Learner to ride

[Akay17]

Long story short.. I have grew up in a family of bikers, although my mum and dad seperated when I was young they both had bikes and enjoyed the culture, so we attended many family friendly rallies etc. Although I enjoyed bikes I never should interest in riding myself, however my brother always had off rode bikes and with only 18 months between us I would sometimes have a shot of his. Unfortunately at a young age I had a minor accident on it, which instilled a fear of bikes in me, mainly in my own ability to ride one alone. I built up courage after few years to go on the back of my dads or brothers etc but that’s as far as I could go. I always said I would get over it one day and learn to ride myself, and get my bike licence, unfortunately finances has put that on a back seat just now. My problem is my son, now 4 years old, has shown a love for bikes and enjoys them just as much as my family does. Due to his age we agreed to get him started last year with an electric quad, this allowed us to teach him the basics, how to be safe etc and listening to us when out. I had a quick shot of it and didn’t realise just how fast it went, scared crap out me, especially as I watched him go up and down huge hills on it. We’ve now upgraded him to a small 50cc petrol quad, to allow him to get used to the changes from electric. He’s really good on it and I know he will soon progress to much more powerful ones and then onto motorbikes when he build up more strength. I’ve learnt to put my own fears aside to let him ride it, however I would love to be able to join him as he rides, this would allow us to do so much more together. Basically I’m looking for any advise on overcoming my own fears to get back out and where I’m best to get started. 

[onesea]

Some suggestions other might come up with better:

Find some where you can do taster sessions, at various schools these are often free.   Firstly to find an instructor you like,  secondly to gain confidence in machine control off road.
If fear is traffic, consider doing a advanced driving course, it’s not the same but knowledge and experience is power when dealing with fear.

Do an off road biking starter day, again it’s off road and increases skills.
Can you ride a pushbike are you confident on one?  Again time relaxing and getting used to being. On 2 wheels.

My mother would of said, mind over matter and you just have to get on with it.  
 

Do you not like being embarrassed in front of crowds?

Put yourself in a situation where the fear of not succeeding would be bigger then the fear of riding?

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

I would add that in this situation what you need is a good mentor. If you are nervous about bikes then having someone who has the patience and insight to spot where your anxiety is rooted and is able to guide you through that is probably much better than trying to do it alone. 

 

Just bear in mind that someone who is a good and confident rider will not necessarily be a good mentor. Being a mentor is a skill all of its own.

[onesea]

2 hours ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

I would add that in this situation what you need is a good mentor. If you are nervous about bikes then having someone who has the patience and insight to spot where your anxiety is rooted and is able to guide you through that is probably much better than trying to do it alone. 

 

Just bear in mind that someone who is a good and confident rider will not necessarily be a good mentor. Being a mentor is a skill all of its own.

Agree there however I think adding family might not be the best mentor.

 

I have sailed and taught sailing on and off all my life however I try not to teach my misses. I am her biggest handy cap for learning she always ends up feeling she should know that.

 

She would do better with a beginner crew to learn together,  allot of my friends from bike are from when I started and they where learning also we learned together…

[manxie49]

I heard an instructor say once that fear is a human disease that kills hopes and dreams ..... And it's very true.  Fear is also very individualistic,  and therefore, the way one person gains control over it may not be right for another.  IMHO the advice given above gives some really good starting points.  I used to be really nervous about riding off road, so much so that I'd be a hazard to myself and others.  What I did was enrol on an off road riding course in North Wales,  learnt the skills with a group of other people the same as me.  The main thing about the training was, although I was nervous, it was fun,  I don't think I'd laughed so much in a long time.  I did another course some months after that and eventually,  went from a nervous off roader, to someone who took up green laning on my own enduro bike, and loved it.  Off road riding is a great way to build confidence and I think goes some way to making you a better road rider.  You need to try and find a way to over come your fears in a way that's fun,  if you do a course now that ends up scaring the crap out of you then that'll just compound your problems.  The first step though is to try and identify exactly what it is that you're scared off and why?  You can then start to move forward.  Good luck 

[Akay17]

Thank you so much for your responses. I completely agree avoiding family to help learn, I had many bad experiences with them trying to help me learn to drive a car. I will look into beginner groups in my area and take it from there. The fall I had was very minor, the bike fell on me as I turned, no injuries however it instilled the fear of being unable to control the bike while moving. 

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

6 hours ago, Akay17 said:

Thank you so much for your responses. I completely agree avoiding family to help learn, I had many bad experiences with them trying to help me learn to drive a car. I will look into beginner groups in my area and take it from there. The fall I had was very minor, the bike fell on me as I turned, no injuries however it instilled the fear of being unable to control the bike while moving. 

You're not the only one. Someone I know had a go on a small bike but just didn't understand that you can't turn a bike just by turning the handlebars. They fell off of course and ever since have had a total aversion to anything on two wheels.

 

Get past that experience and you'll discover a great place to be.

[onesea]

My thoughts finding an instructor you like and trust is probably the keything.

Expect to take 2 days plus for CBT, just to give you confidence 

 

Buy a second hand 125cc, keep in mind we all drop our first (or second) bike somehow.

 

All my bikes have been on there side at some point.

 

Find some other 125 riders and do not commit to ride further than you want.