Twelve adult women spent Mother's Day weekend in the classroom and on the range (a school parking lot). What were they doing? They (we) were taking the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) Basic Riding Course. We had different skill levels ranging from a few who already had their license and wanted a refresher to those who hadn't driven a motorcycle.

Why were we there? We wanted to be able to help in an emergency or we wanted to get our own motorcycle and not be dependent on others for a ride or we just wanted to see if we could learn a new skill. We were there also because two dedicated instructors heard a couple of women talking about taking the course and they decided they could help by offering a women's only course.

Tonya and Jerry Sun enjoy sharing their knowledge and teaching people how to ride. They are patient and caring and make hard work fun. Tonya demonstrated each skill or task while Jerry explained what needed to be done. She made it look so easy that we just knew we could do it too!

Friday night was classroom work. We were back in high school driver's ed, lectures, videos and all. Class ended at ten o'clock and we were told to be on the range by 7:30 am. Actually those who could get up early in the morning were invited to meet for breakfast at six o'clock.

Saturday morning saw us on the range. We duck walked, we buddy pushed, we played with the friction zone and then we started to ride. (It's not as kinky as it sounds but it IS a lot of fun.) It was exciting, it was intimidating, and it was hard work. We broke for lunch and then it was back to the classroom.

The hardest part of the afternoon was staying awake. More lecture, more videos, some armchair exercises. It was interesting information we all knew we needed to know but after spending the morning in the sun and the excitement of successfully balancing a motorcycle while it rolls over the payment, it was hard to sit still and stay awake.

Just when we thought it was safe to go home and get some rest, it was time to take the written test. Fifty questions to be answered when some of us were so tired we couldn't see straight. A score of eighty or above was passing. The pressure was on. We all passed, proving we could handle this too.

Sunday morning saw the same early hour for breakfast and then on to the range. A full day on the asphalt today. Lots of exercises to do, new skills to learn. Brake, swerve, figure eights. Figure Eights? Yup. We certainly did not offer a challenge to any drill team out there but there weren't any mishaps either. We got it done and we looked good! Maybe it was the flowers Tonya and Jerry gave to their students. Then it was time for the driving skills test.

No pressure, yea right!...just eleven fellow students watching you perform the required skill while the two instructors watch and score. In this instance you start out with a perfect score and earn demerits...again eighty and above is passing. This was IT! Could we brake, turn and swerve as required? Could we turn our heads enough to look where we wanted to go and make the motorcycle follow? Would we remember EVERYTHING and pass the test? The tension was high but one by one we took the test and showed what we had learned.

It seemed to last forever but eventually it was over. The motorcycles were put up and we went back to the classroom to learn our fates. How did we do? Did we pass?

We did. We all did! Those of us who did not already have our motorcycle license had earned the right to go down to the local DPS office and apply for our license. It was a long but very successful weekend.

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	Lydia, Lori and Vicki after visiting the DPS with their new temporary licenses.