sunday ride...

took a ride to thomasville this past sunday to attend the year update for instructors. i was anxious to get back on the bike since i've been busy, it's been cold and i haven't had a chance to do much riding this year. well, it was cold sunday but i didn't let that stop me - at least it was supposed to be sunny.

i bundled up with a few layers and my electric gear. even though it was below freezing when i took off, it wasn't as bad as i expected. i started out on back roads, in the dark, scanning for patches of ice. i was a bit surprised at how clean the roads were.

on my way, i was surprised at how much colder it was once i got off the back roads and hit the interstate. i would have figured once i got onto the highway and away from what little shade there was that early in the morning, the temps would have been warmed. i guess the concrete kept it cold.

first stop was waffle house to catch up with a fellow instructor and head out to thomasville. after a quick breakfast and some hot coffee, we bundled up and headed out.

before leaving, i had forgotten to put the location into my gps - not that i didn't know where i was going, i just like to keep tabs on my travel. earlier in the year i deleted all the way points make navigating the cape fear 1000 a bit easier. now i'm cruising down the road, trying to fat finger my gps with heavy gloves.

now i love my gps. it's rugged and it serves me well. but... it leaves a lot to be desired in the search category. as i'm fumbling with finding the college, moving the alphabet slider, punching the wrong letters, trying to nail the backspace icon in the upper right corner, i keep thinking about the +Skully Helmets ar-1.

how cool would it be to just be able to speak and find your location without removing your hands from the grips? no more looking down as you're fumbling with the location. it's all there, right in front of you, just an eyes-shift away. not only that, but with the rear-facing camera and being on the highway, it'd be a heck of a lot easier to keep track of traffic. i'm in the habit of always using my mirrors and scanning all around. but it's inevitable that you lose a vehicle somewhere and end up wrenching your head around trying to find it again. that one-eighty degree field of view would certainly help in those situations.

we made it to the update, caught up with many friends and got the usual comments about being crazy for riding in the cold. everyone was talking about driving in their cages and being able to turn on the heat. i'd just pick up the cord for my heated gear and say 'me too.'

i will admit it was cold on on the way there. but not as cold as some days i've ridden. and the ride home definitely made it all worth it. what am i saying? it could have been just as cold on the way home and it would have been worth it!!! but the ride home was absolutely beautiful. great temps, sunny, just cutting a trail home.

we did have to make one stop to pick up some foam for my friend's wife. the girl at the fabric outlet thought we were crazy. but it's just another day motorcycling!!

check out the route on the 2014 ride map...

memorial ride...

took a ride two weeks ago to attend a memorial service for a fellow rider. actually, he was more of a mentor to me. although he may not have known that since i just kind of adopted him as a mentor.

i met him six years ago when i was training to become an instructor and he was one of the trainers. i learned a lot from him during the training and even more in the following years. his evaluations while i was teaching were always an opportunity for me to learn more, to improve. he also gave me the courage to try new techniques or something different while i was teaching, as long as it was safe, effective and efficient. sometimes what i tried didn't work out quite the way i expected (worse). instead of hearing negative comments, he would ask if i learned anything - even if it was only not to try that again.

even after his passing, i am still learning from him... on the ride out to the memorial, it started to lightly rain. normally i wouldn't have stopped but i decided since i was going to a service, i should at least arrive dry. i pulled off at an underpass to put on my rain jacket, opened my saddlebag only to find no rain suit. i decided that i would at least zip the outer shell onto my jacket. it isn't waterproof but it would help keep some of the wetness away. after fighting with the zippers, getting the jacket on, i look down the road ahead and see the sun shining and the rain has stopped. i decide to remove the shell and take my chances. it was ninety degrees. i figured i would rather be cool and wet rather than hot(ter) and (relatively) dry.

i wasn't so lucky on the ride home. it poured most of the way home and i got soaked. it rained hard enough that i had to slow down to about forty. there were several accidents in the other direction, luckily none in our direction. the only stop i made was for gas. because the temps were still fairly warm, i wasn't cold while riding. i decided against waiting to see if the rain would let up and took off after topping off.

as i was riding the last miles home i was replaying my situation in my head. why was i riding in the rain without my rain suit?? two lessons came out of this. both of which i attribute to my fellow rider. first lesson, if you have saddlebags, you should never ever ride without a rain suit packed away. i always have my rain suit packed, never travel without it. if i ever use the rain suit, i dry it out and pack it back into the saddlebags immediately. second lesson, no matter how sure you are that your rain suit is packed, check one more time before you leave!!

thank you for everything bob. you will be missed...

not a virgin anymore...

well, i officially taught my first class this weekend... and it went very well. but that's about all i'm going to say about the class itself and instructing. after thinking about it a bit, there is a certain image we're supposed to uphold. that being the case, and me not necessarily wanting to confine the content here, i've decided not post more about teaching... doesn't mean i might not post about antic dotes or certain aspects of the class - i just won't go into boring detail like i usually do!!!

speaking of boring details - sunday's ride to and from class was a reminder of the brotherhood of bikers... there's just some connection you make with other people on two wheels when you're cruising along. people are friendlier, more interested in taking the time to talk, or help should you need it.

i left the house about 0600, heading for smithfield. the road i take is pretty much two lanes the whole way - which makes riding there extremely nice. not even ten minutes out, there's a biker behind me. what are the chances?? here it is, six in the morning, two lane, rural road and another biker.

as he's following behind, conversations start in your head - wonder where he's (or she's) going, wonder what they're riding, wonder what they're doing out so early, etc. soon enough, we come to a red light and he pulls up next to me. we exchange hellos and i soon find out that he's a cork-maker in zebulon and he's on his way to work. he literally lives around the corner from me. we ride together for a bit longer. stop at another light and talk some more. the nice thing about traveling together so early in the morning is you can chat a little longer when the light turns green because no one is around. and we do... we ride together until we pass through zebulon - then he turns off to head to work. i'll probably never see him again - although every time i ride down his street, i'm looking for him and his bike.

on the way back home, heading north towards zebulon, i pass another biker... after i pass, he turns onto the road behind me. i slow a little, trying to close the distance between us... however, he seems to keep his distance - a constant distance. as i speed up, so does he. as i slow down, so does he... we finally get a red light in zebulon and he pulls up beside me. as we're exchanging hellos, i do a double take... donnie?!?!?! sure is... of course with a full face helmet on, he's not quite sure who i am... i tell him my name, remind him we rode to the smoke out together in june... then the light bulb goes off in his head. about that time the light turned green - unfortunately, he turned at the next light and i was going straight. short conversation...

it's amazing the people and friends you meet when you're out riding... and this is what makes riding so great...

today's the day...

i finally go live with motorcycle training... i've helped out on a couple classes, but this time it's all me. well, not quite all me, me and someone else. but this will be the first time actually teaching my own class. i'm really looking forward to it. the weather has been awesome today - which means i'll definitely ride the bike to smithfield. i'll have to make sure i pack the lining for my jacket - once the sun goes down, i'm sure the temp will follow.

i'm a little nervous about tonight - but i don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. it will make sure that i take a little time and think about what i need to take and what i need to teach. don't want to be taking things for granted. also, since this is my first time teaching, there will be a lot of administrative stuff i have to clue in to - like signing the contract, filling out the correct paperwork for the students, etc.

well - i guess i'm just rambling here and not really saying much - at least i don't think i'm saying much... guess i'll head out of here and fill you in later...

friday night...

rode to durham last night to help teach another motorcycle class... friday nights are just classroom. - motorcycle familiarization, riding gear, controls, basic motorcycle operation. basically preparation for the next two days on the range.

ride out was nice - wasn't as far as i expected. had to travel through some rougher parts of town. getting there didn't concern me as much as the ride home. i knew it would be late, after 2100, possibly after 2200. it's not so much that i'm worried about being targeted as much as being hit by a stray bullet. yeah, i know, probably very unlikely, but it would be my luck.

being friday night, the class is only a couple hours long... like any class i've been involved with so far, this one wasn't without its own drama. classes generally have twelve students. tonight's class started with ten. in walks a college age dood about twenty minutes late. he apologizes for being late but hasn't really missed much, so dave lets him stay. well, every break, and sometimes not even on break, he's heading outside to make a phone call. i'm thinking he's scamming on some chick - whatever, he's young, that's probably all he's got on his mind.

class goes well. again dave got me involved and i get to "teach" a couple of the sections. i think i did pretty good and the experience is invaluable. it's about 2115 and we're wrapping up for the night when college-dood's buddy walks into class!! makes an attempt to be funny with some comment about being late and wondering if it's too late to participate in class. dave tells him yes. he asks if he should he should leave - dave says yes and waits for him to leave before we continue class.

we wrap up class, reminding students to bring the proper gear for the next day. everyone leaves and we're gathering our stuff when who should appear?? college-dood and his buddy no-show... they're scheming to get no-show back into the class - striking deals. if no-show can answer every question in the book correctly before ten o'clock, can he participate in the class. dave says no - participation is a key part of the class, in addition there are liability issues... they insisted until dave turns his attention to college-dood and said he was lucky he was in the class for showing up twenty minutes late. it was about then they decided to walk off...

until we got into the parking lot!!! college-dood came over asking for dave's name and phone number - saying he wasn't trying to cause any problems. yeah right... when you're in that situation and asking for names and numbers, it's usually not to invite people over for dinner!!! he walks over to his car then comes back - handing dave a cell phone saying it's his mom. dave starts talking on the phone and walks off. when he came back about ten minutes later he was not very happy. handed the phone back to college-dood and said something to the effect of i don't need this shit... that was pretty much it for the night...

rode my bike home in the evening. ride home was nice once i got through the no-so-nice parts of town... i made a wrong turn - actually turned too early and went through some side streets i didn't want to be on. fortunately i was able to navigate to where i needed to be without having to back-track. the ride home was cooler, which made it nice. kind of invigorating to ride home after dealing with jerks like we did...

overall, the experience was worthwhile. now i've helped out all three days of the course - not all consecutive, but i did help. i've even got some classes lined up to teach. i'm looking forward to those... would like to do more, but maybe i should get my feet wet and see what i'm getting into...

ride on...

helping out...

helped out with a basic rider course today at alamance community college. was a looooonnggg day, but well worth it...

the class usually starts at 0800. today, it started at 0700 because the instructors wanted to get a jump on the heat. and i showed up a before that so i could help get the bikes ready and set up the range.

i got a lot more involved in this class than i did in the last one i helped out with... i actually got to provide some coaching to the students, ride some demos and perform the skills evaluation. overall, the class was a good one, but not without its moments...

the heat was grueling... i don't know how hot it got and i don't want to know - it'll make me realize how crazy (or maybe stupid) i am for being out there in the heat. anyway, i did survive with plenty of fluids. some of the students weren't fairing as well, so we were giving them more and more breaks - which attributed to the longer day. apparently yesterday they had an older guy drop the class because the heat was giving him leg cramps - probably a good decision.

today we had one "problem" student - she was having trouble figuring out clutch control and the friction zone. she would ease the clutch out until it hit the friction zone, the bike would start getting underway then she would pop the clutch out - the majority of the time stalling the bike. towards the end of the day, it looked like she was power-walking the bike to enough speed she could pop the clutch out without stalling the bike. no matter how stressed eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeasing the clutch out, she just couldn't grasp the concept. during the exercises, this was passable, but it would be her downfall during the evaluation.

when it came to the quick stop evaluation, she would get about ten feet and stall the bike. ten feet, stall the bike. about half way up, after stalling, i think she realized she was doomed. she broke down and started crying. of course she was blaming the bike. i do have to say that she was on a new bike during the evaluation - something we try not to do. but she was having problems shifting the previous bike she was on. as students do, they want to blame the bikes for their problems. i will admit these aren't necessarily the best bikes around - but they are adequate for the class. the majority of time the students the one with the problem. but we'll swap out bikes to placate them... there was no way she was going to get the shifting down - heck, she couldn't even get the bike under power. so, it was easier to swap bikes...

now she's sitting here, crying, and holding up the rest of the class. i think she pretty much knew she was going to fail... the other instructor told her that if she can get back to the starting point and run the evaluation without stalling, she could continue. she agreed. we started walking back to our evaluation position when we heard the bike stall. all i said to the other instructor was i know that wasn't the bike just stalling. once we got to our positions, we turned around - she hadn't moved very far. at that point, she realized she couldn't complete the evaluation. she got off the bike, removed her helmet and walked away... that was pretty much the last we saw of her - other than to come back and get the keys to the classroom so she could get her stuff.

after the range, we got to go into the classroom. an extremely welcome break considering the heat!! we covered a couple more topics before the students took the written evaluation. everyone passed - well, everyone that was still there!! after completing the written exams, i got to talk to the students about how they did on the skills evaluation. it was cool talking to people and gaining insight into their experience. one of the best feelings for me is transforming someone who's never been on a bike before into someone who's enthusiastic about riding and looks forward to continuing learning. we do stress that this is only a beginner course and that in order to become better - they must continue to practice and learn.

after the class, i stayed and talked to dave for a bit. he was happy to have me out there - especially since having an extra person on the range with the heat was helpful. he liked the way i interacted with the students today and thinks i'll make a good instructor. time will tell. i think he's going to try to help me get some more classes - that would be most excellent.

overall, it was a great day. i learned a lot - i think i'm really going to enjoy teaching... what i learned most, though, was it's time to stop doing these classes for free!! while the experience has been invaluable, and i wouldn't not do it, i'm going to have to carefully weigh my decision to keep doing it for "free".

observing...

well, in order to get this motorcycle instructing thing kick started, i decided to observe a class yesterday. to most of you, observing probably implies something like watching - most likely from the edges of the range, not interfering with the course or the students... yeah - i was kinda thinking the same thing. the most i was expecting was to kick the cones around...

the day started as expected - getting up early and getting ready for the hour ride to johnston community college. i had gathered a lot of the stuff i needed the night before - so the morning mostly involved trying to wake up and packing up the bike. i wasn't sure what time to leave - thinking an hour should be enough time. knowing that, i left about ten minutes later than i wanted. one of these days i'm going to get my act together and leave on time - or maybe early...

the ride there was nice. cooler than i expected. which was a nice surprise, especially considering it was supposed to be a hot, humid, nasty day. they were also calling for thunderstorms, but i figured i could be out of there before those hit... ride was two lane roads the whole way. although there wasn't much traffic - a few cars - there was more than i expected. i was figuring for 0630 on a saturday morning, more people would be sleeping. but it didn't matter, i would get there when i got there...

and get there i did. so i pulled up to the college and started driving down the strip - trying to figure out where the class/range was. after riding the length of the college and not seeing it, i rode back to the entrance, pulled in front of a building and called doug. doug is one of the guys from my motorcycle prep class. this was his first time teaching, so i decided to come out and give him some support by observing. little did i know i was parked right next to the range. doug and bob pulled around with the wagons full of cones and other course materials. since i was there, i helped set the range up for the first exercise. technically it's the second exercise, but it's the first one that actually uses the range. the first exercise is motorcycle familiarization - which is exactly as it sounds. johnston community college (heretoforeverafter known as jcc) runs two classes a weekend, which means they have two classrooms and two ranges - double the fun!!!

once the range was set up, we headed back to the shed to pull the bikes out and warm them up... some of the bikes wouldn't start - a sign of things to come for the day!! luckily we ended up with enough bikes for each class plus a spare - although the spare had to be bump started!!! no big deal, that's what spares are for.

finally the students arrive and class begins. students are becoming more familiar with the motorcycle they have chosen. i notice a couple students struggling a little, so i jump in to help - trying to assist but stay out of the way. this seems to work pretty well. the familiarization exercise seems to go a little longer than expected - but i guess that's okay since it's fairly important the new riders feel comfortable and confident in the operation of the motorcycle.

have i mentioned how hot it's already getting?? well, it is...

now it's time to move on to the second exercise. speaking of move, we have to move the bikes from the shed to the range. how is this done?? by having the students push the bikes. normally this wouldn't be so bad because it seems to make sense someone operating a motorcycle should know how to push it around. however, in this case, it's quite a distance. and did i mention it's getting hot?? one student couldn't push their bike all the way - the heat was getting to her and she couldn't handle the bike very well. doug ended up pushing the bike to the range for her. it ended up that she wasn't handling the heat very well and dropped out of the class halfway through the second exercise. it's a shame to see someone drop, but probably the best for everyone involved.

the rest of the day had its share of mishaps... the extra bike we had eventually died, leaving no spares. the heat was starting to get to the students. the exercises were taking longer to run than they should have. i attribute this not so much to the learning of the students but poor time management by one of the instructors. i ended up helping run the exercises and participating in the teaching more than i expected. i didn't mind, of course, but i didn't want the instructors to think i was over-stepping the bounds. actually, i don't think this was the case - i know doug was thankful i was helping out - it seemed the other guy, to protect his identity, let's call him cool, wasn't taking as much charge of the class as he should have been. with the heat, mishaps and poor time management, we were ready for the lunch break...

we had a chance to cool off, get something into our tummies and prepare for the afternoon. one of the students was a little late in getting back from lunch - which holds up the rest of the class... as he approaches the range, we tell everyone to gear up and get ready for the exercise. he approaches his bike and starts fumbling around with his keys. then he announces that he can't find the key to his bike. he asks if he has time to run back to the restaurant to look for the keys. sure, but he has to hurry. what a way to start the afternoon... again, we can't start the exercises without all the students. we decide to give him some time, but if he's not back, we'll start the class and he'll be forced to drop.

now let me just say that i don't think it was fair to give the students the responsibility for the keys. this is something the instructors should take care of. however, he should have taken better care of the key. i do feel bad for him, though... and the worst part is we're now down a bike.

lost-key dood is gone, looking for the key and the class is getting anxious to start - especially with the heat. we decide the class needs to get going. and as we tell the students to gear up, he pulls back into the parking lot. cool... but he's not jumping out of his van so fast. turns out he didn't find the key at the restaurant. in fact, he's fairly sure he didn't even take it in to the restaurant. damn. i help him strip search his van. then we retrace his steps returning after lunch. he's obviously concerned and upset he lost the key. his primary concern is making sure we can do something with the bike - like use the spare key. since this is my first time here, i don't know what provisions are made for the spare key. and by the end of the day i learn there are no spare keys for the bikes. his second concern was having to drop from the class - which i could fully understand.

doug had taken charge for the afternoon sessions, which was probably a good thing. being the quick thinker doug is, he decided to run split exercises for the afternoon. this did two things - first it gave the students a break from the heat as they could spend less time geared up and on the bikes. next, it allowed the students to share bikes, which meant there was enough for everyone and lost-key dood didn't have to drop.

in vain, i tried to bump start one of the bikes, thinking i might be able to get it going. lost-key dood even offered to push the bike in order to help me get it started - i know he felt very bad about the mishap with the key. and i have to give him credit for trying to help out. but no matter what we tried, the bike wouldn't start...

the rest of the afternoon went okay. cool effectively bowed out of teaching, which left doug and me to do most of the instructing. the heat left a couple students feeling ill. by the time we ran the last exercise, everyone was ready to get inside and cooled off. thankfully, the students get to ride the bikes back to the shed instead of pushing them. i was really impressed when lost-key dood offered to push his bike back to the shed - of course we let him!!

once all the bikes were at the shed, we told the students to head into the classroom and cool off. cool, doug and i put the bikes into the shed. cool wasn't too pleased to learn we sent the students to the room without giving them their next assignment. hmmmmm - how were we supposed to know?? this was doug's first time and, heck, i'm just helping out. oh well... we'll get them started when we get to the classroom.

ohhhhhh and getting to the classroom felt soooooo good... nice and cool. a chance to sit down. i never thought the inside of a modular trailer would be so nice. the rest of the day would be downhill from here. excellent... i don't know if it was because i was there or what, but cool pretty much disappeared for the rest of the day - leaving doug on his own. the problem wasn't that doug was left alone, it was that cool didn't say anything to him about it... again, doug handled it and i helped out as i could...

about forty-five minutes before the end of class, the skies opened up with thunder, lightening and rain. as long as it passed before we were ready to ride, no problem. and with the way the storms blow in and out, it would probably be dry when it was time to ride home. and indeed that's what happened. it rained for about thirty minutes and was pretty much dry when it came time to ride.

the ride home was excellent. the rain and cooled the temps and there was actually a nice breeze riding home - much like the one riding in. traffic on the road wasn't bad - only one or two bozo cages. although i was exhausted, it was nice to be heading home... i enjoyed the road and will make the ride again. but that ride will be for pleasure...

peace...

durham...

took a ride out to durham this morning to interview and fill out an application for a ridercoach position at durham technical community college. faced the usual stuff with riding to a new location - not sure of what the roads are going to be like, not sure how long it's going to take to get there, not sure if i need to allow extra time to get gas, etc. in trying to prepare, i printed off the directions that were e-mailed as well as plotted the route using google. the main problem i have with using these mapping services is the travel time seems to be off. if it says four hours, i can make it anywhere from three to three and a half hours. today's trip was projected to take an hour. with the roads i was going to be on, curvy two lane, i figured an hour would be the minimum i would want to allow. if i needed gas, add an additional fifteen minutes. and as it turned out, i did need gas. and i left about an hour and fifteen minutes before the meeting - so if timing worked out, i'd be there right on time.

the ride out was great. temps were in the high 60s when i left, so there was a nice breeze. sky was fairly clear. two lane, non-congested, rural roads. this is so much better that four lane, interstate riding. i could ride on roads like this all day long. if i was left to my own devices to plan a route, i don't think i would have planned this one. and this one was so much nicer - keeping me out of some of the seedier sections of durham. it was nice exploring new areas, learning about new roads i can take for future rides.

well, i made it to my destination about five minutes early. which didn't really matter since jim was about ten minutes late. apparently he was on his way to get gas for the class this weekend and forgot that we were supposed to meet this morning. no big deal, though. once he showed up, we talked through the application process, i gave him the necessary information and he copied what he needed to. we decided i'd follow him over to the main building so that he could show me the way as well as show me the bikes and the range. as we were riding over, we went through some of the rougher areas of durham. at one point, we came to a stop light and there were at least four police cars in a parking lot. i'm not sure what the officers were doing, but they were obviously investigating some sort of criminal activity. while i never felt directly threatened, i did think once or twice about a news headline that read something like motorcyclist killed by stray bullet. needless to say, thankfully, that didn't happen...

i checked out the bikes and the range. bikes looked like they were in pretty good shape and the range looked well maintained. apparently the brc program at the community college is really growing. they're in their third year - started the first year with only six classes. now they're up to twenty-eight and will probably have more next year. after chatting with jim a little longer, i headed over to the main building to get my application. pretty much routine. they gave me a packet that i need to fill out and return. i also filled out some other information so they can get my on the payroll sooner.

the ride home was good. after looking at the map in the parking lot, i picked a route that i thought was good. i wasn't exactly sure where i was or what the roads around there were like. i didn't necessarily want to take main roads, so i chose a slightly longer route that put me on two lane roads. it was a bit warmer than the morning ride, but i guess that's expected since it's already the beginning of june.

ridercoach application...

head to durham technical community college tomorrow to interview and fill out an application for a ridercoach position at the college. they have all the brc (basic rider course) classes filled up for the remainder of the year, but they want to get me in the system in case an instructor cancels. hopefully the weather holds out so that i can ride the bike out there.

i also received an application for alamance community college. i have to fill that out and get it back in the mail. same story there, all booked but they want to get me in the system.

i'm looking forward to teaching. this year may be a little rough since it will probably be short notice for me to fill in. i'll do it when i can but i'm not good at last minute stuff - we usually have other plans. even though i'm not teaching, i'm going to try to observe a couple classes. mostly to get to know other instructors and see how the classes are taught at different locations.

finally done...

it's finally over... and i passed... have lots to talk about in this post. i may end up breaking it into several posts... or i may just end up giving a quick recap and be done with it...

typical friday - packing at the last minute. debating whether to take the bike or not. wanted to take it, but wasn't sure about the weather. friday and saturday were supposed to be nice, sunday was supposed to be thunderstorms. in the back of my mind, i kept thinking about last weekend when josh and doug rode home in the rain - cold, miserable rain. wasn't sure i was going to be on board for that... well, i decided to take it, which made packing a little easier. i decided this time i'm only packing the minimum amount of stuff i'd need. and packing it all in plastic zip-lock bags to prevent them from getting soaked. i also had a little pressure to pack since we had to be out there an hour early to set up for the real class.

so i get packed up, load everything on the bike and head out. quickly decided to take the interstate because i didn't want to worry about time. i figured i knew about how long it would take me if i drove the interstate - wasn't so sure if i took the more scenic route. ride out was good - weather was nice and traffic wasn't bad. got there a little early and a couple guys were already there. we chatted before heading over to the college.

this weekend we got to teach a real class. this was it, the real thing. i was a little nervous - always the chance i'm going to screw up... but george and i had been working on the material we needed to cover. i felt i knew our stuff pretty well. we get to the college and start setting up the room. once that was out of the way, we waited for the students to show up. and show up they did. i don't know what i was expecting, but the people walking in sure weren't it. and of course you make your first impressions - certain people are going to do well and others are going to struggle and/or fail. one of the things you have to remember is that you can't rely on first impressions - they will prove you wrong. so i just filed them away, hoping everyone would pass.

first night went smoothly. we all did our little presentations and they went well. we did get into a damn-if-you-do / damn-if-you-don't situations... it was time for class to start and one of the students wasn't there. sheila didn't know whether to start class or not. we could see it now - if she started class, she would get dinged for starting class without everyone present. if she waited, she would get dinged for starting late. she started class on time and one student short. of course that student walked in minutes later - but she got dinged... oh well, it was expected.

while we were teaching friday night, it decided to thunderstorm. it was unexpected and only lasted about ten, maybe fifteen minutes. thankfully we were inside and not out riding. and by the time we finished up class that night, it had cleared up. i was prepared to ride in the rain, but thankful i didn't have to.

finishing class friday night was a relief. not really tough or anything, just thankful to have it started and everything going well. and a lot easier than we originally expected. but, it's good to be over-prepared than under-prepared. after class, we went out to eat. late dinner, but it wasn't a late night. most of us were tired and wanted to get some sleep for class the next day.

saturday - nice, beautiful day. got there early, got the bikes out on the range, warmed the bikes up, and got the range set up. again, things were going smoothly. and things would continue to go smoothly all day. our teaching went well and the students were progressing. some had pervious motorcycle experience and some had none. they progressed at different rates, but they all progressed - and it was neat to see.

george and i had two lessons to teach. the first lesson, lesson three for those of you with programs, went okay. it's amazing that no matter how simple you make the instructions and how many times you repeat it, people just don't listen. we had two parts to our exercise. in the first part, once the cone in front of you was clear, you could ride to that cone. explain, explain, and explain... did people ride to the cones when the one in front of them was clear?? no!!! still had to give them signals to proceed. when they got to me, i would explain it again... still didn't do any good. it was amazing - but i guess they're thinking about other things. same thing happened during part two. this time they were to ride to the end of the line once the last cone was free. and once they stopped at the last cone, they were to clear the cone and head to the other line. did they do that?? no!!! they stopped at the last cone and waited there until the line they wanted to get into was open. which meant the other riders had to wait... again, explain, explain, and explain.

i did have one close call. well, not really a close call, but something that raised my awareness. one person had just started riding in the line and they next guy in line was pretty far from the start point. so i signaled him to come up to the start line. i turned my attention to the other line. then i turn my attention to the riding lanes and there's the guy - halfway down the lane, riding up on the first rider. i couldn't believe it - how did he get there so quickly. at least nothing happened - not even a close call. i was kind of surprised i didn't get dinged for it in the debrief. but i guess i handled it well and there was no dangerous situation present.

so saturday went well. wrapped up saturday evening and headed out for dinner. a couple people were ready to cut loose. four weeks of this stuff, pressure was building and people were ready to have a good time. dinner was a lot of fun. lots of laughs, with each other and at each other. here we were, brought together with the common goal of teaching motorcycle safety. we had all made a new set of friends - some friends closer than other. some of us will stay in touch - other won't. we all have good intentions to stay in touch - some will make it work, others will die out. so after dinner, we look for a bar. and find one. it was a small place. main floor with an upper balcony overlooking the lower floor. we opted for the balcony, got our drinks and shouted at each other over the music. we were all having a good time, except george. it wasn't his type of environment. can't really say it was mine - or is my type of environment any more. but i adapted - it's only one night. george couldn't handle it and just stormed out. didn't say a word to anyone, climbed over a couple people and headed out. we couldn't believe it. sheila, who had driven, went out looking for him to make sure he was okay and offer him a ride back to the hotel. about fifteen minutes later she returned - couldn't find george. i'm thinking great... he's my roommate - what will i do when i get back to the room and he's not there?? i'll face that when i get there and he's not there... we stay around for a an hour or so and decide to head back to the hotel. thank god - i was tired.

i get back to the room and george is there - whew... but he is pissed. i can understand - sort of... i can understand him not being comfortable there, but to act the way he did?? he was angry and took his frustrations out on me. we exchanged a few words, talked about it and i think he was starting to feel better. what a night... i was tired and just wanted to go to sleep.

sunday started out beautifully. weather was nice - although they were calling for thunderstorms in the afternoon. we got the bikes out to the range and started to warm them up. then jim starts barking orders out at us. do this and that. i'm thinking what's all this about?? but i do it. then he stops us at the corners - turn your wheel, turn your head, start and make the turn. now i'm thinking this is nuts. we have other bikes to get out and warm up. after the second round of this, i tell him screw it, we have bikes to get out before the students get there. he tells me no, keep riding, others will get the bikes out. right... i stage the bike and head to the shed to get the other bikes. screw him... i don't know what he was trying to pull...

the morning went well. george and i finished our last assignment before lunch. great - we're done. more importantly, i'm done!!! all except for helping the others. but that was easy. right after lunch, as we got started with an exercise, the sky decided to open up. thunder and lightening. time to get off the range. so we head to the class and decide to give the students the written exam. while we're in there, it decided to hail. and my bike is sitting out there getting pounded. three of us with bikes out there. when it stopped hailing, we head out to check our bikes. i was dreading looking at mine. believe it or not, no damage - just wet. boy was i glad.

after the students finished the written test, the weather had cleared so we decided to get them back out on the range. now we took them out there without letting them know the results of the written test. i think i would have told them. i know it was weighing on their minds. now they have to do the skills test, wonder how they did on the written test. i just thought it might put them at ease. so we run them through the rest of the exercises and get them ready for the skills evaluation. i think i was just as nervous for them as they were to take the test. of course they all passed. and it was rewarding to watch them all pass.

my earlier, preconceived notions were blown to hell. but i knew they would be. some of the people i thought would struggle actually did better than some of the people i thought might breeze through. and that's why we can't make judgments about people. they all did well enough to pass. and it was a good feeling to know that we helped them pass this milestone in their lives.

after the range, it was back inside to present them with their certificates. and after they got theirs, we got ours. before we got ours, they were told that we were in training as well, and that we had all passed. i know some of them were wondering why they had twelve instructors. and now they knew. and they got to watch us get our certificates. it was nice getting the certificates - finally done... or is this just the beginning?? i'm thinking it's just the start...

most people beat feet out of there. i didn't necessarily rush out of there, but i didn't hang around either. i was anxious to get home. and i had the weather to contend with. i'll post about my ride home later... for now, just suffice it to say, i'm glad we all graduated - it was rewarding. but now i'm ready to get home.

on a final note... i touched on it in my first post about the class, and i talked about it here again. preconceived notions... if you go back and read, i mentioned that i couldn't figure out why some people were there, that i couldn't see some of them as instructors, that i thought some would wash out. again, i was wrong. at the end, i could see people's motivation to be there. and most of them were there because they believe it motorcycle safety and want to promote safety. i say most - there was one, maybe two that were there for other reasons - but i won't get into that. some of the ones i thought would (or should) wash out, again, turned out to be surprising - and will turn out to be great instructors. although i will say that the couple that i thought would rise to the top, did. again, when you go into an environment like this and form your opinions - crumple them up and throw them away. they'll only lead to problems. more importantly, you'll overlook someone that may have some great potential. i say it at work all the time - everyone has something to learn and everyone has something to teach. we just have to keep ourselves open to learning - from everyone and anyone.

okay - i'm done with this post. thanks for bearing with me.

oh, one final note. many thanks and happy mother's day to my wife. i should have been with her on sunday. but being the unselfish person she is, and knowing how important this was to me, encouraged me to take the class, and even gave up her special day. not only her special day, but four weekends in a row. she is the best and i appreciate her. thanks boo...

peace...

done with week three...

well, i made it through another weekend... the highlight of this weekend is this is the first weekend i didn't seriously consider just walking away. i attribute that to the way the class has bonded over the last two weekends and us just not taking the instructors very seriously anymore. we're all of the belief that once we get out of class, it will get better...

okay, the weekend started as usual - me packing at the last minute. and again, i was in a debate whether to take the bike or not. weather was saying rain friday and sunday, but the morning was sunny and nice... decided to take the cage - mostly because i was last minute packing and i just wanted to throw stuff together. i know, i know, lazy on my part...

took the usual drive out... nothing to note except for the accident on 321 just north of the 40 exit. there were merging everyone to the right lane because the left lane was closed. for whatever reason, i stayed in the left lane as long as i could. i usually try not to be one of the assholes that wait to the last minute to jump in, but this time i did. and i think it saved me at least 45 minutes because traffic was backed up so far. anyway, that was about the most news-worthy item on the trip out there. weather on the trip out was fair - it did rain a little, but nothing that should have stopped me from bringing the bike. bummer...

got to the hotel and a few people were already there. after getting my stuff into the room, we all hung outside the rooms talking about how this weekend was going to unfold... some people studied the course material during the week and others didn't. i probably fell on the didn't study side - i did review some of the material, but probably not in the depth i needed to... i'm thinking the multiple guess will be on my side. after hanging out for a bit, we headed towards class.

friday night class was the usual peer teaching, running through the class room lessons. we, as a class, seemed to be more organized and smooth on our presentation - like things are finally starting to fall into place. it seems silly, but in some places i am only responsible for three or four questions. i get up for about ten minutes and then i'm done. i'm wondering how this is going to come across to the students we teach next week. it seems like it could be rather disjointed. i hope they're getting a discount on the class - not so much because i think we'll be doing a terrible job, i just don't think they will be getting the continuity or having only two instructors. oh well, we'll do our best. anyway, friday night went pretty well, with daniel and bob slinging mud at each other whenever they had an opportunity. fun to watch, but unprofessional in my opinion. then again, these doods are definitely leading by the do as i say, not as i do credo.

saturday was going to be spent on the range - a looooooong day on the range. we were going until ten o'clock!!! we got the bikes out to the range and warmed them up. of course we got them warmed up before laurel and hardy got out there, taking away any reason for them to start jumping on our cases. the morning was cool, but i think i'd rather have it cool than hot. can always put on more clothes, kind of hard to get comfortable in jeans and long sleeve shirts on a ninety-five degree day!! anyway, it was cool and overcast - if the day stayed like this, then it would make it a little easier.

the morning was the usual run through of the range exercises. just like the class room, you could tell we were starting to put things together. we had an additional ridercoach that was acting like a student - this gave us a little different perspective on things. overall things ran smoothly. except for daniel having to jump in and take over all the time. bob, on the other hand, would let the instructor speak/demo and provide feedback when they were done. daniel just wants to take over and show how he would do it. what he doesn't realize is this throws off the rhythm of the person trying to speak - and it really doesn't give them a chance to learn. oh well...

my partner george and i discussed our first exercise and decided who was going to talk and who was going to demo. we decided to switch it up from the previous week. we were wrapping up our discussion and george had his helmet on when daniel looked over and said that i was going to demo and george was going to talk. obviously he did this thinking he was going to throw us off, but what he really did was take away our opportunity to reverse roles for the exercise. oh well, we handled it and things went well. as did most of the day. george and i had two more exercises, which we did with little problem.

after the range, we finished up the day in the classroom. we went over some materials and discussed the written (knowledge) test. after going over the sample test, i felt a lot better about it. as the tests are written, if you think about it, the correct answer makes sense. then again, when you have the whole class answering the tests, all the answers seem easy. i figured studying the range cards a little more would really help with the test.

sunday started out overcast and threatening rain. we also decided to start an hour later since we had stayed so late saturday night. we started the day with the knowledge test. i was off to a good start, most of the questions seemed easy. they i got to the range questions... not so easy anymore. and i didn't think some of the questions really pertained to the objective of the particular exercise. but i guess they weren't supposed to... for example, the answer to one of the questions was that the students power walk their bikes between the riding lanes. now to me, this doesn't really pertain to the objective of the exercise. although it is part of how the exercise is conducted. luckily for me, it was one of the exercises i have, so i knew that answer. i don't know that i would have gotten that one if i wasn't familiar with the details of the exercise. of course i did struggle on some of the other exercise questions - and on those i guessed at what i thought was the best answer. overall, i figured there were about five questions i wasn't sure about. worse case, if i missed all of those, i would still pass... and pass i did - with 100%!!! i don't think i can take full credit because, as mentioned above, i did guess at a couple of those...

so now it was out to the range... surprisingly six ridercoaches showed up to be our students, including my friend susan. it was good to have other people there - a change of pace instead of always teaching each other. of course they did things to see what we might catch, and to raise our awareness of some of the things we might need to look out for. i think they had fun with it... we got through the first three exercises and started the fourth when the sky opened up. we didn't get too far into the exercise when they decided to take us inside. after some classroom work, they decided it wasn't going to let up, so they let the ridercoaches go and we got ready to wrap up for the weekend.

before leaving, we had to check out the room we were going to be teaching in next weekend. although we had been in there before, we needed to decide how we were going to set up the classroom and, more importantly, how to operate the dvd player and overhead projector. we fumbled around with the equipment for a while. it got pretty crowded around the equipment when several people thought they had to get in there to help. i just walked away and sat at the other side of the room, figuring once they get it working, they'll show the rest of the class. and they did. so now we were familiar with our lessons, familiar with the room... all that was left was to put it to practice - and that would come next weekend.

oooohhhh... daniel did tell us he was going to make it easy on us and we would use the same assignments next weekend as we did this weekend. i'm not really convinced he did it to make it easier on us - why would he make it easier on us now?? he hasn't done that at any other point in the class... no, i think he did it for the benefit of the students next week. it's only fair to give them the best opportunity for success. and having us as prepared as possible does that. since we were/are most familiar with the exercises we have, it makes sense for us to continue teaching those. i think that's the real reason he did it... at least that's what i would do...

before class broke for the day, we had to put the bikes away. lucky for us, the rain had stopped. a couple of the people that rode this weekend volunteered to take the bikes back since they had to put their gear on anyway... i decided to take one around. because i didn't have my gear on, i decided to push it around. it sounded like we have enough people to put the bikes away - we only had six bikes... as we get the fifth bike in, someone says there's still one bike left on the range. and, it doesn't appear anyone is getting it. i walk around to the front to get it and here comes wally, all geared up. i guess it took him a while to get geared up. then he starts mumbling something, and waffling about getting the bike. i'm thinking to myself, i just want to get out of here for the weekend. i decide to just walk it around - it'll be easier than trying to figure out if wally is really going to do it or not... so i push it around and put it away. after closing up, we gather everything out of the classroom and head home. yeah!!!

the ride home was long and miserable. we'll it wasn't really miserable - it just wasn't fun. i had decided to take a different way home, route 64 instead or interstate 40. my luck would have me getting stuck behind someone going slow on a two lane road with no opportunity to pass. damn... that combined with the rain didn't make it a fun drive. but, i kept thinking it could be worse - i could be on my bike like josh and doug. at this point, i think i was glad i wasn't on my bike. the first time this weekend i didn't regret not bringing my bike...

sooooo, that was the weekend. one more to go... i thought this past weekend was going to be the tough one - after this one, i thought it was all downhill. now i'm thinking this final weekend will be the toughest. just because this time it's for real. and we still have things to consider that we've never been concerned with - like the timing of the exercises. well, i'm sure we'll be okay...

guess that's it for now - been tying long enough...

peace...

week two down...

...and what a rough weekend it was!!! where do i start?? at the beginning i guess...

while i was packing, i made a last minute decision to take the bike. i checked the weather and it looked good, so i decided to take the bike. now i had to pack everything in smaller bags instead of my one big bag. since i'm riding, i also like to pack my clothes in zip lock bags in case it does rain. so there i was, stuffing clothes into zip lock bags and stuffing those into my saddlebag bag. the other "problem" with taking the bike was i needed (wanted) more time for stops. now i needed to leave sooner that i was planning. turned out not to be too bad - i was able to get packed and loaded up in time to hit my earlier ais time... and no time to spare.

the ride out was good. all interstate. okay, maybe not all, but at least 200 mile out of 220 miles... it went quicker than i thought it would - not sure why, but it did. i stopped once to stretch my legs and get a drink. probably only stopped for 15 minutes before hitting the road again. made it to the hotel earlier that i expected. that's a lot better than getting there later!!

i got my stuff into the room, hung out for a bit and then decided to head to class. on my way out to the bike, here comes wally... after exchanging pleasantries, we decide to ride to class together. he's familiar with the area and knows a shorter route. that's good with me!! as we're getting on our bikes, wally tells me he has after-market pipes and they're probably louder than mine. i look at him and just say, "probably." after we get on and start the bikes, i jokingly say, don't go too fast and lose me. he says that if he took off on the twisty roads, i wouldn't be able to keep up with him. again, i look at him and say, "probably."

we finally take off and it becomes obvious quickly that wally doesn't do much, if any, group riding. we get on the interstate and the first thing he does it start switching lanes to pass traffic. of course he's doing this in such a manner that i can't stay with him!!! i make an effort to catch him. at one point, we're jockeying around two cement mixers. finally, wally's in the left lane, the two cement mixers move to the right lane and all i have to do is gun it by the two trucks to catch wally. just as i get to the rear tire of the second cement mixer, i see wally zip into the right lane. he's still got his right turn signal on and now he's giving hand signals (something he hasn't done yet) that he's making a right turn. i scan down the road further and see the exit, which i now presume we're taking... great!!! i don't have time to pass both trucks, and i don't have space to get between them. so now i have to slow down and get behind them. of course i have cage on my butt!! here i am, in the left lane, hitting my brakes trying to get back into the right lane. i'm sure the cage was thinking - asshole biker. and i really can't blame them... well, i manage to get behind the truck just in time to take the exit.

so now we're on back / residential roads the rest of the way. believe it or not, wally was able to lose me three more times. well, maybe only two. the first one, we're riding along about 45 mph. all of a sudden, no signal or anything, he pulls over to the right into a parking lot. not being prepared, i missed the turn. thankfully, there was another turn into the parking lot about 100 yards down the road. so, technically, i guess he didn't lose me that time. we conferred in the parking lot and he told me he missed the earlier turn, so now we have to go back. he pulls out of the parking lot between two cars, not leaving me enough room to follow. damn - separated again. now i was able to catch up to him when he had to wait to make a left turn at a light. but there was a car between us. in true wally fashion, when he gets a chance, he motors out of there, leaving me sitting behind a car, waiting to turn. now i would have expected him to pull over in a parking lot to wait for me - but this is wally... a couple of miles down the road, i see him at an intersection. he had already made his left turn and was waiting for me to make the turn. yeah, i can finally catch up with him... the light turns red, so i can't make my turn yet. as i come to a stop at the intersection, i see wally taking off into the distance. damn, damn, damn... i am finally able to catch up to him at another light - thankfully onto the road that the college is on. so even if he takes off, i know how to get to my destination now. somehow, we manage to pull into the parking lot together. as we dismount, i look at wally and say, "don't do much group riding, do you??"

there would be two more trips between the hotel and college with wally. each one an adventure in itself - wally always looking for the ultimate cut through. it turns out saturday night, when i didn't have to ride with wally, that i found an easier way, which seemed to be quicker. i would have tried to tell wally about it, but since he didn't "discover" it, there would have been something wrong with it... oh well...

so where was i?? oh yeah, class friday night. i got to lead off presenting unit 1, the introduction. i asked if there was anything specific i should know before i got started - nope, just get up there and do it... so i do... and as i'm presenting the material, they have me skip sections. this throws off my presentation because i wasn't expecting it. when i asked earlier, i would have at least expected them to say that they're not going to have me do everything in its entirety. oh well. this was only the beginning. and they did this to everyone. of course the final result was all the presentations looking disjointed, like we weren't prepared and didn't know what we were doing. it's like they had expectations for us, but didn't tell us what those were until we didn't meet them.

so saturday after lunch all hell breaks loose. and i think it was because two guys from the "state" office were observing us friday night and saturday morning. they left shortly after lunch. after they left, we were told how frustrating it was for them to watch us performing so poorly. they may have even said we were the worse class they've ever had. now i can go and get all defensive, but it may just sound like excuses. i have these thoughts - when you're in a class and one or two students are struggling/failing, it's probably the student. when the whole class is failing, it's the instructor. however, our instructors weren't willing to accept any responsibility.

saturday afternoon they pulled us off the range and back into the classroom. one of the instructors wouldn't even return to the classroom. the other one was saying that the reason we weren't learning may have been because when they were trying to teach us out on the range, there were always side conversations going on. this is true. however, what they failed to realize that most of the side conversations were because the instructor not teaching the lesson would start conversations with the students. in addition, the instructors would give the students conflicting instructions. we would ask one instructor how we should present something and he would advise us. after completing it the way we were told, the other instructor would say we shouldn't do it that way. of course neither instructor would stand up and say they told us how to do it.

another example that comes to mind... now the instructors have "preferences" of what color cones to use in certain exercises. bill and i were setting up cones. we had them set up and we were getting ready to walk away when bill suggested we change a set or orange cones to red. i was hesitant. and i told him that if we made them green, they'd tell us they wanted them orange. but if we left them, then they would want them green. bill laughingly agreed. i told him we could switch them if he wanted - but he said we would leave them orange. so we headed back to the staging area. not twenty feet away from the cones, here comes bob. "now this is only a bob thing, but i like to have green cones at the entrance point." i looked at bill, smiled and said "weren't damned if we do, we're damned if we don't." bill just laughed. we couldn't win... no one in class could win...

so i mentioned that one of the instructors wouldn't come back into the classroom. well that was up until about five minutes before class ended. at exactly 6:00 he announces that class is over - we should go home. one of the students asked a question. he said that he's been given a hard time for keeping classes longer than the designated time, it's 6:00, class is over. he wouldn't even answer the student’s question. i can't recall that last time i saw such unprofessional behavior from an instructor.

so saturday night we, the students, went out and bonded over a bitch session. i think we all needed it...

sunday morning didn't start out much better - we picked up pretty much where we left on saturday... we got the bikes out to the range and the instructor tells us to warm ourselves and the bikes up by riding the perimeter and doing weaves on the long side. so we're all out there, riding in circles doing our weaves - round and round we go... we stage after getting the signal and here it comes - the lecture... i expected it to be run this way, you guys weren't doing this, you weren't doing that, blah, blah, blah. as i was sitting on the bike, i started looking over to the parking lot, thinking, i should just walk over to my bike, hop on and ride off without saying a word to them... i honestly don't know what kept me there.

later in the morning and into the afternoon, we ran through all the exercises in order. we broke them down, showing where the bikes would be at the start of each exercise. we talked about the objectives, the instructions, how the demo was to be run, how the simulated exercise was to be run. after that we moved the bikes to the transition point between exercises. then we set up the range for the next exercise. as we were doing this, i kept thinking to myself, here it is, sunday afternoon of the second week and we're doing this. we should have been doing this the saturday of the first week!!! i talked to a couple of the other students and they agreed. i know if i would have said something to the instructors, they would have said that we did do that the first saturday. and i guess in a way, they're probably right - the only problem was it was so choppy and we kept doing in different directions that it never seemed that way!! either way, we know it wasn't the fault of the instructors...

actually, running through the exercises in the manner we did help. i think the instructors were pleased with what they were seeing and it helped boost our spirits. after we were done running through the exercises, it was time for the skills evaluation. by chance, i got to be first. they run all the students through each evaluation, i just got to be the first in line... i didn't do as well as i should have. and i could make up a bunch of excuses, but i'm not going to - i just didn't perform as well as i could have. however, i did pass. everyone passed - so that was great. there wouldn't be any retests!!!

the rest of the afternoon was spent in the classroom, reviewing the pre-course questions and preparing for the knowledge test. i'm a bit nervous about the knowledge test, but i'm figuring at a minimum i can guess my way through the test.

so after class i hopped on the bike and headed home. the ride home was good. i was concerned that after the class i would be tired and the ride home would be long. it didn't turn out that way... the ride home, actually, seemed rather quick. and i enjoyed being on the bike more than in the cage. after one stop, for about twenty minutes, to fuel up and grab something to eat and drink. then back on the road for the rest of the trip. traffic was good, so i didn't have to worry about any idiots... ended up putting over 500 miles on the bike this weekend. after one more trip like that, it'll be time to take it in for its 10k service.

so, weekend was good and bad. or more like bad and good. while the class definitely had it's down moments, overall i think it turned out to be a good weekend. i got to ride the bike - finally. if the weather holds, i'll do that for the remaining weekends. and as a class, we really bonded saturday night. the instructor's behavior gave us a real reason to come together more as a team. and i think we've become stronger. now, as long as the rest of the weekends aren't like that!!!

okay - enough for now... another update to follow...

ride safe

did it again...

here it is, friday morning and i still need to pack for the weekend... i've gone through the course materials, so i think i'm ready in that regard. i still need to pack - i'm going to be on the phone all morning. at least only my one morning meeting requires me to be on the phone. i guess the other meetings i can listen in and pack at the same time. i really don't like doing this - it makes me feel uneasy... i don't get the confidence that i've packed everything...

i wanted to take the bike, but at this point, i think it would be too crazy trying to pack for the bike. you would think it's easier since there's actually less to pack. the problem is making sure you have everything you need. and with the variation in weather, i feel like i need to pack extra clothes for comfort. well, at this point, i'm not taking it, so it doesn't matter...

i'll report how the weekend goes when i get back...

one down...

...three more to go...

just completed my first weekend of ridercoach training... whew!! a recap and some of my observations...

well, it started friday... as i think i mentioned in an earlier post, i was totally unprepared - at least packing wise. as far as the course materials, i was pretty much set there. so i was rushing around on friday, juggling work related phone calls, packing and trying to make sure i didn't forget anything. i think i was done packing about the time i needed to load up the cage and take off. yes, i took the cage because of the forecasted weather.

expecting the trip to take anywhere from three and a half to four and a half hours, i left about 12:45pm. i figured worse case that would put me there are 5:15pm leaving me enough time to check into the hotel and get to class for the 6:00pm start.

i pulled into the hotel around 4:30pm. the place reminded me of a motel you'd see along a not so traveled road. not to say the building wasn't in good shape and didn't look nice, it did - for whatever reason, it just wasn't what i was expecting. so i check in, unload my stuff into the room and hang out until it time to leave for the class. as i'm transferring stuff to the room, a guy pulls up on his ultra classic. we eventually pass each other, so i ask him if he's taking the class - kind of a no-brainer as we're all staying at the same hotel and he's riding a motorcycle. he is indeed taking the class - introduces himself as skip. he tells me he rides the bike everywhere, he doesn't own a cage. his wife does and the only time he uses the cage is when it's snowy or there's ice on the road - can't say i blame him. i forget how long skip says he's had the bike, four or five years, and it's got 88,000 mile on it. now that's some riding.

so i head back to the room to kill some time... before long my roommate, wally, shows up. now wally can hold a conversation - we talked about all sorts of things. turns out wally writes for southern motorcycle times, won a 2005 883 sporty and is a warranty administrator for rockwell automation. we chat for a bit and then head to the community college for class...

we arrive at the college and realize there weren't any clear directions/instructions of where the class would be help. wally seemed to know the building we were supposed to be in. we walk in the building and start poking around the rooms. with the amount of heavy equipment and machines in the classrooms, they definitely teach mechanics around here. now i'm thinking to myself, i need to take some classes to learn to weld so that when i decide to build my own bike, i can do some welding on it. well, that's another day and most likely far, far away. right now i'm here for a motorcycle instructor class.

we finally find the classroom - of course it's the last one on the hall. a couple people we already in the room and it looked like the instructors were scrambling around to get things ready. after the rest of the students arrived, they started class. the instructors seemed a little unorganized, like they were winging it. i don't know if they wanted to come off that way or not, but they did. it seemed to start when they couldn't decide if they were supposed to have twelve or thirteen students in the class. this was a discussion they would hold on and off through the first night and into the next morning.

the rest of the night was spent as it would have been for a "normal" class, with the instructors adding advice on how you would teach the course. while there was some structure to what they were presenting, they seemed to be referring to the manual a lot. it just wasn't as polished as i would expect it to be. i don't know if it was intended or not. anyway, friday night was spent doing the first three lessons of the book.

saturday started with the range exercises. actually, it started with us having to get the bikes from storage to the range. not necessarily a big deal, but everyone wants certain bikes. and of course no one wants the bikes at the front. which makes it hard to get the rest of the bikes out. it's amazing to watch the amount of effort people will put into maneuvering a bike around another one in a confined space as opposed to just taking the other one!! so we get the bikes out of the storage area and start firing them up to take them to the range. let me just say they weren't the best bikes around. i don't think any of them have been spared from dropping. so we get them on the range, ride around a bit and then park them in the staging area.

the instructors start talking about how to teach the range exercises, stressing, obviously, safety and coordination between the two coaches on the range. then they tell us to set up the cones for exercise one. it must have looked like a comedy of errors watching us try to figure out which were the right markings and where to put the cones. only being somewhat familiar with the range set up, it took us a while to get them all set up correctly. this would be repeated for almost every range exercise on saturday. but as the day went on, we got better at figuring out where the cones should go.

we start the first exercise, covering the controls on a bike and the differences between the bikes. something that is probably very important to know when you're actually teaching the class. we go all the way through exercise one and two. through the rest of the day, we would partially complete other exercises. we always performed the demo portion of the exercise and sometimes the actual exercise itself. of course we all know we can do the riding portion of the class, otherwise we wouldn't be here. however, when you have to perform the actual demo, it's a lot harder than it seems. i guess because you are showing how to perform an exercise, you want it to be the best it can, so you concentrate a lot harder, which actually makes it hard to perform the demo.

rain really only affected us once on saturday. it rained right after we broke for lunch, but since we were done, that wasn't much of a problem. in the afternoon, it rained again and we ended up leaving the range. i think if this had been a real class, we would have stayed on the range. but we went inside and finished all the book work. in the afternoon, we took turns teaching portions of the course. needless to say, we were unprepared so we did a lot hemming and hawing presenting the materials...

sunday was pretty much spent on the range with the exercises... we wrapped up in the classroom where they gave us assignments for the following week. this should be a lot of fun - now i have to try to find time to get the studying done...

okay - some of my observations from the weekend. the instructors seem very disorganized. they do seem to know their material, but it seems like they are just throwing it at us as they remember it or as questions are asked. as they are presenting the material, they jump and skip around a lot, so it makes it very hard to find continuity in what they are presenting. it would have been nice for them to provide a little more hands on guidance instead of letting us fumble around so much. i believe their thinking is we'll learn more by doing - which is true. but we're making so many mistakes and wasting too much time correcting the mistakes. if they would provide more guidance, we could learn a lot faster.

i can see some people already rising to the top and some sinking. i'm probably floating somewhere near the middle, closer to the top. i can't figure out why some of these people are in the class - money, ego?? i don't know, but they just don't seem to fit. and there are just some natural leaders in the class who will make good instructors. now we'll wait to the end and see how dead wrong i was about the observations i've made about the people.

seems i had some other stuff to add, but i guess this is long enough for now, huh??

ride on...

instructor training...

well, my motorcycle instructor training starts today... while i think i'm prepared for the class as far as reading the materials and completing the assignments, i'm totally unprepared as far as packing!!! i haven't even started to pack, and my morning is full of meetings. guess i'll have to hang on the phone and run around packing. i really don't like to be unprepared like this, but i did it to myself...

also wanted to ride the bike to class. but they're expecting severe thunderstorms this weekend. not sure it's worth trying to ride in the thunderstorms. while i'm bummed about it, there will be other weekends to ride out there. i think my wife will be relieved that i'm caging it instead of riding.

guess my next post(s) will report back on how the training is progressing... good luck to me...

msf motorcycle instructor

the reality is setting in... this is going to be a lot of work... the materials for my msf motorcycle instructor course have arrived. it's basically the rider handbook for the basic rider course, the range cards, course outline and teaching guides. we're also required to get a certified copy of our driving record before the course begins and have to get certified in cpr and first aid before we can teach. i have to take time to review all the material before i go to the first class. in addition, the instructors will be giving us pre-course assignments which we have to be prepared to discuss the first weekend. oh, did i mention the class is taught over four consecutive weekends??

yeah, this is going to be a lot of work. but i'm looking forward to it... i better start figuring out what i need to do to get a certified copy of my driving record and start looking for some cpr and first aid classes...

ridercoach preparation...

found out earlier today that i've been selected to participate in the ridercoach preparation - which basically means the motorcycle instructor course. i'm excited and nervous. excited because this is something i've been wanting to do. nervous because it would be so embarrassing if i don't pass the course.

the course is going to be conducted over four consecutive weekends. that's a lot of learning... i realize there will be a lot of classroom time, but i hope there's even more bike time. i get the feeling my hopes will be dashed. oh well, i'll do my best in the course. and of course there's the part that comes after the training - teaching. i won't worry too much about that right now - i have to get through the training first!!!

speaking of training - i've been trying to brush up on my riding skills. back in december, i got a copy of a self-study motorcycle training program. part of the first lesson is to stop with only putting one foot down. and as soon as you start, to pick the foot up and not drag it. sooooo, lately as i've been riding around i've been practicing only putting on foot down when i come to a stop. surprisingly, it only took a couple tries before i started getting the hang of it. i feared that i would have problems balancing the bike when i was stopped - not so. i also notice the i can pretty much stop and put my left foot down all the time, keeping my right foot on the brake/floorboard. i would have thought that i would have used the right foot a bit more. i guess that means i have more control over the balance than i thought i had. the other thing i noticed about stopping with one foot down is that starting is easier. as soon as the bike starts moving, i put my foot onto the floorboard. and amazingly i take off rather easily... now i'm really looking forward to running through more of the lessons. the more comfortable i am on the bike, the more enjoyable it is to ride...

okay - that's all for now...

damn!!!

earlier (today) i was talking about becoming motorcycle instructor... well, this afternoon i got a call to attend a class in goldsboro. only problem is it's a monday through sunday class at the end of february. with all the other vacation plans i have for this year, i won't be able to attend this training... i hope turning down this running doesn't hurt my chances for another class.

msf ridercoach screening part 2...

went to the ridercoach screening in asheboro today... although it was slightly colder than i was expecting and threatening rain (later in the day) i decided to ride out there. it turned out to be a bit cooler than i expected. thankfully my wife talked me into getting some heated gloves last night.

when i first took off, i had to get gas, so i didn't plug the gloves in (since i would have to remove them to pump gas anyway). got to the gas station and pumped my gas. my hands were fine, but i knew that i would be happy to have heated gloves for the longer ride - if they worked. i've never used them before, so i didn't know what to expect. i get all suited up, plug in the gloves and take off... as soon as i get on the road, i realize i didn't fasten the strap on my helmet. yikes - not good... go down the road a couple of miles to pull over at a safe place. i pull my gloves off to fasten the strap and the first thing i notice is how much cooler it is with the glove off. wow, i guess these gloves are working!!! i fasten the strap and put the gloves back on - i could already feel the warmth of the gloves!!! but, would they keep my hands, or more importantly my fingers, warm for the whole ride??

the answer is most definitely yes!!! in the past when i've ridden and it's been cold, the only real problem i have is with my fingers getting cold. the rest of my body seems to stay warm - or at least it doesn't get freezing cold. as it turns out, the gloves worked so well keeping my fingers warm, now my toes and knees were getting cold!! i think in the past, my fingers got so cold, i never realized other parts of my body were getting cold as well. now that my fingers aren't a problem, the focus shifts to other parts of my body. i guess in the future, i wear warmer socks and warmer pants. still have to give props to the gloves - they are great!!!

okay, so after enduring the cold ride to asheboro, it's time for the screening. i got there about an hour early, so i rode to the facility to make sure i could find it. the facility is for fire and firearms training. as i approached the lot, i could see the parking lot was sectioned off with cones and you had to follow them around to a specific parking area. when i got through the gates, i could head gun shots. as i looked to my left, i could see a bunch of people lined up at the firing range, shooting away. at this point, since i was an hour early, i decided to head back to a gas station, get some water to drink and call my wife to let her know i made it safely. got to the station, bought some water and called my wife. there were two little tables inside the station, so i sat there, warming up a little and listening to the locals talk about the latest happenings. after killing some time, i head back to the facility.

while riding to the facility i get behind a guy on a bwm. i follow him in, weaving around the cones to a parking area. i stop, unplug everything - okay, only my heated gloves and myself from the battery harness. pack everything into the tour-pak and head inside. when i get inside, they ask for my license. i hand it to dave and he recognizes my name from e-mails and phone calls. i figure that's a good thing. after writing some stuff down, he hands my license and a package or papers to me. i proceed to find an empty spot to fill out the forms. there are more people here than i thought there would be. i don't know how many i was expecting, but it turns out there were twenty-one of us.

so while we were filling out the forms, they told us that we would be selected based on the forms we filled out and the skills test. there was no guarantee on who would be picked. it partially depended on where we lived, where they needed instructors and how far we were willing to travel to instruct. well, those and the skills test we were about to take.

i had two problems with filling out the forms - first, the pen they gave me wouldn't write. so i exchanged it for another one that wouldn't write!! good thing i brought my own. the second problem i had was writing why i thought i would be a good instructor. i put some corny reason about motorcycle safety, blah, blah, blah... i actually thought that there were going to speak to each one of us individually, so i was expecting to talk about it, not write about it. oh well... after filling out the forms, they gave us numbers. these would be the order we went in for the skills test. since there were so many of us, they broke us into two groups. i was number ten in the first group.

we got outside, picked a bike and headed out to the range. in my head, i went through all the fine-c steps, ensuring i turned the gas on!!! one or two people forget - at least i wasn't one of them. as we headed to the range, i could feel the bike pulling as i made my turns. i realized how much more my weight affects the turning on a smaller bike. so we get out to the range and start weaving in and out of two sets of cones to warm up. this is good. i'm getting a good feel for the bike and getting more confident that i can do the box easily on this bike. after about five minutes of weaving, they line us up for the skills test. no practice runs - straight into the evaluation. we don't need it, we're already experienced riders - at least that's the reason they gave us. the first skills test was the box followed by a swerve to miss an obstacle. the second was a quick stop. the final one was a timed turn. i think i did pretty well on all the tests. at least i didn't do the box backwards, lock up my tires on the quick stop or go through the turn too slowly.

now i'll have to wait to see if i get the call. he said we won't hear until january. no big deal. if i make it good. if i don't, that's fine too...

after the evaluation, it was time to head home. i was expecting to stay until three o'clock, but it was only one o'clock. getting out early!!! i was suiting up and started talking to a guy who was from rolesville. i hate it when i do this, but i couldn't remember him name. doh!!! it was really nice talking to him - seems like he would be fun to ride with. he gave me his e-mail address so i should hook up with him to do some riding. i'll shoot that e-mail off later today.

so now time for the ride home. called my wife to let he know that i would be leaving but probably stopping for some food before making the journey home. at least the ride home was warmer - no cold toes or knees. i did use the heated gloves again. why not, i have them, i might as well use them!! the ride home was good - uneventful. no crazy cages or real hazards to worry about today. just smooth riding. another successful ride!!

msf ridercoach screening...

i'm heading out to asheboro tomorrow for ridercoach screening. i'm not sure what to expect at the screening. i know there is an overview of the ridercoach training program, an interview and a skills test. i'm a little nervous about the interview - i just want to make sure i'm prepared for the questions. i don't know what kind of questions they may ask. will it be more personal questions or rider/safety question?? i'm thinking about reviewing some of the training materials tonight - just to brush up. for example, i had to be reminded yesterday that it is fine-c and not fine-t. i don't know if that's the type of stuff i need to know for the interview.

with regard to the skills portion of the test - i should be able to handle that. the box has me a little concerned - i know i can do it, i've done it before. it's just that i will be on a different bike - thankfully a smaller bike. i don't know if i could do it on my bike!!! especially the smaller box - i don't know that i've ever done the smaller box. once i get used to the smaller bike, i should be fine. the trick is going to be remembering things like turning on the fuel before i start the bike - i don't have to worry about that on my bike now. and i guess that's what things like fine-c are for...

i'm also thinking about riding out there tomorrow. will that be to assuming?? my wife has talked me to purchasing some electric gloves for the ride tomorrow. the high tomorrow is supposed to be in the low 50s. that's not too bad. but i'll be leaving in the morning, so it will be a bit cooler - maybe in the 30s. and it's about a two and a half hour drive. i'm thinking it might be nice to have warm fingers - or at least not freezing fingers - when i get there. going to pick up the gloves this evening - already called the dealer and have some on hold.

okay - guess that's it for now... i'll report back with my results and the ride... looking forward to it...