Wife's gonna take the MSF Basic course St. Patty's Day Weekend!!!g

[cbsnbiker]

I decided a while back NOT to watch her.  Didn't want her to be nervous with me there.  But she came back last night and so far, so good (from someone who has never ridden a motorcycle, hell hasn't even ridden a bicycle in over 15 years).  

She said she's doing ok on it, but apparantly the bike they gave her broke down twice, and something was messed up with the clutch.  She said it felt funky, but it took one of the instructors using it for a demonstration to verify that it, indeed, was not adjusted right.  

And she has had the only accident in the class (minor, no damage to her or the bike).  Might've been because of the clutch, but she said during one of the weaving exercises, she lost control of the bike and it accellerated forward and she hit the curb at the end of the parking lot and tumbled a little into the grass.  To be fair, I told her a few things on Friday to be wary of, and told her that if she ever feels like she's losing control of the bike, to pull in the clutch.  With that pulled in, the bike CAN'T get faster, and you can then take your time to brake.  But in the heat of the moment, from somone who has never ridden before and probably is a little nervous, I understand!!!

So she's on day two here today, I'm gonna meet her for lunch over there, and see how it's going!

Alexi

PS - Oh yeah.  And her thighs are REALLY REALLY sore from walking the bike during those first exercises and gripping with the knees.  lol.  I remember those days.  Guess I've ridden enough to toughen up a bit.

It may be too late for this advice to reach you, but here it is JIC:

Consider letting her have lunch with her fellow students without you.

A lot of learning can happen when the students interact with each other.

This is just a suggestion, not a big deal.

Best wishes to her.

[bluepoof]

Yay, good for her!  

I was the only person to fall over in my class.    I came to a full stop without -- you guessed it -- pulling in the clutch.    Stalled the engine and lost my balance.  

I hope your wife's second day goes great!

[sfalexi]

She's shy....but she passed!!! 8 points off on the riding portion (decelerating in the box - not keeping a steady throttle, and a not so great quickstop, putting feet down too soon before it was a complete stop,).  But overall, very good and I'm a proud hubby!!!!  

And she gets home and immediately starts looking at motorcycle dealer websites for good used bikes.....what a gal!!!

Alexi

[bluepoof]

Hooray!!!  

[AzItLies]

That is good news

Maybe she should join the site and Poof and the other ladies here would be a great support group, and I'm sure they'd get into tall tales of motorcycle regaling

[Kootenanny]

She's shy....but she passed!!!

And she gets home and immediately starts looking at motorcycle dealer websites for good used bikes.....what a gal!!!

Right on!  So, now is when you can "help" her

[cbsnbiker]

She's shy....but she passed!!! 8 points off on the riding portion (decelerating in the box - not keeping a steady throttle, and a not so great quickstop, putting feet down too soon before it was a complete stop,).  But overall, very good and I'm a proud hubby!!!!  

And she gets home and immediately starts looking at motorcycle dealer websites for good used bikes.....what a gal!!!

Alexi

 

(BTW, the comments on her riding evaluation were probably helpful observations by the coaches, but aren't the reasons why she lost points. You don't lose points for decelerating in the u-turn area ("the box"), but you do lose points if you cross the boundary line or put a foot down. And you don't lose points for putting your feet down too soon in the quick stop, but you do lose points if your stop is too long, or you fail to downshift to first gear, etc.)