Love your bike and get to know her

The writer's trusty machine. – The Malaysian Insider pic, June 27, 2014.In the absence of fear, unruliness is borne. Or perhaps, familiarity breeds contempt? I hope this isn't the case and from a first-hand perspective, I know only too well that understanding one's motorcycle makes committing blunders a less bitter pill to swallow, as is often said – experience is the father of wisdom.

So there I was, on another one of my random outings, hard at work in a bike training session. Still very much a greenhorn, I spent most of my time as a pillion rider but found consolation in practising in less crowded areas to get a better feel of riding amid the disquiet of the city.

After getting my friend's, or stand-in tutor's approval, he then challenged me to park my bike. Noticing my smug smile, he picked a spot over a slight but sharp slope.

After about five minutes of heaving and panting, dizzy from the lack of air from manoeuvring my bike forward and backward, this way and that, the inevitable happened. One wrong move did it, I was rendered helpless as I dropped my bike to its side.

I suppose a couple of weeks of training by my 'ole lonesome did the trick for I didn't allow my bike to fall with a loud crash.

Knowing that tugging hard to keep the bike upright was pointless, I merely gently placed it to its side – not a single scratch, please I thought to myself. And just as quickly, I moved to the opposite side of the bike and with some well self-taught intuition, I picked up my bike in about five seconds – I had to laugh out loud to counter the humiliation and my disbelief.

My friend said I made it look effortless but we both guffawed aloud at my trembling hands and wobbly arms as I finally rolled my park over the slope carefully, parked it and turned the key in the ignition.

It was my second time dropping the bike, but the first time, try as I might, my bike wouldn't budge. But, the secSalted gula melaka ice cream and a creamy teh tarik is the best combo for any rider. – The Malaysian Insider pic, June 27, 2014.ond time around, although the bike wasn't as light as feather, I managed to get it to stand upright without any help whatsoever.

I still don't really know how I did it but if I tell you to mull over the saying desperate time calls for desperate measures then no one would be the wiser, so the closest explanation I can give is leverage.

The most effective way to pick up a bike that weighs more than you is to use the bike's weight to your advantage.  I can't stress enough how getting accustomed to one's bike in every way helps the pieces of the puzzle fit, so much so that even getting out of tight spots becomes second nature.

These past few months have marked some progress in my bond with my motorcycle and after the abovementioned incident, I gave her a good wash and watched her gleaming under the sunlight.

Satisfied, I then treated myself to some mouth-watering salted gula melaka ice cream and a creamy teh tarik – a marriage made in blissful matrimony. And any rider will tell you, that as much as pit stops, eating and drinking go hand in hand with riding. – June 27, 2014.

Last week's column can be found here.