I passed!!! Without falling over....

I passed my Beginning Rider Training (BRT) class this weekend! In order to get my motorcycle endorsement (and eventually ride a motorcycle legally in Oregon), I needed to pass the DMV written and riding tests or pass the Team Oregon BRT (teamoregon.orst.edu) class. So, for my birthday Josh enrolled me in the class and off I went. Last Thursday I had a two and a half hour classroom session which introduced us to the class and book. Saturday and Sunday my schedule was longer (and hotter - the Willamette Valley had a heat advisory both days!). Saturday I started the riding portion of the class at 11:30am and that lasted until 3pm. The classroom session was 3:30pm - 5:30pm. Sunday we started the classroom session at 9am and took our written test. I missed four questions (you could miss ten) and one of those was just me going to fast and not paying attention to what I was writing. The afternoon riding session started at 12:10pm and ended at 5pm. During that time we finished our practice exercises and took our riding exam. I missed 9 points (you could miss 20) so pretty standard throughout both tests.

I had a blast and think I'll enjoy riding a motorcycle, but it will definitely be a slow and long process....motorcycles scare the heck out of me and I don't want to do somthing dumb because I stopped concentrating and didn't know what to do. I rode a cruiser-style bike and definitely think that is what I will be looking at, it was easier for me to clutch and brake and I feel that it will be a better fit to learn on. The Suzuki GZ250 was just the right height and felt good.

It was hotter than heck, up in the 90s both days but the worst I got out of it was a sunburned face (nose down) because I forgot the sunscreen. Wearing a helmet can be deceiving, even though I wasn't wearing a full-face helmet I should have realized I was exposed. Now I have a bright red nose like Rudolph the Reindeer and bright red cheeks. Even my lips got sunburned. Oh well, at least I didn't fall over. Next on the list is to get me a helmet and find an affordable bike to ride/practice more on.