Yamaha Virago: My Training Bike
I Got My License!
I finally got a driver's license this week. No, I still can't drive a car. It's a class M1 motorcycle license and it only took me a week to get it. Not bad considering I've never driven a motorcycle before. Here's how I did it... last Thursday I woke up early and went to the DMV before work and took the written tests for Class C and Class M permits. I just barely passed them both without really studying. That gave me permits to drive cars and motorcycles. I signed up for the California Motorcyclist Safety Program at the Westside Motorcycle Academy. The program consists of 5 hours of classroom training and 10 hours of riding in a parking lot. At the end of the classroom training you are given a written test and at the end of the two 5-hour riding sessions you are given a riding test. If you pass both tests, you can skip the DMV driving test and get your license immediately. On Thursday evening, I did the classroom training and took the written test. It was really easy. I got all 50 questions right. On Saturday morning, I woke up at 4:00am in order to make it to the training course by 5:30am to do the first riding session. I was really nervous. By the end of the first day of riding I was feeling a little more comfortable but still terrified and not sure if I was going to pass. Luckily, most of the people in my class were beginners and we were learning at the same pace. Sunday was rough. I had gotten home late Saturday night after a Kings game and again, I had to wake up at 4:00am after about 3 hours of sleep. I considered staying in bed and giving up on the class because I still wasn't very confident that I would pass. But, I got through it. By the end of the day I was starting to enjoy myself, but I still had a death-grip on the handlebars. There's so much coordination involved in riding... throttle, clutch lever, front brake lever, rear brake pedal, gear shift lever... it's hard to remember where everything is and what everything does, but I was starting to get used to it. At the end of the session, I took the riding test and passed. Phew! On Tuesday, I received a certificate stating that I completed the program successfully and today I took it over to the DMV and they handed me a license! Woohoo! Riding the bike was a lot of fun, but what I really want is a Vespa Scooter. I'm going to start looking for one and hopefully get one before summer. And, since I also got a Class C permit in the process, I'm probably going to take some car driving lessons to freshen up my driving skills and hopefully get around to getting my car driver's license too. I still have no plans on getting a car, but I figure I should probably just get the license now since I'm halfway there. Oh, and one other exciting thing happened today:
WE GOT BECKS!!!!
link to this post
