Monday, May 15, 2006

Aaron the Riding Instructor?


Last week I took my riding class in Bellingham. The wait to sign up for a subsidized class was only three weeks versus the three to four month wait for any of the schools around here. The class was pretty easy. Two half days of class instruction, and two half days of range riding. The first day of riding was a bit boring. It was paced for people who've never touched a bike. Some of the people in the class hadn't even driven a stick car before. So the first day was a bit slow, but the second day was a bit better. Basic components of the riding course were clutch use, braking, maneuvering and cornering.

The riding test was four quick exercises, two of which I thought for sure that I'd been marked down on. But when I got my scores, the instructor said that I'd gotten the best score in the class, and asked if I'd be interested in teaching the class in the future. That was kind of cool, but I'm not interested in doing it. First, I'm planning on leaving the country again soon, and it would take up all my weekends if I weren't leaving the country.

Kelsey's been wanting me to take some pictures for her, but my good camera for that is in Tokyo, so I'm looking for a cheap medium format similar to the one I had. I'm house sitting for Steve this weekend, so maybe I'll be able to use a small about of that money on one. If I can get some shots that she likes, there's potential to make a bit of money doing shots for some of her friends, so it's not hard to justify. Plus I've been wanting a TLR to replace the fungusy one I have in Tokyo anyway, and that's justification enough.