Yamaha teaches ladies how to ride
I ADMIT I’ve always been both very willing yet slightly nervous about the prospect of riding on two wheels – the involvement of all your senses while traveling sounds truly liberating, but the reality of having less physical protection (compared to drivin
And for petite females like me, it sure doesn’t appear to be second nature for us to be operating moving machines that are often heavy and wide. I mean, let’s face it – it’s not that intuitive for a lady to learn how to ride in the Philippines... not only are we generally tiny, but our mad motorists show no chivalry on the road.
Having said that, I cannot emphasize more that it requires proper training for both men and women to learn how to competently handle a motorbike – and although I cannot speak for amateur or zero- riding- experience men, I can say that this makes a world of difference in driving confidence for women. Of course every person will benefit from the wisdom of seasoned riders; but for women, I feel, there’s an extra bonus that comes with the package – the tips and tricks on how to exploit physics, to allow a less massive person be in control of a heavy machine.
There is a lot to learn about operating a motorbike – safety, management of the bike’s weight, modulating the throttle (this is not as easy as you think), and braking properly ( among others). Then there is the whole universe of reviewing the proper road rules – you’re more physically vulnerable, so you have no room for errors. Our carefree style of Phi l ippine dr i v ing encourages people to forget the essential traffic rules... and it’s high time that we re-mastered them.
It was thus, a pretty cool affair when Yamaha Philippines conducted its free ‘Learn to Ride Activity for Women’ – because it gave many of the curious ladies a nothing- to- lose opportunity to explore whether motorbike- riding was for them.
It was largely appealing because a parade of Yamaha scooters was already ready for the curious learners, along with sets of safety equipment that were lent to the participants for the occasion. This, all under the supervision of experienced riders in a controlled environment, was a great setting for the ladies to learn – and learn it right.
The day- long activity started with a thorough lecture conducted by Maria Kristela Roxas – the only lady instructor in Yamaha Motors Philippines. She’s had 15 years of experience in riding, and clearly knew everything she was talking about, as she discussed the most important points of the Yamaha Riding Academy. “Being overconfident or having the wrong state of mind can lead to serious accidents,” she emphasized. Adding that “Just because you have riding skills doesn’t mean – yeah, i’ll be okay.”
After almost two hours of lessons about the benefits of motorbike riding – such as the obvious mobility, skipping of traffic, economical cost, constant exercise of mental alertness and of course, the element of fun it brings – we tackled the d i ff e rent types of Yamaha automatic scooters locally available, and then dwelled on the importance of wearing helmets and other safety gear.
Beyond identifying the different types of safety equipment, we were also taught how to properly wear them – a.k.a. how to measure if the equipment you have makes for a proper fi t!
Making sure we were well- educated with the theoreticals, we also discussed proper riding posture, and how not adhering to such could become detrimental to one’s overall riding success— or at the very least, comfort.
Finally, we also thoroughly tackled the proper preoperation checks ( of a motorbike) – like checking fuel, oil, battery, wheels, engine, brakes, lights, nuts and bolts – and studied cases that illustrated how long it actually took for a human being to react, after perceiving something (a very important element to fully understanding danger perception and its human limitations).
After the intensive class with Ms. Roxas, we ( as participants) then proceeded to a nearby, empty parking lot that was divided into separate ‘ stations’ that each had its own group of instructors, who taught a particular skill per respective station. All participants had to pass each station before moving on to the next – starting with simply learning how to properly brake; to correctly mounting and dismounting a bike; to acquiring the proper balancing skills; to actually learning how to ride the bike forward in short segments; to eventually riding non- stop, while making left and right turns along the way.
The course ended after the participants took a written exam ( after passing all the stations), which would benchmark their progress and what they have learned from the day’s activities. Everyone even got their own certificate proving that they had attended the basic course of Women’s Introduction to Riding.
I know it is commonplace for Filipinos to learn how to ride via informal means of training; and while in essence, there is nothing wrong with that, it just so frequently happens that the informal trainer forgets to emphasize many important things, such as the essentials of safety, and the science – the practical physics – of what goes on as you ride a bike. Well, maybe they didn’t learn that from their mentors either; but it still isn’t an excuse for these things to be skipped.
I guess the rule of thumb is, when in doubt, go for some formal training. After all, it isn’t expensive at all; is well worth your time; and as cliché as it may sound, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
Let’s go learn how to ride!