Motorcycle Class

[DeLarla 22]

You're probably tired of me talking about MY new motorcycle, but I've been up since 3:30 a.m. (I'm a very bad sleeper) and the world is asleep. So here I am.

Yesterday's class was brutal.... B R U T A L. Friday night we were in a very boring classroom with 11 students, 6 had never been on a bike. So they're teaching the class how to shift gears and ride a motorcycle out of a book. Complete waste of time. Then yesterday we got to ride a little. We're required to wear full gear, so my Herman Munster motorcycle boots, long sleeve black t-shirt, socks, jeans and helmut baked me in the 95 degree heat for 5 hours straight... zero shade. Two drill seargent instructors yelling, but ya never know who is getting yelled at so everyone's in constant fear!

But the waiting... oh how the waiting nearly killed us. (Not just me, the entire class had quivering knees by the end of the day.)

First, my bike is huge, so my long legs are comfy. Yet they put me on a tiny 250, which means I gotta draw my legs up like a damn frog, which isn't something they've ever done before, yet "PULL YOUR KNEES IN LISA" all day long! And they've got everyone riding on top of each other, which is so dangerous for people that have never been on a bike.

One huge 350 pound guy in front of me crashed & fell over, which scared the hell out of the brand new girl behind me so she fell over, which caused this major panic.

So after 5 hours in the blazing son using muscles that I'll never use on my Harley, we spent the rest of the afternoon in the classroom studying for the written exam... the classroom with the BROKEN air conditioning. So we had to stay late because the instructor gave us 10 minute breaks every half hour cuz the funky stench and heat was overwhelming. 12 people sweat their butts off in the heat all day to be cramped in a room with no AC when it's nearly 100? F-U-N-K-Y! And all us girls sniffed each other, and none of us were funky, so it was one or two of those men who hadn't bathed first. Funky!

The class definitely needs work. They finally get us all riding around cones and getting some practice, when they yell at us to cut the engines and dismount so we can stand around in the heat listening to them lecture for 20 minutes about what one or two people are doing wrong.

So I must have lost 3 pounds because it was a hellofa workout. Plus I had major restriction so I had a liquid lunch and PB'd my dinner (but I fought the PB and won so it didn't come up.)

But, did I take advantage of all that fat burning? Who, me? Nope. Ate a pint of Ben & Jerry's, set the container on the nightstand and fell asleep without even brushing my teeth!

Penni, you still have plenty of time to win this challenge. If you lose five and I gain five, maybe we'll actually tie!

Missed you guys.... I have to be back in class today, only today it's a 10 hour day outside in the heat... on the bikes all day long. The tiny little bike where my knees nearly drag on the ground.

But we all passed the written test, and by the end of today they'll force me to pass the driving test. Naturally I wasn't able to sleep, so today I'm gonna lose five pounds but I SWEAR I WILL NOT EAT ICE CREAM TONIGHT! I will have progress! I will, I will, I will!

[Iluvharleys 15]

Relax a little girl! Yup, that heat is a killer. When I went it was 105 degrees, on blacktop whick made it even worse. We got very few breaks, and had to wear the long sleeves, helmet and high top boots and gloves. That part was awful. When we broke for lunch, I couldn't eat either (and I am not banded) I just sat there with the air going to cool my body down. On the last day it got so bad I almost said I have to quit, I can't take this heat, but somehow I managed.

We had about 30 in our class, and the test was the last thing we did. We had class the first evening, then riding all day Sat. and almost all of Sun, then go to the classroom the last hour for the test.

I think the one thing that saved me was the group I was in was a fun group. Even though we were miserable, we made it fun.

It will be over before you know it, and you will learn some things from it. And you will be legal to ride!

Betty

[New Hope 37]

Lisa, you have a NSV!! Would you have felt like doing this 6 months ago?

Betty, I can't believe you can handle a motorcyle, but don't want to drive in Houston! Girl, you sound fearless to me!

[Iluvharleys 15]

Thanks Marie, it's not that I don't want to drive anywhere, I just don't know how to get there! lol. The drivers here in Dallas is bad, and I heard Houston was even worse. I don't know if I would want to ride in that traffic. We rode to Garland yesterday, it was a beautiful day for riding here. We had to be stopped for 3 funerals! We had a good time though.

Betty

[leatha_g 4]

Originally posted by Iluvharleys

Thanks Marie, it's not that I don't want to drive anywhere, I just don't know how to get there! lol. The drivers here in Dallas is bad, and I heard Houston was even worse. I don't know if I would want to ride in that traffic. We rode to Garland yesterday, it was a beautiful day for riding here. We had to be stopped for 3 funerals! We had a good time though.

Betty

I can't believe you don't have me a Harley dude picked out yet! I could have gone on that ride..lol

[New Hope 37]

Originally posted by Iluvharleys

Thanks Marie, it's not that I don't want to drive anywhere, I just don't know how to get there! lol.

Nobody else does either!

P. S. Would you please find Leatha a "Harley Dude"? She can teach him how to dance!

[Iluvharleys 15]

Leatha - The guy I know (Tom) called the other day and we are trying to get him to come down and bring his Harley with him. If we get him here, I will introduce you to him and get you a ride to boot! lol

Heck, maybe we can all go dancing, I love to dance. My DH and I have won many dance contests, of course that was a few years ago! lol

I'll get on Tom again and tell him I got a gal for him to meet!

Betty

[Iluvharleys 15]

Leatha - I just called and left a message on his recorder that I have a gal I want him to meet and for him to get his a$$ down here. lol

Betty

[Iluvharleys 15]

Lisa - How did your class go today? I hope you had a better day. In our class, if anyone dropped a bike, they were out of the class. Those two in your class are very lucky.

Betty

[DeLarla 22]

Biker Boot Camp was brutal hell (and that's an understatment.) Sorry to say. Friday night, all day Saturday, and today, Sunday morning starting 6:30 a.m. till 5:30 p.m. Nearly 100 degrees, long sleeves, gloves, helmets, boots, hot bikes, steaming concrete; but that's not the worst of it.

I got an instructor suspended. Yep, only me.

You won't believe this one. It's a beginner class. Out of 10 people, 3 dropped their bikes. Not good. I wasn't one of them. But a bike did fall on me, so that's 4 bikers down. But mine wasn't my fault. Now you're thinking, "sure, everyone says that" but listen up:

Our instruction was to go from 1st, shift to 2nd, increase to 15 mph, then stop on a dime between cones while downshifting into 1st using both breaks. Now you gotta understand how complicated that sounds to a bunch of brand new people when 2 have already fallen. It's all we can do to shift and stop, but the force us right into complicated patterns. But we try. Everyone is screwing up, then it's my turn. My first round I stall. No biggy, you get to keep trying till the whole class gets it.

My 2nd try, I was lucky to stop the bike, but screw downshifting. So I take my 3rd shot. But I still didn't coordinate all the movements, so this psycho instructor woman starts screaming in my face about my clutch, then grabbed my throttle and opened it full-throttle till my bike (that I was sitting on) started smoking, and then it took out from underneath me and landed on my foot. I screamed 3 times, "GET THIS F-ING BIKE OFF MY FOOT" and she finally lifted it, but by then the other instructor had run over. I was screaming bloody murder at the idiot as she tried justifying her insane actions.

That's like reaching over and pressing someone's gas peddle to the floor while they're at the wheel. She stood there like an idiot trying to justify her actions by saying she thought I had control of the bike. I screamed, "that's my f-ing point, I'M the one on control of MY bike, not YOU, yet you grab my throttle and try to kill me?"

Long story short, the other instructor immediately followed proper protocall & called the supervisor of the Dept of Transportation, who showed up in 20 minutes. The filled out incident reports then sent crazy-instructor-woman away. They tried forcing me to the hospital, but I refused. Major ordeal. I became irate and refused to leave after waiting so long for the course and being 1/2 way through it. They checked my foot, and nothing is broken, so I started limping around burning off my anger & fear. They decided to let me stay because it didn't impair my ability to shift. So the Big cheese took over as our 2nd instrutor. Problem is that the bitch freaked me out so bad I may never ride again. But that's why I stuck with the class - because if you don't get right back on the horse you probably never will. My hands were shaking all day long, and my heart won't slow down - that bitch stole my confidence, so I'm surprised I passed because once nerves take over, I'm a wreck.

Ugly. Ugly. Ugly. Brutal Biker Boot Camp!! Can't believe they put beginners through the stuff we had to do.

But the good news is that it's over. Two people failed. I wasn't one of them. So I earned my license... passed with a 95! Only one guy got a higher score but he rode bikes when he was younger.

So there, done deal. I can walk into the DMV tomorrow and switch my paperwork in for a motorcycle license. Whoda thunk it?

[Rebeccalee 2]

Good grief! I can't believe you had such a horrible class! I'm really glad you passed, though.

My class was overwhelming, but a good group with good instructors. They were all real nice and only yelled a little so we could hear, or would listen. I think it is impossible to listen to all those yelled instructions when you are trying to think about all the new procedures.

Go get that license and get on that bike! You are doing much better than I could dream of doing! Way to go!

[La_madam 20]

Marie is right..this is a great NSV!

Would you have done this 5 months nad 50 lbs ago?

[Iluvharleys 15]

Lisa - Sorry you had such a bad class, but it is behind you now. Mine was hard, but I made a lot of new friends, and I learned a lot. They really do drill you a lot, but that is necessary because you will run into things out on the road and you have to know how to handle them. As you learn to ride in the traffic, you will see that some of the exercises they put you through will come in handy and save you from accidents. Now, go get that license and practice, practice, practice. Remember that even though you passed and have a license, you have to ease into riding in the traffic. It takes a while, so don't be impatient. Good Luck!

Betty

[DeLarla 22]

I woke up this morning with a shoulder injury, so I won't be riding for a while. I must have pulled something when the bike flew out from under me. The instructor was extremely negligent by taking control of my throttle. I'm pretty pissed - have a sore foot and screwed up shoulder. At least they suspended her.

I didn't learn to ride cause I want to ride. I did it to get even with my husband. I'm not sure if I'll do much riding, since I enjoy being on the back of his bike, but know I know how to hide it from him!

Michelle, I'm not sure I'd have done this with 50 extra pounds. I'd have been a sweaty mess. Plus it would have been that much harder to get on the back of the bike.

Bikes are dangerous - I'm kindof a safety girl, so I'm proud that I passed the tests, but I'm still no biker chick! Although I wish Harley would call with my cute jacket!

[hagerteresa 3]

Lisa sorry you came out of that wounded. At least you got the irresponsible twit canned... LOL. A friend of mine decided to go take the local motorcycle class a few weeks ago and hers was brutal too. I think that was the weekend we had our first real drencher rain and not only were students slipping and sliding all over but the instructor also slipped and fell on his bike. Not too brilliant to say the least. My poor friend is probably about as heavy as I had started out with the band and probably 25 years older than I am, so I was pretty impressed she was even willing to try to take the class. AMAZED, actually... Unfortunately she didn't pass and spent the entire weekend rather terrified but at least she learned that she really didn't want to ride a bike after all. I was amazed that instructor had lost control of his bike and fell with it. Your experience reminded me of her recent experience... Glad you passed! Job well done girl! Teresa