Psychybikey

As regards dropping it he said 'three strikes and you're out... ' I may tell the owner at some point but the other instructor will just tell him I was hopeless and which of us is he going to believe? In any case his teaching style is just the same. The guy I'm going to today is a one-man band so at least I'll get consistency if I stay with him. He is used to teaching females and still has mid-size bikes - school 2 has got rid of all theirs because all people want is a 125 or a scooter to do their CBT and then straight onto a big bike. Women do learn differently and 62-year-old women lacking in confidence should not be treated like 17-year-old cocky lads. And if I haven't progressed after the hundreds of pounds I've spent there I wonder if it's not all my fault. Even my very critical husband says I've improved. Slow work is an issue but obviously I can't practise that without a bike, and even if I had a bike and somewhere to practise I couldn't get there without an instructor to escort me. I can do some of it on my little bike but still would need to get used to spaces between cones and so on. It's an instructor's job to encourage and build on what you can do, not knock you down. Anyway I'm trying to put that behind me. Two days after that I did a 90 mile ride to Dolgellau and back without adverse effects.

Well, to give credit where it's due, the school I've been going to (when I can afford it, obviously not very often) did get me through my CBT. But not all of the instructors suit my style of learning and the last lesson I had was miserable - three hours of negativity and not a word of praise, even when I did ok; clearly the instructor thinks this is an acceptable way to teach and maybe it works for some people, but not for me. I ended up with what little confidence I had in shreds and feeling like jacking the whole thing in. Not everybody who is good at something himself is able to communicate and to teach somebody else those skills, and not everybody can adapt his style of teaching to the individual learner. Two female riders have recommended another instructor to me and I'm going for an assessment/lesson with him today. Lovely weather. This will be my third school, and now I've ridden a bit more I can see that not everything is my fault and that I've gone from being a wobbly, scared rider to one who can do 60mph (my bike's top speed) with a reasonable expectation of not killing myself. The slow work is another matter, of course. How anybody manages a U-turn on a bigger bike is beyond my comprehension. Today will help me decide whether to stick to a 125 and work towards doing my test on that, or whether it's even worth considering something a bit bigger. I certainly don't need something fast or particularly powerful and modern 125s are capable of giving me whatever I need. I have accepted that I will have to repeat my CBT, which is not the end of the world. But at my last lesson the instructor told me he wouldn't even give me my CBT based on my performance that day - and I haven't been on the road on a bigger bike yet, and won't today because it's just an introductory lesson to see what level I'm at.

Mine's on May 5th, piglet. I didn't even look at the footpegs. As my normal inclination is a foetal crouch of terror, the further back position will probably suit me admirably.

Well done for being aware that you've still got a lot to learn. As has everybody who's just got through the CBT. Try to get a proper lesson, maybe a couple of hours, to consolidate those skills and flag up any problem areas. I'd be slightly worried that my friends were telling me stuff that the instructor hadn't discussed - maybe you are just a natural and the instructor didn't need to say a lot, or on the black side, maybe the instructor was more concerned with getting you onto the road, another success for his school. I'd say a proper lesson or two is a must - your friends may be right but they may be giving you wrong advice, too. Well done on your success so far.

Hi, I haven't posted for a while because I've had nothing of interest to post. I'm now 18 months post-CBT and still nowhere near ready for Mod 1. I have had a few more lessons, I had 3 off-road lessons on a 500cc and then a break (money!) and when I went back to the school, a couple more on a 125 because the instructors didn't think I was consistent enough to put me on a bigger bike. And obviously no question of going on the road. Anyway, I went in my lunch break yesterday to book another lesson (in a couple of weeks) and they've got rid of the 500s because they'd come to the end of their working lives, so they've been sold, but not replaced because there isn't enough customer demand to make it worth while - there are now only scooters, 125s and 650s (Kawasaki ER). So I tried sitting on the Kawasaki, with a lowered seat, and could just about get my toes down, wearing my flat, thin-soled work shoes; and more importantly, was able to bring the bike upright easily - if anything, more easily than I can do it on my Honda. So a big bike it is, then. Fingers crossed. I do hope I make some progress this time.

I think that all looks very interesting and I will follow the development with interest. I don't know many inventors. However I have no problem (except the difficulty of swinging my leg over the seat) due to the number of Iayers I wear, topped off with a workman's/roadmender's jacket from a local industrial suppliers, which also has the advantage of being hi-viz. It's just my hands that were getting cold and the gloves liners have solved that problem for this season, anyway.

Just to say, I ended up getting a pair of Warmawear battery-pack operated glove liners (£26.99). To test them properly I didn't switch them on till my hands started feeling cold. And they seemed to work - I didn't actually feel any warmth, like when you touch a hot-water bottle. But I stopped noticing my hands, which is probably the aim. Anyway, quite happy with them. The battery packs are a little clumsy but they didn't impede my hands at all. A good solution for somebody who can't afford to spend a lot.

A Samsung SM G357FZ, Android version 4.4.4., if that means anything to anybody. A good all-round phone that has way more features than I will ever use (I wish I could get rid of some of them but they can't be uninstalled, so what a waste of space).

Now my brain is hurting. I've looked at the Google and the Navmii stuff and just can't figure out how to get them on my phone, or any of the similar apps. I ask for it to be installed and it tells me it's installed and then there seems to be no way to just put in a location to try it out. Looks like I'll have to go back to maps, map memory, and stops toget the map out of my rucksack. Sigh.

Thanks all, so far this seems like the best choice.

Oh, I know I could just not look (assuming there was anywhere to mount it on a 125). I don't look at the one in the car, on the rare occasions when I'm not using a map. I can't look and drive and am quite happy with spoken directions. It seems a bit silly to have a feature I won't use. It's something I will use only rarely and it's not worth spending a fortune. Also, I know this is a silly question, how do you attach it to the power source? Any recommendations? Thank you.

O well, that's how observant I am.

At the age of 61, a learner rider by the way, I have finally gone for contact lenses - I said I never would because I couldn't bear the thought; then I have such a complicated prescription I thought it wouldn't be possible; but it's so uncomfortable trying to cram specs under a lid and doesn't do them any good, so I thought I'd give them a try. It's really worth it - so many problems solved - I only wear them for biking and sports, so just for a few hours at a time. It solves the problem of rain, too.

I'd really like some opinions from you guys too....

Sorry, I'm sure this has been asked heaps of times. I've been ok so far with a pair of thin, waterproof mountaineering gloves under a pair of summer leather gloves with proper knuckle protection. The other week they let me down, it started raining ten miles from my destination and by the time I got there I could hardly feel my hands - unsafe as well as miserable. What does anybody suggest to keep my hands warm as well as protected if I come off? At a reasonable price - I know they won't be cheap but I don't really want to spend £100 or more. Thanks.

Well done. I did mine a year ago but have had very little time to practice so my mods are a long way off. I have a Honda 125 which my husband loves (his current bike is a Bandit 650). He often finds excuses to take it for a little spin. So don't assume it will be boring once you've ridden a 500. But you'll need to do your test on at least a 500 if you're looking for a bit more power so it makes sense to do the lessons on one, and it's no harder than the 125 - easier in some ways because it feels more stable. I've had a couple of lessons on a 500 (sadly I'm not yet trusted to go on the road!) and they felt great.

Well done and thanks for the tips

Bozaboza, you are just a spring chicken, I was 60 when I did my cbt and what a mess I made of it - what a lot of messes I made of it - and things definitely improved when I changed schools. It really does make a big difference if you can find somewhere that suits your learning style. Also, some of us need more personal help than others, and much as it pains me to admit it, at 43 years older than most of the other learners it takes a bit longer for things to sink in, for me. I was on the point of giving up many times and the only thing that kept me going was that I couldn't stand the thought of my husband, or worse, my son, shaking a pitying head and saying "Maybe it's not for you." We're all different and I ended up paying for some lessons so I could concentrate on my individual problems. I'm just coming up to a year after my cbt now and really need to get cracking on some more practice so I can think about taking my test to be able to ride something with a little more power than a 125, to get up our Welsh hills - not interested in speed, but you do have to do 70 on a dual carriageway as part of the test. As recently as last week this seemed like an impossibility but I did take my 125 up to 60 on Sunday so I know I'll be able to do that. It's the slow stuff that's going to be the challenge.

O dear. I'm a Christian but not into cults! Still, the quote holds good, whatever path you take in life. And it's always good to know the origin of a quotation. I wish the woman I quoted it from had said where she got it - maybe she didn't know - maybe it's time I went to bed myself!

In my case it's just a matter of, I've missed out on so much in life through being too scared to have a go, and now there is so much less before me than there is behind me, I can't afford to waste any more time. I didn't take up snowboarding till I was 57 and I have to say that since I got on a bike I'm a lot less scared of the speed on a board

It's from some woman Labour MP, can't remember her name, when she was talking about getting into politics. I just thought it was a brilliant quotation.

That'll be the day Can't afford anything else now till we get back from new Zealand.

So some of you will know the trials and tribulations I've had to get this far: somehow scraping through the required standard for the CBT on a 125, getting my own bike and having a few adventures on that, getting a wee bit more confident each time and then having that confidence disappear when I take a backward step. But always determined (through sheer stubbornness) to get there. Today I had a 'bridging lesson' on a 500cc bike. I got on, looked at the narrow gap I had to squeeze through to get onto the practice pan, and thought "Who am I kidding? I'll never even get through the gap." But I did, without a wobble, turned up the long side of the car park............... .....and the moment I asked it for second gear was the moment I actually fell in love with biking . I could feel it. It was so different from my 125 (much as I love her). So responsive. No wobbles. It was like moving from a Shetland Pony to an event horse. Instead of being scarily powerful, I felt as though the bike would look after me. I have no worries now about having more lessons (when we come back from our expensive holiday) and I have no worries about going out on the road. I used my own bike to get to and from the school, and after an afternoon's riding I felt a lot more confident entering the rush hour traffic to get home. But I couldn't help comparing the performance in the stop-start traffic to the stop-start practice in the school. The big bike felt safer and more stable. Can't wait for my next lesson!

If you want to know just how badly somebody can mess up their CBT, you should read my story, if you can find it. It will give you a laugh if nothing else - you won't believe how bad I was. And I had been driving for 40 years when I did mine. Instructors hate it when we refer to 'failing' or 'passing' the CBT. But it certainly feels like that. They have to assess whether or not we're safe, and being assessed as unsafe feels like a fail. You should be able to keep on repeating the training until you succeed, at no extra cost. It's up to the instructors to work out what suits each individual and how to teach them. Some instructors are better than others. Some are content to just get you through the CBT, some want to teach you how to ride a bike. It frightens me to think that somebody with no experience can jump on a bike at lunchtime and be adjudged to be safe to do the town circuit without a minder by the same evening. I can't add to what the expert riders on here have said. But I can say, persevere, you'll do it, I did in the end (after crashing one of the bikes on the road section and being on the point of giving up I went to a different school and had some lessons with an instructor who encouraged and supported me). Tomorrow I'm going for my first lesson on a bigger bike as I live in a hilly area and need something with a bit more power to get me up the hills more easily. You will look back at this in a few months and wonder what all the fuss was about. Naughty dad for saying what he said. it comes more naturally to some than others, especially if they've had the opportunity for a bit of practice before they even get to the CBT. Better luck next time.

Hi guys, not posting on here much at the moment because I've not had much to say. Time to start thinking about something that will get me up the Welsh hills more easily. We're going to New Zealand next month to visit our daughter, so that's where all the spare money is going at present. However, I've booked a lesson on Wednesday just to get the feel of a bigger bike so I'll know what I'm working towards when we come back. I'm still having good days and bad days but if I wait till it's consistently nothing but good days I might have a long wait. So the obvious thing is a lesson in a traffic-free space with an instructor I can trust. There'll be one other female with me so that will take the pressure off. Excited and nervous in equal proportions.