training day today - andrew and i went and did ATV training for the ses, so we can zoom around the place on a quad (or the six wheeler) should it ever be needed ... :)
gonna start at 8 but he msged me to say they wanted us there instead at quart after 7 ... i had boxing with tanya at 6 so i got him to pick me up at the gym after class ...
HARD!
i thought we had a day of fun to come, cos i thought they were easy to learn/control/play with .... haha - dont know what dream cloud i was living under :D
six of us: four dudes, all incredibly competent, and fast, and chucking wheelies and having a blast the whole day!! simply requiring certification. two of us, learners. four different atv's to ride and become competent on. well, three really, two were the same, one, though, a brand newie of the council's, just arrived last friday.
we had to learn the safety features and a huge plethora of information on each of them first, - know how to check the oil/water/air filter etc on each .... i dont even know how to do all that on my car :P let alone three different atv's - i tried so hard to concentrate and take it all in, wishing i were at least a little bit mechanically minded, then started getting really worried about the written part of it all - had to plug a tyre on one of them, and then, we were able to ride
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! ok, the guys who knew how to, went first. they were flippin fantastic... they could zoom in and out of the containers set up on the road really easy, and fast, and thrilled on the skidding
then, my turn. first one i am put on? the BRAND NEW one of the councils!!!! what if i crash! wont the council be really happy... tried to remember all the steps of even getting it going :) haha - but - i did. thumb on the accelerator and i flew backwards on my seat as it zoomed off, quicker than the tower of terror at dreamworld ha - ok, hyperbole. but damn .- w0000000000000000000000t - ok, so it's sensitive, only needs a little touch ... i stop/start my way through the containers - slow slow slow - so worried about andrews bmw being parked so close at the other end - 4wd, then before i did it in 2wd - brian tried to teach me how to throw my ass out to turn it, did it in 2wd, arrive back, and brian tells me to practice going up and down the driveway on the straight towards the road for a while to get used to the accelerator ... :D i wasnt so good at it eh?
but, i did become used to it. then i had to transfer to the green quad, an oooooooold style - manual, UGH! had to have strong legs of steel to actually toe lift the clutch up and down - it was tough - reverse the hardest , cos there was a million steps before you could actually get it into reverse, - cold and rainy, and i broke into a sweat on that one ... then - man oh man, the six wheeler, through the containers. REALLY! im sure they made them closer together, i hit nearly every one, hadnt got the ass swing working so well. i didnt know id be doing a workout, brian came to me many a time to offer help as did a couple of the other guys, did that a couple times, back onto mr newie and - drive it in reverse, through the containers. :P~~~ egads - i did it up and down though, and not everyone else did - so pleased with myself ...
a break while we did the written, not sure why i was worried, we had to go through it ourselves but everyone was sharing answers, then, brian went through it and filled in any gaps we had - (i dont quite get that)
march flies were a real nuisance ... they kept landing on us all, but andrews head seemed a deliughtful spot to them, and he was getting so annoyed and frustrated - at one point i couldnt stop laughing uncontrollably, it was hysterical to watch him trying to get them... i didnt know they were attracted to blue, so there another lesson for the day!!! but andrews head wasnt blue haha! we were covered constantly in aerogard for the mozzies but the blowies must love it or something. poor andrew :D
load the atv's onto the trailer and we head out past mt rooper to land owned by (telecom. i think?) ... this was our 'hill' .... we apparently arent allowed to ride them steeper than 25 degrees but this one was (i think it was, was told it wasnt though) but, reality is, we have to ride them wherever we need to - regardless ...
to pass, we had to ride each one up and down, in 2wd, and 4wd, and then do a 'k-turn' on one of the quads and a k'turn on the sixwheeler - this. was to become my nightmare.
once again the experienced dudes went first. i ran up the hill to the top (get some exercise in for the day!) great trail to run there, unfortunately it is private property though so i cant access it ... bummer. the guys went uo and down a couple times. to be very honest. i wasnt looking forward to it, they made it seem easy, they did it, hard and fast. breezed it. i was at top, when i had to get on, so my first ride was downhill not up - i thought i was gonna go flying over the handle bars and think i rode the brake all the way to the bottom :) and that was 4wd! sure wasnt looking forward to 2wd. second time down, i got bogged down the bottom trying to turn. the other guys had gone back up and i was on my own, and i panicked and didnt know what to do. hop off. start running up and yelling out for help until someone could hear me. brian had to come down and fix me - then go back up again. problem was simply cos i still had it in 2wd. got used to it, though i found trying to keep weight forward/backward confusing, and myself doing the wrong thing, sometimes, knew it when the back would skid out though, specially when the rain started and it got muddier and more slippery .... everyone kept swapping till we had all done everything.... then, ta daaaaaaaaaaaaa - time for the k-turns.
UGH! however. i DID do the quad, really well. i rode down halfway, came back up, facing upwards, got off, used the brake, pushed it down into a little niche, turned it, pushed it round (muscles! the guys, used the accelerator!! haha - it was a heavy bugger but i managed to do it with my own strength - as we were spose to) .... turn it in two turns to head back down, half way, turn, back up. success!
unfortunately, when my turn came for the six wheeler - i was not so successful. smugness, gone :P~
i was second last and had watched everyone else, and had my own strategy i thought would work. i hopped on, had to go to the bottom cos of its size to come back up, and - i pulled in, facing upwards, CLOSE to the edge of the trail .... everyone had parked further out so i thought this gave me better leverage when turning it - hand on brake, hop off. push to turn. push, push push. it doesnt even budge. HEAVY! push push push, my hand was so tight on the brake i had no energy, finally, i moved it .. heading back trying to miss the wheel running over my toes, im heading straight for a tree... i look up the hill to brian, lost on what to do. he came to help. made me get back on, ride it. and start again. take two. same strategy. off ... push. this time, straight to a pole! :/ brian sends me back again. you have to do this in two manoeuvres and he will keep you doing it (he said) until you do, to pass .... try three - i was trying to control the brake AND use my strength to hold the bike ... not a good solution, im surprised i still have toes! but,. i did get it back in the right spot this time ... trouble though, when i couldnt push it out ... looked to brian, i was ready to scream, cry, give up, all at once, and tell him to just fail me cos i couldnt do it ... i knew i didnt have any strength in me to try again a 4th time ... it was raining, it was muddy, i was tired ... i just couldnt turn the wheels let alone push it out ... he actually helped me to turn the front, the left me to it ... hallelujah, i got it round.. then, to just ride it down and back up, but, there was no thrill in that, i was exhausted!
end result. we all passed. even me!!!! not sure i should have based on the last thing we had to do, but, i sure can ever envisage myself under ANY circumstances, attempting to do a k-turn if i were on my own. specially, they are supposed to be for narrow trails. we had a fairly wide one to train on ... i wouldnt have a hope in hell!
back to the gym for my car so since i was already there was gonna do body attack, but i had not one single ounce of muscle energy. my body, had already been, attacked!
i ended up home,. storm had had the day off work, we went for a swim, i thought that would be nice on my muscles.. it was.
it was no different to running an ultra really. it was tough momentarily, but, even wanting to give up, i kept going, and. i did it. and then it was like, the BEST fun!!! you forget the crappy bits! :D
plus, a not so bad exercise day, boxing, a little bit of hill running, ok, only twice up and down :P and, some swimming ....
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