Weekend Fun

Starting off with Six Flags on Thursday was just the beginning to a great weekend! I took the day off and went to the dentist and had all the bulbs replaced behind my instrument cluster. I can now tell what speed I am going at night again! After all that I headed to Six Flags for the evening and I had a great time because the lines were short and I got to spend time with my favorite buddy Kristin!

Friday was very laid back. Kristin and I just went to the store to buy our required gear for the motorcycle class and we watched The Manchurian Candidate.

calathea ornata

Saturday was great because I got free plants! Kristin gave me two gift certificates for a greenhouse that she'd gotten from work that were worth $40! So I bought two awesome plants! One was a calathea ornata, which has very dark leaves with beautiful pink stripes that look like they were painted on with a brush. The other plant was a Madagascar jasmine. This vine is supposed to grow several feet long and have fragrant white flowers.

Later that day the motorcycle fun began. We learned the basics of motorcycle operation and even had the chance to ride them. Everybody in the class caught on quickly and I was surprised at how easy they were to operate even though there practically 4 ways to kill the engine... Fuel cutoff switch, ignition key, engine kill button and lastly releasing the clutch when the bike is in gear and holding the front brake!

Sunday was much of the same thing. But first we went to church, then more motorcycle class. This time we made it all the way up to 3rd gear. Although I swear the guy in front of me wasn't shifting because at several times when we were supposed to be in 3rd gear, he was going about 15mph and my engine was about to bottom out so I had to engage the clutch and break several times! I was impressed with how well Kristin was doing especially since she doesn't know how to drive a manual transmission car! The instructor said that I was a fast driver, but I was only trying to see what the bike handled like around cones and on turns in a safe environment. I'd rather learn this in a parking lot than on the street when swerving around a pot hole can be life or death if a mistake is made.

I'd like to emphasize for all the people that may be fearing for my safety on a motorcycle that I do not currently plan to buy a bike, but if I do decide to within the next couple of months, it will have a small engine and I will be driving in places where there is little traffic and at low speeds for at least a year. I don't want to get hurt either folks! I talked to a couple people that ride bikes regularly, and one who has been doing it for 14 years. He even has a street bike (speed bike), and they have never been injured while riding. During one of the safety videos, a guy said that the only incidents he has ever been in (close calls or car crashes) were partially due to his inattention, or risky driving. And I do think that is true, if you are riding a bike with your full attention and at safe speeds and actively accessing potential risks all around you, you should be able to avoid 99.5% of accidents pro actively.