The beaver is a proud and noble animal
Notes from a bemused canuck
Le poop.
After going over the bills, it would seem that my plan to buy a motorcycle in the short term just went out the window. Our Canada trip cost rather more than we’d allowed for and our bathroom renovations ran a week longer then expected. Both of those combined mean that the money I had earmarked towards a bike needs to go towards something more utilitarian.
Oh well.
I had another driving lesson this morning – this time going for my module 1 exam. The day didn’t start out well. We were doing some low-speed stuff on the back lot and I dropped the bike I was on doing a u-turn. This is highly annoying because so far the only thing that’s been reliably good has been my mod1 stuff and this morning, the mojo left me. I really didn’t like the bike I was on at first – the throttle was really stiff. After a bit of faffing to siphon some gas into another bike that handled better, we were off.
Then we got pissed on.
Quite a bit.
Really, really quite a bit.
So far, the last two lessons I’ve had have been in the drink, but this one today took the case. What I get for learning to drive in the fall, I guess.
The bad news is that I failed my mod1 for a silly reason. I don’t know how I manage to do it, but somehow I keep catching my foot rest when I pull away and it flips up so that I can’t use it properly. This happened just as I was pulling out for my slalom run. I had to put my foot down to put it back in the correct position. Foot down. Automatic failure. Bummer.
Still, I wouldn’t have passed. I wasn’t quick enough for the speed manoeuvres so I need to work on that and I put my foot down during my u-turn. That one really bugs me because I had those down pat last lesson. Blergh. Oh well, I have another mod1 scheduled for when I get back from Canada.
The DSA guy said that I have the control, I just need to clean a few things up.
I had my first lesson on a 500cc bike today and it has thrown a spanner in the works. I was fairly convinced that I’d just pack the lessons in and simply buy a 125cc and just keep ridding on L plated, renew my CBT every two years and be content. I’d play it safe and not face the possibility of failing the eye exam and losing all that I’d achieved.
Except that now, everything has changed. The 500cc is so much more easy to ride, not to mention fun. I finally had a bike up to 60 and feel comfortable with it at that speed – and that’s saying a hell of a lot considering that it was raining today during the ride! I actually had a blast today – rain and all.
Everybody seems to think that I’m overthinking the whole eye thing. All the instructors are happy with my eyesight and Katy hit it on the head when she said that I’d regret not trying for the brass ring. She’s right. I want my Bonneville, dagnabbit.
It’s been a loooooong weekend. Katy’s been working 12-14 hour night-sit shifts since Friday night so she’s knackered, and she seems to be coming down with a bug, which isn’t helping her energy levels. It’s still a transitional process, but I’m finding it a bit rough to not see her these days. It seems that we’ve only had three night in the past month when she hasn’t been working, and two of those were in Leicester. She leaves shortly after I get in from work, so we have maybe 15-20 minutes to chat a bit before she has to get ready. I generally put beastie to bed and then spend the evening cooking and watching TV. When she’s not working night-sits, she comes home between 10:30 and 11:30, so we might have another 15-20 minutes to chat, but by then we’re both tired so we just go to bed. I’m sure we’ll both get into the routine of things.
The beastie is just being a beastie and is into everything, biting everything, throwing everything, climbing everything and scratching everything that shouldn’t be scratched. I discovered that he can climb into his high-chair by himself during one of those “it’s too quiet” moments. He was sitting happily next to the fridge eating my fridge magnets. Oy, vey.
I had my first motorcycle lesson this weekend, the Compulsory Bike Training (CBT) course. It gives very high-level pointers on maintenance, controls, maneuvers, road safety and the like. I’m doing the course with Joe and he said it best when he said that it feels like it’s too much to take in at once and the best way to get everything to become automatic (like it is for him to drive a car) is to get out on the road and do it. That’s actually a bit intimidating, but I’m looking forward for more.
The day started out with a bit of stress because I had to pass a field eye exam. Now I know that this sounds dodgy, but I knew where they kept the fixed-distance license plate they use and I already knew what was written on it, but all of that went out the window when the guy said “just read the plate on either of the cars at the end of the parking”. I took a deep breath and said what I saw. The dude squinted a bit and said “yeah, that’ll do”. HAPPY DANCE!!!
Joe and I didn’t go on the road on Saturday, even though a road ride is normally part of the CBT. That’s because we’re doing the direct access course that will allow us to ride bikes bigger than 125cc. We’re going to be doing the rest of our lessons on 500cc bikes that require a things be done a bit differently than with the smaller, lighter bikes. The other guy who was on the course with us, a loudmouth Ozzie who will someday wrap himself and the 1100cc crotch rocket he wants to get around a tree, was only doing the CBT and went on a ride. I find it a bit mind-boggling that, in most cases, people are let loose on the road for unaccompanied riding after only 6 hours of training on a bike that can do 70 mph with very little difficulty – without even needing a theory test. Still, that’s how things work here apparently and who am I to question a system that will actually let me drive :D
It is a lot to process, the things you need to unconsciously think about to be able to drive safely. The good news is that they seem very competent teachers and they’re very safety oriented. Still, I’m a bit humbled to say that I expected it to be easier. Anyway, I have a feeling that if all goes well, I’m going to be very proud of myself for accomplishing a goal that I’ve always thought impossible to achieve. Go me.
I passed my bike theory test last Friday, so I am one step closer to achieving a goal I thought unreachable until quite recently. It went quite well, except for the teensy problem that almost got me an automatic fail.
I’d been studying for the thing for the previous week so I wasn’t really worried about it and I’d downloaded software to go over the hazard perception (HPT) portion of it. I was all set to go.
I got there with plenty of time to spare and with all the necessary paperwork. The dude at the reception counter told me to put my bag in a locker and to step into the exam room. As i was sitting down, I realized that I had my mobile in my back pocket, so I put it face down on the “place personal items here” area of the exam cubicle along with my provisional license and I started the test.
I breezed through the theory portion and then came the HPT section, where I was instructed to put on headphones and listen to an audio clip. Unbeknownst to me, my phone bleeped while I was listening to the clip, and later on while I was concentrating on the hazard videos (as it happened, it was the alarm on my calendar giving me an event reminder – for the test I was currently taking). At some point, the little lady looking over the exam room came in and asked who had a phone. I swear I never heard her even come in!
So when it bleeped the second time, apparently some people complained and the head honcho from the reception desk came in and spoke up loudly to ask who had the phone. I heard him that time and knew I was in trouble from the tonage. Since the English aren’t known for their sense of humour in official terms, I was rather worried. I did my best to concentrate on the task at hand – i.e. not failing the test – and figured I could deal with the consequences afterwards.
So when I was done, I came out of the room and the lady pointed me towards the head dude. She looked rather concerned for me. The dude then proceeded to tear me a new one for 10 solid minutes, telling me that in the 10 years he’d been doing this, nobody had ever been stupid enough to bring a phone in an exam room and that this was just not done in England. In the end, I looked pitiful enough and said yes sir, no sir, thank you sir enough that he stopped yelling at me and gave me my passing grade papers.
In the end, it was an honest mistake and I never meant to cause bother. But it doesn’t matter now, because I am one step closer to getting my full license and buying a motorcycle.
Amusingly though, when the guy who is taking the courses with me and was taking the exam with me left (after me) and asked the head dude what had happened with me, he was also regaled with a 10 minute barrage of verbiage.
I have my CBT this weekend and lessons a few weeks later and then I simply need to pass an eye test and a driving test. No pressure. Easy peasy. I’m freaking out.