://www.roadcodepractice.co.nz/. Failed the first 5, passed the following ten so figured I was ready. 30/11/12, pass my learners, just. You can get 32/35 and still pass and that's exactly what I got, phew!

Saturday rolls around, A (acquaintance) and I went and picked up ginny and brought her back to A's house. He said he'd give me a quick lesson. Secretly (although it was pretty obvious, so maybe no secret at all eh) I was shitting myself, nervous as hell. "A" obviously had some natural ability, just got on a bike for the first time and off he went, however many years ago, so he says. He's a crazy (but lovely and very helpful!) Irishman though. Anyway the lesson went absofuckingterrible. Good Lord I was SO nervous. So nervous that I kept looking at the kerb when he was yelling instructions to me, kept looking, kept looking, went over said kerb and down the little hill onto the pavement, fuel pissed out the top of my bike, I couldn't pick it up, he was down the road and running to help me! E for embarrassed!! Lesson ended shortly thereafter and now I'm thinking FUCK what HAVE I DONE?! Shortly thereafter A rides my bike home for me and I left it out the front of our house to surprise M while I dropped A back home.

Got back home thinking M would be surprised... he wasn't. He asked whose bike that was. Mine of course! Then I told him I'd lied to him and that I did pass. He was most unimpressed and didn't talk to me much for the rest of the day oh well, M doesn't like surprises, lesson learnt I guess

In the following week or two after this I couldn't ride my bike as my gear hadn't arrived from fc-moto yet (that'll be another blog) but I did do I think another one or two lessons with an instructor (same one) to get my confidence up etc.

So anyway that's how it started... and now I'm off to troll some of my threads and posts so I can blog some of the other (possibly inane and boring to you) things that have happened to me along the way
Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

Name:	247036405.jpg 
Views:	34 
Size:	45.0 KB 
ID:	276328  

Submit "How it started..." to Digg Submit "How it started..." to del.icio.us Submit "How it started..." to StumbleUpon Submit "How it started..." to Google Submit "How it started..." to reddit Submit "How it started..." to Facebook

Comments

  1. Grashopper's Avatar
    Lol. It was really fun reading this. I totally was the same. Scared shitless, but I so needed to get a bike and a license right now.
  2. bosslady's Avatar
    Heh, glad to hear you had fun reading it! Best I write it all down now before I forget, eh!
  3. strumpet's Avatar
    Honest and funny as blog. Loved it Well done.
  4. bosslady's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by strumpet
    Honest and funny as blog. Loved it Well done.
    lol thanks!