By ALEXANDRIA DEER
Since 1976 Conestoga College has offered motorcycle driver training for people who want to upgrade to an M2 class licence which concludes with Ministry of Transportation testing.
Ron Hanley, one of the instructors, said he has noticed a growing trend in the variety of people signing up for the course.
“When I started doing this 10 years ago, more young people were doing the training but with insurance being high, now more people entering retirement have been doing the course,” he said.
The driver training course, which is 22 hours of instruction over three days, is run in a controlled, non-biased environment by trained motorcycle riding instructors.
David Ross, a student in the training course, said, “I’m retired. I’ve always wanted to cycle, I think almost everybody has, I just never got around to it.
“Early retirement is about doing stuff and doing the pre-bucket list sort of things. I thought I would do it right and safe and take the course and get all the right training.”
Michael Nanni, another student, is taking the training for a different reason.
He said, “I like to race. There’s a track in Cayuga, they have a race for motorcycles every Saturday. I’d like to go to places like Cayuga for the weekend.”
The course, which is offered every weekend from April to September, is $440. Participants should come prepared with a certified helmet, sturdy jacket and pants, sturdy boots which cover the ankle and full fingered leather gloves.
Motorcycles, however, are provided by the college.
Class sizes are based on a one instructor to five student ratio.
For more information or to sign up for the motorcycle driver training course, visit the college website, www.conestogac.on.ca.
