CBTA PASS!!!!!!!!

**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.

**Str8 Jacket** · 18th August 2005, 15:21

Originally Posted by Eurygnomes

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...")

CONGRATS CHICK!!! :spudflip:

And as for the L plate, how the hell did you manage that - riding too fast ah (nudge, nudge) I had to physically pull mine of!

**jimdaworm** · 19th August 2005, 07:40

I too was on the course :spudflip:

Yeah I was there when Eurygnomes pulled up at the gas station

and Eurygnomes looked at her bike and said... "Oh no my L plates fallen off¨ and I said I am SURE Andrew will believe that!

Anyway MY chain came off... I guess that will teach me it was obviously tooo loose, I count my self lucky it came off in the carpark as it was I was doing abougt 35km/h and turning and it completely locked up the back wheel... if I had been going faster or on the open road it would have been much more exciting.

**Ms Piggy** · 19th August 2005, 08:56

Well done you!!

**hondacmx450** · 19th August 2005, 12:50

well done to you all me next i hope so you went from l plate to full

**louisb** · 19th August 2005, 13:12

I did that about a month or so ago... with andrew. sounds like it's exactly the same.

apart from the chain incident and the counting of the stop signs.
I was bloody stressed at the end.. when he said "ok now you have to ride perfectly and I can't help you at all"

Passed though... what a relief.

Going for my full on the 31st...