STEP ONE: GEAR
I felt like a bit of an Oneal ambassador,
sliding on some of their boots, gloves and
a helmet. I don’t really know jack about this
stuff but everything was pretty comfortable,
although the boots took a bit of getting
used to – I soon forgot ankles existed. With
my head and feet feeling well cosy and
protected, the rest of my body was starting
to feel a little bit vulnerable and I mentally
prepared myself to be hurt or injured one
way or another. For a brief moment, images
of my own crippled, cracked and broken
body flashed through my mind (such a drama
queen #scootertrauma) but I was informed
that things were gonna be totally cool and
falling off is just all part of the fun.
STEP TWO: BRAKES
There she was, the glistening Honda waiting
for me at the top of a small slope. Taking I
deep breath I approached the bike, keen to
get started, learn some new stuff and make
a bunch of mistakes. I flung my leg over, got
comfortable on the bike and was given a
thorough rundown of its different functions
– all of which seemed to go straight over my
head... a result of a combination of nerves,
excitement and panic.
But it seemed simple enough. Something
about throttle means go, brake means stop,
clutch means… umm, I’m still trying to get the
hang of that one. But apparently that's all I
needed to know for now.
After doing bunny ears with the front brake
and clutch about 20 times, I was instructed to
roll down the hill with the engine still off and
get into the habit of pulling the brake and
clutch in, planting my feet on the ground to
stop, and just getting a general feel of things.
I told myself it was just like riding a bicycle
and much to my surprise as I set off down
the hill, it was – give or take 90kg, an engine
and lots of other metal bits.