That's the Breaks!

After completing my prep I called my insurance company to see if they offered a discount to RiderCoaches.

Nope. But, oh yes, if you complete the BRC successfully, you get a discount. I tried to explain that I teach the course. Surely that is above and beyond what a student accomplishes by taking the course, right? I mean, I must be able to pass one if I teach it.

I got the dreaded phrase as a reply: "That's not our policy, sir." Seriously. "Well, you could take the BRC and mail us a completion card." Right.

Then I got an offer in the mail from another insurance company. They wanted me to call and get a quote. Sure, why not? My first question: "Do you offer a discount to RiderCoaches?" He put me on hold for a minute. "Yes we do." Now we're getting somewhere.

The only problem was, even with the discount, they could not beat my current insurance company's price. Hmph.

I called some other companies. Turned out, they did not offer an insurance break for RiderCoaches either. Crazy.

When is MSF going to educate these people as to who we are and get all of them to give us the same discount (or more) that our students get?

Dan

Dan was in one of my first BRCs. He wanted to be reunited with his motorcycle, which was back in Central NY. It was the only wheels he had and he needed it to get to work.

I wracked my brain trying to think of all of my friends from home, college, and family members who lived in NY who might have been able to help him somehow. Didn't come up with much.

He was a nice guy in a tough spot. I really wanted to help. Even thought about riding it back for him the next time we went to NY for a visit.

Then I started thinking about what would happen if something went wrong. What if I crashed the bike on the way home? What if I got there and it had mechanical problems? Plus, should I get involved with a student? Maybe it wasn't such a good idea.

Sometimes the heart says yes but the mind says no.

Looks like you're on your own, Danny Boy.

Zap Law

So we got some weird lookin' vehicles out there, folks.


I'm curious about that recent memo from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Sure, by strict definition, in the state of Maine the Zap car and the Zap truck are motorcycles. But one has to wonder if ability to operate a two-wheeled motorcycle is going to be of great use to a "Zap-driver". "Zapper"? "Zappist"? "Zap-Jockey"? There it is: Zapjockey. Oh, wait a minute.......ZapGirl. With the right sunglasses, that could be something.


Anyway, it will be interesting to see if it changes. In the mean time, I wonder about the morale of people who want to drive a Zappy and have to take a BRC but who never wanted to ride a motorcycle in their lives. And how about those helmets while your Zappin'?!!


Weird looking aside, check out the features, prices, and longterm savings available on their website. There's a good slide show and audio-lecture about where things are heading for gas vehicles and for their company. By the way, "ZAP" is for Zero Air Pollution.

E-K-G or Thumb/Key/Valve?

Some RiderCoaches use the abbreviation "E-K-G" to refer to the shutdown procedure for the motorcycles. Engine cutoff - Key - Gas. In the student workbook for the Basic Rider Course, however, the same procedure is described as "Thumb/Key/Valve". I started thinking about this difference and which term might be more effective.



I liked E-K-G at first because it's a combination of letters that a lot of people know. So, it's memorable. "E" is also used previously in FINE -C to denote the engine cutoff switch. On the other hand, how many folks have good associations with an EKG? Hmm.



I have seen E-K-G taught to students through a number of BRCs now and I've noticed that even after numerous exercises some people are still slow at hitting the engine cutoff switch when they come in to staging. Why?



Then I realized the important strength of Thumb/Key/Valve. The first part of it is "Thumb". It reinforces where the switch is and makes an immediate connection in the mind with the first thing you do when you come in to staging. Simple......Thumb.



I'll betcha they knew this at MSF! It's right there in the workbook. That old experience thing kickin' in.



And so begins a new RiderCoach mantra: "Read the fine curriculum!"





Side note: The more I learn about and work with the BRC program, the more I realize how good it really is. After all, they're the experts. They know more about this stuff than I do. I think it's questionable to deviate from the curriculum for a number of reasons, including student response. What might they think about the program if you substitute what's in the book with your own thing? The last thing you need as a RiderCoach (or they need) is for student confidence in the program to begin to erode. RTFC/RTFC.

RiderCoach Prep - Getting the MOST Out of Training - Part Three

I'm lined up for Evaluation 3. I think I'm doing well so far. All I need is a good quick stop and corner and I'll have passed. A monkey off my back for the rest of training and one step closer to a successful finish.

We had been working hard for the last two days and riding a lot. I had a red Eliminator, a good, friendly bike.

Here goes; he's waving me on............ Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirst.. seconnnnnnnnnd. YEEEOWWWWWW! What the... The roaring sound was tremendous...feeling things go sloppy for an instant made me let off the brakes...not even time to think. Then I felt upright and gradually but firmly reapplied the brakes. Good thing, too. I was in a front tire skid! I couldn't believe it.

By now my heart was pumping. Bob, over my left shoulder, slowly walked up to me, paused, and said, "So, how fast are we supposed to be going for the quick stop?" I thought..... "12 to 18 miles per hour." "Yep. How fast do you think you were going?" "Um, over 20?" "Oh yeah." Then he calmed me down a bit. "It's just a bit of nerves. What I want you to do is take a deep breath, turn here and get back in line. Then you're gonna do a nice quick stop and then you'll be all set." His being so calm about it really helped me out. I can do this. "Okay." So I cleared my head and refocused. Everything got quiet and I tuned in to what I was doing.

I was a bit conservative on the rerun just to be sure I didn't mess up again and be assessed the maximum. I purposely took it easy on the brakes. I figured I had room in my score thus far that I would be fine if I went over a few feet. Sure enough, I went over six feet but it was a respectable stop. Those were my only points on the riding eval.

PHEW!

Later I was reflecting on the skid. How could I do that? I had never skidded the front tire in 20 years of riding! Maybe it was that the bike was so light compared to what I had ridden in those twenty years. Then again, I had been riding that bike for two days.........NO EXCUSES. It was the nerves.

And you gotta deal with it.

* * * * * * *

The rest of the prep went well. It was a lot of work and a lot of testing. I had a marginal sat on the final (the full class taught to actual students) on exercise 15 with Stan (he did a good job with the whole prep. A really smart guy who got even the details right. I was relieved when I got paired with him!) We got a little off our game when someone waiting in line revved it up to the redline and dropped the clutch. She crashed into the rider in front of her, who proceeded to also rev it up and drop the clutch, only she set the bike down on its side and did two and a half 360s before finally letting off the throttle. Pretty spectaular. Stan blew the whistle. A lot. After, John told us that wasn't the problem. He said, "She was just waiting in line when she did that. It wasn't your fault. That stuff happens sometimes." What was our fault was that we had mixed up one of the transitions, and our lack of experience and communication created a situation in which riders were going the wrong way and one of us was not ready to receive them. We handled it but it was far from perfect.

For graduation we were all invited to a reception in a conference room at the BMV. Congratulations, a dinner, and certificates. We also got to see some pictures Eric, the man in charge of driver and rider education for the state, had taken during the prep. It was nicely done.

All that time and effort had payed off. Now I was a RiderCoach.

Bikes and Beer

Today, by coincidence, I was reading an ad this morning about a tour of Austria and Germany by motorcycle, and then, this afternoon, watching a show about the history of brewing beer. Why is it that bikes and beer seem to go together?

I've heard it said that when "bikers" (meaning the gruff, hulking nogoodniks on two wheels....I think this stereotype goes back to "The Wild One" starring Marlon Brando) get together beer is inevitably chugged down in great quantities. Of course, we all know that drinking and riding has fatal consequences sooner or later.

But what about that expression, "Drinking and riding"? Or more commonly: "Drinking and Driving"? Why do people insist on bringing those two ideas together in a handy-dandy slogan?

I think this started being popular sometime around 1980, at least in my experience. I can't tell you how many times during high school in health class, at assemblies, in TV ads, I've heard those two ideas paired up: Drinking and Driving. Who thought this up? How about "Drinking OR Driving??? "OR" I said! Don't combine the two with "and"!!! Who's with me on this?

Who is willing to make up the bumper stickers? "Drink OR Drive" ? I'd even be willing to put, "Not both." in parentheses after.

I've read a number of articles in British motorcycle magazines where they talk about being on tour in Europe or elsewhere and they drink fine wine and beer at the end of a long day on the "tarmac". Superb. Enjoy your riding. Then enjoy a beer. Life is good. Just don't get mixed up!

The title of this should be "Bikes OR Beer"!!!

Excuses, Excuses.

Today the wife and kids were off to the Children's museum. I had to stay back and study for an upcoming education test. Finally I got overloaded and I was fading away, losing concentration. Needed a break. What I really wanted to do was go for a ride........but I was supposed to be studying. I guess I was tired of looking at the written page.

In fact, I've been reading a lot about motorcycling lately in magazines. One American, one British. Interesting stuff. They talk a lot about techniques, test rides and "the like." It really wets the appetite but with a lot of rain and some thunderstorms in the forecast these days, I haven't been out as much as I'd like. Time to stop reading about it and just RIDE no matter what the weather!

And then, it occured to me...recently we lost track of our 35 mm camera. The only place we hadn't looked was camp. We had gone there a week ago, and where else could it be, really? Problem was nobody was in the vicinity. It's about 30 miles or so away. I suddenly thought of going to take a look..........

I checked the radar quickly as there was rain in the area AGAIN, some of it pretty heavy. Looked okay for a while. Next thing I knew I was getting ready to ride.

I took to the highway and sped along trying to enjoy myself while at the same time diagnosing a problem I've been having with engine sputter at around 7100 RPM. The highway speed was perfect for this but I still wasn't sure whether it was electrical or fuel-related. Hmm. At least I was riding.

As I got closer to my destination, I looked skyward. Dark, rolling clouds loomed overhaed. Uh oh. And then, suddenly, I didn't care if it rained at all. I rounded a bend coming in to Hartland. The gentle curves and encroaching pines made me feel good. Maybe it wasn't an exotic locale on a BMW 1200 like in those magazines - it didn't matter. I realized how much fun I was having just riding. That feeling of balance, the wind...being on two wheels is o.k. by me.

It didn't matter that I never found the camera. It would turn up eventually.

Oh, to ride! Any excuse will do!