OhJay

I went for an hour's lesson a week and I think it was about 18 lessons in the end. The wife and I got one 125 between us which she used to get to work and then I could potter about evenings/weekends and practice between lessons. They kept me on the 125 for about 8 weeks as they said it highlights mistakes more but it's easier to wrestle back from any mistakes. After that they asked if I wanted to do the test on the 125 or DAS. I then had 2 lessons back on site on the 500, a couple on the roads and then started test preparation. The Mrs decided she wanted to do her test on the 125 so she was a couple of weeks ahead of me since she didn't need the time to get used to the 500 and she could book her test herself whenever they were available as she could go down on her own on her bike rather than my needing to get the school to book the test based on when the bike and instructor were available to go with me

Hi Josh The place I learned with and would very highly recommend are Pinewood Motorcycles in Crowthorne. I did my CBT with Motag in Reading who work out of Makro's car park but then got three recommendations for Pinewood so got in touch with them. Because I'd done my CBT elsewhere I had to do an assessment ride out with them and then they made recommendations from that on what they thought would be best for me. I went onto weekly lessons, an hour every Saturday, but you can always discuss your needs with them and work out the best way to proceed from there. Best of luck, let us know how you get on.

Walk on the Wild Side - Lou Reed

Conga rats

Congrats and welcome We will expect pics when you find the one

Police tonight are searching for Sophie Ellis Bextor to question her about a recent murder victim found dead in a French football legend's house... They're saying it's murder on Zidane's floor (via the Mrs)

Conga Rats

*hugs* Bex

Congrats, well done you. Demonstrated decent bike control. You did it wrong initially but then corrected it, didn't lose control, reacted appropriately.... still stopped safely which was the instruction of the exercise. Minor sounds about right to me.

The Mrs had a stroppy letter from Student loans last week as well. She's just gone back to uni full time so I'm supporting her and they sent her a letter saying "HMRC tell us you're not earning. We demand you tell us how you're supporting yourself financially or we'll fine you" Have written them a letter for her telling them she's back at uni and I'm supporting her. Got very snooty and formal, even used all the letters after my name I think for the first time since I did my CV last

Forever in blue jeans - Neil Diamond

Learn to Fly - Foo Fighters

Nice one, congrats

Congrats guys. Good job.

The theory is that you've got more stability and control while there's drive going to the wheel and that keeping the revs up increases the gyroscopic effect that helps keep you upright but when slowing in a straight line it shouldn't have that big an effect. I like to go down through the gears so I know I'm always in the right gear if I need to accelerate away from something and the way I drive, I use engine braking a lot more than the actual brakes so I carried the same sort of thing over onto the bike. Never been a problem but I was told to at least make sure the brake light comes on so the person behind knows I'm slowing down.

Don't know yet Think I'm moving out of relieved and into glad now. Happiness is at the bottom of this bottle of Hen I've got waiting for me

Was f***ing cold on the ride on the way down to the centre, had to stick my hands under the drier in the loo when I got there but didn't fancy trying out my new winter gloves for the first time on my test so stuck to the summer gloves I know and love. Wasn't actually as cold when we went out so went OK. Thought I'd stuffed it right at the start, we stopped at the end of the estate the test centre in Farnborough's on and he gave me the independent riding instructions. Was a slight uphill we'd stopped on and had to stick my right foot down when doing my shoulder check before pulling off but that silly little mistake seemed to relax any nerves out of me in a "well I've done it now" type way. Got back and as we were walking back to the centre "Well, I won't keep you in suspense any longer, you've passed module 2." Couple of minors for progress, not getting up to speed quick enough, but fine other than that. At this moment in time I think relief is the overwhelming emotion but I'm sure the happiness will kick in when I hit the beers later Oh, and happy birthday JBK

I love going into bookshops and going up to the counter and saying: "Hello, I'm looking for a book. It's called 'How to deal with rejection without killing'... Do you have it?"

Jump in my car - David Hasselhoff (had to be done)

I'm reading it the same way as Susie. I think you've slightly misunderstood what all the terms and options are and I get the feeling you're referring to DAS as "a week's intensive training with tests at the end". If you haven't then my apologies and feel free to disregard the rest of this post. CBT is the first step everyone has to take. You have to show your CBT certificate and your theory certificate at your final tests. It will involve introducing you to the bike, showing you what the controls are, getting you used to riding round the school's site and then a couple of hours out on the road. If your instructor think you're up to a certain standard he will issue you with a CBT certificate. This entitles you to ride up to 125 on your own on L plates and lasts for 2 years. If you book a week long intensive course the first day of it will be the CBT anyway unless you've got one already. DAS is simply sitting your final test on a bike over a certain power which means you will immediately be able to ride anything, any size, any power. There are three options for what to do for your final test but the only difference is the size of the bike you sit it on, the tests are exactly the same. If you sit it on a bike that can put out at least 35kW (just under 50 hp) then you instantly get a licence to ride whatever you like. If you sit it on a standard 125 you get a licence that means you can ride anything but for two years it can't produce more than 25kW (33hp), after which you're free to ride anything. If you sit it on anything smaller you will be restricted to 125cc and 11kW which doesn't expire. I'm doing DAS but having one lesson a week. Don't disregard doing your test on the 125. Some people find the 125 easier (my Mrs did hers on the 125, I'm doing DAS on a 500) and I think if you're doing the intensive week doing it on the 125 all week will be cheaper. You'll be restricted for two years but the 250 puts out about what you'd be restricted to anyway so I don't think it'd be any great loss to you. If you do get a 600 then most can easily be restricted down to the 33hp anyway. If that was teaching granny to suck eggs then my apologies.

Licence is clean as far as the DVLA care but not as far as my insurance company care, but that's a different rant entirely 53 in a 40, A417 between Swindon and Cheltenham, dual carriageway but had roadworks so was down to 40 but it was 10:45 on a Sunday night so there was no one working, completely straight bit of road so I could see there was absolutely no one else on it whatsoever so it really wasn't a danger to anyone but the camera still flashed me. If anyone's working in roadworks I'll slow down, I've seen the damage a stone kicked up from a tire can do to someone, but when there's no one there... Until that exact moment I would have defended speed cameras, got to think a real live, breathing cop would have told me to slow down but accepted it wasn't a danger to anyone so given me a good ticking off and let me on my way. Still, at least I always know when my sister's wedding anniversary is, it was on the way home from her wedding so her anniversary date is printed on my licence

Just had a call from the school, they've booked my mod 2 28th November. Something silly in the morning, I've got to be at the school for 8:00 to get to the test centre in time so maybe if it's in the middle of Farnborough during monday morning rush hour I won't be able to go very far I've heard a couple of people who did their tests in Farnborough say one or two of the examiners follow you in their car rather than on a bike so I won't be able to filter away from them or feel guilty for not filtering... shame eh? So if anyone is anywhere near Farnborough that morning.... run!

We're all doing a good job proving Bonnie's statement that there isn't a right answer, aren't we? If you can afford it then there is absolutely no reason not to go do your test and get a Ninja. If you'd be happy on a 250 then I'd be inclined to ask about doing an intensive week and doing your test on the 125 at the end of the week rather than going DAS specifically, presumably it'd be a lot cheaper to hire the 125 for the week from the school than it would a 500 (I'm doing hourly lessons with my school once a week and there's £10 difference between hiring the 125 and their 500). This would restrict you to 33bhp for two years but the Ninja makes about that anyway (I have a funny feeling it's slightly higher so make sure you check!) and after two years you're free to get what you like. Do a search for "get on" and get in touch with them, they'll put you in touch with a school local to you who do free have-a-go sessions so you can see how you feel on a bike and then you're instantly in touch with a school and an instructor and can ask as many questions as you like while you're there.

I'd run through a couple of mocks on site at my school where they had the diagram of how everything was laid out and had tried to copy it as much as possible given the space they have but it isn't exactly the same layout. I'd never been to the test centre itself before my exam, though.

Lovely damp, grey morning to wake up to on the day of my test. Got to the school and said to my instructor I hoped it would dry up a bit on the way down 'coz I didn't fancy the e-stop and the swerve in the damp conditions and he said that it really wouldn't be a problem, the tarmac at Farnborough is absolutely amazing. Parked up in the bays right outside the test area and backed in so I could ride it out straight forward. Instructor says that next time I touch the bike my test's live, even though I'm not in the test area I am on the public road so checks and all before I even move out the parking space to go into the test! Instructor walked up to the fence and pointed out where everything was and what order. Was nice to have a chance to visualise it before I did the test. Make sure to go to the loo! I wandered in to the waiting room intending to leave my helmet with my instructor and go but the examiner's there and accosts me as soon as I walk in. Check the paperwork, sign the form, away we go. The walk back to my bike felt very very long! Lid on, gloves on, shoulder check, on the bike, shoulder check, ride out the parking space into the test area. Examiner's a nice guy, talks me through it far less formally than the mocks I'd done at my school. Puts me at ease. Ride into the box. At Farnborough they're immediately on your right when you go in so it's a nice chance to ride in a large, lazy arc to get the feel of the bike and the surface which is, indeed, amazing! Into the first box. Shoulder check, neutral, bike off, stand down, shoulder check, get off. The push backwards was fine. Shoulder check, stand up, shoulder check, push. I'd been taught right hand on the front corner of the pillion seat and to keep the bike upright as much as possible so you're not wasting half your energy keeping the bike up. Shoulder check, stand down, shoulder check, step away. Shoulder check, back on the bike, start her up. Talked through the slalom and figure 8 and told away you go. Put it in first, bike switches off.... Stand up, start bike, breathe (had forgotten that bit while trying to work out why bike stopped!) Take your time, visualise what you're going to do, look through the route you're going to take, breathe, shoulder check, go. When he puts his hand up and calls you to stop the figure 8's ride to him, if he has to walk over to you then he might look less kindly on any borderlines. Pull up, shoulder check, neutral. Slow ride to the blue box (same one used for the controlled stop). It's at an angle from where you are at the end of your figure 8's but leads straight into the u-turn so ride the slow ride in a slight arc so you're straight on to the box when you stop. The line is "as if in slow moving traffic". Didn't have to ride behind him at walking pace, he followed me. Presumably to see if you're sitting riding the brake while you do it. Again, take your time, visualise what you're going to do. Get your point of reference that you're going to focus on for this before you set off. First gear, shoulder check, go.... stop, shoulder check, neutral. u-turn. Loads of room to do this, there really is, but he specifically reminded me here "to act as if I was still on the public road" so the white lines are kerbs, don't go over them! Do a shoulder check before you start to turn (I'm guilty of turning as I'm checking). Take your time, visualise what you're going to do. First gear, shoulder check, go, shoulder check, turn. Focus back up the "road" and when you've turned don't stop immediately, carry on riding up the line to the end, if you try and stop too quick you might not be in line, you won't be as in control of the bike during the turn itself. Stop, shoulder check, neutral. Controlled stop: Up to the far corner, round the bend, through the speed trap, stop in the blue box. No set speed but aim for somewhere between 20 and 30 (any slower than that and you'll really struggle to make it as far as the blue box!) Take your time, visualise what you're going to do, where you're going to go. Shoulder check, go. Take your time going up to the bend, don't blast up and have to brake for the corner. Get it in second before the bend and relax. Round the bend and come back down. I aimed to get myself to 50k/32mph to see how hard I'd have to push to do it for the measured tests, get a feel for how much room you've got coming off the bend. Keep the throttle open 'til you're through the speed trap and then close the throttle and ease yourself into the box. Stop, shoulder check, neutral. He told me to "take as much room as I needed" to turn round and get back to him. You've done your u-turn, you don't have to panic about not crossing the lines so take a bit more room and ride round gently. e-stop: round the same bend, through the same cones, 50kph/32mph through the speed trap, somewhere between the speed trap and the next set of cones he puts his hand up and stop. Keep the throttle open 'til you're through the speed trap, that's where your speed is measured so don't do the hard work getting yourself to 50 and then let off so you're only doing 47 by the time you get to the gate! Stop safely. You don't have to stop before a particular point, just safely, quickly and in control. Don't yank the brakes. Keep applying pressure and pull it further and further in steadily, let the weight of the bike settle rather than pull the rear wheel off the ground and lock it up. Swerve: For this on mine he picked up the front two cones of the blue controlled stop box so I had a pair of cones across like a gate like the ones I'd have to ride through. Round the same bend, through the speed trap at 50k/32mph, through the next pair of cones over, and back to stop with the bike between the blue cones. I made a point of asking him here "any part of the bike between the cones or front wheel specifically?" and got clarification. I'd been warned that different examiners expected different things of where to stop here so make sure to ask exactly what that particular examiner wants. I don't see what all the fuss is about this test, there's plenty of room and as long as you don't grab a handful of brakes while leaning going round the gate there's more than enough time to stand it up and brake by the box. On your way out of the test area still shoulder checks before you move off and ride into the parking bays forward, your test is still live so ride in, don't muck about trying to back in here. Clean sheet, no problems. Not even leaving the stand down and having the bike switch off on me was a fault. Keep calm, take your time. You've got 15 minutes and you'll struggle to fill it so relax, breathe, take your time, look through where you're about to ride. Good luck. edit: Wow, that was longer than I expected. Shall I shorten this up a bit?