bonio

I did CBT and DAS all the way to mod 1 failure in a week's intensive course. I decided to do in Exeter - a place I still get lost in - which wasn't a bright decision as I was always in the wrong lane. And I found the whole experience pretty tiring, so I wasn't functioning at my best at the end of the week. Friday was meant to be mod 1 and mod 2, but on the emergency stop I clipped a cone with my toe: it rocked to the left, then to right, then back to left, and then it fell over. Gutted. I think if I'd spaced it out over a month it would have worked better, but in the end it all ok: I found another school to continue with (as I was no longer in Exeter) and got through mod 1 and mod 2 with just a couple more lessons.

Don't - 'cos one day, it will happen to you........one day. It's like the old saying "it's not if you drop it......it's just when". It happened to me

Thanks - great write up. Sounds like a wicked day out.

Cheers. I didn't know about this, and it's a nice ride from home.

Bad luck buddy: This page says that you have to be on an official tour to get a visa to Iran. It looks to be correct, given that this page on the Iranian Embassy site implies that you need a relative, or business contact, or travel agent in Iran to get a visa.

Hahaha. Please don't tempt me! But seriously, you don't need an ancient monument like me to travel with. The story about getting across the border with a quiet bribe sounds 100% believable. When you hear "it can't be done" or "that's not possible" in India or Pakistan, it may be that the person is asking for a bribe, especially if they are in some official capacity. I learned this about 30 years ago, when I was on a trip to India. For various reasons, my friend and I were spending the days as a guest at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi - the Indian equivalent of Buckingham Palace. We were trying to get flights to go to Allahabad, but there was a nationwide curfew in place, travel was difficult, and when we asked at the Air India office about tickets, we learned that all the flights were completely full. It was understandable, given the circumstances. They said we could leave our contact details in case someone cancelled and, this being India, we were duly given a form to fill in, on which we put our address down as "Rashtrapati Bhawan" - just like putting "Buckingham Palace" down. Five minutes later, not only had we learned that there were seats available on the flight we wanted, but we were already leaving the office with the tickets in our hands. Why did they say the flights were full?? For the bribe. Even if I'd realised what they after, I wouldn't have done it. I've never really wanted to go down that route (well, there was one unfortunate occasion, but it was completely by accident) partly because I don't think bribery is an honourable practice, but also because it would be bound to go wrong, backfire somehow and end me up in even more trouble. As for Iran, take a look at this: https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/girl-motorcycle-iran/. It's quite inspiring. In a recent article, I read that the restrictions on UK nationals travelling independently in Iran have been lifted. Despite this though, I reckon that Gerontious's route has a lot of merit to it. Worth considering.

Iran is safe. I've known several people visit who've visited, and most have been overwhelmed with how friendly the people are. It is really helpful to understand the local customs before you go - you need to do some reading - to avoid offending people without realising it. But that applies to most of the countries you'll be visiting. The only difficulty you may have is getting an entry visa to travel. IIRC, UK and US nationals are only granted visas to visit Iran on official tours; not for independent travel. But perhaps the situation has changed recently? Once you've visited Iran, you may find that it's harder to get a visa to visit the US*. My own view is that Pakistan isn't very safe. It's not a truly dangerous country, but it's both lawless and corrupt - not a good mixture. You will meet plenty of people who will want to turn their chance encounter with you into an opportunity to gain some advantage for themselves - just as you will in India. It might the be policeman directing traffic, the person who runs the hotel or just someone who stops you to ask for help. 99 times out of 100, the people you meet like this will be kind, well-intentioned people. But from time to time they won't. My impression though - and I have no evidence to back this up - is that Pakistan has something else going on - I am not sure exactly what - that tips it over into the "not very safe" category - especially once you wander out of the larger population centres and into more remote areas. In India, if you were unlucky you might wake up one morning with a bad headache and your wallet stolen. In Pakistan, it might be your kidney that's missing. Personally, I wouldn't go there without reading up a lot about people's experiences and talking to people who've done a similar trek. I guess that's the gist of what I'm saying: you really need to read, read and read some more, or else talk to few people who've done a similar journey. Just one example: although there are plenty of roads that cross from India to Pakistan, foreigners are only allowed to cross the border on the Amritsar-Lahore road, using the border point at Wagah. If you know this kind of thing in advance, it will make the journey go a lot more smoothly! All the best with it! It sounds like an awesome trip, one I'd love to do myself. Geoff *This question appears on the US visa-waiver program application form: "Have you traveled to, or been present in Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen on or after March 1, 2011?". My guess is that if you answer yes, you have to apply for a full visa, and may possibly be refused.

Great news all round Congrats on the CBT

Lots of farkles on that bike [mention]goat[/mention] Is it the oil cooled one??

I expect that you'll find a fair degree of variation between observers, especially in the guy-in-front-doing-55-in-a-60 situation. But the observers are supposed to be reasonable well-tuned into what the local examiners are looking for; they get feedback from them, especially when people don't quite make the grade, so they should be armed with all the information you need. They'll give you feedback on your riding which is intended to get you through the exam. My tip would be to just go along and enjoy the riding. If you get on ok with your observer you'll really enjoy it. If you don't, though, don't be shy to ask for a different one.

Or better yet Twitter! They will definitely respond to that. Showing my age - I still can't get the hang of chopping my thoughts up into 140-character lumps.

Wooooahhhh. Who woke you up all of a sudden?

Hi James II. Welcome in! Before anyone says it (cos someone will I am sure...), I might as well add that I think fastbob's trip was last summer; he had a great time of it, I seem to remember. While you're here, why not pop over to the intros section and introduce yourself? Geoff

Cheers [mention]Hoggs[/mention]! VanVan? A great bike It weighs about 50grams when it's moving. Even at low speeds, it feels just fine; it rides very steadily, and the wide handlebars means it corners easily too. The seat is super comfy; I've ridden mine for fours hours straight and felt as fresh as daisy getting off.

Post the picture on their Facebook page. And the reply. And the voucher for £2.

Awesome. Just sitting on that thing and dreaming of America has got to be a hoot. Enjoy it

Reminds me of the fellow who went on a horse riding holiday in Georgia. They were on tough, stocky Georgian horses. One day the whole group climbed up to the top of cliff, winding their way up from the river valley. Right at the top, when they were on the edge of the drop, the view was incredible, and the guy was just about to reach for his camera when he felt his horse sway slightly, as next thing he knew the horse was leaning over the edge. He jumped off and saved himself, but the horse just flopped over and down with a baleful whinneying noise. At this, the guys in charge of the group got very excited and raced off over the edge into the abyss after the horse. A normal horse wouldn't have survived the fall; it was a sheer drop of several hundred feet. But after about 10 minutes the guys appeared leading a rather sheepish looking horse who had somehow suffered just a few cuts and bruises. True story. I came across it here https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2011/jan/08/georgia-caucasus-horse-riding, and ever since, horse riding in Georgia has been my #1 dream holiday.

Armorfly. The best browser for Android I've ever used.

Bad luck mate. Your write up brought the whole thing back for me: I'd been worried about the U turn, but nailed it on the day, only to fail by knocking a cone over on the emergency stop - which I'd never done in practice. Never mind though buddy, you'll get it next time.

Grotty car park, gravel - that's all fairly normal (some schools are better than others to be fair). But 1 bike for 3 people? That's not normal. That's shite. It's a while since I did mine, but seem to remember getting about 15 minutes for each exercise. There were four of us, each of us was given a bike or scoot of their own. But the CBT has changed a bit since then. I've not read up about it, but when my missus did hers, the morning was all talk about gloves and ice other stuff that everyone forgets by the next day, and they none of them got even to sit on the bikes until midday. Of course, there was no way any of them were ready to go out on the roads that day. So she switched schools and ended up in a place where she was a lot happier. If I were you I'd phone up or visit some other places, explain what happened, and ask them what to expect if you booked up the CBT with them. All the best.

I've been rear-ended twice in the last six years. The first time, I was stopped a traffic light, and the person just drove gently into me. I managed to stay on the bike, and there was there was no visible damage, but I got the guy's name and address in case anything came to light later on. The bike was fine, though. The second time was last summer; I was coming off a motorway, waiting to enter the roundabout, and a girl drove into the back of me. The first I knew was when everything looked a bit wrong, which was because the bike and I were on the on the floor. I was fine, and I couldn't find any damage to the bike at the time other than a few scratches on the crash bars, but again took the girl's details, and when it was clear that the bike was riding fine, I threw Some months later, I got around to washing the bike, and I found one that the crash bar that had taken the fall had cracked right through where it was mounted on the bike, and it was £150 to get a new one. It's true I guess that the girl should rightly have coughed up the £150 and not me, but when I look the cost of the repair against the cost of owning the motorbike for a year, I reckon it's not worth getting myself worked up about it. Better by far to get back on the bike and enjoy riding it.

Quick search proves you right, but that was buried in someone else's thread. At least it can be seen by all now Thanks! I thought I was having a bit of deja vue moment.

I've just paid around £150 for the GS (garaged) this year, which includes 8 years NCB. About half the price of the renewal quote from BikeSure. My memory is that insurance starts to come down once you turn 30... although tbh I was over 40 before it ever seemed like getting old was paying off. A little time yet to wait, young whippersnapper.

Welcome to the forum, Sid.

Nice work mate