Bad Habits? Take the Course

Back in the dead winter of January I was lurking around the web looking for different things to do this year that would challenge me and not be the same old stuff. One thing I came up with was something that both B and I have been thinking and talking about for the past year or so, some sort of motorcycle class, preferable a tough one. I searched and found a couple, I was really interested in the course that mimics the police training courses but it was being offered in April/May, iffy weather in these parts and kind-of pricey, not mentioning that we would have to stay overnight in a hotel. I put that on the back burner and found a local MSF ERC (experienced riders course) that only cost 25 bucks… yeah that’s right, 25 bucks. The state picks up most of the cost, glad to se my tax dollars going somewhere that benefits me for once. Again, this course was scheduled to be the first weekend in April and runs no matter what the weather is… but at only 25 bucks, what the hell. I sign both B and I up and patiently wait for the day to arrive.
The week leading up to the course I had this feeling I was going alone since it was saying 40 degrees and raining, but the weather gods changed there mind and gave us a perfect spring day, full sun and 62 degrees!
Class day – Up at 0600, we had a little snack while packing our lunches for the day. The sun was just prying its way into the sky and the thermometer read 34 degrees at departure time. I was worried about B since I know that she doesn’t like riding in the cold but she had a smile on her face and made it the 35 miles there with out stopping or being cold. Arriving right on time we filled out the appropriate paperwork and mingled with the other riders. There where quite the array of bikes and people. There were eleven participants, 7 men and 4 women, there where 2 Gold wings, 2 large cruisers, 3 Standards, 2 sport bikes, and 2 sportsters. The day went something like this, brief discussion about next lesson and some pointers, an instructor demonstrates, then we all take to the range for 20 minutes or so. Then we dismount and repeat. It was a great refresher course, I was hoping that I would have some bad habit that they would address but as the day wore on I gave up hope and realized that I ride pretty well… then it came, my bad habit… I hang my helmet on the mirror instead of putting it on the ground. I kind of chuckled and thought, geez if this is my one bad habit I picked up over the last twelve years I am doing good. And of course like usual, B put everyone to shame and the instructor couldn’t believe how good she rides, that’s my girl!!! It was the best spent 25 bucks in a long time and a very enjoyable refresher course. Here are some shots of B, I snuck of the range and quick snapped some pictures of her before I had to do my drills.