peaks and valleys

i spent all last weekend in an attempt to get my motorcycle license. the schedule was friday night in the class room 6:30pm-9:30pm. it mostly consisted of the instructor showing movies and having you underline portions of the book you were going to be tested on. then saturday you go on the range from 7am-12pm then the classroom again from 2pm-5pm. they get you on these little 250cc "motorcycles". pretty basic stuff, but i was glad to be doing it. i have barely ever been on a bike. it kind of sucked having to get up so early, but i seeing as it was going to get up to the high 90's i didn't mind. during our break i went home and showered and changed. when i got back to the class we did more underlining and videos until it was time to take the test. breezed through it, 96 out of 100.
sunday morning back out on the range. they took us through some drills that were going to be on the final range test. i was shakey on a the drills for them and kind of nervous, but fairly sure i could pass. the test consisted of 5 parts. each test you had to pass by a certain number of points. the most points you could accumulate before failing was 21. i did alright on the first two, but when we got to the "quick stop", which is where you have to get up to about 20 mph then down shift and break suddenly. after i had stopped my hand slipped off the clutch and the bike shot forward a few more feet. fuck. what can you do? i pulled away and circled around for the next test.
while we were waiting i watched this big redneck guy who was the last in our line go. he takes off gets to the line, brakes, and then just sits there and slumps forward over the handlebars. almost like he is crying. it appears as if the instructors are consoling him. he rights himself on the bike and pulls around and does it again. when he finished the test and pulls around to the end of the line. he tells us that the first run the stopwatch didn't work. when they told him that he said he told them, "dude just fail me."
the rest of the test went ok. could have been better could have been worse. after it was over we all went to sit down while they graded us and then called us over one by one to tell us how we did. first dude they called over walked back failed. he was bummed. made the rest of us real nervous. after that it got better. everyone else seemed to be getting their little cards.
then it was my turn. i walked over and one of the instructors just shook his head. said, "sorry, you didn't pass. you needed a 20 and got a 21." my stomach turned over. it was the goddamn quick stop. those extra few feet put me over the top. he said to not give up and that he hoped to one day see me out there. i shook their hands and walked off.
in my mind i was pissed. i had taken the whole weekend, half of which in the burning hot sun, trying to get this fucking thing only to let one little slip fuck it up.
when i met up with fahs he tried to calm me down. but i was in no mood. i swore off ever getting a motorcycle. i was goddamned if i was going to spend another 150 bucks and a whole weekend doin that shit again. i was still pissed monday morning at work. but i thought what the hell, i emailed the people to see if i can take the test again or what my options were from here. like a hour later the guy emailed me back asking me to call him on his cell phone. when i did he told me he was very sorry, but they had scored the test wrong and that i did pass. i i wanted i could come by today and pick up my card. i told him i would see him there. when i picked it up he said once again how sorry he was.
it was a good feeling.after about 7 months as a blue belt burdo promoted me, fahs, scott, snake. i was not expecting that when i walked into class that night.