It was close to 11:00 last night when we finished our last class with the Can Am Ryker reverse trikes. My ass was dragging. On the bright side, we had all four bikes; still, there was plenty of standing around, with 8 of us in the class. While I thoroughly enjoyed this immersive experience, I am glad to be done and have no schedule again.
It was more time in class again to start. Risk vs Safety discussions. Self-evaluation and techniques to improve how to best react in different situations. Then, out to the bikes...
As you can tell by the long shadows, it was close to sunset, which meant most of the riding exercises were done "under the lights." More emphasis on "quick, safe decisions," including last second swerves, hard stops, and running over 2x6 boards in the road.
All of this led up to starting the riding portion of the test around 10:00 pm. I volunteered to go first. From my perspective, it went as expected: everyone was doing their best to be precise. I felt the test was easier than the practice exercises. Also as expected, the guy who was a dumbass during the past two nights was a dumbass during the test - he was sent back twice to repeat tasks. It was clear they wanted everyone to pass.
Then, the final evaluations: everyone did pass. We were evaluated on a point deduction basis - you could have up to 15 points of deductions and still pass. Two of the students (yes, the dumbass and his fiance') used up all 15 points, so just passed. Most of the class had between 1 and 5 deductions. The instructor said I was the "MVP, with zero deductions and 100% on the written." He then handed out cards that can be taken to the Motor Vehicle Department to allow the participants to get their "3-wheel license" without having to retest. I won't have to do that, since I already have a motorcycle license. But, I should be eligible for a discount on our motorcycle insurance with that card showing proof of the training.
So, what was the point of all this for me, since I don't need the 3-wheel endorsement on my license? Thanks for asking. I was curious about these Can Ams. Could I have gone to a dealer and done a demo ride? Most likely... but then you would have to deal with the dealer. And, you wouldn't have the training to best understand how to ride one of these. Any plan to get one? Not at this point, but this class did satisfy my curiosity and provided plenty of safety techniques that are good for motorcycle/scooter riding. No regrets for having invested the time and money.
I slept in 'till 8:00 this morning.
1 comment:
I have never really regretted taking more training, whether or not I intended to use it. Glad you are done.
When we took our basic rider training in NorCal 32 years ago, our range session was in a parking lot at a nearby school. Halfway through it started raining, and a large drop off along one side of the lot got HUGE. Fixated on that, I ended up grabbing a front wheel brake during a turn, and the front end slid out from under me on a slippery paint stripe. I reflexively caught myself with a fully extended arm and really torqued my shoulder. I should have dropped out, but we were about three easy drills from finishing. I toughed it out and Alice had to close the car door for me as a passenger to drive us home. But we both passed and got our CA motorcycle licenses. It was the only real two-wheel incident I ever had.
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