Dust Yourself Up and Try Again

Assessment

The morning after, more bruises appeared, the initial ones looked even worse.

Now I have time to check for any physical damage on my bike.

The front part have scratches. Minimal and not even noticeable - nothing a good wash and some armor oil won't fix.

Good thing nothing is damaged on the rear area too. This is the more crucial part of the bike since the engine and the gas tank are there. Except for the hood, no scratches here too. Yey! I must say it was a pretty good fall. :-)

All in all, it's perfectly fine and in good condition.


Fear Factor

For a few days after the accident, I developed a minor case of phobia towards driving and the sound of a revving motorbike. The only reason I get up in the morning to get my bike key is to warm the engine up. Aside from that, driving is the farthest thing from my mind.

I was always looking for excuses - rain, overslept, tired, monthly period - you name it!

But it got to the point when my mum questions when I'm going to drive again. Neighbors tease me when they see me walking - "why not use your bike?"

One nice-weathered weekend, I had no reason not to. So I took a deep breath, braved out my fear and took my bike out for a drive. I was so nervous, especially when buses and jeepneys overtake me and honk their horns. But I made it home safely and without further mishap. That gave me courage to try driving again the next days - but always after office hours only - when the traffic is lighter.

By now, I'm pretty much familiar with the instrument panel:

1. Speedometer. The speedometer indicates the road speed in kilometers per hour. This one is very interesting. I always have to look down and check how fast I'm going (even though I still drive pretty slowly) because my break-in period dictates that I shouldn't drive more than 40kph. Everytime someone passes me by, I just smile and tell myself - go on, drive past me, I'm still breaking in my "new!" bike. hehe.

2. Odometer. The odometer register the total distance that the motorcyle has been ridden. This is one silly part. Before the real first digit, there's a white number beside it. This meter tell me if I'm still within my break-in period or not. I knew I still have a long way to go coz the meter reads just over 200km. Just then my friend Lems exclaims and said "You're way over your break-in period! Look, it's already a couple thousand!" And daft me was worried that I haven't even changed the engine oil (when the first change oil should be on the 1st 500km) and now he's telling me I've already travelled 2,000km? I had to call everybody who drives motorcycles and they al told me that Lems is wrong. The first white number doesn't count as the first digit. It is the gear the jumpstarts the odometer. One full cycle counts to one kilometer. *whew!*

3. Fuel meter. The fuel meter indicates the amount of gasoline remaining in the fuel tank. The E mark indicates the tank is empty or nearly so. The F mark indicates the fuel tank is full. Lots of meters, huh? During this time, I haven't refilled gas on my own yet. The first time, it was my dad, the second time it was my sister's boyfriend. Wonder when it'd be my turn.

4. Neutral gear position indicator light. The light will be on neutral gear. This is my friend. This makes me feel safe that no amount of revving would make my bike fly.

5. Gear position indicator. The letter and numeral in this indicator show the gear position 1, 2, 3, 4. Ok, there was quite a confusion on this area. According to my dad, who's used to driving a motorbike with clutch, I should most often be on the 1st and 2nd gear coz the 3rd and 4th are pretty fast. So I had to drive around town for 2 weeks on the 1st and 2nd gears. No wonder my bike sounds funny, and whenever I press brakes, I jolt. This time Lems taught me the right one. He said that it is easier to control the last 2 gears since it won't fly you across the highway if you pull at it too hard. You must only use the 1st 2 gears on uphill roads.

6. Turn signal indicator light. When the turn signals are being operated either to the right or left side respectively right or left side indicator light will flash at same time. This one I had trouble doing while actually driving. Most of the time it doesn't turn on or if it does, I can't turn it off. That took some time getting used to.

7. High beam indicator light. The blue indicator light will be lit when the headline high beam is turned on position. This one I rarely have to notice since I seldom drive at night.

Now I know I can drive. The question is.. when can I drive to work?