Yesterday, one of my candidates passed his module 1 motorcycle test. Nothing unusual in that, of course, as it is a regular occurrence. However, this candidate had struggled. I think it was his third or fourth attempt. Some people can naturally ride a motorcycle, others are less so and he was one. Not that he couldn’t do it, he just wasn’t especially fluid. This combined with nervousness made his previous attempts pretty awful.
On Wednesday, it was my turn to coach him for his test along with a new client. The new lad was gifted, having been doing this stuff off-road for years. But Colin (not his real name) struggled with the slow speed stuff. His upper body was stiff and tense – this feeds back thought the bike, making things like U turns and the figure of eight manoeuvres difficult and nothing I could do would make him relax and engage in some counter-balancing. At the end of that day, I wasn’t especially optimistic.
The following day, while we were at lunch, Colin was doing a little practice in the yard and as I walked out to my bike, I watched as he executed some neat U turns, dropping the bike into the turns and counter-balancing with his body like a veteran, with neat, smooth clutch and throttle control and I realised that he had, finally, got it. So the test went well. Really well and he was over the moon, having invested heavily in the training and testing, both financially and emotionally.
Another instructor who was there and observed the results, made the comment that this is why we do this – that man’s smile when he came out clutching his little purple pass certificate was a reward all of its own. He had earned it and everyone was pleased for him. More so than when someone has it easy, I guess.
So, yes, a good day.
It is good to have a job that gives that kind of satisfaction now and then. When I used to teach karate, not for a living I might add, I used get a little kick from watching my students pass their grades. My paid work has mostly involved fixing things, and there is sometimes some satisfaction in that too. My old Triumph Daytona broke its camchain, it was not a great moment when it died and had to be rescued by the AA. But after I had stripped it down, fixed it and put it back together, the moment when I fired it up and it came back to life was special.
I remember the joy of passing my driving test at 17, over 30 years ago.
But getting my bike licence was wonderful, especially when the first time I sat on a bike, I had no idea what all the levers did, but I did have an innate sense of balance from riding a bike for so many years.
It’s odd, having loved sports cars for so many years, I find the roads so congested and have not enjoyed the commute, that I have found a wonderful sense of freedom riding a motorbike.
Many thanks to people like you.