July 15th...
The test ahead of me, we started the day by riding to Gold River. What a great decision. It kept my mind focused on riding for sure. It's not surprising that this is considered one of the ten best motorcycling roads in BC: there are so many twists and turns, and it's absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous.
Flo decided to give me a beautiful leather vest in anticipation of my passing the road test. I wonder if that jinxed me? The ride was fantastic, and I felt so very confident when we finally headed off to Courtenay. Mind you it was cold up there in the mountains, and the wind in my eyes really hurt too. Flo loaned me a great pair of goggles and that really began to help.
We got to Courtenay on time to do a little more work on my u-turns and I felt truly relaxed and confident getting ready for the test.
Everything seemed fantastic. I made sure of my signaling and shoulder checks, made certain to stop at intersections before the white line. I slowed down to appropriate speeds in playground areas, and followed all the instructions. In fact I followed one of them too well. I heard: "take the next left," but when I looked it was just about 3 feet ahead of me and so I was looking up the road, scanning for the next available left. I put on my signal and went to make the turn and realized I was on a double left turning lane. Crap!
I was already into the turn, so I felt I had no choice but to complete it. The examiners didn't stop me, so I rode on. We did all the stuff that I'd heard about, some of it before that fracking lane showed up, much more of it after. We even went onto the highway. When we got back to the Access Centre, I parked the bike properly and got off smiling. That's when I discovered that I had failed the test! That one error is considered a traffic violation and an automatic fail! The instructor, Nick, actually said: "You're a really good rider." But nevertheless, I failed.
I could have been knocked over with a feather. Tears sprang into my eyes. I stood there dumbfounded. He left and I looked up to see my friend Judy standing there with a beautiful pink long-stemmed rose. Yep, she thought she was coming to congratulate me, and suddenly she was having to comfort me instead. Flo also arrived, and she was as dumbfounded as me. I think she was ready to deck the examiner. We talked for a few minutes, and then, with my back to the car the examiner had walked away from just a few minutes earlier, I said: "He's gonna call and try to get me in next week. He was really very nice." And suddenly I heard: "Yes, I'll call you." Phew... good job I'd just finished saying he was nice. If he'd come just a bit sooner, he'd have heard Flo ready to deck him. Oh my goodness, what a day.
We left to go to Courtenay Motor Sports, and I discovered that word about the fail was already spreading. I got hugs from Mark and Carl, and then we were going to do some riding and meet up with folks later that evening. Flo took me on a rather punishing tour through town. She wanted me to regain my confidence and feel more comfortable in Courtenay. We also rode out to a beach in Comox. It was really nice, but after four long days on the bike, and feeling so disappointed in myself, I can't really say I was into it anymore. For that matter, Flo was pretty exhausted too, so we both decided to call it a day.
I was lucky enough to spot Vic's bike in Qualicum Beach at the Beach Hut, and the two of us rode on home. It was after 8:00 before we made it. Man, talk about tired and sore.
The examiner did call the next morning, and I get to ride the test again on the 22nd... the only drawback is that it will be during rush hour. Ah well, he said I'm a good rider and I know that to be true. I feel ready to do it and get it over and done with.
Everything seemed fantastic. I made sure of my signaling and shoulder checks, made certain to stop at intersections before the white line. I slowed down to appropriate speeds in playground areas, and followed all the instructions. In fact I followed one of them too well. I heard: "take the next left," but when I looked it was just about 3 feet ahead of me and so I was looking up the road, scanning for the next available left. I put on my signal and went to make the turn and realized I was on a double left turning lane. Crap!
I was already into the turn, so I felt I had no choice but to complete it. The examiners didn't stop me, so I rode on. We did all the stuff that I'd heard about, some of it before that fracking lane showed up, much more of it after. We even went onto the highway. When we got back to the Access Centre, I parked the bike properly and got off smiling. That's when I discovered that I had failed the test! That one error is considered a traffic violation and an automatic fail! The instructor, Nick, actually said: "You're a really good rider." But nevertheless, I failed.
I could have been knocked over with a feather. Tears sprang into my eyes. I stood there dumbfounded. He left and I looked up to see my friend Judy standing there with a beautiful pink long-stemmed rose. Yep, she thought she was coming to congratulate me, and suddenly she was having to comfort me instead. Flo also arrived, and she was as dumbfounded as me. I think she was ready to deck the examiner. We talked for a few minutes, and then, with my back to the car the examiner had walked away from just a few minutes earlier, I said: "He's gonna call and try to get me in next week. He was really very nice." And suddenly I heard: "Yes, I'll call you." Phew... good job I'd just finished saying he was nice. If he'd come just a bit sooner, he'd have heard Flo ready to deck him. Oh my goodness, what a day.
We left to go to Courtenay Motor Sports, and I discovered that word about the fail was already spreading. I got hugs from Mark and Carl, and then we were going to do some riding and meet up with folks later that evening. Flo took me on a rather punishing tour through town. She wanted me to regain my confidence and feel more comfortable in Courtenay. We also rode out to a beach in Comox. It was really nice, but after four long days on the bike, and feeling so disappointed in myself, I can't really say I was into it anymore. For that matter, Flo was pretty exhausted too, so we both decided to call it a day.
I was lucky enough to spot Vic's bike in Qualicum Beach at the Beach Hut, and the two of us rode on home. It was after 8:00 before we made it. Man, talk about tired and sore.
The examiner did call the next morning, and I get to ride the test again on the 22nd... the only drawback is that it will be during rush hour. Ah well, he said I'm a good rider and I know that to be true. I feel ready to do it and get it over and done with.
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