Well, at one point, I thought I was screwed and I'd have to come back, but I PASSED... but now for all the important info...
I was pretty excited going to the course - it would be the first time on a bike - any bike - in a long time. A LONG time. I was a little scared also... there is a lot that can go wrong pretty quickly if you even let you mind wander for a second... so, the nervous energy was pumping, and I was well keen.
I arrived early, and went up into the training room after meeting the two trainers (Pete and Waz). There I met Rhonda, a lovely 49 year old lady who I thought was there to go through the course with us. As the conversation progressed I learnt she'd already done the course, but due to a spill during her practical road ride (where she lost the cap on one of her front teeth) she was deemed not yet competent and had come back to do the prac road ride component again. This made me a little worried... what if I was deemed not yet competent on any of the items and therefore didn't pass and couldn't get my bike tomorrow? My confidence would be shattered.
Leah and John soon joined us (the other two students), and we had our class. Leah had been riding on and off for 2 years, and John actually turned up (by his own admission illegally) on his bike that he had been riding for the past couple of months, but had a few years riding experience under his belt. They were both WAY younger than me, but just as nervous as me (as far as I could tell). We all had no idea what to expect, other than we hoped to pass so that we could get our licences and enter the wonderful world of riding.
Waz started the training with some paperwork and the normal disclaimer signings. He seemed like a pretty approachable bloke who had a lot of experience, but you could tell from the get-go he was directly concerned with ensuring we learnt everything correctly - his focus for the day was technique and decision process. He said that will encompass everything we'd need as riders, and help us in every situation we'd face.
The theory was not what I expected (particularly when he fired up the PC and loaded up a PowerPoint presentation). It was actually quite informative and totally focused around the aforementioned decision process and technique - good safety plans and a bit of good physics talk about counter-steering, balancing and centre of gravity when riding at slow speeds, and 'incident management' (what to do when you are faced with an incident). Not just words on a screen, there was good video footage and diagrams, and extremely helpful practical application examples from Waz.
Of course, we had some practical skills to master. Having not ridden a motorbike in over 15 years (and then it was only a farm bike) I was a little hesitant turning over the 1400cc Harley Davidson Softail they supplied me with. To make things a little more interesting, the clutch was a little stiffer than I expected. That would come back to bite me later in the day, surely. Got kitted out (mental note: maybe an XXL helmet will be a little nicer in fit) and then did our safety checks on the bikes as we should, and then to start Waz wanted us to start slowly by doing simply riding in a straight line towards him so he could assess our skill and inital competence on simply riding the bike. Passed (or at least convinced him I could do it!) - PHEW! Then just some slow speed laps to get used to the bike in their yard.
The facilities at the Springwood training centre are quite good. The training room is nothing to shout about - a white room with a data projector hanging from the ceiling pointing at a screen at one end - but the yard is great. It used to be a caravan sales yard, so there is heaps of space. It also means that there is the space for a few of us to practice the skills without getting in each others way, and not having to worry about traffic. It should be noted that the toilet light blew the day before which made the loo dark as sin, but let's face it, you aren't in there for the view.
Once I thought I had mastered the intricacies of the bike, things seemed OK. We would stop before each skill was talked about and then demonstrated by Waz, and then we'd have a go and during the process he would assess us. First up - the slalom and the figure 8.
The slalom in itself was OK, but I bodged up the first few figure 8's (thought an inside marker was an outside marker - no wonder the turn was tight!). Managed to get through it and was deemed competent. Then the emergency turn at speed (or "oh shit" manouvre) was pretty simple. Heard, saw, practiced and then assessed. Final skill - emergency stop. Waz explained this pretty well ("It's like wringing out a towel"), and offered the great tip of realising that if you take up the front brake slack initially, and apply everything as evenly as you can, then it *should* be pretty straight forward. It was, so I was deemed competent.
The last big event of the day was the practical road ride. Looking for all the normal things (vision, checking mirrors, obeying road rules, etC), as well as identifying potential hazards an picking a line in preparation for them, as well as general roadcraft on the bike. We rode around a development in the back of Kuraby and all was going well... until... we were at an intersection looking to turn left back onto the main road, and when I went to take off I gave it too much throttle too quick and dropped the clutch and the bike took off (with me on it). Panicked, mounted the traffic island and ended up stopping in the turn right lane against the traffic heading the direction we just came from.
To say I felt like crap was an understatement. I'd failed that part for sure. After very carefully riding close to the traffic island on the wrong side of the road for about 100 metres and then crossing back over to the right side of the road, Waz sides up to me for a chat.
Waz: "How are you doing?"
Me: "I feel like an idiot... I know exactly what I did wrong."
W: "What did you do?"
M: "Too much throttle, clutch out too quick, looked down and not where I was going."
W: "You're clearly fatigued, let's go back and book you in for another road ride in a couple of days."
M: "C'mon Waz, let's keep going. I know what I did wrong, and I need to prove to myself as much as you that I can do this. Give me a chance, please?"
W: "Hmm... OK. Remember it is all about clutch control. That will save you in just about every situation. Stay focused, and we'll see how we go. If this was a Department of Transport test, that'd be a fail."
M: "Thanks Waz - I can do this. Let's go."
The rest of the ride, by comparison was extremely uneventful. We went through some of the busiest parts of Springwood/Logan and surrounds, and all came through unscathed. I remained calm and focused, and we all made it back to the training centre with no other incident (other than an indicator left on because it didn't automatically switch off here and there). The first thing Waz said when we all parked and were getting off our bikes as he walked up to me was "That's the best comeback I've seen since Lazarus. You've all just earned your licences."
OH MY GOD! I PASSED!
Upstairs for some paperwork and final bits, and then off home. I passed! I passed! I thought for sure even though I completed the rest of the ride almost perfectly that I'd still have to come back and do another practical road ride with them. No stress though. I do know that I will be extremely careful for a long time to come. Knowing how good and helpful the training was I really want to sign up for their Roadcraft course they run, as it would be more than helpful. One thing I know is the skills and techniques I learnt at the QRide course will apply to more than just my bike riding... I will be a better and more aware car driver out of this also. Which is just as well, as far as Michelle is concerned.
...now, to pick up my bike... :)
