riding is love

Well, initially, I did not know he was that funny instructor that Yas told me about until I saw his name on my booklet. Haha!

Well, I was late, again -.- No thanks to some home issues so I shall leave it as that.

For the first time in many, many practicals, it was actually SUNNY! It was great to be riding under the sun instead of rain. No more wet and smelly guards and helmet! But, that means tan lines instead D:

Anyway, I went through my test route and (this is sooo embarrassing) I got so engrossed in riding I forgot to go back to the starting point and ended up going pass the pedestrian crossing! I did not realize my mistake until I was riding past the first plank course when I realized I did not know where to go to next. So I went one whole round the main circuit and went back to starting point. I think all those that I passed by probably thought where the hell I was riding to or something since my bib obviously states “Lesson Four” :x

My instructor kept pointing out all my mistakes x_X He said my checking of “blind spots” was very poor. Very poor! D: But no instructor has ever said that! They said I forget to check but they did not say that I checked it wrongly! Apparently, I checked too late. He said I was to check before I make a turn. Rahhs. Why can’t they all agree in one thing? :/

Anyway, I kept going through the route over and over again. And my e-brake was not consistent ): Even during the briefing after that, my instructor said so, too. I blame it on the bike again XD My plank was horrigible as well ): I guess I love my figure 8 (: And my crank course is improving, too ^_^

So when the funny instructor was briefing us, I thought I would surely repeat the darn lesson again :/ So he held four booklets out and said, “I will be passing all four of you” I nearly passed out because I PASSED MY LESSON FOUR IN ONLY TWO PRACTICALS!!!! So happy cans?! XD

Turns out he knew that we would not want to waste precious moolah on the practicals and advised us to go for circuit revisions before moving on to lesson five. In which that was exactly what I planned to do even though The Turd is diving head on to lesson five :p

Wow. Lesson five. Now I just need to book my circuit revision slot (: Maybe I could pia one whole day on Monday ;D

Whee~ I passed! Now I just need to focus. And be more confident (:
(And, hopefully, get a good bike with co-operative brakes and gears XD)

I was running slightly late for my lesson four D: So when I reached there, The Turd was all ready for his practical. The Nameless Guy commented that I was late as well -.- Oh well.

So the start was trying out the stimulator in which, I have to say, WAS SO DIFFICULT CANS?! I was the last one of the four of us to try out that thingy and I kept going onto the grass area. Rahhs.

After that, we studied the test route and then we had a try.

The weather was grey and cloudy but at least the rain just stopped so it was quite cooling. Just that there isn’t any sun so no tan ): But I guess it’s good since that means no ugly tan lines XD

I did not like my instructor today :/ He’s so… well, another anal one, I guess. When I wanted to ask a question, he just cut me off by ignoring me and starting something else on the test route. WTF. Thanks a lot luh )< Not to mention he was going to bring us two rounds. Since there were four of us, we had to pillion each other. I, of course, chose the Nameless Guy. Oh! There was this other guy who was in my prac when we passed lesson two together :D Anyway, The Nameless Guy pillioned me first. I was not afraid. Just that I'm afraid I'll make him fall XD When it was my turn to pillion him, I asked him if he was afraid to die XD I AM A TERRIBLE RIDER WITH A PILLION!!! I can swear I'll kill my pillion man. All my focus was on trying hard not to fall and to balance that I forgot all my basics like signalling and all that. Even my check backs were not good :/ Meeh. And his helmet kept hitting on mine and now I know why my rider does not like it when my helmet his his/hers.

Basically, it’s not easy :/

Anyway, we went through the test route over and over again. Turns out I keep going to the wrong lanes since we need to change lanes and all that. The route was first, the slope, followed by the crank course and the figure 8 course, then we had to go do e-brake and finally the plank and the cones.

And when it was 20 minutes before our practicals were up, it started drizzling rather heavily. So it was cut short. Wtf. I feel cheated man. But at least that means I got to book my next slot without a long queue :D

The Turd passed today and he’s going for lesson five on Sunday morning :/ Why is he progressing faster than me? Rahhs ):

Anyway, going for another practical tomorrow! (:

I mean, seriously, late for all freakin’ three lessons of lesson three?! WHY?! o_O

At least I was just five to 10 minutes late. But Melvin was there and he went, “Weren’t you late the other time, too?” -.- Thank you, sir. You have an excellent memory -.-

The sun was starting to shine even though it was drizzling ever so lightly. And the instructor who signed me in yesterday signed me in today again and he was like, “Late again! Hurry up!” but not in a mean/harsh way. He asked if I needed a raincoat and I declined.

I got my low-seat bike at the biting point and the darn instructor told me to push my bike over then ride it after I cross the road. WTF. The other time I rode over man! He thinks I can’t handle the traffic?! WTF.

Felt so stupid man. Rahhs. So I rode away to the e-braking part and did an e-brake. It felt rather weird since I was using a different bike. And, yes, I am so going to blame the bike once again (:

My instructor was the nice indian guy but he told me to get a raincoat. So I had to stop and get one -.- Rahhs.

E-braking over and over again. My front brake felt too loose and my rear brake felt the opposite. So there was this point when I was trying to stop to queue at the e-brake station when I stepped on the rear brake and because the wheels were wet due to the rain, my brakes locked itself and I skidded a tad. DAMN SCARY PLEASE! Thank goodness I didn’t fall or anything!

So there were two times that my bike crossed over the white line (which is an immediate failure if I was doing my practical test) because I dare not step on my rear brake :/

Anyway, after I got control of my e-brake and it was good, my instructor told me to start on the plank.

Initially, I still kept falling off the plank the moment I tried to get on. But after focusing and applying The Turd’s secret method, I managed to ride on the whole plank :D I WAS SO HAPPY WHEN I ACCOMPLISHED THAT! ;D The subsequent times were successful too! THANK YOU TURD FOR TELLING ME THE SECRET! XD

But my plank was not that zai so I was a bit worried that I would not clear lesson three :/

Oh! The Nameless Guy was in the same practical as me again (: I found out that he is going into his second year at RP and that he lives in Tampines. Haha!

I almost forgot. Even though it was raining, I still managed to go up to the fourth gear when riding around the main circuit. SO COOL AND FUN MAN! But there were a few moments where I could have been in an accident BUT IT IS SO NOT MY FAULT! It’s the other party’s fault and so far, it is usually the noob drivers -.-

Anyway, the Nameless Guy and I passed our lesson three! ^_^ So we booked Thursday’s 3.20 p.m. slot together. And later on I also found out that The Turd was taking that slot as well.

YAY I PASSED MY LESSON THREE!!!!!

And I’m onto lesson four on Thursday! So exciting cans?! XD

I can never understand how on earth time flies when I am preparing to leave the house. I swear the clock must’ve some power to malfunction and make me late. And when I say late, I mean really late. I was running so late I had half the mind to just skip the practical and waste 25$ away. But the thought of wasting that moolah seemed so… pointless. So I dragged myself for lessons.

Boy, am I glad I did. Even though I was a good 30 minutes late, I still managed to go through the lesson. It was drizzling lightly so I decided not to wear the stupid yellow banana raincoat. But that was my fatal mistake because the drizzle became heavier and eventually, I was DRENCHED. Like, seriously o_O

My e-braking was cool. I forgot to clutch in on the first try so my engine just died which was quite embarrassing for me. The instructor was super lor sor but he shall be forgiven because he’s actually a pretty nice guy XD

There’s this Nameless Guy I recognize from a few practicals before. (He is nameless because we did not ask to introduce ourselves.) So we made small chat every now and then. There is also this Tattooed Driver from my orientation group. It’s pretty interesting to see how we actually progress together :D

My plank still sucked. RAHHS. I tried to apply The Turd’s method but the instructor told me not to D: So I had no chance to try out The Turd’s secret to the plank ):

I felt that too much time was wasted on the e-brake. I SHOULD JUST STICK TO THE PLANK ):

And at the end, the instructor said that my e-brake was still too shaky. WTF ):

At least meeting up with the BITE graduate made me feel better (: No, it made me feel much, much, MUCH better ;D

YAY~ I love my only friend ;D
(HAHA I know I’m so random XD)

I overslept.

Seriously, taking the 8.15 a.m. slot is no joke. I woke up at 6 only to fall back to sleep and opening my eyes a good two hours later. I rushed and grabbed a cab to SSDC but I was still a good 15 minutes late D:

Thankfully, Melvin was not around else he would have a LOT to say :/

No offense to my instructor today (another malay guy) but he reminds me of a turd. Not The Turd, but, just a turd. But he’s a pretty good chap.

My first go was at the emergency braking. I thought it would be hard since I needed to be travelling at 30-35 km/h before braking at the yellow line but it turns out to be… pretty easy. I think it is because the bike I was using today was pretty co-operative with the brakes. There were some bikes I used that the brakes were either too sensitive or too slack. After going a few rounds doing the e-brake, it was time to do the plank and the cones.

I SUCK AT THE PLANK. Period. The cones, not too stable. I think it has something to do with getting the right bike, too :p Yeah, I know, I always blame something else XD

I got the hang of “check back” and checking my blind spots before I move off or make a turn. And I pretty much remembered my signals and all. Even when changing lanes. So I think I’m improving. Go Me! :D

So when my instructor was briefing me, he praised my braking and said that I was the most consistent at the e-brake part ;DDD

That totally made my day yo!

The Turd then taught me a secret about the plank. So, perhaps I’ll apply that next lesson on Monday. Monday! Ooh I hope the weekend will pass fast (:

So it was my second practical on lesson two and I got a pretty easy-going and friendly malay instructor. We did the figure 8 and crank course first and I was surprised that my figure 8 was pretty decent. FOR ONCE XD

The first go at the crank course proved my near-accident with the poor tree. But after getting the hang of it and remembering what Melvin and the instructor said, the next few rounds were pretty decent. I remembered to tighten my grip (of my thighs to the engine) and to look far. I think I’m pretty good at the looking far part ;D

I still keep forgetting to check my blind spots but at least I remembered to cancel my signal in the figure of 8 (: I think I’m getting the hang of the cancelling of signal part, too (:

After that was the slope part. Not too bad. My engine probably died just once. And at least I did not roll backwards or anything ^_^

I thought before the practical ended I could do another round of the figure 8 and the crank course but in the middle of my figure 8, my instructor told me to stop my engine and the park the bike D: Does that mean I won’t pass this lesson? ):

We were the last group to be released since my instructor took 8094597349574 hours to get back to us and to brief us on our mistakes. He briefed the first few one-by-one until it was just the three of us left. And he handed out the booklet to this guy on my right and that poor guy looked so grave (since our instructor was looking solemn and grave as well) that I feared we had to retake the lesson or something. But when he opened his booklet, he passed! So our instructor gave the other guy his booklet and, finally, mine as well. I did not bother to open and, instead, was rushing off to book for my next slot when my instructor went, “Aye! Don’t want to open to check ar?” And I’m like, “Rushing to book! Rushing to book!” I opened my booklet AND I PASSED!!!!! WHEEEE!!!! I was so happy I shook both guys’ hands and my instructor’s hand as well and rushed off to get the next slot.

Which happened to be the same slot as The Turd so it seems like I’ll be going the early morning prac :D

SO HAPPY PLEASE! (:

I think the second lesson is being declared as my most accident-filled practical EVER! D:

Firstly, I was running late meeting Yas. But we weren’t late for the practical so it was fine. Secondly, it was raining! So that meant slippery roads and that meant we had to be yellow bananas wearing the raincoat and pants D:

Totally unglam, I must say :/

I managed to get Melvin, my very first instructor. Which was a semi-relief since it was nice to see a friendly and familiar face. Well, scratch the friendly when I signed up at the counter. (And I later found out why.)

Okay, a firm and strict instructor? That I can deal with. But not a harsh and anal one like last Friday. Oh wait. He wasn’t harsh. Just anal. And boring XD

So, anyway, the second lesson meant having to clear the slope, the figure of 8 and the crank course. Well, not to mention the 1001 traffic rules as well as the whole safety thing of checking the “blind spots” and looking back for traffic and signalling and cancelling the signal etc -.-

So, anyway, the slope seemed fine (well, more or less, I guess) and I just keep forgetting to do the safety checks and the “blind spots”. URG. Not to mention I keep forgetting to CANCEL MY DARN SIGNAL -.-

So after an hour of doing the slopes, we moved on to the figure of 8 and the crank course. As cool and (not-so) easy as it looks, it was darn hard for me!

Melvin said I was too stiff while I was riding through the course and he said I kept looking down on the road. I couldn’t help it I guess since I really needed to see where I was heading else I would’ve hit the curb! He tried a few times to instruct me from the sides and there was once I went waaay off the curb at the crank course that I was heading towards the tree and, thankfully, I missed it by thiiis much! D:

Then there was this whole looking out for traffic and I had to look out for oncoming traffic, look left for traffic behind (since I was making a right turn), then, as I turned, to look at the right “blind spot”. Since I was looking EVERYWHERE except WHERE I WAS HEADED, my bike went straight towards the curb where this instructor was standing and my first thought was ZOMG!!!! D:

Melvin set my bike on the main stand and told me to sit on it. (How embarrassing! On the main road, too! *yikes*) And guided me to realize what went wrong :/

I shall not even elaborate how embarrassing it was while doing my figure of 8 and my bike fell and when I tried to set it upright, it promptly fell on the other side T_T

(I seriously need to bury my head SOMEWHERE.)

Thank GOODNESS that The Turd wasn’t around to witness this really embarrassing practical.

So, while summing up our mistakes, Melvin chose to do mine last :/ Which was okay since I think I quite listened to him so I’m going to figure out how to go about the stupid crank course. And the figure of 8 :|

And I didn’t manage to get a slot for tomorrow so that means going to SSDC just to sit for my TTT while The Turd sits for that and take his practical. Rahhs.

So I went alone again since, well, since The Turd moved up and his slot was next Tuesday.

And it turns out that it would be a boring time because… Well, because:

1. I’m still stuck in my first lesson.
2. The moment I saw my instructor, I disliked him.
3. The moment he opened his mouth, I affirmed the above mentioned.
4. I saw my group and my first thought was: DANG.

Turns out that instructor was rather technical and very anal.

So we did our warm up laps and whenever I was behind either of these two malay girls, I had to keep a good two to three bike distance away from them because I was seriously afraid that they would suddenly jam brake or just stop short in the middle of the road in the main circuit.

I got the whole hang of the gear-changing thing plus the accelerating and stopping and braking because apparently my bike was being co-operative FOR ONCE XD

And then in like, the last 20 minutes of the lesson, the instructor finally let us go into the mini-course with the cones and all that and we started riding around it. I did pretty bad, I guess. I mean, I could do it. I just couldn’t master it.

And when time was up, I was thinking (with a very heavy heart) that I would still need to repeat my stupid first lesson again. But… GUESS WHAT? XD

I CLEARED IT! I FREAKIN’ FINALLY CLEARED MY FIRST BLOODY LESSON!!!!!

So excited and happy cans?!

But I secretly thought that he finally passed me because, HEY! It’s been four darn lessons and I’m still at lesson one?! They must’ve really felt sorry for me man!

Yas was around since we finished our practicals at the same time and we booked together for next Monday’s slot since we were both now in Lesson Two (:

LESSON TWO! Sounds grand ;D