This past Sunday, Jacqueline gave me my first lesson on the motorbike at a field nearby, which has a paved road around it. After learning how to start the bike, I worked my way up to a steady pace, and then started making some turns. The location was perfect, as there are no other vehicles or pedestrians to get in the way.... However, we then moved to an empty-ish parking lot area, right between the field and the school. I took off to try and go at a normal speed and practice making U-turns and such. Well, while there were no road obstacles (such as other cars or people), there was a pack of dogs that suddenly took off after me!!
They started growling at my ankles, so out of total fear and instinct, my hand turned the gear up and I sped off onto some dirt road. I then realized this was a dead end, so I had to go back through them. Right back through I went, still being heavily chased by these mangy, dirty, horrible creatures we call dogs, barking and growling and perhaps even nipping away... I honked my horn continuously and started screaming, "Basta, Basta, Basta!!" (which, of course means "Stop", but in Spanish!). I finally found my way to Jacqueline, just around the corner, and made it safely to a halting stop, with my heart beating out of my chest.
What the hell? I mean, I walk through this parking lot everyday to go to school. Maybe, the dogs are attuned to knowing there aren't any motorbikes in this area during the weekends... but I just don't believe that. Maybe, they sensed my fear. Who knows, but I hate them. And overall, I had a successful first ride, now feeling a bit more confident after having come across my first obstacle, however unplanned and unwanted it was.
(Jacqueline shot a mini-video of me driving the motorbike in the first part of the lesson - before the dogs - which she posted on her blog. It's about 3 seconds long. Check it out: http://deaninthailand.blogspot.com/2009/08/weekend-in-videos.html
great video, and you look so happy!
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