Sunday, October 12, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Zomg text block!
Yeah, I tend to be long winded. It's a good thing I'm not intending the public to read this stuff. I don't think they would.
Cliff notes plzkthx.
Cliff notes plzkthx.
I's a biker
Well, today was the third day of the MSF riding course, which concluded with the riding skills test.
It was a bit of a rough start this morning. There was a lot of nervousness, and it took some time to feel comfortable on the bike again. After about an hour of riding though, I was beginning to feel quite good. That is, except for the box. The box is the bane of my existence. Essentially it's a rectangle painted on the ground that is 20ft wide by 60ft long. If you're in a parking lot, it would be about a rectangle of 4 spaces (2 wide and 2 long). In this space, you have to do a low-speed figure-8. This is a U-turn to the left, followed by a U-turn to the right. You have to keep the bike moving, keep it within the lines, and not put your foot down. I simply was not able to pull it off once.
Other than the box, everything went great. I was nailing my quick-stops and my swerves. Cornering seemed to be much easier today. I was a bit nervous doing the braking out of a corner exercise considering my spill yesterday, but it all went smoothly.
After lots of practice, we did the skills test. It consists of the U-turn box, the swerve, the quick-stop, and the decreasing radius turn. I messed up the box of course. If I never have to do that damn box again it'll be too soon. I'll just walk the bike. I nailed the swerve perfectly. On the quick-stop, the key parts are getting enough speed before the brake, braking fully, keeping your eyes up, and downshifting to first while braking. I must of nailed that stop a good 5 or 6 times before the test. Wouldn't you know it, test time comes, and I didn't get the damn thing into first. The stop was great, but the bike was in neutral. Oh well, if I had to choose between not getting the shift (being out of gear in an emergency stop), or not getting the braking (being inside of the tailgate of the truck in front of me), I'll take neutral. On the last test, the corner, I got marked down for not carrying enough speed. Again, if I have to choose between missing the speed bit (going slow through the turn) or missing the boundary lines (going off the road), I'll pick the speed.
Now here's the thing. If you get 21 points deducted, you fail. Everyone passed. I got 13 off (would have been only 8 if I had gotten the downshift on the quick-stop like I had all day prior to the test). The problem is, there was at least one guy there that really should not have passed. He simply could not follow directions at all. He's the guy I'd expect to see driving down the wrong side of the freeway because he didn't bother to look at the signs on the off-ramp.
Anyway, I know I have some stuff to work on still. I intend to do a lot more practicing. Unfortunately I wont be able to ride too much for a bit, as I need to take a driving test to get my Nevada driver's license (with M endorsement). Apparently in Nevada if you get three moving violations in four years, you have to take a written and driving test. It's really not a bad law. It's just really annoying for me though. Four years ago I was still driving my Lancer Evolution, which was a very, very bad influence..
It was a bit of a rough start this morning. There was a lot of nervousness, and it took some time to feel comfortable on the bike again. After about an hour of riding though, I was beginning to feel quite good. That is, except for the box. The box is the bane of my existence. Essentially it's a rectangle painted on the ground that is 20ft wide by 60ft long. If you're in a parking lot, it would be about a rectangle of 4 spaces (2 wide and 2 long). In this space, you have to do a low-speed figure-8. This is a U-turn to the left, followed by a U-turn to the right. You have to keep the bike moving, keep it within the lines, and not put your foot down. I simply was not able to pull it off once.
Other than the box, everything went great. I was nailing my quick-stops and my swerves. Cornering seemed to be much easier today. I was a bit nervous doing the braking out of a corner exercise considering my spill yesterday, but it all went smoothly.
After lots of practice, we did the skills test. It consists of the U-turn box, the swerve, the quick-stop, and the decreasing radius turn. I messed up the box of course. If I never have to do that damn box again it'll be too soon. I'll just walk the bike. I nailed the swerve perfectly. On the quick-stop, the key parts are getting enough speed before the brake, braking fully, keeping your eyes up, and downshifting to first while braking. I must of nailed that stop a good 5 or 6 times before the test. Wouldn't you know it, test time comes, and I didn't get the damn thing into first. The stop was great, but the bike was in neutral. Oh well, if I had to choose between not getting the shift (being out of gear in an emergency stop), or not getting the braking (being inside of the tailgate of the truck in front of me), I'll take neutral. On the last test, the corner, I got marked down for not carrying enough speed. Again, if I have to choose between missing the speed bit (going slow through the turn) or missing the boundary lines (going off the road), I'll pick the speed.
Now here's the thing. If you get 21 points deducted, you fail. Everyone passed. I got 13 off (would have been only 8 if I had gotten the downshift on the quick-stop like I had all day prior to the test). The problem is, there was at least one guy there that really should not have passed. He simply could not follow directions at all. He's the guy I'd expect to see driving down the wrong side of the freeway because he didn't bother to look at the signs on the off-ramp.
Anyway, I know I have some stuff to work on still. I intend to do a lot more practicing. Unfortunately I wont be able to ride too much for a bit, as I need to take a driving test to get my Nevada driver's license (with M endorsement). Apparently in Nevada if you get three moving violations in four years, you have to take a written and driving test. It's really not a bad law. It's just really annoying for me though. Four years ago I was still driving my Lancer Evolution, which was a very, very bad influence..
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Like riding a bike, or not....
I am currently learning to ride a motorcycle, and today was day 2 of the MSF Beginning Rider's Course. Yesterday was pretty much just class time, where we reviewed things like different kinds of bikes, gear, etc. Today was instruction time on the bike.
For anyone not familiar with how it works, classes like this are essentially sponsored, and the students have donated bikes to ride for the class. This particular class is held at the local community college. There's a large blacktop area where a series of exorcises take place to learn the fundamentals of how to ride.
I must say, this is honestly one of the most difficult things I've ever done. It's so much more difficult than learning to drive a car, even one with a manual transmission. There's typically at least 4 things that you have to be able to do simultaneously for any of these exorcises. It's going decently enough but there's some things that I need serious work on. One of these is keeping my head up and not looking at the bike or ground at all. It's amazing how much the bike has a tendency to want to follow your eyes (and if they're looking at the ground, down the bike wants to go). I've done enough sports car racing to understand how to look through a corner, but motorcycles take it to a whole different level. Another issue is my throttle modulation. I stall a lot.
I had one nasty spill while I was out today. It was really just a stupid moment on my part. Towards the end of the cornering exorcise, while I was leaned into the turn, I grabbed the front brake. I know damn well that it is something you absolutely cannot do. It was just a weird reflex to not giving the bike enough throttle or lean and realization that I was going to end up going wide. As soon as I went down I knew exactly what happened, and pretty much cussed myself out for it.
The end result is a bit of rash on my right wrist, from a small gap between my gloves and jacket. The heel of my left hand is sore, from putting it out as I fell. My big toe on my right foot also hurts like hell, from getting jammed between the bike and the ground as I fell.
The way I see it, it's a good thing to do this kind of fall on a practice range with a donated bike rather than on the streets on my bike, so long as I learn from it.
Hopefully things go smoother tomorrow, as the skills test will take place at the end of the day.
Eyes up, ease in the brake, eyes up, relax, eyes up.
For anyone not familiar with how it works, classes like this are essentially sponsored, and the students have donated bikes to ride for the class. This particular class is held at the local community college. There's a large blacktop area where a series of exorcises take place to learn the fundamentals of how to ride.
I must say, this is honestly one of the most difficult things I've ever done. It's so much more difficult than learning to drive a car, even one with a manual transmission. There's typically at least 4 things that you have to be able to do simultaneously for any of these exorcises. It's going decently enough but there's some things that I need serious work on. One of these is keeping my head up and not looking at the bike or ground at all. It's amazing how much the bike has a tendency to want to follow your eyes (and if they're looking at the ground, down the bike wants to go). I've done enough sports car racing to understand how to look through a corner, but motorcycles take it to a whole different level. Another issue is my throttle modulation. I stall a lot.
I had one nasty spill while I was out today. It was really just a stupid moment on my part. Towards the end of the cornering exorcise, while I was leaned into the turn, I grabbed the front brake. I know damn well that it is something you absolutely cannot do. It was just a weird reflex to not giving the bike enough throttle or lean and realization that I was going to end up going wide. As soon as I went down I knew exactly what happened, and pretty much cussed myself out for it.
The end result is a bit of rash on my right wrist, from a small gap between my gloves and jacket. The heel of my left hand is sore, from putting it out as I fell. My big toe on my right foot also hurts like hell, from getting jammed between the bike and the ground as I fell.
The way I see it, it's a good thing to do this kind of fall on a practice range with a donated bike rather than on the streets on my bike, so long as I learn from it.
Hopefully things go smoother tomorrow, as the skills test will take place at the end of the day.
Eyes up, ease in the brake, eyes up, relax, eyes up.
Monday, September 22, 2008
In the Beginning...
So I have decided to try my hand at creating a blog. I've resisted this for a long time, but it appears there's no real good alternative for posting up pics, anecdotes, and experiences to share with others. At least it's not Myspace (mood: perturbed; current song: some emo depeche mode thing; oy).
Anywho, my intention for this is to have a place to post up pics from various activities, including camping trips, motorcycle trips, car... trips? Plus it's always nice to have a place to rant once in a while.
Anywho, my intention for this is to have a place to post up pics from various activities, including camping trips, motorcycle trips, car... trips? Plus it's always nice to have a place to rant once in a while.
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