Tuesday, October 20, 2009

The Final Showdown

After we ate it was crunch time - time to show off all the skills we had learned over the past two days. SilverWing, Blondie and I did not have to take the road or written test. I was doing it just see how I measured up, SilverWing mentioned something about better insurance rates for getting the completion card, I think Blondie was using it as a self test as well. So PreMed and my son were the only two with something riding on it.

Turns, slaloms, passing, hazard avoidance, and everything else we had learned all came into play. I was watching my son and he was doing really well. Then the dreaded Figure 8. I was the last to go and on the second left I pulled a Barney Rubble, letting my left foot drop to the ground because I thought I was going to tilt. The rest of the maneuver was flawless and inside the painted box.

The only other thing I had an issue with was the Outside-Inside-Outside maneuver on a curve. Just as I entered the curve, my left foot slipped on the peg and I could hit the gear shift correctly to complete the shift into second. So, I did not think my speed was fast enough but not much I could do about it. I had problems a few times with the pegs being a little small for my feet and my foot not being at the correct angle to break or shift. I would fix it if I owned the bike, but since these were loaners - I just dealt with it.

After the last trial we all parked our bikes and watched as PreMed and Dharma compared notes. They came and old us that we all passed. A brief moment of cheering then it was announced that my son had done one point better than I. No ego here, I was proud of him. EMT said letting the foot down on the Figure 8 cost me. We then packed up and headed back to the dealership for the written test.

Blondie skipped out on the written test, so there was just 4 of us. The test was multiple choice and the questions were very easy if you read the book. I don't think anyone missed any questions. EMT gave us our completion cards and bid us farewell.

Waking out the door, I felt comfortable with my basic skills and knowledge. I was ready to ride for real.
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Sent from my Android phone
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