How do you spell  "relief" ?

Today, at 10:30 am May 29 2005  it was  spelled " PASS".

 I successfully passed my M2 exit course with flying colours and I'm now the proud owner of a full M class license.

 Well, technically not until I take the paperwork to the ministry for processing. But that will be resolved first thing Monday morning.

 It was truly a relief after a worrisome weekend beginning Friday evening with a 3 hour  classroom session. Saturday morning's brief rider's skill test was followed by practical  training, then  by a full day of applying and reinforcing the newly acquired knowledge while being scrutinized under live street and highway  conditions.  ( Hence the terminology -  "test" - doh ) . The very mention of that four letter word makes me break out in sweat.  Mmm, may even be partially responsible for the gastrointestinal problems I suffered from the previous weekend and well into the early part of the week.

This morning at  9:30am,  I was  scheduled for the  45 minute  M  "road test".

  It began much earlier than I wished,  when I awoke every hour on the hour throughout the night contemplating the plethora of things that could potentially go wrong -  over 400 of them and accumulating 25 teeny tiny errors would result in a FAIL.

In my mind, I visualized the most important steps for each left and right hand turn, stop, curve, merge, lane change, road side stop, through intersection, and highway driving  action - THE APPROACH. It consists of  mirror checks, signaling ( on time), blind spot check, mirror checks to finish.  (You'd think this was an Olympic Event. Pretty close, it's taken two years to get here.)  Remember to scan mirrors consistently -  minimum of every 8 seconds city driving ( 5seconds highway) , scan intersections, watch for hazards while ENSURING that all actions are clearly visible, done in the required time/distance/space. Exaggerate all checks so the examiner does not miss each and every one which would result in a lil black "x" indicating an error.  Ohh yeah, don't forget about the traffic whizzing around, not caring about the problems specific to the smallest vehicle on the highway. ( ie. pot holes, ruts, construction, high winds).  A rider not being totally aware of them could result in a very LARGE, flat,  black spot..... on the pavement.

I know I made a couple of tiny mistakes and figured that I was sunk during the second road side stop. After  successfully completing the move, I pulled away from the curb but was  temporarily stuck in 2nd gear (not first)  which stalled the engine in the road.  A quick clutch and downshift corrected it, but  I thought I was done in and that error alone would be noted as a "dangerous maneover" which would be an instant failure. 

The test ended with no further problems, as I returned to the Humber College parking lot and secured my bike.  The driver of the pursuit car collected the radio receiver  and safety vest while noting to meet the examiner in the car.  As I approached the vehicle apprehensively, suspecting "bad news" ( no mirror check necessary... haha) I  hesitantly opened the door.

  I instantly knew the results - PASS. There was Nick filling out the back of the white MTO envelop which ONLY successful applicants may take to the closest Ontario Ministry of Transportation Examination Center to upgrade their license to a  FULL M.   Yipppppeeee !! 

We discussed the errors that I had made. Fortunately the shift problem resulted in a simple "gear" check mark under acceleration/resuming after a road side stop - a negligible error...... phewwww !

An accumulated error score of 25  will still result in a pass.   I had a total of  EIGHT  errors  for the entire test.

Nick said it was an EXCELLENT result for a road test. Especially considering the shaky start I had gotten off to Saturday morning.   

Yep, that's right.  I sweated and worried for nearly nothing.  

Soooo, even if I felt like a bobble head doll accessory on the bike,  helmet constantly in motion with the exaggerated head movements

 for  mirror checks/blind spot checks, intersection scans,  hazards, turns etc,  it PAID off in the long run.

Yep, that's right,  I sweated and worried for nearly nothing.  More good news, I won't have to re-test until I'm eighty. lol

 Special thanks goes to Motorcycle Rider Training Program instructors:   Marshall, Dana and Nick  at Humber  (College)  I.T.A.L.