Learning to Fly

“Tongue tied and twisted, just and earthbound misfit, I.”  Pink Floyd

Lucille was in such good condition when she first came into our home that I didn’t feel confident enough to test skills that I hadn’t used in many years.  I also found the dash area a bit daunting.  Besides, it’s been fun telling people who instantly assume that the bike belongs to Clint that the bike is actually mine and that Clint is my pilot.

Part of the reason for me getting the Yamaha 600 was to dust off the riding skills.  I’ve been riding almost every day since mid February.

So on our recent holiday to Melbourne there was some discussion about me having a go at riding Lucille.  It wasn’t until we left Wagga Wagga that we decided that this was a good piece of road to try me out.

We pulled over a little out of Wagga.  I thought that I might have a practice take off without Clint but he had such a pleading look of ”Don’t leave me behind” that I couldn’t leave him by the roadside, even for a short distance.

Clint climbed into the pillion seat and I proceeded to bring the bike up off the centre stand.  As I was trying to find the balance of the bike, Clint was also bringing the bike up off the centre stand.  The effect was that both our motions put the bike in a lean to the right.  So I corrected to the left.  So did Clint.  I went to put my left foot down to start again and Clint’s foot was already on the ground under mine.

After a few words of instruction on how to be a pillion, we managed to wobble our way down the road gaining speed and so steadying ourselves.

We rode for approximately one hundred kilometers, negotiating the town of Temora.  They have roundabouts and angle parking in the main street.  Cruising through town in first gear, I prayed that no one would pull out on me and make me stop the bike.

Once back in highway mode, I tried using the cruise control as I was finding the return spring on the throttle was a bit too strong for me.  It’s a weird sensation – where I would normally throttle off a little before entering a corner, the bike maintained speed.  I got used to it though – saved a lot of wear and tear on my wrist.

We decided that before we get to West Wyalong that I should have a few practice stops and starts.  We managed one stop.  Stopped for a cup of tea beside the road and I surrendered the controls to Clint.  I figured that although I was coping with this deep end training, I would like to have the opportunity of riding by myself before having Clint back as a pillion.

The next weekend, we took both bikes out and found a quiet industrial estate with lots of roundabouts and wide streets for me to have a practice.  Clint was on the Yamaha and was buzzing around while I found that I could stop and start satisfactorily.  From here we decided to go onto the Gateway Motorway and head south.  We pulled into BP Yatala for a coffee and from here went for a run to Jacobs Well.  Now there’s a track that’s got a few corners.  Clint was in his element flipping the little bike into the corners.  I, on the other hand was being very sedate as we now had a strong cross wind.  Just to make a circuit, we came back via Pimpama and onto the highway.

Clint wanted more cornering fun so he headed back by via Mt Cotton Road and I stayed with the highway.  Both bikes needed refueling so we met up again at our local servo.

Charleen