Taking MSF

So, the way that everything aligned, I started class the next Friday. Classroom stuff was a breeze, but a bit of a pain... it was 45 minutes away, but with DC area traffic, make that a cool 1hr+ on a Friday evening. I got there about 5 minutes before class started. I was also signed up for the 6am class . Sadly, I was thrilled then they told us that they would not start until 6:45am, which meant I could leave the house at 5:45am instead of 5am! (Did I mention that I am not a morning person? I'm NOT.)

Range Day One: I get there on time and we have a class of 12. (I didn't know at the time, but I think that is the max # allowed). The class is a mix of experienced riders (dirt bikers since childhood, people who had been doing the permit test for years, rebels who had just been riding with no license) and total noobs like myself. That's cool?

I'm not going to go into all of the details, because quite frankly I don't remember everything. Suffice to say that I am not a natural or intuitive rider. I did not EVER drop the bike or lose control. I did not HORRIBLY fail any skill, but it did take me more time and practice, as well as explanation to understand some of what I was told to do. I left the first day pretty frustrated, demoralized and certain that I would fail the course.

Range Day Two:

The best thing that clicked for me on day two was control of the friction zone in 1st gear. Let's be real, 1st gear is a doozy, but a doozy that you HAVE to learn to control. That is not to say that I didn't kill the bike a few times on Day 2, but I was much more cognizant of what I was doing. (then the problem just became mis-shifting) Day two was easier for me in a sense, because some things started to gel but we were also going faster in 2nd gear with no low speed cornering, except the figure 8. I already knew that the figure 8 wasn't a "make or break" part of the test, so I just focused on getting the concept and never putting my foot down. Anyway, I figured out on day two that one range instructor and I were just not meshing (he was trying to help, but we had incompatible styles) so I would always do poorly/regress around him, while I would do well or progress with the other instructor. I quietly prayed that the 2nd instructor would be doing my testing!

My classmates were also awesome! They were encouraging, irreverent and self-deprecating even with they were executing flawlessly... this really helped the noobs a LOT.

Anyway, I passed the test... with the max points allow (20)! I didn't feel that bad though, as I know I suffered from test anxiety and I performed all of the tested skills consistently in the practice rounds. (for example, in practice, I suffered with not downshifting in the emergency stop... on the test, I downshifted, but I lost points because I had unknowingly mis-shifted into 3rd, so when I down shifted, I was only in 2nd. Mis-shifting was a big issue on those old MSF bikes)

Anyway, I was physically and mentally exhausted (early mornings and 85 degree temps!), but very proud!

On the way home, I even managed to avoid what could have been a devastating accident (I was doing my 12 second anticipated path scans while merging onto the highway) and IDed a convoy of vehicles to watch out for. Seconds later, one of them blew a tire! I got off on the shoulder to avoid the situation as the convoy jumped to the shoulder as well. Moments later a tire richocheted across the highway, right where I should have been.