09-12-2004, 09:47 PM
w00t! I passed 8)
Second day report:
More advanced drills than yesterday. We practiced going over obstacles, panic stops in a turn, high-speed swerves, turn signals and lane changing, and wheelies. Well... just kidding on the last part. And of course there was THE TEST ::cue ominous music::
The riding test consisted of 3 parts:
First, the box of death (mentioned previously by Rob). We practiced variations of this yesterday and this morning, so it wasn't a huge surprise. Basically, theres a ~24ft by ~60ft painted box, in which you have to do a figure eight without going outside the lines or putting your foot down. The instructors told us straight off that it is a horribly contrived test, because in any real-world situation that required such delicate manuvering, you're either avoid it completely or just put your feet down and walk the bike through. But of course class isn't the real world, so we had to do the box. I had some trouble with it yesterday, and wasn't real comfortable with it during practice today. My problem was not turning my head far enough, hence the bike wouldn't come around and I'd end up veering outside the lines. But the test (for me at least) went really smoothly and I did the figure eight with plenty of room to spare, and no points deducted!
Second, just after speeding out of the box, you had to go through a cone gate and immediately swerve around a "UPS truck" made out of cones. I suppose Fedex didn't pony up enough $$$ (or maybe they did :roll
, so it was a "UPS truck". There were a number of criteria to fulfill here, such as not braking while swerving, not hitting any of the cones, keeping the speed up (they timed people, and if you took too long, you had to do it over again). I made it through this test fine too, in fact I was inadvertantly going about 5mph too fast, but no points off for that 
Lastly, they set up two sweeping turns. First one was a 90-degree right turn, followed by a straight, then a 135-degree right turn and a shorter straight and then a stop. I thought this went okay, but apparently I decellerated into the second corner, earning a 10-point deduction. Whatever. I didn't notice at all, so maybe they were just being picky. Better to be a little slow through a corner than too fast, right?
But of course I passed the riding test (and the totally irrelevant written test earlier) and am half way to my "M" class license. My next step is to go to the DMV and take their written test. If I pass that, then I get a new driver's license with a nice little "M" on it :twisted:
Overall, this class was extremely well taught, had a ton of great information, and most importantly, was a lot of fun. Highly recommended for anyone who's even the least bit interested in motorcycles. And, you can sign up for the class in Charlottesville you won't have to wait nearly as long as you would in NoVA. Come stay with us!
Second day report:
More advanced drills than yesterday. We practiced going over obstacles, panic stops in a turn, high-speed swerves, turn signals and lane changing, and wheelies. Well... just kidding on the last part. And of course there was THE TEST ::cue ominous music::
The riding test consisted of 3 parts:
First, the box of death (mentioned previously by Rob). We practiced variations of this yesterday and this morning, so it wasn't a huge surprise. Basically, theres a ~24ft by ~60ft painted box, in which you have to do a figure eight without going outside the lines or putting your foot down. The instructors told us straight off that it is a horribly contrived test, because in any real-world situation that required such delicate manuvering, you're either avoid it completely or just put your feet down and walk the bike through. But of course class isn't the real world, so we had to do the box. I had some trouble with it yesterday, and wasn't real comfortable with it during practice today. My problem was not turning my head far enough, hence the bike wouldn't come around and I'd end up veering outside the lines. But the test (for me at least) went really smoothly and I did the figure eight with plenty of room to spare, and no points deducted!
Second, just after speeding out of the box, you had to go through a cone gate and immediately swerve around a "UPS truck" made out of cones. I suppose Fedex didn't pony up enough $$$ (or maybe they did :roll
, so it was a "UPS truck". There were a number of criteria to fulfill here, such as not braking while swerving, not hitting any of the cones, keeping the speed up (they timed people, and if you took too long, you had to do it over again). I made it through this test fine too, in fact I was inadvertantly going about 5mph too fast, but no points off for that Lastly, they set up two sweeping turns. First one was a 90-degree right turn, followed by a straight, then a 135-degree right turn and a shorter straight and then a stop. I thought this went okay, but apparently I decellerated into the second corner, earning a 10-point deduction. Whatever. I didn't notice at all, so maybe they were just being picky. Better to be a little slow through a corner than too fast, right?
But of course I passed the riding test (and the totally irrelevant written test earlier) and am half way to my "M" class license. My next step is to go to the DMV and take their written test. If I pass that, then I get a new driver's license with a nice little "M" on it :twisted:
Overall, this class was extremely well taught, had a ton of great information, and most importantly, was a lot of fun. Highly recommended for anyone who's even the least bit interested in motorcycles. And, you can sign up for the class in Charlottesville you won't have to wait nearly as long as you would in NoVA. Come stay with us!