Every weekend during the spring, summer and fall months, the Train parking lot is transformed into a course for the motorcycle training program.
The classes started three years ago after the college received requests to create a motorcycle training program. Since Continuing Education essentially exists to meet the needs of the community, the program was created to meet that need, according to Phil Wegman, program director, Skills Enhancment.
“The main reason we’re doing this is for safety,” Wegman said. “The truth is there are elements of risk no matter how safe we teach you to be, how well we teach you to operate that motorcycle, one thing we can’t teach you, is […] to control someone else’s behavior.”
The three-day course is comprised of 20 hours of training. Each class has a maximum of 12 students, two rider coaches and one range aid. On Friday night there is classroom work and instruction; starting Saturday morning through Sunday, students go out to the specially-marked Train parking lot course to start riding. At the end of Sunday, students take a test and if they pass, they get their DE-99 form signed, which they can then take to the DMV and get their license.
The course starts out with basic skills and builds toward more complex maneuvers.
According to Wegman, the classes are constantly filled to the maximum, but he has noticed an increase in interest.
“I see more people on the waiting list now than we used to have,” Wegman said. “I think we could expand the program more but frankly, it would be kind of hard to do because we don’t really have the space.”
Joakim Ekström, student, has taken the motorcycle training program at the college. You learn absolutely everything about how to ride, and even if you’ve never sat on a motorcycle before, you’ll be able to pass the course with the guidance of the instructors, Ekström said.
“[I] highly recommend taking the course,” Ekström said. “It will lower your insurance but you’ll also become a better rider cause you can think you’re a good rider, but there’s so much more to riding than just sitting on the bike and riding on the road.”
Ekström has been riding bikes his whole life, starting out with motocross when he was young. More people are starting to ride, according to Ekström.
Additionally, Ekström believes there is more to the popularity of motorcycles than people just thinking they are cheap or cool.
“It’s kind of its own community in a way and it’s a form of individuality, symbolism and self-reliance, adventure […] and it’s also a stress reliever as well,” Ekström said. “I’ve met a lot of new friends and a whole new community with riding as well.”
Along with meeting new people, Ekström, a self-described “adrenaline junkie” who owns a sports bike, enjoys the thrill of riding.
With the new season, Wegman believes more people are ready to enjoy riding.
“Spring’s here and it’s kind of that feeling of freedom that you’re outside you’re out in the open,” Wegman said. “You’re not all cooped up in a car […] People enjoy being out, enjoy the weather.”
In addition to riding skills and safety, the college also offers training on how to repair and maintain motorcycles.
William Brown, professor, automotive technology, teaches the Motorcycle Maintenance and Repair class at the college. The class is very popular with older and younger students alike, according to Brown.
“Most people that ride bikes, they want to know more about it,” Brown said. “It’s more than just an appliance.”
There is a need to have at least a little interest in the mechanical side of things due to the nature of motorcycles, Brown said.
“Your butt’s on the line on a motorcycle,” Brown said. “If you forget something like checking your tire pressure then that can cause you to crash and you can get hurt bad, so you need to be more mechanically aware of things because of the additional risk.”
Working on and maintaining his bike is another aspect of riding Ekström said he enjoys.
“I like working on the bike because its mine,” Ekström said. “When I get it working [there is more] satisfaction in riding because I fixed it up or I’ve done the maintenance on it and everything.”
Whether it’s repairing, riding or meeting new people, Ekström enjoys the whole experience of riding motorcycles.
“I can’t think of anything that I don’t like,” Ekström said. “I love absolutely everything about riding.”
Contact Stephen Cook, editor-in-chief, at scook35@jccc.edu