Today, this very day, Wednesday March 15. The Ides of March. It was 2017, it was a nice enough day, and I showed up at the driver’s licensing center and was taken out for my road test on my motorcycle.
Here in Canada, most provinces have enacted a graduated licensing program for all levels of driver’s licenses, including motorcycles. However, they have always – as have all other provinces that I know of – required a full road test to get your license. So in August of 2017 I did a course on a long weekend through a great local training company named ProRIDE that had a test at the end, which gave me my “New Driver” designation. This is equivalent to the MSF Course and test, which grants a full license in much of the USA.
I had access to a little Honda for a while, until it just… died. I ended up buying a used Suzuki V-Strom in early March 2017, the weekend right before my test. We practiced the night before – the school met me and a few others at the testing facility on Tuesday night, and we rode their little TW250 around the streets to be sure we were ready for the test. I actually did the test on the V-Strom, and passed, with the only comment from the tester being “watch your speed”.
Remembering that day is pretty sweet. Realizing that it’s coming up is even sweeter, especially given that it falls on the same day of the week this year. Remembering all the changes that it’s brought to my life since then is magic.
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