please regift

Regift (v) - The act of taking a gift that has been received and giving it to someone else.

 

Have you ever heard a sermon on regifting?  I did… yesterday.  In fact, my pastor encouraged it!  Actually, he went so far as to suggest that God wants me to regift!

 

Let me explain…

 

Through December, my pastor has been preaching a Sunday morning series titled “the Gifts of Christmas”.  Each Sunday morning, there is a shiny wrapped package on the platform.  When he opens the package, there is something in it to illustrate the particular gift he is speaking about that day.  I especially liked and resonated with yesterday’s gift.

 

When he untied the large bow and removed the top of the package, he pulled out a second gift box, wrapped identical to the first.  His message was “Grace… the gift that keeps on giving”.  The main idea of his message was that if we have received grace from God, then we should pass that grace on to others.

 

Grace is a topic that has piqued my interest over the past years... both the grace that God has extended to me in the form of salvation through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ; and, the grace I, and my fellow humans, extend (or not) to each other.  This was a fresh and welcomed perspective on the subject.

 

He used the image of the gift-within-a-gift as a visual illustration, removing the inner gift and walking through the auditorium with the still-wrapped package extended in his hands, so that when others see him coming, they first see the gift of grace extended toward them.  He challenged us with the question, "Will you be perceived as a 'gift' to all those who come in contact with you?"

 

Convicting, to be sure!

 

I've had plenty of opportunities to extend grace to others over the course of my lifetime.  Sadly, I've often blown those opportunities.  I think the most missed opportunities occur within my own four walls... toward the family I love.  I'm learning, though, and I'd like to think I'm improving.  I've recently had some sizable tests of my grace extension.  I'm quite sure it is still a mix of pass and fail, but I hope those who have witnessed this testing would at least grade me as "showing improvement".

 

One thing to clarify about grace, though... grace is not being a doormat.  There are times when we need to hold others accountable for their decisions and actions.  There are times for judgement, justice and reckoning.  Even that, though, can often be handled graciously... especially if there is evidence of genuine remorse or a desire to right wrongs.

 

So, as I ponder, this Christmas season, some of the gifts I've received from the hand of God, I am truly thankful for God's grace.  But, perhaps I should work on doing a little more regifting.  I'm sure the giver would not be offended... in fact, He gives with instructions to "please regift"!

 

 

caching a break

Geocaching... either you get it, or you don't! 

Yep!  Telling others that you use satellite technology to find plastic or metal containers hidden by others, just so you can sign your username on a piece of paper and keep score of how many times you've done that creates one of two reactions... looking at you like that is a VERY cool idea, or like you have two heads.  There's really no middle ground, it seems.

Amongst the geocaching community, though, there is a lot of variety.  There are those participants who eat, sleep, breathe caching; there are those who enjoy it, but in smaller doses; and, there are those that try it a few times and never really continue.  I fall into the middle category.  I cache occasionally, mostly just a handful here and there, and my find score (currently 405) is nothing heroic for someone actively caching since 2011.

My friend, the Father of Five, is also a geocacher, with a caching mentality very similar to mine... just a little here and there.  In fact, our find scores have been running very close for the past few years.  He has been a bit ahead of me for a while, but I've been watching to make sure he doesn't outpace me too much.

Some geocachers, on a regular basis, will spend a whole day caching.  Therefore, they have found thousands of caches.  I mostly just grab a few at a time, not investing any large blocks of time to the hobby... until today.

According to geocaching standards, caches should be placed no closer than 528 feet (.1 miles) from each other.  I recently found a state park not too far from my home that had a cluster of about 60 caches, all spaced roughly the minimum distance of 528 feet.  It was tempting!

I have a few days of PTO left, so I had today off and the forecast was for mid-40's.  I decided to do something I had never done, and spend the WHOLE day geocaching.  I downloaded everything into the GPS the night before and I headed out to the park, arriving about 10am.  This time of year, the park was pretty deserted, and with fog over the lake, it was a very peaceful start to the morning.

 

Some of the caches were within the disc golf course, which is something I want to try

 

The majority of the caches in this park were all placed by the same geocacher, Fourtenner.  While loading the caches into my GPS last night, I read the description for a tribute cache, placed in remembrance of Fourtenner.  The description indicated that Fourtenner passed away December 1, 2014, after battling cancer.  I never met him, but he had found the majority of the few caches I own and he preceded me in logging many area caches.  I was well acquainted with his name, but wish I could have met him.  He owned many caches and they were well placed and well maintained.  He was an asset to the game of geocaching.  It seems a few of his friends will be "adopting" his caches and maintaining them in his honor.  He used many unique homemade cache containers, fabricated from shotgun shells, like the one pictured above.

 

A yurt in the campground... looks like fun!

 

the Father of Five has found 399 caches... I texted him this photo when I found this one to tie his score!

 

Geocachers like to keep track of "milestones". This is my 400th find... not huge numbers by geocaching standards, but fun, nonetheless! 

 

A map of the cache cluster... the smileys are the ones I found today (29 found/38 attempted)

 

I'm still not dedicated enought to geocaching to spend seven hours a day doing it on a regular basis, but I have to admit, it was a fun day.  With them clustered so close together (which is not always the case), I parked the car in the morning and worked my way through the park on foot, 500-600 feet at a time.  It was great exercise and it was very peaceful, since the park was nearly deserted. 

 

I did once get a strange look from a walking couple while I was milling around in the edge of the woods waiting for them to pass.  I thought it was ironic that THEY were looking at ME strangely... they were pushing a dog in a stroller!  I ask you... who was more strange?  I would have loved to snap a pic, but they were already eyeing me suspiciously...

 

Thanks Fourtenner, for all you did for geocaching, and for providing me a day of great exercise and recreation! 

hoop it up!

With Ben's disabilities in the family, we sometimes forget that Lily, being one-handed, also has a disability.  The cool thing is... she makes it really easy to forget that!  The girl pretty much does anything she wants and there's almost nothing she can't do.

So, what does a girl like Lily do when she decides she'd like to try playing basketball?  She plays basketball!

Dylan loves basketball, but has never played on a school team.  As a freshman, he now feels it's too late to start team play, but he spends hours on the driveway with our home hoop, and hours playing NBA video games.  Just over a year ago, Lily started to show an interest in basketball and Dylan latched onto that and started to show her some of the basics.

Now, it is a regular occurrence for the two of them to be playing basketball video games, or one-on-one games on the driveway together.  They are an odd pair on the driveway... Dylan knocking on the door of 6'-0" and his little sister just barely broke 4'-0".  But, she doesn't back down from a challenge! (And, he goes a little easy on her!)

Recently, Lily brought home information about a series of four open gym Saturdays for fourth grade girls interested in playing basketball and asked if she could go.  We let her participate and she proved to have a few skills.  She decided that she'd like to give this year's fourth grade girl's team a try.  Dylan lobbied for her, since he wishes he'd have played when he was younger.  We agreed to let her try it for a year and see what happens.

Today was her first actual game.  She scored four points to help the Lady Tigers win 16-13!

Way to go, Lily!

 

Number 14

Scoring her second basket of the game!

there were eight...

...and then, there were none.
 

While the world went about it's Monday morning business, there was little notice of the event.  But, I, and those with whom I share a heritage and a last name, noticed.  Each has their own reflections on the passing of my Great Aunt June.  These are mine, and they center not so much on her as an individual, but on her as a member of a sibling group.
 

My Aunt June was the last surviving member of a great generation of eight siblings... an even split of four boys and four girls.  The count is actually nine siblings... little Donna Dean died at the age of two.  I only knew seven of them, and five of those more closely than the others.  One brother died around the time I was born, but his widowed wife is remarried and to this day has rarely ever missed a family function (that ought to tell you something about this group!).  Another brother lived in California and a sister in Florida.  While I knew them, I was not as closely associated with them as the other five that were more local.  My Great Aunt June, born in 1927, was the youngest of the sibling group.  The eldest, Jerry, born in 1910, was my paternal Grandpa.

 

Glenn, Art, Jerry, Jim

Emily, June, Evelyn, Bernie

 

History, or more accurately, Tom Brokaw, coined them "the Greatest Generation".  They were a generation who spent their childhood in the throes of the Great Depression and their young adulthood embroiled in World War II.  They were a generation characterized by a strong work ethic and a sense of civil duty.  They knew hardships and developed perseverance and gratitude.  They stuck with commitments and often were known to do things because they believed it was the right thing to do.  While the view of past generations can sometimes be idealized, they were truly a great generation.  Although they did not act so that we would one day call them great, those of my generation, and generations following, owe gratitude to them for their examples of greatness.
 

And, though I'm sure they had their faults and shortcomings, in my child-growing-into-adult eyes, at least, this sibling group of eight represented their generation well and lived up to every bit of that generational greatness.
 

To me, they seemed a very tight knit sibling group, though 17 years separated the eldest from the youngest.  It's hard to get eight siblings, married with children and grandchildren, together at one time.  But, at least twice each year they made an attempt with a large reunion in the summer and a second near Christmas.  Of course, these were slightly simpler times when families were much less busy than they are today, but the family events were a priority of many.  They were well attended, even as much as possible by the out-of-state siblings.

These events are favorite childhood memories of mine.  As a kid, I was often doing "kid" things at these family events, yet I still remember being drawn to my Grandpa and these great aunts and uncles.  Yes, I loved being with these folks.  They were my family, of course, but I remember them as more than that.

 

I remember them as having a zest for life that was infectious.
 

I remember them as laughing a lot when they were together.
 

I remember them as storytellers, the lot of them (and likely mild embellishers).
 

I remember them as siblings with friendly banter and camaraderie amongst them.
 

I remember them as lacking much of the family drama and tension that sometimes characterizes siblings.
 

Again, perhaps I'm idealizing the eight just a bit.  But, if I am, don't tell me... this is how I want to remember them. 
 

There was something these siblings had that not every one of their generation possessed... it was some sort of family trait, I think.  The best way that I can describe it (and I think my relatives will relate), is that they lived with a mischievous twinkle in their eye and an ornery streak in their personality.  At least I perceived them that way, and growing up in this family, it made them just a bit irresistible.  I see bits and pieces of that family "twinkle" sprinkled through the succeeding generations, but not so collective and concentrated as they possessed it.
 

I don't come from a family heritage of wealth, power, fame or prestige.  But, in some way, every one of these eight have made a favorable impression on me and I am a better person for having known them.  As I take my place in their lineage, I do so with great pride.  As the last of a great generation leaves this earth, I can say that it is an honor to share a name and a heritage with these eight folks.
 

So, goodbye Grandpa Jerry.  Goodbye Glenn, Evelyn, Jim, Bernie, Art and Emily.  And, Goodbye June.  Though your generation is gone, you are not forgotten.

addition to the fleet

It makes for fairly mundane blog fodder, but not all posts can be top-shelf heartwarming blog material, and, since I once wrote a post about my automotive history, I wanted to keep the record going.  Maybe it's a guy thing... or, maybe it's a guy-who-drives-them-for-many-years-until-there-is-almost-nothing-left thing, but I do enjoy keeping track of the cars I have owned.  For a man my age, I have owned relatively few.  But, the count just went up by one.

 

With a family of six, a car is just not big enough for everyone.  Hence, the minivan.  But, I have observed over the years that the minivan (averaging 20-21 mpg) is rarely ever on the road full.  It often has just one or two occupants... sometimes a few more.  All too often, though, it is used in travel where a car would suffice.

 

Over a year ago, I started pondering whether adding a third vehicle would be cost effective or cost prohibitive.  With four kids going different directions and the miles that Jen drives (in the van), I estimated that an older third car with 30ish mpg would likely save more in gas than it would cost in liability insurance and license fees. 

 

Around this same time, my parents started pondering replacing their aging 2003 Saturn Ion.  Being a fan of Saturn vehicles (who was very disappointed when GM discontinued this automotive line), and, knowing it was a 30ish mpg vehicle, I asked them to give me first option to purchase the Saturn when they chose their replacement.

 

They were not in a hurry to part with it (being Saturn fans, themselves) and neither was I in a hurry to acquire a third vehicle (since I already had two vehicles on the road and it was not a need).  A few weeks ago, though, they finally made their vehicle selection and confirmed with me that I still wanted the Ion.  I did.  We talked briefly about value, but with Christmas coming, they asked me if I'd just like to have it as a Christmas gift?  Sure!  They dislike buying and selling cars as much as I do, so I guess that's a win for us both!

 

So, the new strategy is for Jen to mostly drive the Ion when it fits the transportation need and I will continue to mostly wear out the Lumina as my work car, reserving the Grand Caravan for times when more-than-car capacity is needed.  I also like knowing I have a backup to my 64 miles per day commuter Lumina available.  Although still running strong at 153,000 miles, the Lumina is starting to show it's age, as evidenced by poking the jack through the underside of the rusty body twice before finally finding a spot sufficient to lift the car enough to change a recent flat!  The Ion will likely replace the Lumina as my work car when it finally wears out.

 

Thanks Mom and Dad... let's see how many miles I can get out of it!

 

2003 Saturn Ion 

Zachary plays Stambaugh

I know he's my son, and I'm biased... but I was wowed!

Zachary approached us a few months ago about the possibility of trying out for the Ohio Music Education Association District 5 Junior High Honors Band, which is a band performance made up of three Junior High band students from each of many school districts across a tri-county area.  The schedule involved a Wednesday evening rehearsal, an all day Friday rehearsal, and a Saturday morning rehearsal, followed by a Saturday afternoon performance on the stage of Youngstown's historic Stambaugh Auditorium. 

Zachary has excelled in his three year career with the trumpet, and the family schedule made it possible for Jen to taxi him at all the required times, so we encouraged him to apply.

Apply, he did, and was selected as one of three to represent his Junior High School!

The guest conductor for the Junior High Band was Timothy Loest.  Mr. Loest is a published composer (he composed two of the five pieces in this performance) and the Band Director at F.E. Peacock Middle School, in Itasca Illinois.  It was a great opportunity for the participants to work these two days under the tutelage of someone who has uniquely chosen to use his musical talents in this combination... composer, conductor, middle school teacher.

A few weeks ago, the music selections were sent to every participant to learn and practice at home.  This past Wednesday evening was the first rehearsal at a local high school.  Jen said things sounded a bit rough.  Friday was the first rehearsal at Stambaugh with Mr. Loest and Jen said the Friday transformation under Mr. Loest's direction was pretty remarkable.  Saturday morning was spent with Mr. Loest, fine tuning and making final preparations for the concert.

I was expecting the afternoon's concert to be pretty decent... but it was better than decent... it was VERY good!  It is amazing that these kids have only been playing their instruments 3-4 years and it is equally amazing that the performers and the conductor put such a performance together in a relatively short time.  I thoroughly enjoyed both the Junior High and High School Honors Band performances (the High School Honors Band worked with a different conductor, but the concert performances were back-to-back) and if I closed my eyes, it was easy to imagine that these musicians were not 7th through 12th graders!  They really excelled!

I am extremely proud of Zachary's initiative and musical abilities... and all the hard work he put into this performance.  And, what an honor it was for him to perform at this historic landmark, on a stage that has been graced since 1926 by the likes of Tony Bennett, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Liberace, and John Philip Sousa, to name a few.

 

Thank you, Mr. Loest, for taking the time to invest in my son and the other members of the OMEA District 5 Honors Band.  And, thank you to the many great music teachers and band directors, like our own district's Mrs. C., who teach and mentor our kids with a passion for music!

hold the pepperoni

I recently read an article, linked through facebook, about making memories. The gist of the article was to focus on everyday, or less intentional, family memories, rather than just large-production memories. In our hurried, consumer-driven lives, with everyone striving for bigger-better-more, it is easy to fall into the trap of overlooking opportunities to build simple memories, because we have come to think that we can only build memories through major productions, such as...

Hey, let's take a home equity loan and fly the family to Disney World for a month!

Or...

I'm going to plan an unforgettable Frozen birthday party with a scale model of Elsa's ice palace sculpted in the backyard!  

In reality, though, sometimes the best memories are the simplest ones. Although I've learned that packing up kids to do much of anything is not "simple", many of my fondest childhood memories are of fairly simple stuff (as opposed to over-the-top home-refinancing vacations).

The post assumed, of course, everyday positive memories. It is a good reminder and challenge to us all.

BUT...

That got me thinking in a completely different direction on the topic of building memories.

The reality of memories is that we ARE building everyday memories with our families... EVERY DAY! (Whether we are trying, or not). 

But, what kind of memories are we building? 

Memories don't just come in the warm, fuzzy, positive variety.  Nope, there are many negative memories and they are pretty permanent and easy to build. Say, for example, hypothetically, of course, that years ago a guy was arguing with his wife and, in anger, threw a piece of pizza across the table at her... a couple sons may still remember the "pizza fight".  Yep... making memories... (don't ask me how I know!)

So, the moral of the story is that I'm constantly making memories of some kind with my family.  Some good.  Some not so good. (Hey, I am human!)  But, I want to challenge myself to live so that there are plenty of good memories to offset occasional things like the "pizza fight"... I mean, hypothetically, of course... if there were a pizza fight...

I changed my socks

I changed my socks...

 

And, that has made all the difference.

A number of years ago, I invested a lot in a very good quality pair of hiking boots. To my dismay, I have hated these boots since day one.

 

Blisters.

 

Every time I have worn them, I have gotten heal blisters. Not fun!

 

The last time I wore them, I was about ready to pitch them and start over. But, alas, I am much too frugal for that. I decided, instead, to consider the socks.

 

Yes... socks. They seem so simple. Yet, to a hiker or a backpacker, they are anything but simple. The boot/sock combination can make or break a hike, especially a multi-mile hike over varying terrain with the added weight of backpacking gear.

I have always been a fairly old school hiker and backpacker. I carry an old school external frame pack. And, I have always favored old school ragg wool socks. My ragg wools are paired with polypropylene liners.  Until these boots (which are more stiff than other lighter weight boots I have owned in the past), this combination has served my feet well.

 

My wife owns a more modern (and expensive) pair of hiking socks made by SmartWool.  They are a softer, but still durable, Merino wool blend sock that requires no polypropylene liner.  She loves them.  (She also loves them for slippers in the winter, which drives me crazy... did I mention they are expensive?)  Since my ragg wools are several years old, I decided to upgrade to SmartWool and see if I liked my boots any better. However, when I went to buy a pair of SmartWool socks, I found almost the same exact sock by Wigwam (the brand of raggs I usually buy), for slightly more than half the price of the SmartWool. Being fairly indecisive, I splurged and bought both, so I could field test them and see if there was any benefit to paying the extra for the SmartWool brand.

It was a bit earlier in the fall than I prefer, but schedules and weather aligned for this past weekend to be the annual fall backpack trip with Dylan and Zachary. I tried out the socks and both pair seemed to perform equally well... with NO blisters!  But, the socks were not the only thing that changed.  Nope, this year I noticed another change... 

 

This year, it was evident that my boys are growing up.  And, that is always bittersweet.
 

This is our start at backpacking together, just 4 short years ago.  I took some extra breaks on the first trip, hiked under my abilities and, generally, went kind of easy on them.

Now (although the socks are the only part of my backpacking attire that has changed), my boys are almost as tall as me.  And, as far as hiking under my abilities and taking it easy one them... well, I saw a lot of this...

 

a glimpse as they round the bend ahead.

 

And, this...

 

rounding a bend even further ahead.

 

And, this...

waiting for Dad to catch up! (That's them, just two specks to the left of the uprooted tree root mass near the center of the pic.)

 

Now, in all fairness, I was carrying about 10 additional pounds of community gear, and, probably unlike them, wisdom and experience have taught me that I am NOT invincible, so I closely watched my foretrail for ankle-turning hazards and chose my steps (especially descents) carefully. 

 

Yeah, but who am I fooling?  They are quickly growing into strapping, muscular young men, and I am starting to feel my age, a bit.  It wasn't a race though, and much of the time we did hike together... and, sometimes I even still had to break for them to catch their breath!  After all, the goal is not to see who can outhike whom, but to make some memories... some warm chocolatey memories, perhaps?

 

 

 

 

Here are a few more memories from the Backpacking 2014 photo album:

 

our traditional lunch bench

"smoked" beef sticks

Zachary discovered this vine swing

Another of our favorites stops is this tree bench

Zachary holding up the tree

Karate Kid on the water bottle

 

Saturday, about 6-7 miles, including missing our turn and hiking into the Pinto Loop by mistake

 

Sunday, about 3-4 miles

 

Taco Bell! 

licensed to ride

It's been a bit of a quiet fascination of mine for some time now... the motorcycle.

Pursuing that interest when you're younger could be viewed as irresponsible.  Pursuing that interest when you're a father of four at my age could be viewed as a mid-life crisis... AND irresponsible.  Pursuing that interest when you're a son of my mother... well, she's not fond of the idea! (As I would not be crazy about my kids doing the same.)

Now, before we get too far into this post, let me clarify: I did NOT buy a motorcycle...

Yet.

Actually, I haven't decided about the idea of owning one.  Part of me wants one, part of me isn't sure.  I have no prior experience with one.  I do have the advantage of many years of operating a manual transmission... I've driven many stick shift vehicles, clutching with my foot, shifting with my hand... but, a bike clutches with the hand and shifts with the foot... what?

My fascination is not so much with the big, bad Harley.  Don't get me wrong, there are a BUNCH of nice Harley's around, but I fell in love with the Triumph Bonneville while actually watching... a chick flick, of all things!  (How's that for biker image?)  A number of years ago, I was watching How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days with Jen.  In this movie, Matthew McConaughey plays Benjamin Barry, an advertising executive who rides a sweet Triumph Bonneville.  Yeah, I could see myself on that.  If I ever actually bought a motorcycle, though,  it likely wouldn't be a Triumph.  While not as pricey as a Harley, they hold decent value and are a little pricey for, well... me.

Triumph Bonneville

Being the introverted and homebody-type person that I am, my wife sometimes tells me I need to get out more... make a few more guy friends, develop some more interests, etc.  Recently, when this subject came up, I said, "Interests?  How about if I buy a motorcycle?"  That wasn't exactly what she had in mind.

However, since I carry a now-unused commercial driver license, I have thought about expanding my license and getting the motorcycle endorsement... even if it's just to say I did it.  I am licensed to drive 4 wheels and 18 wheels.  Why not 2 wheels?

A few months back, I started looking into what was involved with getting a motorcycle endorsement.  If you own a bike, it was a matter of passing a written test to get a motorcycle permit, then taking your bike to the state testing center and passing the riding skills test.  But, there was a second option... the same written test to get the permit, then a 16 hour Basic Rider Course by Motorcycle Ohio.  The course is $50 to enroll and involved 4 hours of classroom instruction (usually Thursday evenings) and 12 hours (6 on Saturday, 6 on Sunday) of riding  and skills lessons on the motorcycle range with class-supplied motorcycles (and even helmets, if you don't own your own).  Successfully passing the class waives the riding skills test (it was part of the class) and nets you the motorcycle license endorsement.

Really?  Seems like a bit of a bargain... for fifty bucks I can learn the basics of motorcycle riding and safety... and, the state supplies the motorcycle?  I can have a little fun, learn something new, and earn the license at the end of the class!

I looked at the class schedule and there were a few weekends open in September.  I checked with Jen and compared the family schedule with the class schedule and this past weekend was open on both.  So, a few weeks ago, on a bit of a whim, I went to the DMV on a Saturday morning, passed the written test and earned my motorcycle temporary permit (though I had never really so much as sat on a bike).  I then came home and enrolled in the Basic Rider Course for September 13 and 14.  I paid my $50 online... too cheap to back out now!

I showed up Thursday evening and was a bit intimidated to learn that 8 out of 10 of the students either already owned a bike or had some experience with one. Only myself and another female student admitted to having zero prior experience.  Once on the bikes on Saturday, though, I learned that classroom talk was cheaper than I took it to be.  A few of the students were pretty proficient, but the majority, bike owners or not, were not any better off than I.

Honda Rebel 250

The bikes supplied were all smaller bikes which were beginner-friendly. Most were Honda Rebel 250's, which is a cruiser style that just about anyone can comfortably flat-foot when stopped.

Honda Nighthawk 250

There were a couple of Honda Nighthawk 250's, which was my pick going into the range on Saturday morning. The Nighthawk series is a standard style bike that more closely resembles the Triumph Bonneville. The Nighthawk 250 sits a little taller than the Rebel, but, being a 250, is still a smaller bike.

Yamaha TW200

The third bike option for the class was a multi-purpose (essentially a street-legal dirt bike) Yamaha TW200. I was not too excited about the Yamaha, but one of the instructors recommended it because I have longer legs. I sat on the three different bikes, and it was, indeed, a comfortable fit. I took her advice and chose the Yamaha.

The riding range portion of the class started at the very basics... how to start a motorcycle.  It then progressed gradually over two days from there to riding through various training obstacle courses, involving acceleration and shifting, cone weaves, corners, emergency stops, swerves, and tight space figure eights.  I started off pretty shaky, but progressively built confidence.  The Yamaha proved to be a fun and nimble little bike.

The class finished with a skills evaluation, which is where we had the opportunity to earn the DMV skills test waiver for the motorcycle license endorsement.  The test involved three course runs, which demostrated the riding techniques we learned.  The first was a tight space figure eight, followed by accelerating and shifting out of the figure eight into a straightaway with a swerve at the end.  The second course was a controlled emergency stop and downshift from 15-20 mph.  The third was a 90 degree curve, followed by an acceleration straightaway into proper setup and navigating a 135 degree curve. 

To pass the test, we could have no more than 20 points deducted from our riding score.  Newb, or not, I managed to tie for the highest score in the class, missing a perfect score by only a one point deduction from my course riding score.  The other rider I tied scores with was one of the more experienced riders in the class (who was also riding the other Yamaha TW200, incidently).

I still don't know if I'll ever buy a bike, but I had fun learning the basics and earning the license... kind of a bucket list thing.

 

Just for fun, my buddy, Father of Five did some quick Photoshop magic!