Uphill Struggle

After 1.5 years of not having any motorbike riding, I'm on it for a day!

In Chiang Mai, Thailand!



That's some guts for me to rent this - the most simple, basic scooter available, Suzuki Step 125cc. Yeah it's a scooter with only one control for gas and brakes to handle, which suits me very much.

This is the route I rode. A total of 50km from the old city to uphill on Doi Suthep, for the major temple, view of the city, and a winter palace, then same way down hill.



You can see that the left side of this route map has only one road and fairly blank around it. The road also has a lot of turns.

All these accumulative thoughts in negativity, adding to the cooler temperature in higher altitude, made me shiver a little.

On one steep hairpin turn, I was looking ahead the bend (I avoid turning when the other side had any traffic), leaned into the turn, but somehow FORGOT to gas up... Then I fall on my left and the bike just slide to the double white line.



You can see this is really the last turn before the big temple...

I would have taken the middle lane so that the turn is less sharp. But then if I fell on that, my bike would have fallen off a cliff!!

This thought, plus the scratched and bruised elbows and knees, put me in shock for almost the whole day. Gee, I just had my first traffic accident as a driver...

Paint was scratched off the left side of the bike. Left mirror also broke off. When I got back up the floor checking if myself is okay, there is a long tourist coach passing the turn. Classic! Then there is this auntie on a scooter who stopped and asked if I could start again. All I can response was "I'm OK. Kop kun ka. (Thank you)". Hmm the kindness of strangers.

On the way down I was a lot more cautious. The legal speed sign said "40" and so did I. Still there were more than a few scooters, 4-wheels and such over-passing me. Really I think the auntie who stopped for me would easily drive at 60kmh here.

Overall it is a pleasant experience - I really enjoy the scenery and being able to get to places without haggling a songthew (2-row pickup truck) driver. But then I KNOW I should have practiced a lot more before driving in a foreign place... I'm over confident in my driving skill, and well, I paid my price..

License to Kill

Wow I haven't been on the motorbike since Nov 2009!

The other day I found out my expired P license, and had it renewed last Mon.

Now I have a FULL license for 10 years.

As I only rode twice during my P-eriod... Next time I ride I'm probably ended up running into a tree trunk or something!!

Advance Lesson 2: Nov 26 (Wed) 230-430pm

There's still a week before my move to the Mainlands for work. I'm crossing out "things I will miss doing" on my list, and motorbike is going to be one on the top priority.

Besides, this is probably the last "autumn" day at above 22oC with blue sky. Yeah last chance before I forget about how to start the engine!

On the lead is one of the more serious instructors. We ride from Shatin to "Bride's Pool Road" which is one of the favourite illegal roadracing routes. 

I'm back on CBR 150 again without much other choice - the other bikes look too heavy and I am not confident...

The ride to Bride's Pool is okay. It's a bit slower (average 55km/h) than I thought. Later I was told the gap between my bike and the instructor's is too wide, especially for motorways, as it will be difficult for other vehicles who wants to overtake.

There's also a section towards the end which goes uphill and then multiple turns on a 2-lane road. I was really not alert when it comes to downshifting, so my bike significantly slowed down and had to throttle up much later. Anyway I should be more aware of the road condition ahead, and adjust gear accordingly.

The instructor pulled over right after our break when we head back. Apparently at the giveway junction when we turned left, my bike slided outward to the other lane... If the power is too much, I should be applying my footbrake. It is quite dangerous considering there's incoming traffic.

The ride is long and slightly more difficult than the previous one. And perhaps I have been having a backpain from sitting too long which makes me very tired. Riding is physically as well as psychologically consuming so to speak.

I am considering my bike purchase but am unsure of the practical use of it if I am stationed across the border. Will the bike battery go dead if I don't run the engine once a week or something?!? Let's see.

Advance Lesson 1: Sep 6 (Sat) 930-1130am

After 2 months of nothing but paddling bicycle... I went back to school and took up the first "Advance" class I signed up the day I graduated. (Meaning that if I were any good, I'd be riding on my own!)

This is the bike I picked. Honda CBR 150R. Same colour too!



It's a sports bike! So now I ride hiding behind the fairing and leaning forward as if I'm on a horse. Takes up more than a few minutes to warm up... I need to get used to the gears and footbrake being 2 inches back than it used to be on the learner's Yamaha YBR 125 bike. Also the cockpit stays in line with the bike when I turn - unlike previously were the meters move with the front fork.

My balance is changed with a hunching back and higher arse position (!), and turning is tricky. I fell off twice within the school area. Kinda horrible considering I've passed the exam already...!

The instructor got on his bike and we're out. This is the first time ever I ride on a P plate. Feels good without the threat of failure landing my right foot!

We circle around the neighbourhood for a little bit, going up and down a small incline, before moving on to the highway. It's a very nice day to ride, with the sun not too harsh and a bit of clouds.

Where we ride:-


We start from North Shatin near where I live, up NE following the 6-lane highway to Saddle Hill (Ma On Shan), then head a bit SE on a 2-lane motorway to Sai Kung, a bay area with small islands for water activities. We finish at Pak Tam Chung, the 1st section of the MacLehose's Trail in the countryside of town. We then head all the way back.

It is initially very worrying since there's virtually no traffic lights from Shatin to Saddle Hill, meaning that whatever comes up in the middle of the ride, my first ride over 40kmh on a 150cc bike, I'm the only one who can save myself...! Besides, on the other week there was a 27-year-old and 10-day P-plater the other motorway, who got "sandwiched" by two trucks in front and on the back of him, and obviously killed in the accident. In my head, big vehicles near me are very scary. (where the hell is my gut?)

The rpm is also quite a concern... Since the engine is loud and so as the wind, I am not sure whether I'm of the right gear. Ended up having pushed to, atmost, 60kmph at about 4500rpm on the top gear... Which is turtle speed on a motorway that allows 80kmph with a full license (for P plates it's 70kmph max. anywhere). I feel safe at that speed, but it's all relative - looking at all the large vehicles all passing me. At the 2-lane section, the instructor even pulled out twice at bus stops, to ease off the long queue from behind. Jesus!

We had a short break arriving at Pak Tam Chung and I express my concern. Yeah, I'm slow, and I shouldn't too worry about the rpm. The engine is supposed to be loud anyway!

So on the way back I try to keep up more holding on to the throttle. Soon I reach 70 kmph. Good job! Now that I know my way, I am a lot more relaxed doing round corners or up and down inclines.

Back at the 3-lane road near Saddle Hill where there is this rather long incline, it suddenly rains. Guess we were all thinking "let's speed up more and get back quick" - and we really did - all the way to 80kmph...! That lasted for about 20 seconds, then the rain stops punching like needles on my arms where my tshirt is not covering. We headed downhill and my instructor in front suddenly brakes quick and hard, and so do I. Dodgy police bikes with radar speed detectors were hiding at the bottom!! What an experience on my first ride. Funny that there is an off-road bike and a Ducati slowing on the other lane next to us. Really this is a popular route for saturday bikers, and of course speeding riders!

We get back right on time! Not so much hiccups and sweat afterall. My left wrist hurts more after pulling in the clutch in that position for 2 hours straight. But I'm still rather excited about the whole thing. Brings back my confidence over fear, and I do really really really like riding!

EXAM: Jul 2 (wed) 3.00pm

After all that month of flooding and exam date postponing, I am again up for the exam.

It was really frustrating last month not able to sit for the exam when I was so trained up for it. This week I had to spend 3 bloody extra hours to warm myself up again.

The day is super bright to begin with, and it turns cloudy in the afternoon (I thought its going to shower a good load again), which is PERFECT for riding without the meters glaring.

I did my final hour of training from 1.30pm, checking the routes and practising more figure 8s. It's getting BORING stopping at the lights and waiting for other L-platers, who gets air conditioning from their comfortable 4-wheels. I get some breeze by starting quicker than everyone at every set of lights. Nice.

My right foot landed ONCE in the last three practice - in fact, the final one on today which made me extra nervous. I just lost it when the car queue was snailing its way to the lights. I was so disappointed I bang my helmet on the meters as I made the fatal mistake.

It wasnt too satisfactory on figure-8 either. My upward turn is not as smooth as I could do last month. Then I had a couple of occations sliding back down when I start on the slope.

After my final practice hour, I went for 30min break and return to test the bike I went on the exam. All good. It surprises me that this bike, probably reserved for exams, had a shallow foot break (so I don't have to push too deep for breaking) and closer friction point on the clutch (better for my smaller hands). Now I know what crappy bike they gave us for practice. *grin*

Exam time.

Figure 8. Going up alright, but slight delay re-starting on the slope. Then a few not-so-smooth uphill loops, kinda a bit late to throttle more going up and so the bike jerks a little. Get me such sweating, but at the 3rd loop the examiner waved me down, and so we are off the road.

He chooses the shorter route with more lights. (I really thought) The ride is so smooth without much hiccups - probably until half way on return that I get my gear stuck at gear N for split of a second. Then we get to this "important" giveaway with all these buses coming out of the depot that I spent AGES waiting for my turn to go. "Oh sh!t he's getting mad for me being such a cautious retard!" was what I keep in mind for the next few sets of lights.

Next mistake is caused by not remembering which lane to take - I turn after the lights and switched lanes THEN realize I can only turn again on my original lane. So I kinda do the overtaking action without overtaking any vehicles... In the mirrors the examiner doesn't look that amused...

On the final turn back to school I make another gear N switching again. Oops. But at school we get back safe. I shake more as soon as I get both feet on the ground again. 2 hours of serious riding can be so tiring.

The sheet of result I get afterwards has a lot of ticks on the minor mistakes brackets (13!). I thought it says "If you made 3 minor mistakes or more in one category, it'll be considered as one major mistake..." Most importantly, on the RESULT area, there's the tick at the PASS bracket!

PASS! First try! Truly amazing. Especially I thought I'm going to do something stupid and fail.

One of the instructors catches up with me afterwards and do their usual selling of "Advance course". You know, lessons going to motorways and through tunnels with more powerful bikes... Look that's a Harley! No, wait... I am not really sure if I am actually buying any. Considering the unstable career recently and all these associated expenditures, I probably should wait. But I signed up for it with a bit of the extra cash reserved for failing the exam. So there should be a few rides in the next couple of months.

I need to celebrate more now!

Extra session + Theory 2: May 24 (Sat) 4.30-6.30pm

I have to pay extra for this..! Last session was pretty okay so I wasn't worrying.

Minor mistakes and note to self:-

1) Check the mirrors and everything! I was on this #181 and checked the lights, but forgot about the mirrors (I used to check mirrors the first thing on). The first thing I got on the road was - WTH the left shiny one was waving around like a little wing...! It was more hilarious when the 4 consecutive sets of lights were all green so I couldn't stop..! Luckily the "right wing" was still there so it wasn't the most dangerous yet. I had to head back and let the instructors screwing it back.

2) Don't rush, and don't panic! This is the last thing I did before the session finish. I was queuing for the exam figure-8 ramp. The student already on the slope was having so much fun and not willing to get down. I got annoyed... and when it's my turn, I throttled up a bit too much, setting the bike slightly off angle before the start line on the ramp. Things should be normal, but I PANICKED, and fell on the first right turn. Jesus. I haven't fell down for 2 sessions! That sucked, especially the plastic cover for the throttle meter (name?) fell off...! Argh.

That kills my spirit. I thought my 8 were great. Aawww.

Monday morning is my only hope.

L-plate Lesson 15: May 22 (Thu) 2.30-3.30pm

This is the last lesson by the book and I took it seriously.

...To a point that I finally didn't put my right foot on the ground at all times!!

Only for once I did an emergency stop in front of the amber light, and had to land and switch gear. I am not sure if this will be counted as "landing right foot" or "unable to switch to correct gear"... I'll ask.

Not problem on the incline figure-8. I noticed that some of the footbrakes of some bikes are not functioning good enough. Really need to check more.

Also that there were TWO junctions I passed where the sign for directions were changed due to road work. The lanes ended up not getting you to do your turn. So my plan is to ride once more in the morning before the exam.