Ghost Rider

Yesterday I had my first bike lesson with Trevor Gedge. He's easy to get along with and I am looking forward to going again next week because... well, read on.

First Trevor wanted to see how I handled my CG125. He said I should perform more life saver checks ( a quick look over your shoulder when you are changing direction or riding position on the road) but otherwise he must have been happy with the five minute ride because we went straight back to the start and I found myself behind the handlebars of an emergency red CBF500 with ABS. Of course, I was intimidated by the size of the machine I was now sitting on. An engine four times the size of my regular ride and a tank that looked ten times as large as the one on the CG; I was intimidated.

But that thing was the easiest ride I have ever had. Okay I'm not veteran; I've only ridden the CG125 and my brother's CBR125 but I never expected a 500cc bike to be so easy to manipulate. The engine purred as I revved it up, the clutch provided a smooth and consistent response, the throttle allowed much more control over the bike than the one I'm used to, and everything just slid into place without any trouble whatsoever.

We hit the road. At first I was riding the CBF like I ride my CG; albeit with much less throttle but as I got used to the bike I started asking for more from it. And the bike delivered in spades. By the end of the hour or so lesson I had truly begun to see the joy of riding a big bike. The braking distance is a tenth of the CG's despite the increased weight and power, the acceleration from nought to thirty miles per hour (e.g. pulling away from a junction or traffic lights) actually pulled me back in the seat and I could feel my arms locking to keep me on the bike. We did go on a national speed limit road but I didn't take the bike above 60mph, also that was at the beginning of the ride so I didn't even think about trying to accelerate quickly. The U-turn was a big problem to begin with but by the end of the practise session I was performing them much tighter than I even needed to. At the end of the ride Trevor said that I looked as if I'd been riding a big bike my entire life, so I was quite pleased with myself.

So I almost broke down into tears when I had to ride home on my CG. It felt like I was riding a Matchbox toy rather than a bike.

Dungeons and Dragons was fine. We started late and finished very late. Everyone in the party managed to reach 3rd level, Bob's character made progress crafting her might composite longbow, Nick's character managed to get some high strings for his masterwork darkwood fiddle from a very talented weaver, and despite all the warnings in the world the party decided it was a good idea to investigate a very haunted forest which could have been the end of them. Imagine the comical scene of Elysia and Sten bumping into trees as they try to carry the hypnotised Samulus away from a looming, babbling ghost. They're lucky they only encountered the one.

So the party still hasn't reached Solling but in a way perhaps it's for the best. If they reach the town next session then they will have all day to explore it and get lost in its intrigue.