23. Three 1st times tonight!

So... I had the scariest but the best day since I've purchase my little red machine!

Today, Mr C2 came to pick me up and took me out for my 1st night ride around to Bondi, through Maroubra Road and finally to Coffee. It was peak hour going home traffic and riding at night makes it just that bit scarier! Anyway, I made it all the way back to Coffee with shaky hands... but I still manage to do it! And it was the 1st time I parked unassisted at a place other than my shoebox house. Mr C2 also gave me some tips on lane positioning...

1) Try not to ride in the middle of the road if possible. This is because of the oil stains from cars and during rainy days, it can be very slippery
2) Position yourself on the road to be seen and to protect your lane. For example, if you're a 1 way lane going one direction and the other lane in the opposite direction, stay to the right of your lane. That way any traffic trying to turn out from your left has a higher chance of spotting you. And... If you're on a two way lane going in the same direction and you're on the right lane, stay on the left to protect your lane... if a car sees a gap because you're towards the right hand side of the lane, the car sees a gap and not you!

Mr C2 also taught me how to handle my bike while not sitting on it. Always have my hips against the bike to support the weight... that way, there is much less chance of losing control and dropping the bike.

The final and most exciting 1st!!! I told Mr C2 at the end of the night that I was going to give it a shot and ride home on my own for the 1st time!... !!! It was all but a 30s ride... a left, another left, a right, 2 more lefts and a final right! It was an incredibly short distance but still, I did it on my own! YIPEE!!!

22. An Awesome Weekend So Far

This weekend, Mr M and Mr W took me riding! I'm definitely getting better.

On Saturday, we went to Duke's lounge in Randwick for brekky. The piklets are yummmm... I ate it all!! Parking there was a bit of a nightmare. Mr M took me riding on steep downhill and uphill and I had to learn to take off and turn right and left. It was a very good experience and I managed to do everything fine. Slow and loud (very loud) but fine! =D The main route was to Randwick and than to Watsons Bay and home. I also found out other riders nod their head at you when they ride past you... anyhow! This guy nodded at me while we were riding along a bendy road...Unfortunately, I had to be impolite because I really had to look where I was going or I would hit a tree!! Overall, a fantastic Saturday morning... good company, good food and good riding!

On Sunday, Mr W came over to mine to pick me and my bike up. We first stopped by the petrol station to fill up my tank and than headed out to Cronulla for breakfast. The company was great but the breakfast was slightly disappointing. Crispy bacon were not crispy. After that, we rode to Botany and than back home. We also saw Mr C on the way back too! Again, I had an awesome ride and learning many new things as I go along. Still revving the bike heaps and making lots of unnecessary sound... I'll figure it out soon I'm sure. For now, at least all the cars near me will know I'm there. Lol.

I also completed my first chain lube today. I caught up with Mr M2 for a quick smoothie and he helped hold my bike up while I spray the chain! =D

At the moment, I'm just feeling really happy that I can finally turn without getting too scared anymore! Oh! And the roundabout at my place... no more walking speed!! Woohoo!! Still not great at it but I'm doing it a smidge quicker now! =D

I'M FINALLY MAKING SOME PROGRESS!! YIPPEEEEEE!!!

                      Bikes at Botany:

21. Goals

I think its high time I set some goals for myself!

In order of priority... ... ...

1) I'd like to have a couple more weekends of accompanied rides - each progressing to longer distances so I can build up my confidence and skills.
2) Ride to coffee. 
3) I've like to venture out to visit a friend hopefully in the next 2-3 weeks. On my own! =)
4) Start practicing for the Ps test

I'm aiming to try and accomplish the above in the next month or two... will see how I track! =) 

20. To La Perouse and Back

Well, following a fantastic Saturday... I had an equally fantastic Sunday! Its a long post again so you're forewarned!

Today, Mr M (the "friend" from previous blog) came around to my place for a coffee and he decided we should take advantage of the dry road and just go riding! Like Mr W, he told me I need to get my confidence up by just riding. Getting hung up about the mini hill start at my place and the scary roundabout isn't going to get me anywhere. He emphasized the importance of being able to do them but at the same time, I need to ride to actually make some progress. 

Before commencing on the ride, a bit of background of Mr M and myself! He is one of the few people I know who has been riding even before I started contemplating doing my Ls. We met up through diving and has since been friends! =) 

Anyway, Mr M recommended we do a few laps around my place just to get warmed up and if he reckons I could get on the road, he'd take me, otherwise, we'll just keep practicing around the block. I managed to do the right hand turn before the roundabout a little better now and at the roundabout too. Sometimes I can do it at a more "normal" speed but sometimes, still like a turtle. But there is progress and that's what I'm after!! I can also now go all around the roundabout... not just to do a 3/4 round. Not great, but again some progress there. 

Mr M than decided we go onto the main road to test my skills and see how I'd cope. It didn't go too badly so we continued down Anzac Parade through Kensington, Kingsford, Maroubra, Malabar and eventually to La Perouse. It was a fairly smooth run.

On the way back, Mr M took me to one of the steepest hill I've ever seen to practice hill starts! Surprisingly, I actually did pretty well!! No stalls and no roll back. Again, progress!! =)) Thank you Mr M!   

We took a slightly different route to get home and went via Botany Road, Page Street, Banks Avenue and eventually back to Anzac. 

The total ride was ~30kms! =D That's more than I have done in the last 3 weeks! YIPEE!! (doing cartwheels as we speak!) 

But before I get too excited... a few good things and some of the learnings from the day:

Good

1) I have a little more confident than last week 

2) I can turn left and right a little better than last week

3) I can officially say I can manage riding on the road and changing lanes when following someone. 

4) Braking is much much smoother! Like MUCH SMOOTHER. heehee!

5) In slow traffic when there is a long line of cars and the lights keep changing red 3-4 times before I actually get past it, I can actually control my bike fairly efficiently. No need for feet dragging on the ground so I was fairly pleased.  

6) I can now take off from the lights at a more normal speed!! Woohoo!! Less wobble wobble before finally riding and more Whee! Off I go! Still the occasional stuff up which you'd read about later on though... 

7) Slightly better throttle control

Learnings: 

1) I need to remember to turn off my indicators. I forgot to do this a few times today and it could be dangerous! 

2) Cars will try and take you out! Be prepared to stop and give way and look out for yourself!! - A car that kindda looked like a loaf of bread indicated left but he didn't see me and started to move into my lane... his girlfriend noticed me and he immediately swerved back into his lane. I have to admit it was rather scary!

3) When changing down to 1st gear and getting close to the red lights, I don't have to release the clutch to try and ride the bike in first gear before pulling clutch back in to stop again... just let the bike roll forward with the clutch in and slowly put the rear brakes and front brakes to come to a complete stop before the lights. (not sure if I'm describing this right, but whatever I was doing, it felt a lot easier and made some sense) 

4) Look where you're going. ALWAYS LOOK WHERE YOU'RE GOING!!  

5) Keep practicing!! 

6) Still over revving in 1st and 2nd gear but I'm beginning to learn where those points are and to feel it on the bike too 

7) I took off on a flat when lights turned green but than stalled mid traffic in a 4 way cross street. It was really really really scary!! I was glad I did not panic at all (so again progress here and I attribute this skill to scuba diving). I started the bike and took off again. Issue here was no throttle and I let go of the clutch too quickly

And a few other random points:

1) Wind is scary!!! Almost felt I could be blown away at some point today! 

2) Don't like helmet hair... but riding is too much fun. 

3) Hands get really tired - This will probably go away with more riding.

4) No more painful jaw/ear or squished face - YIPEE!

Before I finish up... THANK YOU again to Mr and Mrs V, Mr C, Mr S and Mr M for taking me out riding. I don't think any of you fully understand how much I appreciate this!! Still a very long way to go but slowly slowly getting there! =)  

19. Slow Speed Stuff

I am still having issues trying to take off from a hill and into a right hand corner. It's back to basics today.

Mr C took me to one of the empty car park to practice slow speed stuff.

A couple of things I learnt today were:
1) Taking off properly in first gear in a straight line
2) Taking off properly in first gear either into a right or left
3) Learning to turn in first gear using clutch, throttle and rear brake
4) Learning to turn as above around a roundabout
5) Changing gear and turning

After an hour plus practice at the car park, I was feeling a lot more confident. I was also learning to control the bike a bit better.

Anyway, after Mr C left, I continued practicing around my own estate using what I was taught. There is definitely some improvement... I'm getting it right 3 out of 5 times now. Still slow around the roundabout but this time with quite a lot more confidence than before.

Its time for some lunch and back to practice! Its nice having a day off work to go riding! =D

18. On the Road! Woohoo!

Today, Mr V and Mrs V come around to help me with the dreaded evil roundabout. I'm able to go around it with a bit more confidence now although at an incredibly incredibly slow speed. If you're walking, you're probably faster than me but I'll get there with more practice.

Mr V recommended that I should practice the clutch, throttle and rear brake combination to ride around the roundabout. This should prevent the jerking normally experience when riding in first gear. And it is something I'm going to have to learn for the Ps test.

We did quite a few laps and Mr V asked if I wanted to take on some traffic. I figured with Mr V in front and Mrs V behind, it would be silly of me to not take the opportunity. It would also be a good test to see how "afraid" I am of cars and what I can and can't do on the road.

We did about 4-5 laps in traffic... probably more (didn't keep count). And it was really really fun!! I managed to get up to around 50km/hr which is the fastest I've been on my little VTR and surprisingly, I was less tensed on the road than I was on that dreaded evil roundabout! The traffic didn't fazed me as much as I thought it would.

I have to admit that I did however stuff up a few times with my take off into a turn and during a couple of the turns. In the meantime, I'll just have to try and keep safe while I practice. I also found that leaning the bike into the turn also makes turning a little easier.  

Some of today's key lessons::
1) Start my turn as wide as my lane allows and finish up on the correct side of the road.
2) Check for traffic before taking off like you would normally do in a car
3) Remember to turn off the indicator - unfortunately, motorbikes aren't like cars.
4) Be a bit more confident with taking off and don't get pressured by the queue of cars behind.  
5) Practice clutch release SLOWLY!. I never used to stall that badly and today, I stalled so many times I can't keep count of it. It was shocking.

Some of the improvements and the few things I am ok at::
1) I'm starting to learn to handle the weight of my bike a little better. Its now wobble wobble steady as opposed to wobble wobble Arghhhh drop!
2) Gear change is now much smoother than before. I no longer feel like I'm being thrown off the seat and than roughly placed back into the seat! As Mrs V said, its a combination of clutch and throttle. I think I'm starting to get the hang of that now.
3) I apparently have good balance and can maneuver at slow speed. The Mr thought I was going to drop but I kept on going.
4) I'm a lot calmer that I normally am given the situation.
5) I can't think of a 5th thing I'm good at. I will at my next practice! =)

I'm planning for more practice tomorrow and Monday! Fingers and toes crossed for no rain!

17. Saturday Morning Carpark Practice

I woke up real early this morning!! I was feeling all excited about getting out on the bike. It was going to be in a controlled environment but at least I'm still riding and learning. I'll eventually get on the road but I'd like to be sensible about it. I want to be comfortable with my own skills before I take on buses and cars.

At about 9am, I started gearing up. I also gave the bike a bit of a quick spot clean to get rid of some dirt. At around 9.30am, I heard a loud roar from around the corner and before I knew it, Mr S rocked up with his Kawasaki ZX14 (I'll find out on the next meet if I got his bike right). It looked really really big compared to my little VTR. It's real nice looking too and if I'm not mistaken, it is currently the most powerful sport bike in the the Kawasaki motorcycle line.

Anyway, Mr S took me and my bike to our first destination. It is normally a big empty carpark but unfortunately for us, there were heaps of little kiddies playing netball. 

We moved on the location B which was a carpark at a port. It was mostly empty except for a few parked cars and their boat trailers. Here, Mr S got me to just ride around in circles to get use to my bike. I was initially a bit wobbly but before I knew it, I was doing quite ok in the circles I was creating. I also learnt from Mr S that riding in first gear is quite a bit harder and started doing the circles in second gear. It was much smoother. Not long after, the port personnel came up to us and told us we weren't allowed to practice here and recommended another site.

Location C was a stretch of 1.5km road and at the end of the road, a triangular roundabout. Here, I practiced going around the roundabout and also practiced doing U turns on the way back. I did this plenty of times and I was getting quite comfortable doing it. At one point, I went around too quickly and normally, I would have tried to come to a complete stop, instead, I gently gave the rear brake a soft tap and continued the turn like I would in a car!! YIPEE!! I thought this was at least some tinny bit of progress... I think I'm starting to get the concept of controlling the bike and not the other way round. Not long after, Mr D turned up on his Yamaha R6. This was also when I decided to take a short break and both Mr S and Mr D gave me few tips to park the bike. I than continued on my rounds but this time, doing left turns. 

We left around mid day and I got home with the biggest smile on my face!! =)) I was also feeling a lot more confident. Can't wait to keep getting better!! 

In the afternoon, I decided to practice more on my own. I went around the block a few more times but was still quite scared of the evil roundabout at my place. I managed to get through it at each go but there was still some nagging fear. I nearly didn't make it once but I made myself look where I wanted to go and only just made it!! Well, it looks like more practice and a few tips might be the way to go!  

Before I finish up, here's a quick peek at the horrible bruise I copped. Its been over a week now but it is still looking pretty nasty... I'm hoping it would recover ASAP so I get to wear my dresses to work again. 

16. Some Piccies!

Ok... so the last 15 posts have been really really wordy so I thought I'd lighten this up with a few pictures! =) These were from the first ride.

15. My First Mishap

So I'm told, a lot of people will have at least a few mishap on their first bike. Some of the more minor incidents I've heard off is stationery or low speed drops. And some of the more major ones, a crash into a concrete block at 50km/hr.

I had hoped I was the exception rather than the rule... I wished. Anyway, my first mishap happened not too long ago and it was on the roundabout on my block. I entered too slow and realised I could not make the turn so I decided to give the bike some gas. Unfortunately, with my inexperienced, my throttle control was poor and I went a bit quicker than I expected. As usual, I got slightly scared and then it was... "Oh crap! Not going to make it.... ahhh.... Curb!!" At least I was wise enough to stop before I crashed into the curb. However, I braked on an incline and when the bike stopped, it took a right hand drop too.

I did however learn one important thing from this little drop.... Look where you want to go and avoid target fixation. Stare at what you think you're going to hit and you're going to hit it. Unfortunately, much easier in words than action but the roundabout is not going to run away so I'll be practicing heaps!

As part of this learning experience, I also found out that I can actually pick up my own bike.

My next riding session is on Saturday with Mr S. Can't wait to get back on it again and I'll keep you all posted!! =)