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Start training class tonight

will2002 said:
Well, I guess every thing went OK? :)
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Yep, everything went fine! I passed without any problems. I got a 100% on the written test and I only lost points on one part of the riding test. We were doing a figure 8 inside a rectangle. I kept inside the rectangle but I put my foot down just as I was finishing the last part of the figure 8.

The ABATE instructors were great! They made it fun but at the same time we learned a lot. BTW, it did rain for about an hour so I did get wet.:Banane30:
Had no problem with the wet surface even when we did swerves and fast stops.
 
AwShuckS said:
Yes i do and im nervous and excited. All you riders in Arizona might wanna cross their fingers i dont pass you all might not want me on the roads :shock
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Don't worry. They had several people in the class that never rode before. By the end of the class they were riding like they had been doing it for several months. Only one person was asked to leave the class on the first riding day because she just wasn't progressing.

Are you being trained by ABATE or another organization?
 
Oh yeah, I forgot one other thing. Only one person dropped a bike the whole weekend! He dropped it when he got off of it and forgot to put the kickstand down!:lolrolling
 
Well tonight was my first night of my trainers course. We got a tour of the Chandler Harley Davidson shop here in Arizona, it is huge. There are 9 people in our class and none have any riding experience so i dont feel so out of place lol. Tonight and tomarrow night are classroom times, Sat and Sun will be on the bikes (We get to ride a buell blast.)
And then monday we test.
 
WOW this brings back memories.
It had rained all night, puddles everwhere.
It was the last day and I had 2 more tests to go and when disaster struck. For this test, you had to stay between the lines on a long gentle curve. I tried to adjust my throttle hand and instead, ended up giving it more gas. I panicked and jumped on the brakes. The handle bars went right, the back wheel came up , I went over the handle bars landing flat on my stomach sliding along the pavement. Everthing would have been fine except part of the bike broke my right shoulder and left thumb as it tumbled over me.
Ok nothing to serious, but I soon discovered that my wife did not love me as much as I thought she would.:bigsmiley9:
Ever try to wipe your butt with your right arm in a sling and the left thumb sandwiched between an aluminum splint. I can still see the expression on her face when I asked the BIG question. Anyway she refused .

Next spring I tried again. During the course they kept reminding you of how important it was to move your head from side to side . So here I am moving my head from side to side. As I move my head to the right I see a parked 18 wheeler on the side of the road. Ok I see the truck, now I move my head to the left. What I failed to see was the blocked STOP sign only 5 feet behind the truck. The instructors who were riding behind me , signalled me to pull over and FAILED me immediately. :bigsmiley19:

Now I have failed 2 times.. Do I continue or try again.
Well the 3rd time was a charm as I passed . In fact I passed after a severe rain storm had gone thru.

I learned from that experience and believe that it has made me a better rider.
 
Well tonight was my first night of riding omg It is soooo hard I give each and everyone of you riders alot of credit. I was doing pretty good at first, was gaining some confidence but then i was told to speed up and i took a curve faster then i should have and didnt look into turn and wiped out pretty good. Well there went my confidence right out the window. I pretty muched sucked after that by my opinion even tho the instructor said i was doing ok. Well they havent asked me to leave yet so tomarrow is another day on the bike. Im pretty scraped up and bruised but im going to get back on and give it another shot.
 
Hang in there Aw! It's a right of passage. Your confidence will bounce back and your wounds will heal. Allow the fear and anxiety to be replaced with a healthy respect for the bike. You're gonna do fine. :s
 
Taking a little tumble in controlled conditions is a lot safer than on the wide open roads. The experience you gain from it though is virtually the same.
Hop back on and learn from it. I'm sure you'll do fine.
Good luck!
 
Everyone I ride with has been down one time or another for whatever reason. The thing to remember is don't let the fear of a fall override your confidence and love of the machine as stated earlier get back on and go for it, you'll be happy you did in the end. There's no shame in being down happens to the best of us. So shake it off and show em what you can do! Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
 
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