Psychybikey

Well my hip is certainly sturdy enough to lean anything on...

A good session again today, this time I probably did 7 miles - ok, still not far, but more than last week and this time I managed not to do anything dangerous and I didn't stall or panic. I even felt quite confident about doing an emergency stop when I saw a dog strolling across the road ahead but luckily I didn't have to. I deliberately went where there was a bit more traffic, too, to get a bit braver. I'm thinking that realistically, I won't get enough practice to do my full test until at least next spring. I'm thinking of the end of May because my husband is away that week so I can take the week off, and not actually tell him what day(s) I'll be doing it. I know part of the Mod 1 is managing your bike stand and I'm really struggling with that. I'm pretty strong and very few things beat me but so far I haven't been able to rock the bike onto its stand. I do also have a side-stand which is brilliant in practical terms, but will the examiner expect me to use the 'official' stand that came with the bike? If so I may need to increase my gym sessions

I can't believe I've missed your posts about this, I've just been and searched your posts because I thought, I hadn't seen anything from you for a while so I went to check if you'd been on. Good luck for next week and let's hope for nice weather so you don't have to think about that.

What? And it did that all by itself, I didn't add anything, just clicked on that share link thing on Photobucket, which seems to work when I do it in other forums. Never mind, eh. There are some very clever people on here!

Absolutely flummoxed trying to add a sig pic so you'll just have to have this one in my thread. It makes the bike look huge. Darn it, it won't come up unless you click on the link. Any advice about how to fix that? I did a couple of bends that were at least as sharp as the one where I came off last week, and made myself go where there was traffic, the hills are the default setting of course so I had to manage those. And it was all fine and I was only out about half an hour but that was more than enough for today. So that has boosted my confidence a bit more

That is rather the impression I've formed. I've had a go at a few and upset myself because I've clicked at things that apparently are not hazards, because I'm so anxious not to miss anything, and then tried to avoid that and not clicked enough - haven't failed as such but certainly haven't left myself a margin of error. When I come to do the real thing I will need to be much better, as I'm bound to drop a few points because of nerves. It does seem to be very much about working out how to pass the test, as much as actually being able to pass the test.

Ha ha, at the moment I am never going out with him again and he can carry on being lonely!!

That is never, ever, going to be an issue!

Not that much! I guess I'll have to stick to the hand signals and telepathy

I'm just toying with the idea of getting a pair of radios for my husband and me, at least till I know what I'm doing, similar to what instructors use. Only cheaper - I expect they have professional ones. I was dismayed to read on some of the ads that manufacturers are promoting gadgets that can be hooked up to MP3 players, radio stations, and the like. The one thing that is safer on a bike than in a car is the lack of distraction from inside the vehicle. However, the person-to-person comms is probably a good idea, has anybody any experience of or advice about these things?

Good luck!

I know. I keep feeling my mouth going up at the corners.

It was brilliant - my aim for today was just for the instructor to say I was ready. He said "Let's go for a ride" and took me on a big long ride, and when we got back I said I'd enjoyed it and he gave me some feedback, then got this big book out and said he was happy to give me my certificate! I couldn't believe it! the clever thing was, I'd already done everything except the road riding part of the training, so he didn't tell me he was treating it as that - probably because I would have got into a flap - and it was Deeside on a Friday afternoon, quite busy, not a time I would have chosen, but that was good too because various hazards arose which I reacted to just the same as I would have done if I was driving a car; if anything it was a bit easier because a bike is narrower than a car. I'll just get used to everything first and then see about ditching those L-plates

I'VE PASSED MY CBT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There's a place in Connah's Quay where we got our son's first bike from, a garage/breaker's/dealer's, if I can plan my round today properly I'm going to pop in between calls........ then beloved hubby can go and have an informed look and stop me buying something that is going to fall apart after the first 100 miles.

Another good lesson today, the two hours flew by. Slow riding, slaloms, and preparation for going out on the road, which I hope to do at the end of my next lesson. It was absolutely peeing down with rain last night but fortunately it cleared up for my lesson - it wouldn't have been much fun in that amount of rain. I'm now nagging my husband to look for a bike for me. I would no more know what to look for in a bike than he would know what to look for in a horse, so it will have to be him that does it. Tip of the day: - if you have to go to work after riding a bike, dry shampoo works wonders on helmet hair.

....Rossi....

I was thinking more along the lines of Valentina........

I've already thought about that. Once I get through the CBT I will see about changing it. I don't want to change anything at the moment in case I upset something and tempt fate!

:laugh:

I've just done an online practice test I can't believe I've been driving for 40 years without killing myself or somebody else. I failed miserably, and not only that, it made me feel seasick watching the clips! Looks like every single thing is a hazard except for never leaving your house.

The two hours' lesson made a huge difference. I've booked another, but not till the week after next because I can't afford two hours a week - but it's going to be more beneficial than one hour once a week. The instructor says he's looking for consistency, and if my next lesson is as good as this one I will be out on the road the session after that I did fast and slow today - up into third gear, and slow control using the clutch. Lots of stops to try and stop where I'm aiming to stop and not where the bike thinks it would like to stop. Learning that a clutch on a bike is different from a clutch on a car. Realising that I can go very slowly without falling off. Leaning the bike over on a turn without getting dizzy and panicking. The instructor pointed out that it's only my third proper lesson with him. At the free assessment session he gave me I was too scared to get my feet off the ground for more than about two car lengths. My balance was virtually non-existent (it's not one of my strengths). I was so upset by my previous experiences and so frustrated with myself that I was on the point of wondering if there really are some people who can't do it. I thought I would never, ever get the hang of the gears - I was trying to do them like in a car, and I've learnt that you don't have to use your hand and foot simultaneously. Thank you lot for the encouragement to keep going - after I crashed the scooter, my son actually said "Maybe it's not for you," which was probably the worst - or maybe the best - thing anybody could have said. But he's been riding since he had a dirt bike when he was about nine, so he's forgotten what it's like, just like I can't remember learning to tie a shoelace.

Yes, indeed, we can be biker bitch buddies!

That would be ideal, fq-craigus, sadly it involves saving up...very frustrating but there we are. I'm grabbing a bit of overtime here and there, so car breakdowns and 21-yr-old-apprentice-waged son permitting, I may have enough in a couple of months' time

OK, still only in 2nd gear today - an hour isn't really long enough when you have no bike to practice on so I've booked a 2-hr lesson for next week. But you can go quite fast in 2nd gear, can't you? There were a couple of others using the practice area today (mighty Mod 2s I think), so because I didn't have the entire car park to myself I had to think a bit about where I was going to turn. This involved slightly tighter turns and leaning the bike over a bit. Two weeks ago I would have panicked and stopped. Today I just went for it - in other words, I'm learning to trust the bike. I also started to get to grips with the footbrake and was quite good by the end of the lesson. The instructor asked me if I do any sewing - I do, a bit - and said to think of it like the pedal of the sewing machine, in that you don't need to press very hard. I can remember this easily because one day I came home from work and found the sewing machine in the bin. My husband was trying to make himself a bivvy bag and he assumed that the harder you press the pedal, the faster the machine will go - of course all that happens is than everything gets into a terrible tangle. You have to be gentle. But my husband couldn't cope with the idea that he was doing it wrong and clearly the machine must be at fault . So that picture in my mind helped me not to stamp on the brake. Oh, yes, and I did get the sewing machine out of the bin and it works just fine!