bike course!!!!!

wanted to blog about the bike course quite several days ago but can't seem to find a proper time to pen down such a series of occasions. It all started out with the simple bicycle figure-of-eight test which may not be as easy as it seems-now that i have ridden the motorbike, the bicycle seems harder, or at least quite weird riding. The place was at Bedok, a 25 min journey from Lorong chuan mrt station and yet I felt thankful enough that woo's dad offered to fetch me to and fro SAFDC from mondays to saturdays- yeah we have half days on saturday though it may not be necessary at times as they were usually catered for people who missed out on lessons within the week or when the whole lot of bikees were behind schedule. On the first day, morning felt like a rush. As usual, I did not plan the journey there in detail; it was more of a rough estimation, meaning that i would drop off at the mrt station and find my way there with the map and of course, bus drivers and mrt operators. My one hour late that day was all due to my not bringing the map and that was the problem.However fortunately, things began late on the first day-there was nothing much going on at all basically except for the settling of administrative matters as well as briefings. Things began in full swing come the second day of bike training. Highway code lessons took place for a week or so and in the blink of the eye we found ourselves all prepped and geared for the easiest section of the overall assessment, at sembawang camp,where u can find the transport servicemen and ndu personnel. Meanwhile, we were introduced to the AG200F bike, its parts, the method of mounting it, the tedious administrative tasks we need to complete especially at the start of practical lessons - filling in the first/last parade tasks, sign-in/sign-out form, time sheet and vehicle logbook, on top of putting on the elbow, shin and knee guards and the helmet . Practice makes perfect and long enough, we were able to complete them without hassle. Highway situation practice took place immediately after HWC. This obstacle proved a hard one and true enough, there were only 5 or so first-time passes, but most managed to clear the test on the second attempt. Back to the practical side, we learnt balancing and circuit. For balancing, we had to clear the even plank and ribbed bridge in not less than 6 sec, attempt a smooth figure-of-eight ride, go through the selalong and lastly the crank course in less than 4 sec. Circuit wise, we drove round nursery circuit (the internal circuit), basically just a simulation of real roads and signs and lamp posts and crossings etc, obeying all traffic rules and regulations, otherwise a total of 11 or more demerit points would just see us repeating this section of assessment. One needs to clear the HSP test before going for this one. I passed on the second attempt which was considered not bad honestly given that i used quite some luck especially for the first few stations of the balancing test. Emergency break and push-start was included in the test as well. Public road test was next and upon donning the red number tags after the circuit test, we headed straight for the roads out there and whew, the feeling was quite exhilirating! Being able to drive at 60+ km/h out there was something we can't do for long within the internal circuit. We had to memorise 2 routes so far, one around the neighbourhood and one that stretches quite a long distance, both requiring different set of traffic-abiding skills. We had night convoy riding on the public roads and even though visibility was low, the ride still went on as fine as usual, ok maybe except for the flaws like turning into the wrong lanes etc.Passed public-riding test on the first round which i did not expect to heheh.. Then we proceeded on to off-roads (on berms, tree gaps, wheel trap, gavel path, see-saw, high slopes) training to prep us for the Lorong Asrama offroad x-country training the week after. 2 days and that was enough. There was no assessment for off-roads, as perhaps casualty rates for this item were relatively higher. What was installed for us next were the finale - island wide confidence riding where we whizz along the expressway, past many places etc in staggered formation for the convenience of the instructor in counting strength. This aspect really puts what we have learnt into practice and not only that, the fact that we took about an hour to travel from one end of singapore to another non-stop proved the need for another trait-endurance of the mind especially. Drowsiness starts to set in the moment things get dull while we are on our bikes doing nothing but throttling forward. Lane change was quite a fun thing to do. As for x-country riding at Lorong Asrama, got injured just 2 hours into the training there, all thanks to the close proximity between this guy and me while negotiating a turn with a concurrent change of gradient of the slope. My left wrist was hurting, though not so acute, for days, just like how my right wrist felt during the first few days of balancing practice in SAFDC, though it took a longer time to heal. The most fun part was having to descend uneven steep slopes as it was visually entertaining itself while the most challenging part was having to ascend a narrow path of hardened soil which was not that straight and even. The instructors were the ones who kept things going, the humour they infused in the whole thing especially. We imitated some of the words they normally repeat over quite a considerable long time and laughed at some of the actions of the instructors. Mr Wong, who happened to be my instructor's c0-assistant, proved the best. Every word he says is true yet it can evoke much feelings and gaiety in everyone. His stories were enriching, and there seemed to be so much messages he wanted to drive across our minds. The course ended with us washing the bikes and learning how to pillion ride which was seriously damn shocking fun! Realised that my braking judgment sucks as i would usually brake only when near to the stop line lolols. My pillion was this MP friend of mine who had a class 2A license and who demonstrated a fine and smooth pillion-riding with me as the pillion around the circuit. Well, overall the motorbiking experience was a fantastic one. Oh yeah, and i have forgotten to mention about the canteen there-they served great nasi lemak and of course, teh ping and bandung. Well, I mixed the flavours together and there was once when 2 of my buddies and I had to stand on this off-road high ground to finish up our foods and one instructor was like saying, ' finish up that bandung or dunno what drink quick!'....lololos well that's all folks!