“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

The title of this entry is a quote from Mahatma Gandhi, the great political and spiritual leader during India’s struggle for independence. Although probably said in completely different circumstances, the quote struck me as it accurately mapped my struggle to get my motorcycle licence. Although I only had the weekends free due to National Service, it still took me a good 10 months from my first lesson to finally getting my licence. It was a long, hard and lonely road. I even had friends placing bets on how long I would last. Unlike cars, there is no progressive training for motorbikes. There are 8 lessons and each time you either pass or fail. It is therefore not hard to believe that when I took my 1st lesson for the 5th time (after hiding my face all week in camp), I had made up my mind that I would quit if I failed again. I passed. I thought it was like a sign, that better luck was coming my way. I was mistaken. What is worse than failing, is taking a lesson in the pouring rain only to have the instructor tell you that you have to repeat it. Flirting with thoughts to quit every now and then, I somehow held it together. With practically nobody to turn to, it got harder to keep myself motivated. But after an encounter with a hot European chick with a sexy little tattoo on her hips, and a female on her Honda 400cc, things seemed better. 6 months in, having renewed my bet with a friend that I would get my bike before the turn of the year (that I eventually lost), I somehow worked my way to lesson 6. It just got harder and every time I failed, I felt helpless. By December, I got to lesson 8; which is the penultimate test that seperated me and my licence. I had to take it 6 times! On my 5th try, I made one fatal error during a near perfect test round and it cost me the lesson. I cried that day. I had all but given up, but there was more drama to come. I still had to fail one Traffic Police Test after having passed my lesson 8. I had to wait for one whole agonizing month just to give it another shot. I finally cleared my TP test on the 15th of Feb 2007 and got my motorcycle class 2B licence. We all have our moments in life. In that room that day, it was my moment, one I am going to cherish for the rest of my life. This was never about the bike, (of course it was, who am I kidding, I love my phantom!!). It was about pursuing your dreams, almost like a maniac. I learnt that if you fear losing, you’ll never win, but if you try hard enough, you’d probably will. I won.


“Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”


I owe it all to Farhin, a friend I made during my OCT course, for without his initial inspiration (to become a biker like him), constant advice and never ending belief in me, I would have not made it. It was almost like I had to do it for him because he had more faith in my abilities than I had. A very sincere thank you.

My Inspiration...

My Licence...

My Bike!!