Psychybikey

So what was your point then ? I can't remember!

I - taking a tortoise for a walk (on a lead) - taking a chicken for a walk (on a lead) - taking a stuffed dog for a walk (on what looks like a belt), actually dragging the soft toy along the ground

[/media] So I can't ride it. But I can make it look a bit more bike.

The World Health Organisation says we can go out for exercise as long as we don't mix with people. The TV keeps saying 'stay indoors' when it should be saying 'stay at home'. I don't understand the once a day thing. How can they police that? I go for a run at six most mornings, I have always gone at this time specifically to avoid having to speak to people, long before all this. Does that mean I'm not allowed to go for a walk? We live in a pretty rural area so it's easy to avoid crowds and buildings. As for the bike, surely it's more responsible to take a solo ride to get food, than to use public transport? (Our son has to borrow our car for the week whilst his is being repaired, and delivery slots are at least three weeks away). But, as we have been specifically instructed not to move about, where does that leave us if we need to claim on insurance for something?

Calm down, everybody...

Well, mainly because I got round to resetting my password (which I've already forgotten again). The other thing is that I've been off the bike for a bit because I developed cataracts in both eyes last year. I was okay driving, but on the bike it was quite scary because as we all know, the glare from sunlight is far greater when you aren't behind a windscreen. Cataracts, for those who don't know, cause additional glare. When I got to the point where I could only ride in poor light by looking at the kerb to see where I was in relation to the road, I stopped riding. I didn't know it was cataracts, I just thought it was age-related, as our eyes don't accommodate as well in middle age. I got some anti-glare lenses, which made it worse, because of course that wasn't the problem. I was quite shocked when the optician told me at my regular checkup. I even stopped driving at night for a while. I've had them both treated now. I spend far too much time online anyway. I'm sorry I missed the flouncer.

You'd be surprised how bad your eyesight can be and still be legal for on the road. Quite worrying really (I used to nurse older people so I've seen a bit of this). I suppose the sensible answer is to keep up to date with your eye tests, we should all do this anyway once we get over about 40 because we can develop eye problems with no symptoms, which can be easily treated if detected early (nurse lecture over). Blind in one eye should not stop you, especially if it's been going on a while so you've got used to compensating for it. As you will know, it's depth perception that can be the problem.

Disposable gloves.

And that grrr is not the throaty sound of a powerful engine. We're now told that only 'essential' riding is allowed. Personally I think jumping on my bike to go somewhere is rather more responsible and less likely to spread bugs than catching a bus. There is of course the argument that if we come off we will make more work for the NHS and I understand that argument. Hard to disagree with that one.

Why? My bike takes me up to legal limits and keeps up with my husband's 650. It's heavier to push round than the CG125, and I'm not 100% sure I could pick it up if I drop it, so I certainly couldn't pick up a heavier one. That's a bit like saying a pony isn't as much fun as a horse, and believe me, I much prefer ponies for their character - even though they can't jump as high or gallop as fast as big horses. Which obviously is not anything to do with bikes. But bigger doesn't mean more pleasure, as the actress said to the bishop.

I think a lot depends on the kind of instruction you get. And the big difference is that you get as many goes as you need to do the exercises on your CBT. Ten tries to master the U turn? Six? Two? No matter. Hit a cone in the slalom? Not to worry. Have another go. But in the test you get only one attempt, and that's where the pressure comes from..Even if you know you will never do it like that in real life. Even if common sense would tell you to put a foot down, or even get off and push. I do know there are people who choose to repeatedly do CBT rather than take a test. My husband stopped a few months back to help a couple of riders on Ls who were having some problem and in conversation it came out that as they were perfectly happy on 125s they didn't see the point of doing tests. They ride all over the country. And most places charge more than £80. My brother in law, who's a traffic warden, got talking to a lady who told him the same thing. She just repeats her CBT every two years As the only differences between passing and not passing on a 125 are that you can use motorways and take a passenger (without a single minute's training, btw) I suppose that if you intend never to do either of those things, there is no need to do your test. But personally I wanted rid of the L plates, whether I moved up or not. And I succeeded eventually because I could practice on my own bike for no more than the cost of the petrol.

Perhaps I'm not making myself clear. It's not the bike that's the problem. It's the test situation. I can ride a bigger bike. I cannot cope with tests, and that is not going to change at my age. It's probably a miracle that I even passed on a 125. I have a morbid and pathological fear of tests and exams. I know it's ridiculous and irrational, but it is what it is. Biking is supposed to be fun, and the thought of any more tests takes all the fun away. If they ever implement the suggestion that has been made of issuing a big bike licence after a course of training, with no formal test at the end of it, that might help, but somehow I doubt it because being assessed is stressful, too. This is also why I am never going to do a Bikesafe course. I cannot tolerate any more assessments or critiquing, however tactfully done, however constructive the criticism. I know I can ride safely and I enjoy what I do now. Perhaps if I'd started 20 or 30 years earlier I would have found it easier (and of course the test was easier then anyway). So thank you to those kind people who have said "you never know". I do know, and it ain't gonna happen. But thank you for the encouragement.

[quote name=Six30 post_id=1089390 My advice ' date=' give it another go , you can ride a bike , your half way there.... as for the nerves just have a few glasses of wine to calm yourself before test [/quote] No. No more tests, ever.

If only I'd wanted to learn years ago. Even just a few years earlier.

Quite. You get people saying "Oh joy, I am so happy," and all I felt was relief that it was all over. I bet the examiner did, too. He'd failed me twice and probably just wanted to see the back of me.

They've been saying that for a while, Arwen, but it ain't going to happen. DVLA are making too much money from all those tests for them to stop them. It's a shame because I would very much have liked to get on my lovely old 250, which was actually lower and lighter than the bike I have now or my CG125, but sometimes you just have to know when to stop.

Well, fellow bikers, time for an update, once again after a gap of many months. I decided a couple of months ago not to pursue my big bike licence any further. Several things to say about this. Firstly, I know I can ride a bigger bike. I went to a highly recommended instructor who is the first one who has trusted me on the road on a CBR 500. He gave me a few lessons on the Mod 1 test pad, and then decided I'd benefit from riding on the roads, so I could remember why I was actually doing it. That was so good. Three lessons on the roads before winter closed in, country lanes, A roads and congested town roads. I could do it, and it was fun. I made mistakes, but he believed in me. However, over the next couple of months I had a good think about why I wanted to get on a bigger bike. Firstly it was because I had this belief that it's what everybody is supposed to do. Secondly it was because I'd bought a lovely Suzuki TU 250X, very low mileage, at a bargain price, which I was hoping to ride. Of course I had to pass on at least a 500cc to be able to do this. My original and continuing problem is that I just cannot cope in a test situation. I have tried everything from herbal stress-reducing tablets to hypnotherapy, and nothing has worked. As soon as I start attempting the Mod 1 manoeuvres I stiffen up like Pinocchio before he became a real boy, and I just can't do it. My lessons were becoming too stressful to enjoy or to benefit from, even though I had a 100% brilliant instructor. So, I decided to stop throwing good money after bad - especially as by now I had retired and couldn't afford it. Back to why I wanted a bigger bike. 1, to keep up.with my husband. 2, to get up hills without holding up the traffic behind me. 3, to have the power to get through a junction or roundabout when there is other traffic on the road. All of this has been achieved on a 125. I have sold the Suzuki and bought myself a brand new bike, the first new vehicle I have ever had. It's a Honda CB125F, and I love it, and most importantly, I feel that a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders because I never have to do another test. My bike will get me up to legal limits. Every ride does not now have to feel like a practice or just marking time until my next lesson/test. Most importantly, it has been my own choice. I know I can handle a bigger bike. I just can't do tests. And that's fine, because it's supposed to be fun. ' alt=''>

A pain, isn't it? The irony is that my 250 is actually lighter and easier than my 125. I've only ridden it once, in a car park. I keep it on the road so my husband can ride it and keep it charged up for me so once when we went out I had a go on it in a big empty car park.

Really? I can't find many of my old posts. Sometimes I wish I'd kept a diary.

Not so much perseverance as bloody-mindedness. I have spent far too much to give up!

Sadly this is not the case. My instructor enquired about this last year. The bike will have to be at least a 500cc, with that power to weight ratio thing that I don't understand, but the gist of it is that my 250 is not suitable because it doesn't fulfil the requirements. A pity, but there it is.

Hi guys. A long time since I've posted. But finally after 3 attempts at Mod 1 and 6 goes at Mod 2 I have finally passed Mod 2, only on my 125, and a long way to go before I can ride my beautiful Suzuki TU 250X. I need to find an instructor with a low enough 500cc for me to get my feet within touching distance of the ground, and whose centre of gravity is low enough for me not to overbalance. I struggle on a pushbike so this is a real issue. But at least I don't have to do my CBT or theory test ever again, and there is no time limit now so the pressure is off.

I'd be looking for another school. I am on my third (long story). After exactly the experience you describe and a number of drops in my first one, they put me on a twist and go because it was too much for me to cope with the clutch and the brakes and the throttle and the levers and the speed and the balance and the steering all at once. Eventually I got out on the road on a scooter and then I crashed it into a wall and broke it. They said they'd let me know when it was repaired but they never did. But they never charged me for the damage, which should be part of their expenses. I moved to another school and eventually got through my CBT, on a geared bike (which I have had to do for the second time because I am such a slow learner and nowhere near my Mod 1). I had a bad experience there with a rubbish instructor who made me feel like something the cat had sicked up, and I thought this was all my own fault. I am still dropping my current instructor's bike and I'm still on a 125, after 3 years, and I remember well that aaarrrggghhh feeling when it shot forward and all the other things you describe. It does rather sound as though they are trying to make money out of you. The cost of the CBT is supposed to be to get you onto the road, however many goes it takes. Some people who've never even sat on a bike before can whizz through it in a few hours, and some schools are only interested in them and have no patience with those who take longer. If they don't think you're safe it's up to them to teach you to be safe. Having never been allowed a pushbike as a child I had serious balance issues so as a cyclist, you are probably better than me. I did choose to pay for some extra lessons before I had another go, but that's unusual. And it was my own choice. Some people are good at doing stuff but no good at teaching others to do it. Some instructors don't really like instructing. Some schools are only interested in getting people through the various stages, and not really bothered about whether they teach them to be good riders or not. Some of us (like me) need a bit more individual attention. Any decent instructor should be able to adapt his/her teaching style to the pupil's particular learning style. It took me a long time to realise that if I wasn't improving, maybe it wasn't all my fault. Don't be too disheartened by this experience. I am still rubbish at slow manoeuvres, which is holding me back, but more than capable of doing anything they will ask me to do in Mod 2 (if only I could get past Mod 1!) and seriously, this isn't something I say often, but if I can do it, anybody can do it.

I am taking at least a couple of months off. I am becoming so disheartened and currently having no pleasure from my lessons. I was almost test ready last month and due to take my Mod 1 for the first time next week. About b****y time after two CBTs, two theory & HP tests, three schools, any number of instructors before I found my current excellent one, and three years on the road so that I can now do all kinds of weather (winter and summer), all kinds of roundabouts, heavy traffic, night riding, country roads, hills, fast riding - well, as fast as my bike will go, which is 65 mph downhill with a following wind - but can I do a U turn? Can I do slalom? Can I do figure of 8? I could, but I can't now. I don't know what's happened. When I dropped the instructor's bike on myself last month, the spectacular bruises faded after about three weeks and I replaced my helmet as a precaution, but unfortunately the impact triggered off a frozen shoulder, which only time will heal - I am doing some exercises so it won't get as bad as the last time I had one of these, the other shoulder, which had no reason at all. So not only am I in pain all the time, but it does make turning difficult. No matter, I should still be able to do it, it's not just that, I can push the handlebars round if I have to. But something has happened to my head and I simply CANNOT do those slow manoeuvres. Life is fairly stressful at the moment and as we all know, getting on the bike is a good way to de-stress, even if it's only because you are so busy trying to stay alive that you forget about all the other stuff. So if I'm coming to my test preparation in a stressed state too, and getting worked up about my lessons, and not enjoying them, it's time to take a break. I have even considered going and doing my Mods independently on my own bike so I could at least pass something (and never have to do CBT or theory & HP again), but then there are issues with how on earth do I practice getting up to the required speed on a tiny little 125 in the three inches they allow you before you have to do the speed trap or the swerve. It is all becoming too much for me and I've decided to take some time off and just enjoy my road riding, which I know is well up to Mod 2 standard. I know there are much worse things going on in this big world than a stupid old woman not being able to get up to the stupid Mod 1 standard. I know there are greater injustices than idiots riding like idiots in an idiotic manner but it doesn't matter because they can do U turns, can't they. But it feels so unfair. And I am carrying that negativity with me. So I'll see if just trying to forget the whole pass thing for a while will work. I only want to ride a 250. It's not like I want to tear up the tarmac in something that's more powerful than a racing car. But the rules are the rules, and I am stuck on a 125 for ever, it seems