BC Sport Bikes Forum banner

Looking for a decent riding school

1K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  SkydiveSonic 
#1 ·
*wave*

I decided that I wanted to start riding (for commuting/fun) and got my learners last week. I don't have a bike yet and the first thing I will be shopping for is a good helmet.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a good riding school in either Abbotsford or Chilliwack (I live in the wack but work in Aldergrove)?

Also, I'm looking for suggestions for models of bikes that, at 5'2", I would be able to get my leg over.
 
#4 ·
Hmmm...well, according to this post here: I think you definitely do need road training! I've quoted for your reading pleasure:
actually as ashamed as i am to admit it i did some pretty stupid lane swerving in an attempt to get a little ahead, not nearly as bad as the guy in the topic, i do avoid those little stunts of dangerous futility.

Running up a 3 lane highway in kamloops, the exit was coming up and there were 3 cars infront of me all doing about 70 on a 90 highway (ugh, but hey it was uphill, some cars just don't got the balls)

A truck was moving at normal speed in the center lane but was a bit of a distance off, I figured i could pass the 3 cars before we got to the exit, so i shifted to the center lane, put my car in 3rd and gunned it, then i got a good clear view of the exit and realized: "awww CRAP, not gonna make it", the truck had caught up so if i slowed down to get back behind the 3 cars turning off the exit I would have to kill the trucks momentum (on an up hill highway that seriously seriously = asshole). Since, other then the 5 cars in the pack (me included), no one else was on the highway, i went to the furthest left lane, hit the brakes to avoid slowing the truck down (forcing him to pass on the right) then went past all the lanes into the exit.

Stupid? Definitely
Illegal? Probably
understandable? probably not...

In the end the reason i did it was because i misjudged the distance. It's a poor excuse for my actions, but in my mind it's good enough of one to explain what i did. The person that widely swung his car around to get just a few meters ahead. He may of had good reason, or at least good reason to him.

What he did was dangerous
what I did was dangerous

but Humans are humans.

oh and note: this was in my cage, not on my new bike o.x'
Qjet ....You scare me! You pull a stunt like this with a Newbie class 5 permit? Are you kidding me? :eek

Your first sentence is an oxymoron! You pulled an asinine manoeuvre, but in the same breath you said you avoid those stunts of dangerous futility? ...come again??

Granted, you say you're ashamed to admit it - admission is the first step to recovery - but do you really think that you are going to learn from this and not pull a stupid ass move like this in the future without proper road training?

I'm appalled that you've justified it to yourself that even though it was stupid, illegal and dangerous it was okay? Okay because you didn't kill or seriously injure anyone, THIS time?

You put yourself and others in harms way by pulling an asinine manoeuvre like this because you misjudged the distance of an exit? What's wrong with taking the next one? I know the roadway and exactly where you made your error in judgement - I travel that road frequently through Kamloops. Either slow it down, get in line or take the next exit ...it's not even a km away if you miss it. Only proper training and driving experience will prepare you to avoid future dilemmas like this one.

The motorcycle community complain on a daily basis about idiot drivers out there. Well, Qjet - you've just classified yourself as one of them! What do you think the drivers behind you thought of your precious move?

Humour me and take a minute here to evaluate this scenero and put yourself on a motorcycle wherein someone in a cage pulled this exact same manoeuvre in front of you as you were closing in on the truck (or just pulled into the centre lane to overtake the lineup of cars) and you have only a second or two to react! Assuming you're doing the speed limit (giving you LOTS of leeway here), you are actually travelling 25 meters/second (Roughly 82 feet/second)!! You're travelling at highway speeds (90km/hr - at least) on a motorcycle, and the car suddenly crosses into your path of travel, to cross three lanes to get to the exit (because he misjudged the distance) and didn't see you in his blind spot. Anything can happen in the blink of an eye.

Now, since you insist on not taking a proper motorcycle safety course, think about this one - what would you have done to avoid a collision?

If you want to be a great (not average) rider, you also need to learn how to DRIVE properly too and not pull stupid, illegal and dangerous stuff like that in a cage!

Whatever makes you think you're that much better or safer on a bike without taking a course? You post information regarding your aggressive driving behaviour in a cage, which just proves to everyone that you DO NOT have enough driving/street experience or skills in a cage let alone enough for a bike! The motorcycle community at large does not want to hear about another rider going down and paying the ultimate price. This is exactly why people on this forum have recommended you take a motorcycle course.

I just took an advanced rider training course yesterday - only 5 months after graduating from my M/C safety course this spring. Waste of money? Absolutely not!

I have over 23 years of driving experience (cage only) along with advanced/tactical driving training to boot. I drive a standard, so it gives me an advantage learning throttle/clutch control and the friction zone on the bike. But I took a course anyway.

Do you think I was taught everything I need to know to be a safe, skilled and responsible rider on the M/C safety course? Probably. However, statistically speaking, I probably only retained at best 20-30% of the info after receiving my certificate of completion. I don't want to be a rider with one year experience repeated every year for 20+ years. I want to be a rider who continually upgrades my skills and techniques every year so that I don't become another statistic. Not only did the M/C course teach me observation and riding skills for a motorcycle, but also refreshed/improved my driving skills/techniques as well. You just can not get the same result just by reading books and watching videos. Feedback from a qualified instructor who has the experience, knowledge and skills is the way to go. It's a bigger bang for your buck than you think.

If you have any desire to stay alive, you'll do the right thing and take a course...and continue taking courses to continually refresh or upgrade your skills/techniques. You are young, naive and still consider yourself invincible - a surefire recipe for disaster if you don't.

To quote you from another post: "Ignorance is bliss"

Ironically, you wrote this about some other idiot. What goes around, comes around.

Be safe out there!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top