i got my motorcycle license + a new bike!

oh yeah baby! it’s official – after 4 years of riding, multiple licenses, test and courses i officially have my full m (motorcycle) license.

to be honest it doesn’t change anything for me from the last license – with this full m you can now drink alcohol and take drugs(?) and carry passengers. both of which i don’t trust myself to do and then get behind the bars – so like i said no biggy – however, if i didn’t get the full m this year – it would expire and i would have to go thru the whole licensing process all over again. so, alas, today i took my final course with a crew of cool people; learned a bunch more riding skills and then did the road test.

the road test was a totally anxiety inducing experience for 3 reasons.

first, you naturally pick up riding bad habits along the way – and then have to re-learn the correct way of doing things otherwise you’re docked marks (example: stopping at the stop sign exactly behind the line or crosswalk.) like come on. i’ll stop, but not at that exact point every-time….

second, is that you wear an ear piece and a car follows you and gives you instructions from behind. you are literally watched the entire time like a hawk. they even put green tape on your head to see if you are checking your mirrors and scanning the road enough. i get why they do it – but dannnmmm, it’s hard enough to ride, let alone with an audience.

third – like an absolute idiot, i rode my brand new – too powerful for me – not yet used to it at all – first ride i’ve ever taken on it was today – triumph bonneville t120 gold line black limited edition (theres only 1 in the city – mine!) for my test. although breathtaking in it’s performance and design – it was not smart. even the instructor told me i was an idiot. also, i was rusty from not riding since last season.

although i didn’t score perfect (wasn’t even trying for that, just looking to pass…) i did get only 15 points docked out of over 300 (failing grade was 25 off). so what’s that? a c-? not bad.

looking forward to many a riding trip this summer!