This time, it wasn't me to stall on a hill.

by Wendy Gourley
(Timmins, Ontario)

When my dad started to teach me to drive a car, he made sure I could drive a standard transmission, and that I could start from a stopped position on a hill (without stalling -- he was merciless!) before I was allowed to take my driver's test. "If you learn on a standard, you can always drive an automatic. It doesn't work the other way around," he said. I now have many years of experience driving a standard so I knew the idea of a clutch and gears on a motorbike, but it's tricky when you have to worry about the gears, clutch AND balancing yourself on a bike. And yes, I've stalled it a few times. But not today.

Today I was out for some "me time" and just cruising around town a bit. I started heading home and noticed a guy on a Honda Goldwing a short distance ahead of me. We both approached a stop light at the top of a hill and had to stop; he was in the lane beside me and ahead of me by a car. Whenever I notice the light is going to turn green, I use my foot brake entirely so that I can accelerate easily. Today was no different. And as I started to move forward, I noticed that it was the guy on the fancy bike that stalled, not me. I'm not trying to say that I'm better than him because I'm probably not, but I have to admit I did have a slight grin hiding behind my helmet. This time, it wasn't me to stall.