Devin’s Blog
This weekend I attended an absolutely excellent “class” at Camden County College. Despite its name-association with one of New Jersey’s worst urban areas, the Blackwood Campus of Camden County College is set in the bucolic woods somewhere between Philadelphia and Atlantic City. The College hosts the weekly Motorcycle Safety Foundation courses. There is a Beginner as well as an Experienced course. I attended the Beginner course, as I was in need of an “M” on my New Jersey license, and passing this course is sufficient to convince the DMV to inscribe that letter.
The course was very good from almost any perspective. First and foremost, our coaches were dedicated and skilled teachers. One was a professional educator - a high school teacher - in “real life” and the other a retired GE executive, but both were just about the best you could wish for. Secondly, the course itself was reasonable and practical. The “classroom” components of the course were spiced up with DVD videos and the workbook content had a healthy absence of the obvious warnings so often bandied about when safety is paramount. It was a practical guide to minimizing the risk of killing yourself while flying through the air at 70 mph.
And we also got to ride motorcycles. Small ones, at 125-250ccs, but perfectly good for learning technique. And the majority of the time was spent “on the tarmac”, in this case the parking lot outside our classroom building.
The final test was difficult indeed but given the excellent coaching, only 2 people (out of 12) failed it. It involved doing a figure-8 inside a 20 foot x 30 foot box (very hard), swerving at high speed to avoid an obstacle (easy), braking very hard from a high speed to a quick stop (moderate), and some cornering exercises (easy). Those who stayed relaxed passed. Those who got too nervous failed, or so it seemed to me. Really, it was a test to see if you could be relaxed while maneuvering your motorcycle around an obstacle course. If you dropped your bike, as one poor chap did, they automatically failed you. “There, but for the grace of God, go I,” went through my mind as his bike smashed against the pavement.
If you’re interested, take the class here: http://www.ridertrainingnj.com/ You don’t need to have a bike or anything, but you should swing by the DMV and get a NJ permit & take the written test. That way you can legally ride with an instructor during the course.
Eliquatuero dip numsan vent lam, conum facillum init lut doloreet ullam etuero od tet adit, comm od tatummy feug tiam velit praese exer aute enit alit, veliqua modit dolorer commod niam onul laore.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Motorcycle Camp - Legal Speed
