I did Schedule C, which I liked because the classroom part was knocked out on the first day, leaving me to focus on riding in the following days. The classroom session didn't feel like five hours at a... Read More
I did Schedule C, which I liked because the classroom part was knocked out on the first day, leaving me to focus on riding in the following days. The classroom session didn't feel like five hours at all! As for the other schedule structures, I thought it would be terrible to start riding in the first day only to fail the classroom test in the second day. The day before my class started, I skimmed an online basic motorcycle riding guide and found online Texas practice tests. In hindsight, this was a bit overkill since the class is well taught and nothing was tricky on the test. (I got a 100, and everyone in my class passed.) But I rather come in prepared to pass the test and understanding certain nuances than blindly hope for the best. I actually enjoy missing questions on the practice tests; it helps me pinpoint topics that I overlooked or misunderstood. It's not about merely passing the course; it's about building a foundation for safe riding outside of the course.I have never ridden a motorcycle before, so I came in fully expecting to get some first-time experience/practice before re-taking the course. Sometimes I felt slower than the other students (both in grasping concepts and my physical speed on the bike), sometimes my motorcycle would stop and hold back anyone who was unfortunate enough to be following me (because I continually fully let go of the clutch), sometimes I could sense an oncoming total mental block because of all the multi-tasking involved like letting go of the clutch or throttle when appropriate, deciding when to apply brakes, figuring out how much to accelerate to kick into a high gear, etc.Luckily, Vince was the most encouraging, patient teacher ever! I'm already hard on myself, especially in group settings, so I don't need someone to make me feel terrible for repeating the same habitual blunder over and over. Vince would point out my mistakes as they occurred, suggest tips specific to my erroneous tendencies, and make gestures/friendly reminders to me as I re-attempted tasks until I perfected them. He kept up a great attitude for all three days, from the early morning through the hot and humid afternoons. I might have even thought that he was retired and just giving back to his community for the sheer fun of it; he was that nice.The riding test goal is to have a score of 0. Points = errors. You're allowed to make a total of 20 points worth of mistakes, which is generous. During the entire class, I could never ride a figure eight perfectly inside a box; I'd either ride outside of the boundary lines or go so slow that I'd drop on one foot/momentarily stop. I got completely discouraged and nervous because we had to move onto learning the next task, and I kept thinking to myself, "Good grief, I can't do one of the five or so tasks we get tested on. I'm screwed!" In the end, I still couldn't complete the task perfectly, but I received only 3 points for accidentally touching a foot on the ground. With enough practice and trust in motorcycles, I feel like I can eventually crush all sorts of tasks and scenarios. Which is to say that the course isn't going to make you immediately ready for road (though legally you could immediately get onto the highway), but you'll have a good foundation. I believe the bikes are anywhere from 150cc to 250cc, which is all I wanted to learn on in order to be able to ride a bike in another country. Most places, from southeast Asia to Europe, rent out these less powerful bikes. All I wanted was a crash course in riding a basic bike when I travel, and this was the perfect opportunity. I can't thank Vince and the Austin Moto Academy enough for helping me complete one of my bucket list items! Read Less