Today's weather: High = 20 Low = 10
Partly cloudy
With one intense course out of the way, here comes another. I'm relying on the excellent services of Pro-Ride to learn how to ride motorcycles and pass a road test coming up in a couple weeks time
<a href="http://www.proride.org"></a>
It's rather ironic that with nearly 3 years of motorcycle riding experience in China, I'm now learning how to ride a motorcycle. Actually the way I learned to ride was to just by the bike in a remote area of Chongqing, hop on the bike, and figure things out on the fly. My first bike was a Yamaha YBR-125 which I still have by the way. It came after 2 years of scooter riding.
While I consider myself to be rather skilled on the bike, the major problem here is that all my riding experience (nearly 3 years worth) has been illegal, without having had a proper motorcycle drivers license in China.
Trying to get a legal license has been the bane of my existence, and it has been incredibly convoluted and difficult from within China. I don't believe a word of what the veteran folks on My China Moto write about how this process is supposedly easy and convenient from within China, because it is most certainly not.
<a href="http://www.mychinamoto.com"></a>
At any rate, the inevitable had to happen at one point, which was to go back to my home country and apply for a motorcycle license going through all the proper channels. This means taking the learners license, doing the professional training, and passing the final road test.
It is a humbling experience to say the least, because nearly everything I learned about riding in China will have to be unlearned and relearned in order to succeed on the course here.
Granted, some of the skills from China will come in handy, such as slowing down at intersections and evasive tactics to avoid accidents. The survival mentality, absolutely necessary for China, is most definitely going to help me out, as the company I'm with relies on the idea of create 'survival riders'
On the other hand, we are talking about a fundamentally different approach to riding and traffic regulations when it comes to the streets in Shanghai as opposed to Vancouver.
To put it simply, the rules and safety matter big time over here, whereas it's a free-for-all on the streets of China. I'm going to have to quickly adapt to the safety reality over here, and do everything properly and carefully, to the point of excess -- or else fail the road test.
There is much more coming on this blog in detail about some of the fundamental differences in driving culture. The main goal at this point will be to pass the road test and get the proper licenses, then I can transfer it to China.
I don't anticipate or desire much motorcycle riding experience in my home country for a multitude of reasons, but the test is crucial to pass. Another thing is that I want to learn as many tips and skills as possible from the course here that could help me out back in China
But I think we all know that I'll soon be returning to the free-for-all culture of no rules on the road in China, running red lights, and bad driving habits that I picked up in the first place.
For now, however, I will have to brainwash myself that those habits don't exist for the next two weeks, and I will need to forgot everything there was about riding motorcycles in China.
Partly cloudy
With one intense course out of the way, here comes another. I'm relying on the excellent services of Pro-Ride to learn how to ride motorcycles and pass a road test coming up in a couple weeks time
<a href="http://www.proride.org"></a>
It's rather ironic that with nearly 3 years of motorcycle riding experience in China, I'm now learning how to ride a motorcycle. Actually the way I learned to ride was to just by the bike in a remote area of Chongqing, hop on the bike, and figure things out on the fly. My first bike was a Yamaha YBR-125 which I still have by the way. It came after 2 years of scooter riding.
While I consider myself to be rather skilled on the bike, the major problem here is that all my riding experience (nearly 3 years worth) has been illegal, without having had a proper motorcycle drivers license in China.
Trying to get a legal license has been the bane of my existence, and it has been incredibly convoluted and difficult from within China. I don't believe a word of what the veteran folks on My China Moto write about how this process is supposedly easy and convenient from within China, because it is most certainly not.
<a href="http://www.mychinamoto.com"></a>
At any rate, the inevitable had to happen at one point, which was to go back to my home country and apply for a motorcycle license going through all the proper channels. This means taking the learners license, doing the professional training, and passing the final road test.
It is a humbling experience to say the least, because nearly everything I learned about riding in China will have to be unlearned and relearned in order to succeed on the course here.
Granted, some of the skills from China will come in handy, such as slowing down at intersections and evasive tactics to avoid accidents. The survival mentality, absolutely necessary for China, is most definitely going to help me out, as the company I'm with relies on the idea of create 'survival riders'
On the other hand, we are talking about a fundamentally different approach to riding and traffic regulations when it comes to the streets in Shanghai as opposed to Vancouver.
To put it simply, the rules and safety matter big time over here, whereas it's a free-for-all on the streets of China. I'm going to have to quickly adapt to the safety reality over here, and do everything properly and carefully, to the point of excess -- or else fail the road test.
There is much more coming on this blog in detail about some of the fundamental differences in driving culture. The main goal at this point will be to pass the road test and get the proper licenses, then I can transfer it to China.
I don't anticipate or desire much motorcycle riding experience in my home country for a multitude of reasons, but the test is crucial to pass. Another thing is that I want to learn as many tips and skills as possible from the course here that could help me out back in China
But I think we all know that I'll soon be returning to the free-for-all culture of no rules on the road in China, running red lights, and bad driving habits that I picked up in the first place.
For now, however, I will have to brainwash myself that those habits don't exist for the next two weeks, and I will need to forgot everything there was about riding motorcycles in China.
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