CBT on an automatic?

[CJFargo]

So I'm very new to biking. It's something I only began to think about recently. Call it a midlife crisis thing. I've had a couple of lessons before attempting my CBT and I've been told that I appear too nervous or anxious and the lesson has been stopped. Sure, I'm always a little nervous doing something new (and potentially dangerous). Aren't most people? But am I really so anxious that I can't ride at all? On another lesson, I have managed to perform circles and figure-eights on a manual so maybe I just have good days and bad days. I mean, I've been driving a car for 20 years and never had a problem like this. Anyway, I need to decide what my next move is going to be and would appreciate some thoughts from you good people:

 

Option 1: find a way to overcome my anxiety, whether by medication or meditation, or just hope that I have a good day and do my CBT on a geared bike

 

Option 2: pass my CBT on an automatic then, once I don't have that to worry about, take extra lessons to ride a geared bike before I go out and buy one

 

Option 3: pass my CBT on an automatic and then stick to automatics. I'll admit that I had only thought of automatics in terms of scooters but, after doing a little research, there are some decent automatic bikes out there and I can see the advantages.

 

Option 4: give up entirely. I really don't want to do this.

 

Thanking you in advance.

[bonio]

Option 5: Find yourself a different school, where the instructor is a bit more chilled?

I don't know what's going wrong in your lessons, but a good instructor should be able to instil a bit confidence in a nervous learner. As you say, most of us are nervous learning something new and potentially dangerous. I know I was. 

I had to change instructor simply because of logistics. I liked both, but the second one was a lot easier to learn from because he was a lot more relaxed by nature. Why not try to visit (a couple of different schools, explain your situation and see whether you feel they might give you a better experience?

 

And then, if this doesn't work out, I'd say go for option 2: it gives you an easier learning curve, while leaving all your options open for the time being.

[Fiddlesticks]

Medication probably not the best plan, although a few whiskeys have been known to calm the nerves and make you feel as if you can do anything.

 

Seriously, though, get enough time on the bike with a good instructor, and it'll very quickly become second nature. There's nothing insurmountable about learning to ride (so no need to consider Option 4), it's just that there's a bit of a learning curve - and everybody learns at their own pace.

 

If you were slightly nervous, I'd be just getting you to do simple manoeuvres - starting, slowish riding in a straight line, stopping under control, simple circuits in the car park.  (I once made my instructor sit through me doing an hour of U-Turns as I wanted to get them right). Point being - the repetition will build familiarity with the machine, and therefore confidence. Sometimes, I think, time pressures and the fact that there's a whole bunch of people to get through the sausage machine as quickly as possible means that some don't get the help they need (and have paid for).

 

What's a 1:1 session cost for a couple of hours? That's probably all that's needed to get things back on track.

 

 

[Hairsy]

I agree that you need to find a different instructor. That doesn’t make the current one bad but we click well with some people and less so with others.

 

Can I ask - what are you nervous of? There are many different things it could be.

[ChrisBiggsUK]

When I did my CBT, it took me a few goes before I finally passed it.  I had never ridden or indeed driven before, so being in charge of a motor vehicle, and being on the road, it was all completely new to me.  After coming off on a roundabout on my first attempt, the instructor called it a day for me and I ended up going back for some additional one on one training.  More time on the bike.  More getting used to something new.  More building confidence in myself.  He himself said after my initial failure that in his view, all I needed was more time on the bike.  He was right.   He saw my weaknesses and my strengths, saw where I was doing well and where I wasn't, and worked with me to get me not only over the line, as it were, but to give me that confidence to be able to take on the world.  You don't just need a good instructor, you need an instructor who is good for you.  If things simply aren't clicking with your current one, then find a different one.

As for geared or automatics, I would say stick it out and go geared.  One of my big sticking points right at the start was gears.  I knew, even before I started, that I would have difficulty with them, and I did.  I was *this* close to simply tossing the towel in over my frustration with gears, but I persisted.  Time, practice, and a bit of tinkering with my bike to move the gear shifter to a more comfortable position for me has worked wonders.  Everything is second nature to me now, and it has only been a little over six months.  And in that time, I've done close to 5,000 miles on the road in all weathers and at all times of the day and night and have loved every minute!

I am in no doubt that if I had a different instructor, I wouldn't be riding or, that I would but would be riding a scooter (no shade to scooter riders, to each their own, but they aren't for me or my portly, middle aged frame) which just isn't for me.

Keep at it, look for a different instructor who can work with you and wants you to succeed, and don't be afraid to take things slowly and at your own pace.  You've got this!