Tuesday 14 July 2009

Getting Behind Again

Yes, I know it's been awhile since I've posted. Honestly I haven't had much to say for the last little while. I apologize for the drought. One of my biggest hindrances at this point has been that I wanted to post ideas about what I'll be doing in Iceland as I research the matter further, but I really haven't been doing as much research as I'd like. My Lonely Planet guidebook mentioned an interesting sounding island off the coast of Reykjavik that I may do as a day-trip, but I'll talk about that once I've got a few more items to discuss. The issue is that I'm used to booking a trip FAR in advance and then spending the next 6 months being REALLY excited about it. What I've done this time is I've booked the trip far in advance and then booked a lot of other things before it. So there's always something coming up to look forward to before I go to Iceland and it's been distracting me a bit. The time's getting close though, just a little over a month to go. Time to start getting my act together!

One of the things that I did recently is vaguely travel related, so I'll discuss that here. I have recently got my M2 motorcycle license. Now, I'm sure you're wondering how that relates to travel and not just joyriding. Here's my logic: there are areas of the world that are considerably more accessible via light vehicles such as motorcycles and scooters. I'm actually thinking more of the scooters than anything. I saw a ton of them in Japan, and the reasons are obvious; they're cheap to operate, they're great in heavy traffic, and you can just park them on the sidewalk. Perfect for the fast-paced urban environment. Here in Ontario you can drive a scooter if you have an "M" license with an "L" condition, which limits you to vehicles that can do no more than 70km/h. The thing is, the process for getting an ML, and getting a normal M which allows you to ride anything on two wheels is quite similar. So I thought, why limit myself?

Motorcycles in Ontario fall under the same graduated licensing program that cars are subjected to, so I had to start with my M1. That's a 90-day beginner's permit with heavy restrictions on what time of day and what roads you can travel on. After 60 of those 90 days you can take the test for your M2 which lasts for 5 years and only carries the restriction that you can have absolutely no alcohol in your system. After 2 years (or 1.5 years if you've taken a safety course) you can get your full M license. The sweet thing about the aforementioned safety courses are that they are allowed to administer the test for your M2. So, I went out a couple weekends ago and did the course, which was two full days, Saturday and Sunday, but at the end of it I did my test. So, I just had to take the paperwork into the Ministry of Transportation and I've got my M2. Cool!

My original intent was simply to hold this license for the required 1.5 years, take another safety course with a test at the end to get my M license and be happy knowing that if I ever get the opportunity to ride a motorcycle/scooter in my travels that I will be able to. Owning a motorcycle in Toronto always seemed a bit pointless since I the roads are so crowded and awful. Riding a motorcycle is about having fun on the roads, and I see no possible way to enjoy a drive in Toronto. That said, I may have to end up getting a bike of my own if I want to continue down this path. The reason for that is that the refresher courses and the course to get your full M license all require you to have your own bike. Also, having taken the safety course, I now see how much muscle-memory is involved in operating one of these machines, and I really see that practice is going to be key to being a good rider. The safety course was held entirely within a parking lot, so even though I'm on my second level of the graduated licensing system I've still never operated a motorcycle on the road, and I feel like I'm going to need that experience here if I'm ever going to operate a bike elsewhere. Also, riding a motorcycle is two tons of fun. That obviously doesn't affect my decision much though.

For now I'm sitting tight. We're already well in to the riding season, and I'll be away for a good stretch of August, so I think I may call this season a miss. I'm hoping to be able to pick up a good starter bike at the end of the season, put it on blocks for the winter, and put plates on it at the beginning of the next season. The Rider Training Institute (www.ridertraining.ca) who I did my course with offers a refresher course, which I may start next season off with. Then I could spend the season riding, sharpening my skills, and take the M2 exit course the next summer. Of course that all hinges on me being able to find a place around Toronto that wouldn't terrify my to drive in. We'll see about that.

Next up: the August long weekend I'm up in Tobermory sharpening my scuba diving skills with the Advanced Open Water and Deep Diver courses. I'll keep you all posted!