It all began the way any good story does: the phone rang. It was another day at work, another deadline, but it wasn’t a call from the receptionist asking me to pick up our parcels. It was a surprise call from the editor of twowheels asking me if I wanted toget my bike licence.
My initial response was: “Oh, I must ask my mum.” He just said: “No. I’m asking you, not your mum.”... and that’s when I knew this guy was really serious. It was time for little JoJo to really think about the offer... (and to ask my mum of course) – so I went home and told my parents that I was getting my bike licence and getting a Vespa.
They didn’t say much as I threw in a few extra points to make it all sound really safe and that it was all okay (no, I didn’t lie about anything).
Now that the hard part (convincing my parents) was over, how hard could the rest of it be? It was time to have some fun. Next on the list was picking out all the gear. So we looked up a few clothing companies on the net and looked through the latest fashions inbike gear. This was very cool ’cause you have so much to choose from. My bike was blue so my gear had to match – it’s all about looking good while you ride (I think so anyway).
First of all I picked a Alpine stars jacket (blue leather with white and silver), gloves to match the jacket, light blue Spidi Kevlar jeans and black Alpine stars boots with a AGV helmet. With the help of the twowheels crew I picked out the outfit I wanted. So now that I had an idea of what I wanted it was time to try it all on.
I’ve never really tried on bike gear before and so it was a little weird to get used to the padding and weight, but I survived in the name of fashion (and safety)...
There were no excuses left and it was time to go for my rider training. I went in to the RTA and paid the $60 for my rider training (which is compulsory before you go for your knowledge test). I booked into the rider training course with HART (Honda Australia Roadcraft Training). Even though I had a Vespa all ready and waiting, I went through HART because they were recommended and because even though it’s a Honda organisation (and you do your training on Hondas) it’s not just for Honda riders.
All you do is give them your receipt number and book for either a morning or afternoon session (two half-days) and turn up in closed shoes, pants and a long-sleeved shirt or jacket. Helmet and gloves are given to you on the day. You don’t really have to know anything about bikes as the trainer will teach you everything you need to know.
I didn’t really know what to expect so I had mixed feelings when the day finally came. The trainer was really nice which helped.
As it happened, the rest of the course was filled by other people from work – once you let people know you are doing your Ls, you’d be amazed at how many want to join in the fun – so I knew all the boys doing the course with me, and that placed a little extra pressure on me as I was the only girl and had never ridden a bike before...
I couldn’t have the boys laughing at me, but it turned out I was the one having the last laugh: laughing at the boys for not getting the hang of it as quickly as I did.
It turned out to be very interesting as a storm was setting in on our second day. I thought “Damn, we have to stop riding and come back another day,” but, no, you ride regardless – hot or cold, rain or shine – so we all put on the wet-weather gear (which is also supplied) and jumped on the bikes and kept going.
On the first day you don’t do much riding; it’s mostly getting to grips with all the functions on the bike, also getting a feel for balancing and using the brakes by putting the bike in neutral and having someone push you, etc... On the second day you do a lot moreriding.
After two half-days of training and laughs it was time for the trainer to hand me the certificate. Which I deserved. Next on the agenda was to book in for my Knowledge Test. You have to take your certificate, some type of ID, fill out a form and either do the test then and there (if the computers are available) or make a booking.
To my surprise the test, around 45 multiple-choice questions, was a piece of cake and I passed. You pay $30 if you pass or fail. If you pass you have to pay an extra $15 for the actual license.
You always remember the first time...
Going for my licence at the RTA was the easiest part of the whole process. As soon as I got home I just had to take the bike for a ride. So I ran to the garage and got on my bike gear, but I’ve got this problem.
Call it excitement or lack of forethought or whatever but I keep putting my gloves on before my helmet. This is a pain as I can’t do the straps to the helmet up with gloves on. I’ll get it right one day.
My first ride was to the local petrol station to fill the tank up with petrol. A full tank was only $5. What a bargain. Now my mum is wanting to ride. I’d like to see that.
Now it was time to go shopping; what else would a good girl do? That was fun as, for once in my life, I didn’t have to drive around in circles looking for a park. I just rode straight to the front door and parked. Absolute bliss? The feeling of not having to find parking. I was loving it as it gave me more time to shop... but really can’t shop too much as I don’t have much of a boot. Can I get a trailer for my Vespa?
I thought I would be nervous with the traffic but not at all. One thing I noticed was that I was a lot more aware and focused on the road and environment around me. In fact, I was focusing so much on the road that I kept forgetting to stick to the speed limit.
Most of my riding is on the weekends visiting friends, shopping or just for the sake of going for a ride to have some time out. Riding on main roads wasn’t as scary as I thought and I enjoyed it. Maybe because it was a Sunday and everyone was probably still in bed.
If you love attention then get yourself a bikeas you’ll have people asking you questions or staring. They either tell you that you’re crazy orthey just can’t believe you have a bike.
Storage solutions
It was a Friday night and a call from the old man sees me having to work all Saturday morning at his café. I was up at 7.30am looked outside and the sun was shining and the air was crisp. I decided I would ride down, as it’s a great opportunity to give thecar a rest. I went downstairs and took the bike out of the garage to warm it up as I don’t ride it that often during the week.
Let me tell you it was such a cold morning I went back and put a turtle neck jumper on under my leather jacket. Then I threw my gloves and helmet on, it was time to get to work. My God was it cold! I had cold air coming into my helmet and my hands were starting to freeze. I had to keep my fingers moving around so they wouldn’t clamp up on me.
At about the half way point my petrol light came on so I stopped at the petrol station. Before I could pick up the petrol pump I jumped up and down a few times and moved my arms around so I could warm up a little. Five bucks later the tank was full. My God, Ijust love it. If only $5 of petrol could take my car such a long way.
Well the tank is full and it’s time to get back on the road. The café is in a park so you have to park your car on the road and walk to it. I decided to go off-road with the Vespa so I took it up on the footpath and rode to the café. Yeehah, this is great: front door service.(You should have seen the look on my dad’s face – he thought I went mad).
I worked a few hours and then went to the gym for an hour before it was time to get home as the sun disappeared and the cloud stook over the sky. Just as I was walking out the door my brother called me and asked me to buy him some lunch on my way home.
So I stopped off and bought him some lunch. I got to the bike and opened the compartment under my seat so I could stick his lunch in there. Bugger, how the hell am Igoing to fit it in? The compartment under my seat was full of my boots and couldn’t fit anything else. The brain was ticking overtime so I decided to take the boots out of the compartment, take my gym shoes off and put on the boots. I stuck the food under the seat but still had my gym shoes left over. I couldn’t exactly put them on top of the food so I tied the shoe laces up and hooked them on the little hook on the seat. Call me crazy but it worked.
JoJo gets legal
It was time for me to make my way over to the RTA and pay for my Pre-Provisional Course which set me back $126. I was getting a little nervous as I’d left it a little late and I wasn’t sure whether I was going to get myself booked in on time.
Luckily a spot was available at HART on the Friday which meant that I had one chance only to pass this course (as my learner’s permit was due to expire) or else I would have to start from scratch and I wasn’t prepared to do it again.
The Pre-Provisional Course runs for a full day starting from 8.30am to 4.30pm. I had to be up early and, boy, that was hard.
Guess what? I was doing the course with four men. I was the only female again. But,hey, I don’t mind!
The first half of the day we were building on our riding skills and basically went overwhat we were going to be tested on at the end of the day with the skills test. We practised things such as riding around witches’ hats, breaking, U-turns, etc
After lunch we went out on the road ride which is great as we all ride as a group behind each other and have turns at riding first and we alternate at each stop. The instructor rides in third place at all times and at each stop he gives us directions to the next stop and at each stop he gives each rider feedback on the way they ride and ways in which they can improve and position themselves on the road for their own safety.
Once the road ride was over it was time for the skills test. It was either fail or pass at this point. I must admit I was a little nervous as I really I wanted to pass. So I got my focus together and started thinking positively. The test runs on a points system. You’re allowed eight points only – if you get nine, you fail.(Your instructor will explain this to you on the day) Things such as stalling your bike while riding will lose you points or putting your foot down while doing a U-turn is another example of a demerit.
Well it was over in around five minutes and I passed! I was so excited I passed as it meant I didn’t have to go through it all again and the stress factor was all over. For those of you who want to know, I didn’t accumulate any points against me.
It was time to get home, have a shower and go out for a drink as it’s Friday and a great start to the weekend.
Hail & farewell
Well it’s nearly a year since I started riding and let me just say that it’s been lots and fun and I have no regrets.
If you’re thinking about getting a bike and you’re not too sure about it all, take it from me: just do it. It takes a bit of effort at the start but it’s well worth it. Even though I don’t ride religiously I still have my licence for the rest of my life and if I ever want to go for that Sunday ride to the beach or just to get away I know I can. The whole process of getting your licence might sound like a drag and I must admit it is a little but, at the end of the day, when you jump on that bike to go for a ride it’s worth it. It’s such a thrill.
People will say you’ll kill yourself out on the road; yeah, yeah, it’s true – you do have a higher risk of hurting yourself and that’s probably just a fact you we have to live with. You do have to be careful as, most of the time, it’snot you making the mistake it’s the driversaround you. There’s a risk in everything you do in life, I guess; that’s why it’s so much fun.
If you do want to get your licence then I highly recommend you set aside enough money to buy the proper gear to go with it. A good helmet and gloves are a must in my books but the jacket, boots, etc, help a great deal when you’re riding. It keeps you warm when it’s cold and most importantly if you fall (not that I have – knock on wood) they will protect you a lot more then just your casual clothing would. Bike gear may look expensive but when you add up the cost of not wearing it, it’s well worth it.
I’ve been riding different types of scooter sall year and I have found them great bikes to start riding on... They’re lots of fun, that’s for sure. And I’ll definitely continue to ride them and recommend others to do it too.
Where do I go from here? Well only Godknows, I guess... See you on the road.