Moving Forwards Using All My Breath Making Love To You Was Never Second Best I Saw The World Crashing All Around Your Face Never Really Knowing It Was Always Mesh And Lace I'll Stop The World And Melt With You You've Seen The Difference And It's Getting Better All The Time There Is Nothing You And I Won't Do I'll Stop The World And Melt With You Dream Of Better Lives The Kind Which Never Hate Trapped In A State Of Imaginary Grace I Made A Pilgrimage To Save This Human's Race Never Comprehending The Race Had Long Gone By I'll Stop The World And Melt With You
Modern English
I Melt With You 1982
NEWEST ADVENTURE:
Yup , I enrolled in a two day beginner motorcycle safety course. The one and only prerequisite , passing an on-line 3 hour course. Those videos were rough to watch. Like watching videos covering three wheel motorbikes and automatic transmission scooters , who gives a flying monkey nut. I understand why and all but I found a majority of the sections of that course were totally useless. Finally finished that damn thing after 3 1/2 hours. Reason why the course took me an extra half hour?? I failed almost every exam after each chapter. The course tested your comprehension and each exam provided between 7 -12 multiple choice questions. I would miss a question , retake the exam before moving forward , and then answer it correctly but miss one of the true false questions that I answered correctly the first time around. Super frustrating for me and I almost threw in the trowel a few times. But stayed true to the course and quickly printed off my certificate after all green check marks were accounted for. Hot Dang
The morning drive was flipping gorgeous as I rolled south towards Delta Colorado. The morning light breaking through the clouds was lovely and the desert floor actually looked alive compared to an aired hot August day. I was way A$$ nervous when I arrived as my motorcycle "skills" are limited. We ( 7 of us ) arrived to the classroom down in Delta by 8am. Filled out the required paperwork , process the formality of intros/goals , rolled through some basic knowledge, and then it was off towards the Technical College for hands on applications. My fellow students were all riders , owners of motorcycles , long time dirt bike riders , and where floored when I mentioned I do not own a bike or even plan on purchasing a bike. I was clearly the knucklehead of the group and zero to offer up during boys talk time. I was rather surprised how quickly we would be jumping on bikes but it sort of made sense to just hop on and learn. My ambitious practice took place on this Kawasaki 230 Dual Sport. Super Mellow
Day one was very basic. Learning about clutch friction and how to use the clutch properly. Practicing front brakes only. Understanding the terms of power walking on the bike , acknowledging the instructors hand signals , and when to put one foot ( left ) down at stops or both feet down at stops. Speeding up and immediately braking hard with the back brake only. Rolling through cones in a straight line without putting a foot down for balance training while forcing our focus ahead and not staring at the cone below the bike. Understanding head movement with U-Turns , 90 degree turns , and where the eyes should gaze when practicing each exercise. Basic , but fun for sure. I totally surprised myself with how my body mechanics played out , how my coordination abilities danced around for me , and how freely I was able to anticipates the motorcycles responses to my input. I learned very quickly that each exercise was much "easier" in second gear compared to first gear. In first gear , the bike wanted to jump. In second gear , the bike wanted to stand up straight after turns and the input response on my timing and control was immediately. Even with a U-Turn second gear was much smoother for me. Then , it was a return trip to the classroom for videos , pictures , and stories. We did the whole eye chart and I rocked everyones world by reading the very bottom line from 20 feet away. Yes , I have 20/16 vision and have always been able to see at great distances. Up close , blind as a bat. We learned about the 3 foot cone peripheral vision , practiced reflexes by catching falling rulers , and general hand eye coordination fundamentals to finish off the day. Back To GJ
Sunday morning's drive greeted me with ominous cloud cover but that desert is still so beautiful around daybreak. Day two definitely rocked for me. My confidence was much higher and felt comfortable with second gear maneuvers during our first hands-on exercise. I simply followed the instructors instructions , trusted the process at reduced speeds , and everything made sense as I successfully achieved each task for what it was. I believed in what he was teaching and applied each "rule" to a T. Definitely discovered that the exercises were "easier" at speed vs the slow novice 1st gear attempts. Again , we only only riding 230's compared to your massive 1500's and super sport racing machines. Our entire morning was centered around balance , seat/rider position, sight/search/execute , and evasive turning maneuvers and only then hard braking. When it boiled down to our "test" , they referent to this as Evaluations , no worries. Well , we did have one minor incident. Nerves play a factor when tested and in the photo above , one of our fellow riders grabbed a little too much front brake and the bike pitched him high side like a rag doll. No Blood , No Broken Bones , Just One Defeated Student With A Hint Of Embarrassment. We were obviously tested on everything we learned from the two days. I trusted the bike , pointed my head where I should , kept my eyes gazing far ahead , and road each section of the evaluation with pure confidence. Solid Balance Baby
Now that I am officially certified , will head over to DMV on June 9th to renew my license. At that time I will add the motorcycle endorsement , along with my organ donor of course. The timing worked out well as my drivers license expires this July. So That's Cool
Now this above photo is a classic. My tie dye makes me appear to be carrying a big ol beer gut. And I really crack up with how we stood in pairs and the group of three to the far right. It's kind of funny how we migrate together while discovering our own unique clicks. And I leave you now with a time lapse from our second day of class. And yes , if you watch closely during the evaluation , you will see the crash.
Grab Some Gears ,
Cheers
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