bonio

Wanna do a swap? Your energy for my back pain?

I can imagine it's going to be hard to find someone to rent you a bike - their insurance policies won't cover a learner. But I'd have thought any riding school would be happy to take you out for an hour's lesson and then come up with a plan to get you through the test tailored to your ability. You'd have to pay school prices for lessons you do take, and to cover the time you're on their bike for the two tests. 5 hours total perhaps? + the cost of the tests themselves.

@Gerontious might be able to help.

Cheapest I found was £295. A stiff increase in on last year, but hey ho.

Oh my, just received this for the car insurance: The only things that's changed is that the car is one year older. So no, sorry bud, not happy at all.

Can you go out and try doing the route when there's less traffic? A couple of times out of rush hour will give you a lot more confidence.

Hello and welcome.

This is true. They normally want to see you pull out from where there are cars already parked.

Yes, you can stop on double yellows. Here it is, from the Highway Code: It needs a bit of decoding: you must not stop on school entrance markings. But there's no such prohibition on double yellows. Here, you mustn't park or wait on double yellows, but by implication, you can stop. It's not clear how long you have stop before it becomes waiting. But also check rule 240 to see where you mustn't stop.

I've still got a Hein Gericke two piece Shell Tex suit. Pants leak a bit but the jacket's 100% waterproof and warm too. My go-to jacket for wet winter weather.

We've decided to stay on summer time here. Working from home, so no-one knows the difference. Took the MV for its first MOT. Passed, but came home filthy

Top hazard test tip: press the mouse calmly once when you first see the hazard and once again one second later. Don't do what I did when I saw the bicyclist coming in too fast from the left hand side and go "no! no! no! no! no!" with the mouse button. Didn't get a mark for that one.

What to buy bonio for Christmas! Don't want to spoil your fun, but here's a pointer just to get you started... Home | Motorcycles | Motorbikes | BMW Motorrad UK (bmw-motorrad.co.uk)

I know you weren't asking for opinions, but the mirrors look a tad crap tbh.

Soaking wet here, and the roads have turned to rivers of mud. Sometimes I wonder if the fields are becoming tidal.

Can't remember if goat mentioned https://www.hideout-leather.co.uk/. They will make you riding clothes to fit. Your wallet will be a lot lighter afterwards, but worth noting if other avenues don't work out.

Agree, top boxes are butt ugly. But a tail bag?

Spoken like a true Scot!

Islay whiskies are known for being peaty; Laphroaig and Lagavulin are probably the easiest to find. I seem to remember that last year the supermarkets had loads of single malts at 25% in the run up to Christmas. Might be worth waiting a few more weeks to see if they do the same this year.

It's worth getting someone who knows about them to help you size them, as you need to get the right amount of free play between you and the jacket to allow the inflated air bag to give you the support to your back and neck without putting you in a stranglehold.

I had the Helite; as the bullfrog says: no subscription, no batteries, no electronics, and something like £25 for a new cartridge should you ever inflate it. I only ever had it inflate once, when I came off at a ford. Very heavy, but you honestly don't feel the weight when you're on the bike. Definitely warmer, though, when wearing it, as it blocks the jackets vents. A friend has the Dainese one - also warm - and he'd often finish a ride saying he'd forgotten to switch the thing on. With the Helite you do need to remember to tether it, but you can easily check it's on while riding, and tether up at the next set of lights if you need.

Fair question... I've been into work about half a dozen times since covid, but each time the place is deserted - everyone's working from home. So why go in? It's a round trip of 150 miles; I used to do it a few times a month and work at home for the rest, but now I save it for sunny days when I just need to be out on two wheels.

Done like a pro.

There's a great video on youtube of a guy riding with one on, and he comes off, bounces around a bit and then gets up shouting "it saved me! my jacket saved my life!" or something like that. To my mind they make a lot of sense; having something to protect your spine and rib cage can only help. So I did get myself one and used it for a few years, especially as I was commuting in the dark on empty roads. But now with covid I don't commute, so I sold it on.