2nd Day of Class

The 2nd day of class was the one where we really learned how to ride a motorcycle. We started with the most basic tasks and gradually built on those. One of the first tasks we did was a power walk. A power walk is where you engage the clutch and throttle slightly causing the bike to move at a very slow speed i.e. a walk. This taught us how to engage the clutch in 1st gear. Once we got the hang of doing that, we started riding the bike in 1st gear. Then, we progressed to shifting the bike into 2nd gear. Also, we practiced braking. On a motorcycle, you have a lever on the right handlebar for the front brake and a pedal on the right side of the bike for the rear brake. You need to use these in unison without overdoing it otherwise, you'll lock up the tires. If you do that at high speed, it can cause a crash.

In normal riding, you won't be using the clutch tons. In our training, we used it constantly. After a while, my left hand felt like it wanted to fall off. In normal riding, when you come to a stop, you shift the bike down into 1st gear and pull in the clutch lever until you're ready to start moving again. The alternative is to find neutral on the bike so you can let the clutch lever out. I found finding neutral on the bike to be very tricky. It was a half click with the clutch pedal and, it was easy to over step it. Still, it beat holding in the clutch lever all the time.

We ended up riding something like 4 and 1/2 hours which is the most I've ever riden. I found muscles sore that I didn't know I had. After our riding was over for the day, we went back to the classroom for our last classroom lesson before the written test. The lesson covered drugs and alcohol. Surprisingly, there is a problem with alcohol especially beer. Apparently, a number of motorcyclists forget that a 12 ounce beer has just as much alcohol as a 5 ounce glass of wine or a 1 and 1/2 ounce drink of hard liquor. If you think driving a car drunk is bad, it isn't close to riding a motorcycle drunk. Motorcycling is a lot of fun BUT, it requires far greater concentration and awareness. Both of those are significantly degraded when drinking. The result is enormously increased odds of a crash and fatalities. You would think motorcyclists would know better considering they know how tricky it can be to ride a motorcycle.

After the lesson, we reviewed, had the test explained to us and finally, we took the 50 question multiple choice test. To my delight, I aced the test. I'd studied for it and, I think it paid off. The last day of the course, we'd learn more skills on riding a motorcycle and take the practical. Stay tuned for my post on day 3 of the course.