Live to Ride, Ride to Live
on The Road Less Travelled (Cameroon), 15/Sep/2009 00:27, 34 days ago
In North America motorcycles are sexy and cool...of course they are with the leather jackets, tight jeans, sleek helmets with lightning bolts, and of course a snazzy bike. However, the majority of the world's motorcycles are found in developing countries where they are not necessarily bought for their sex appeal but more so as the only affordable means of transportation. Since over my time in Cameroon I am more than likely to run into the situation where I need to travel by motorbike, my parents thought it would be a good idea to take the motorcycle course here in Canada so I had the necessary skills when the time presented itself.My dad used to be an ER doctor and so among the things I remember from my childhood are the phrases "don't get a tattoo" and "never get on a motorcycle", this was reinforced with discussions of accidents which conjured mental pictures of headless torsos and skinless bodies...I actually learned this weekend that the term Squid is what some refer to people who don't wear the correct protective gear as after an accident a squid is what their bodies look like... great mental picture there huh? Anyways, on friday afternoon I started my two and a half days training course. Before then I had never been on a motorcycle in any capacity, as a rider, as a passenger, or just to sit on, and so needless to say the combination of my lack of experience and my childhood training to view mortorcycles as death traps made me pretty hesitant. However, being unable to give up as it would be a shame to not be able to do something in Africa because I couldn't ride, I faced my fears and got on the bike.Balancing a motorbike is a lot more tricky than a bicycle, mainly because they are a million times heavier, you only have one hand brake and the other is a foot brake and you need to shift gears. Given that I didn't even like driving a standard car, I was moderately anxious to drive the motorcycle. It was a bit of a challenge to get used to shifting with my left foot but after a while I got better. The hardest thing overall was starting smoothly without stalling or jerking. The skills test at the end of the training course involved 8 different activities such as figure eights, shifting in a curve, emergency stopping and emergency swerving, and slow speed control. I almost failed the first activity which involved shifting in and out of a box formation which about a quarter of the class did end up failing, however on my third and final attempt I managed to pull out a perfect ride which enabled me to carry on to the other activities which I aced.Overall I am glad I took the course, thankful I passed the skills test, and probably never going to buy my own motorbike. The main lessons I took away from this weekend were: Be responsible (wear your protective gear, don't drink and don't be reckless), be adventurous, and don't give up. Had I been offered the chance to not complete the course after friday night I probably would have taken it, but then I wouldn't have found out that I actually was going to have fun and be able to do some pretty tricky maneuvers.