It's a bird! It's a plane! It's SpaceX!
Day 2 of the Can Am class is complete. This was different from the study, question & answer routine, yesterday.
This training center is supposedly closed on Saturday and Sunday... you wouldn't know that. Lots of cars parked out on the street, because their main parking lot was full. I was there early (as usual), so I looked around a bit: on one side of the property is their dirt bike training area...
Looking another direction, you can see the "wall of tires" built up around an asphalt track (on the other side of the tires)...
Out front, a Intro to Motorcycling class is underway...
Our class started inside once again. After some discussion, the instructor said, "And now, we'll have a 'Celebration of Knowledge' "... his way of saying we'd be taking a test. It was 25 questions... most of it general motorcycle knowledge and riding situations, some were specific to 3-wheelers. I was done first and scored 100% - the instructor laid the grading "key" over my answer sheet, looked up at me, and said, "Showoff." Hey, we had specifically discussed some of the questions... I was ready to get on with the riding.
I was under the impression that this test was a "sample" to see how we were progressing. A couple students were sent back to their table to "retake" some questions. When all were finished, he announced, "Contgratulations - you all passed your written portion of the class." So, another test tomorrow won't be happening. Still not heading out to the bikes - more riding situations discussed.
Then, finally - out to the bikes...
Are they considered "bikes" if they have 3 wheels? I guess "trikes" or "reverse trikes" would be more appropriate. We started with the basics: sit on the Rykers and learn where all the controls are located, then go through the starting procedure - it is different from any other bike I've ridden.
The first problem: two of the Rykers were brand spanking new. I started up one of the new ones and it came to life. This is not one-bike-per-person like the 2-wheel classes; two people have to share a Ryker. So, you will spend half the range time watching, instead of all riding; I knew that ahead of time. The problem: the next guy to start that new Ryker couldn't get it started. The instructor took over the bike, and... couldn't get it started. It lit up when you pressed the button - just wouldn't start. Apparently, there are no back-up Rykers, so we now have 3 bikes for 8 people; it means even more time just watching. No other alternative, we all dealt with it.
We had 4 hours of riding drills, starting with a bunch of stop and go, progressing to riding some through-the-cones slalom drills. Controlled hard stops. Some "fast" cornering. I have "fast" in quotes because these bikes are "student governed" - I found the bike hit the rev limiter at 26 mph. I found I was really enjoying the bike and the drills. This is definitely a good way to get comfortable with a ride that is completely different from a typical motorcycle or scooter.
Most of the riding was under the lights, as it was close to sunset when we got started with the hands-on portion. At one point, looking to the west, I saw this...
I said, "Hey - look! It's a SpaceX launch!" I was surprised that most of the class wasn't aware that SpaceX launches their Falcon 9 rockets out of Vandenberg Space Force Base in California to put Starlink satellites in orbit. There have been two of these launched in the past month that pass over the southwest side of the Phoenix area. We missed one launch (didn't know it was happening), then followed along as another launch got delayed several times due to weather. And when it did launch, there was a solid overcast in our area, so we didn't see it.
I took a moment to give Joan and call, because I knew she'd want to go outside and see it pass over. She took photos and videos as well.
And as you can see from the photo above and this one below, we are doing some of this riding in the dark...
It is an impressive plume as the rocket passes over. Class continued. And ran long - it was supposed to be over by 10:00 pm, we finished up at 10:30. I was pleased to have some hands-on time with these bikes; it is a different, but interesting riding experience.
One more class this afternoon and evening. It has been interesting seeing how the other students have done through the class study and riding... 2 of the 3 women (all who have a Can Am) have been quite tentative; but you can see the confidence growing. The guy who has one, and ran it off the road (with less than 100 miles on it, and says he has "decades of riding experience") is the only one who hit some cones and failed to stop where he was supposed to. He may be a threat to himself and others when he gets the bike back; he is here because his fiance' thought they could use this class. He definitely should not be teaching her. The younger couple who recently bought one of these are both doing well. The 30ish guy who has never ridden anything bike before is enthused and doing great. And the teenager, who I haven't seen smile, was beaming when he got off the bike at the end of the evening. And me? I am confident riding. This may be a different kind of conveyance (more like a blend of a bike and a sporty car), but much of the road handling transfers. It would be easy for a motorcyclist to hop on one of these and feel like a fish out of water, or dismiss them as "weird." Having done the classroom work, then structured riding exercises is a better way to get a proper introduction. From my perspective, this has been much better than going to a dealer and taking a demo ride to learn about the bikes... um, trikes... er, reverse trikes.
Will I run out and buy one of these? Probably not. It is interesting, but not as much fun and free-feeling as my bikes. I'm looking forward to tonight's class, and the "Celebration of Performance." (The riding portion testing.)
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