Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Learning to Ride (again)

It's good to be back

Mentioned in the Welcome post, one of my hobby is riding a bike. I remember before I got my bike license I told myself that I would take the bike through the small lanes around the island. I'm very curious on where they will lead me to as most of them are either too small to fit a car or it can fit a car but the lane will become narrower.
 
I started getting on the bike since I was a young kid. I cannot really remember all of it but the only thing I remember when I was a kid was I would always tag along if my mum/dad rides a bike. I love the feeling of the air on my head. I grew up on a bike. My mum would take us anywhere on a bike. It is more convenient and a faster but more dangerous way to travel.
 
I did get my bike license in 2001 if memory serves me correctly. I was still in college and needed a transport to go to and fro from college. Since I did not have a car license yet, my mum reluctantly agreed to let me ride to class. I still remember the night before. I was in bed visualizing the route to college. These were the things playing in my mind: What route I will take, how I would turn on a slope, where to park, how to store the helmet.

The next day I was off and of course my mum is worried about me. A teenager who just got his license a few days ago going onto the main road alone riding for more than 10km per trip. I promised her that I would go slow and call her to inform her that I have reached my destination safely after every ride.
 
Those were one of the best times in my life. I went everywhere on the bike. Meeting friends, going to cyber-cafe, going out for drinks. The only thing I didn't manage to do was to explore the small lanes around the island. Before I had the chance, I got my car license and was ban from riding. I understand my mum's concern about how dangerous it is riding on the motocycle nowadays but there is a different feeling between riding a bike and driving a car. Those were the last time I rode the bike (except for those times where I took my mum's bike out for a short spin around the neighbourhood).

Fast forward 12 years and I took my B full license. My then gf suggested why not take the bike license first and then save for the bike. I took her advice and got the license. Another 2 years have passed and I finally got a bike (not actually mine). My missus liked the bike at first glance and after enquiring a few shops about the price and was surprised that it was not too expensive. She always wanted a bike but did not get the chance to ride after she got her license. I guess this is a win-win situation.

The bike she got is the Demak D7 Classic. It is a 125cc manual bike. The bike comes in 4 colors: White, Black, Red and Blue. She got the bike in blue and it comes with 8 free gifts. One of them is a helmet which is a good thing else she will have to go hunting for one.

 Newly arrived bike
 
Now back to the main story. A few weeks before the bike arrived, my wife and I went to the nearest motorcycle shop, Harley-Davidson,  to get our riding jackets and gloves. The weather was hot and humid and I was sweating profusely by just wearing the jacket. Safety first as you won't know when you will get into an accident and needed just that extra padding to save your life.

It was hard the first time I rode it. The bike is parked at the front porch. The garden and driveway at my house is flat but the problem is going out to the road. My house is situated on a hill so I did what I had to do: Take the bike out to the road and start. The engine died on me a few times when putting the bike in gear. I will need to find the 'sweet spot' on the clutch to prevent the engine from dying. I stalled about 3 times before I manage to get the bike going. After that, it stalled again a few more times. It was getting frustrating.
 
After riding up and down the road a few times, I asked my wife to climb aboard and started the journey to her parent's house. It was a short trip. We decided to avoid the main road and took the back road instead. There were less traffic so we would not panic if the bike stalls. During the journey there, the bike stalled twice. Once was when I was slowing down to a stop. The second was when I was going uphill. Her parent's house is also on a slope. The first time the bike stalled was because I forgot to disengage the clutch after downshifting. The second time was because the bike was not fast enough in the current gear and it was spluttering before it died.
 
After reaching her parent's place, I took the bike to the back road to get some practice. The thing I love about her parent's house is the back road. It is a proper road with little or no cars. People will just go there for jogging, walking, riding and sometimes to learn to ride a bike. The road is also a slope. When you reach the end of the road, you will have to make a u-turn so I took every opportunity I had going up the slope, changing  gears, doing u-turns and moving from a standstill. The engine stalled once when I was making a U-turn at the top of the hill.
 
After about 4 rounds, I was feeling more confident and went to fetch my wife to make the trip back. Before heading back, I took my wife to the back road and taught her how to use the bike. Remember, this bike is for her to learn and get back her motorcycle basic and for me to get my feet wet for the motorcycle world. This is the first time she is on a manual bike. The first time the bike moved, she was scared so we decided to call it a day.
 
For the trip back, we use the main road instead. I stalled twice. Once was at the traffic light after the light turned green. The other was on the hill back to the house. The bike had not enough power to get us up so my wife decided to walk to rest of the way up while I rode back.
 
Got this paragraph from totalmotorcycle: "The one thing about riding a bike again for the first time is that you are on your own, there isn't anyone in your "passenger seat" to inspire any confidence in you, or telling you that you're doing something wrong like I was, Re: Stalling a dozen times". What the author mentioned is so true.
 
Lesson of the day: Don't get frustrated with the bike on the road. Take it easy and relax. Doesn't matter what other drivers think of you. If you think to you are holding up traffic, move aside, give them a nice big smile and wave.
 
Guess I will have to go riding on the bike more often to get use to the clutch-acceleration combo and hope one day in future I will finally get to realize my dream of travelling to nearby states and countries on a bike.

Total distance travelled: 15.4km

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