Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Learner Legal!

Well I finished up the H.A.R.T. course with a sunburnt nose and my learner's permit.  A few things I picked up along the way.

  1. Wear sunscreen on your face - you're spending lots of time out in the sun, and the helmet has this big hole in the front to see out of...
  2. The written test questions are taken from the whole book, not just the parts I found interesting.  Sure, I'm not looking for a recreational registration, but they still had the nerve to test me on it anyway!
  3. Bringing your own gloves - I should say, bringing your own racing gauntlet style gloves - means you take about 3 times as long to get ready to ride as everyone else when putting gear back on.  If possible, park your bike at the end of the queue so nobody is waiting for you.
  4. Don't forget to do up your helmet before you put your gloves on!
  5. In the riding test, there is no minimum speed for taking the corners at, providing you don't stall (which is an instant fail).  I found that taking the 2 test corners at idle in second was perfect: fast enough to maintain balance and control, slow enough to have little risk of running outside the lines.
  6. During the test, put the clutch in well before coming to a stop (emergency break excepted).  There's no point leaving it to the last second if you stall.

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