Of course the minute I announced that I really wanted a motorbike, but not just that, a Harley Davidson touring / cruiser motorbike, I created a new and untapped market in presents that people could buy me for my birthday!
My sister (who lives in the US) bought me some ‘anti-monkey butt’ powder and a matching T-shirt. It is a miracle powder that athletes and biker rub, well, err,,,, one their butts and other sweaty part to stop rashes from long hours in the saddle. No doubt it will come in very handy for my planned South West US biking trip in autumn 2012 with my ‘bestest buddy in the whole world’!
MY kids both chipped in and raided the local Harley Davidson store in Cheltenham and bought me Harley Davidson T-shirts and a sweatshirt. In the usual large and garish HD logos and imaginative (and usually physically impossible) accompanying human artwork and straplines!
Now all of this clothing will definitely NOT be worn to the office on dress down day (or any other day come to that). But it will come in handy for wearing on hot days while biking and under my armoured leather biking jacket (yet to be bought) as a sweat layer. And I really don’t mind wearing it in a biking environment, although it would look more appropriate on a grizzled 35-ish something year old unshaven ‘biker to the bone’ type than my own somewhat older and more genteel ‘gentleman motorcyclist’ persona – but hey, I have never been particularly concerned with what others think – I like it and I think it’s funny!
I also got a rather nice large porcelain mug decorated with bikes that exactly matches the mug I got last year decorated with warplanes.
I am still working up to actually buying a Harley and will go out on the serious trial ride / negotiate a deal process from the end of November onwards (once my toe has fully healed). So I feel a bit of a fraud at the moment with all this motorbike gear and paraphernalia but no bike in the driveway.
So you could say, instead of:
‘Been there got the T-shirt’
It really should be:
‘Got the T-shirts, better get the bike now!’
Retail therapy and mid-life crisis – gotta love em!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
These are my front runners at the moment
Well, these are my two front runners. I will decide by which I can get the best deal / price on, so either a new HD Dyna Switchback, with a king and queen saddle and sissy bar, or a secondhand HD Softail Heritage Classic, ideally about one or two years old max with a couple of thousand miles on it.
Harley Davidson Switchback - latest engine, but would need to change the stock saddle and add a sissy bar
Harley Davidson Softail Heritage Classic - This is exactly what I want, with everything 'as is' - king and queen saddle, sissy bar, leather saddle bags, I just can't afford a new one.
Harley Davidson Switchback - latest engine, but would need to change the stock saddle and add a sissy bar
Harley Davidson Softail Heritage Classic - This is exactly what I want, with everything 'as is' - king and queen saddle, sissy bar, leather saddle bags, I just can't afford a new one.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Which Harley?
So now I have a feel for Harleys, I have started doing the sums and considering the option.
I am now certain that I want a ‘touring capable’ Harley and that no other make will do. I have narrowed my choices down to a bike from either the Dyna range or the Softail range. I would prefer the Softail, but this is a more expensive range.
I started out looking at £10,000 maximum and for sure, I could get a reasonable secondhand bike that is a couple of years old with anywhere from a few thousand to twenty thousand miles on it. Harleys hold their value amazingly well, certainly compared to car and even to other makes of motorbike.
One is then drawn into the ‘for a few hundred more I could get…..’ inflationary cycle. Now before I know it, I am starting to think about £15,000 as my absolute ceiling with a preferred price of £12,000 - £13,000.
This means that I could probably afford a new Dyna Switchback, with a decent two-up saddle and sissy bar. This has the attraction of being new and has the new, bigger engine and better cooling etc.
Or, I could get a perfectly good and even better looking Softail Classic for about the same price or maybe a bit less, with all the goodies. The drop-dead gorgeous classic looks, windshield, King and Queen seat with sissy bar, leather saddle bags etc. OK, a year or two old and a few thousand on the clock, but so what.
Well at least my thinking has now narrowed my choices down. I think my next step is maybe to go to the Harley dealership again in, say late-November and take trial rides on each bike and see how each feels. If they are both good, then I will speak to the dealership and tell them what I am thinking and ask them for the best deal on both types of bikes, given that I can buy in a matter of days / weeks in what is after all the ‘off-season’ for bike sales, when traditionally, sellers are keen to cut a deal.
Whichever bike I judge the deal to be best on will probably be the one that I buy. If they are not in the mood to drop prices, I will try another dealer. If no dealer is in the mood to drop prices and offer me a premium deal on an off-season sale, then I may as well wait it out until next spring and join the crowd of spring buyers, but I suspect that I should be able to cut a decent deal for a December or January sale.
That of course leaves me with the problem of where and how to store the bike over the winter. I already have some ideas and options, but I will also perhaps discuss this with the dealer, perhaps I could buy it and store it on their premises over the winter.
That’s my thinking. I feel happier now that I have narrowed it down to two or three Harley models.
While I already have a full set of bike clothing, it is modestly priced stuff and not really suitable for hot summer biking. It will do for now and for the spring, but by next summer, I will need better quality stuff and intercoms etc.
So I have already made a trip to both Harley and Hein Gericke. There is a huge temptation to buy Harley branded stuff, but the only thing I may look at would be a Leather Jacket. Having said that, I saw an excellent leather jacket at Hein Gericke which was treated with a UV reflective finish that cannot be seen, it looks in all respects like a normal leather jacket. Good provision for body armour and excellent ventilation, it is rated as being excellent for summer touring and for winter.
I have also pretty much decided on a convertible full-face / open-face helmet from Nolan with a build-in eye shade and optional hood. I will have this fitted with a double set of Bluetooth intercom / bike-to-bike kit. I will also go for Kevlar jeans / cargo pants for ‘hot day’ biking and keep my cheap Shelltex padded trousers for rain or cold weather. I do need a decent pair of glove, but I am happy with my cheap Shelltex boots.
The of course there is the preparation and expense of owning, parking and storing the bike. As I don’t have a garage I am already working on plan A, B and C, which I may have to kick into high gear if I buy a bike in the off-season. My Plan A is to take part of a wall down so I can get access to my small ‘kitchen garden’ from the driveway, then to build a ‘bike tent’ in there. There are a few types available to choose from. For winter storage, I would additionally carry out the various ‘winter storage’ tasks I have seen recommended, AND put the bike inside a large bike ‘vac-bag’ with water absorption crystals inside – real belt and braces stuff. So additional expenses there for a bike tent, a bike stand, wall removal etc.
I will have to afford insurance of course which I expect to be a bit steep given I am a novice biker with a big and expensive bike and with probably a high excess.
It is all go and it is all money, but it will certainly keep me busy and I do love a project, but wouldn’t life be soooooo much easier with a dry garage (that is my plan C)!
I wonder if anyone actually stores their bike in their house over winter (I’ll bet a few people do you know)? I am not seriously thinking about it myself, but with a bike as gorgeous as the Harley, you could pass it off as modern art sculpture!!
I am now certain that I want a ‘touring capable’ Harley and that no other make will do. I have narrowed my choices down to a bike from either the Dyna range or the Softail range. I would prefer the Softail, but this is a more expensive range.
I started out looking at £10,000 maximum and for sure, I could get a reasonable secondhand bike that is a couple of years old with anywhere from a few thousand to twenty thousand miles on it. Harleys hold their value amazingly well, certainly compared to car and even to other makes of motorbike.
One is then drawn into the ‘for a few hundred more I could get…..’ inflationary cycle. Now before I know it, I am starting to think about £15,000 as my absolute ceiling with a preferred price of £12,000 - £13,000.
This means that I could probably afford a new Dyna Switchback, with a decent two-up saddle and sissy bar. This has the attraction of being new and has the new, bigger engine and better cooling etc.
Or, I could get a perfectly good and even better looking Softail Classic for about the same price or maybe a bit less, with all the goodies. The drop-dead gorgeous classic looks, windshield, King and Queen seat with sissy bar, leather saddle bags etc. OK, a year or two old and a few thousand on the clock, but so what.
Well at least my thinking has now narrowed my choices down. I think my next step is maybe to go to the Harley dealership again in, say late-November and take trial rides on each bike and see how each feels. If they are both good, then I will speak to the dealership and tell them what I am thinking and ask them for the best deal on both types of bikes, given that I can buy in a matter of days / weeks in what is after all the ‘off-season’ for bike sales, when traditionally, sellers are keen to cut a deal.
Whichever bike I judge the deal to be best on will probably be the one that I buy. If they are not in the mood to drop prices, I will try another dealer. If no dealer is in the mood to drop prices and offer me a premium deal on an off-season sale, then I may as well wait it out until next spring and join the crowd of spring buyers, but I suspect that I should be able to cut a decent deal for a December or January sale.
That of course leaves me with the problem of where and how to store the bike over the winter. I already have some ideas and options, but I will also perhaps discuss this with the dealer, perhaps I could buy it and store it on their premises over the winter.
That’s my thinking. I feel happier now that I have narrowed it down to two or three Harley models.
While I already have a full set of bike clothing, it is modestly priced stuff and not really suitable for hot summer biking. It will do for now and for the spring, but by next summer, I will need better quality stuff and intercoms etc.
So I have already made a trip to both Harley and Hein Gericke. There is a huge temptation to buy Harley branded stuff, but the only thing I may look at would be a Leather Jacket. Having said that, I saw an excellent leather jacket at Hein Gericke which was treated with a UV reflective finish that cannot be seen, it looks in all respects like a normal leather jacket. Good provision for body armour and excellent ventilation, it is rated as being excellent for summer touring and for winter.
I have also pretty much decided on a convertible full-face / open-face helmet from Nolan with a build-in eye shade and optional hood. I will have this fitted with a double set of Bluetooth intercom / bike-to-bike kit. I will also go for Kevlar jeans / cargo pants for ‘hot day’ biking and keep my cheap Shelltex padded trousers for rain or cold weather. I do need a decent pair of glove, but I am happy with my cheap Shelltex boots.
The of course there is the preparation and expense of owning, parking and storing the bike. As I don’t have a garage I am already working on plan A, B and C, which I may have to kick into high gear if I buy a bike in the off-season. My Plan A is to take part of a wall down so I can get access to my small ‘kitchen garden’ from the driveway, then to build a ‘bike tent’ in there. There are a few types available to choose from. For winter storage, I would additionally carry out the various ‘winter storage’ tasks I have seen recommended, AND put the bike inside a large bike ‘vac-bag’ with water absorption crystals inside – real belt and braces stuff. So additional expenses there for a bike tent, a bike stand, wall removal etc.
I will have to afford insurance of course which I expect to be a bit steep given I am a novice biker with a big and expensive bike and with probably a high excess.
It is all go and it is all money, but it will certainly keep me busy and I do love a project, but wouldn’t life be soooooo much easier with a dry garage (that is my plan C)!
I wonder if anyone actually stores their bike in their house over winter (I’ll bet a few people do you know)? I am not seriously thinking about it myself, but with a bike as gorgeous as the Harley, you could pass it off as modern art sculpture!!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
What type of biking and what bike?
So having now passed my test, what now? Well I had originally envisaged (and promised the wife) that I would not be looking to buy a bike until next spring at the earliest and perhaps not for a year or two and that I would just get the test out of the way first.
Life has a habit of not working out the way you planned though! I am in need of a replacement car, my current car is very modest (a ten year old Chrysler Neon) and is high mileage at 120,000 miles. Having said that it is running well and I am inclined to ‘run it into the ground’ for say another two or three years yet. I could of course sell my share in the plane, but that is a step too far at the moment. So if I postpone the car, I could afford to buy a bike for around £10,000 to £13,000 max.
I did really enjoy riding while I was training for my test and now really want to get riding, so a bike it is for next spring at the latest.
But what sort of bike and what sort of riding do I plan to do? That isn’t too tough a question to answer. I have no aspirations to tear around on racing bikes, the sort of biking I had in mind was cruising / touring, taking it easy, with a ‘sit up and beg’ seating style (no hunching over or legs bent back for me thanks).
There are of course many brands that make touring bikes, with Honda and BMW springing to mind. But the marquee that I have always been drawn to is the iconic Harley Davidson. So I have decided that for once I will not do the ‘smart’ thing with my head, but that I will go with my heart on this one and look at a Harley first.
So I got in touch with my ex-instructor who had offered to help and arranged to meet him at the Harley Davidson showroom in Cheltenham in early October. He is a touring bike rider and has ridden Harleys, so knows a lot about them. He said he would also have a chat with the guys at the showroom and allay any concerns they might have at a novice rider who has just passed his test taking a monster Harley out for a test ride!
I met up with Keith and we had a brief chat. I had been doing a lot of reading up on the various models and before I had even ridden one, had decided that probably the broad ‘Dyna Glide’ range was the one for me. I decided against the smaller Sportsters as they wouldn’t cut it as two-up tourers (which Keith quickly agreed with) and I had at this stage precluded the top of the range Electra Glide partly as I think it is probably unnecessarily big for myself and the wife and on price grounds. But there is a bewildering array of models in the middle. Street Bob, Fat Bob, Dyna Glide, Softail, Road King – the list goes on.
I explained to Keith and the showroom guy what I had in mind. That is a decent two-up touring bike with a proper ‘King and Queen’ separate saddle arrangement, complete with sissy bar (back rest), front screen and panniers / saddle bags. Given my inexperience, we opted to go for a test ride first on a basic Road King – no frills, just as it comes without the extras, to see what that felt like, then I could compare the handling with a similar bike with all the goodies.
The Road King has a huge 1584cc air-cooled V-twin engine and looked enormous. I tried it on for size with Keith holding it securely. It was comfy and I guess the only way to get a feel for it was to go for a ride! I spoke to the Harley guy and he explained the conditions of the road test and that I was insured on their insurance, but with a £1000 excess which I would have to pay in the event of any damage – best not drop the bike then!
He showed me the controls and explained how to start the bike and how the proximity dongle worked (all clever stuff, I was impressed). I was happy, so off I went to change into my riding gear. Back on the bike and I started her up. What a fantastic noise! That is the thing I love about Harleys is the iconic burble of the monster air-cooled V-twin! I got the hang of the clutch biting point with a few short hops and confirmed to Keith that I was ready as he would be driving in front of me in radio contact like we did when I was learning.
With that off he went and I followed. I swear I saw a couple of the Harley guys in my mirrors watching my progress nervously, but hey, I knew I was going to be fine! So far so good. We would drive down Hesters Way to GCHQ. I was handling it gingerly, but felt comfortable. I was already grinning hugely under my full face helmet – good job I had a helmet like that as other road users would have thought I was simple or something riding along with a huge grin on my face!
For a bike this size it handled easily and was no problem at slow speed. I think my Canadian buddy was right, the secret of the bigger bikes is that they are easier! It felt a bit different on the corners as I got a feel for it. We rode along the A40 dual carriageway across the motorway and turned into Churchdown by the airfield. I managed to get up to a good speed and top gear. The gear change was quite a ‘thunk’ every time, I am certain it wasn’t me, it was a very big ‘clunk’ and felt like a huge piece of machinery. It was great giving it a twist of throttle as the bike surged forward with power to spare. The brakes felt heavy but adequate.
In no time, we were coming back in to the showroom. I coasted her in and parked up in the nearest space without trying any fancy slow speed stuff, just ride straight in and stop!
The bike felt great and I enjoyed the ride hugely. But I did find the stock saddle seemed to press on the small of my back and if I started to feel it after a 25 minute ride, I am sure it would drive me mad touring.
Well that was fantastic. I had a further chat and a look at the various bikes to point out the sort of bike I would be looking at if I were going to buy. We agreed that I could try a second ride on a ‘fully loaded’ Dyna Glide tourer. This was a bike that had everything I was looking for, except the price (about £2000 too much). But the saddle was the separate ‘King and Queen’ that I was looking for.
Keith was also going out on a trial ride on another Harley, so he couldn’t keep in touch on the radio as this was hard-wired to his existing bike. I agreed to follow him as normal.
Away we went again. Much the same route. This bike felt even bigger, but again, the size just seemed to melt away once you got going. The screen made a big difference. We goosed the bikes a bit on the A40 dual carriageway and I took the bike up to 80mph. The screen made it feel solid as a rock and more comfortable at speed than without. I did however notice windblast off the top of the screen against my helmet. When I crouched down and lowered my head, it disappeared, then when I sat up again, it came back. It wasn’t anywhere near as bad at 60mph and it occurred to me that this was a cruiser, not a racer and that 60-65mph was probably the right speed for the biking I wanted to do. Same comments regarding the gear change and brakes.
We finished the ride all too soon. I found the saddle on the second bike much better and really enjoyed my ride. I mentioned the gear change to Keith and he said that was normal on new or low mileage Harleys and that it softened over time.
Well this is the bike for me. The question is the money and whether to buy new or secondhand. Harleys seem to hold their value amazingly well and secondhand prices are not much off the price new. Also Keith mentioned the obvious to me, that dealers were going to be VERY keen to sell bikes and deal on price between now and March next year as this is the annual ‘slow season’ on bike sales, so I shouldn’t worry about putting in a cheeky offer and shopping around various dealers.
So I left it there with the dealership for now and that I wanted to bring the wife back and try her for size and comfort on the saddle. But I now think that if I can negotiate a good deal, say in November to January, I could buy it then, or if not, I would wait for spring as planned.
The problem is that I will have to get a move on and take my ‘kitchen garden’ wall down, as that is where I plan to park the bike under a bike tent if I do get one. Life would be so much easier if I had my own garage, but I don’t.
Life has a habit of not working out the way you planned though! I am in need of a replacement car, my current car is very modest (a ten year old Chrysler Neon) and is high mileage at 120,000 miles. Having said that it is running well and I am inclined to ‘run it into the ground’ for say another two or three years yet. I could of course sell my share in the plane, but that is a step too far at the moment. So if I postpone the car, I could afford to buy a bike for around £10,000 to £13,000 max.
I did really enjoy riding while I was training for my test and now really want to get riding, so a bike it is for next spring at the latest.
But what sort of bike and what sort of riding do I plan to do? That isn’t too tough a question to answer. I have no aspirations to tear around on racing bikes, the sort of biking I had in mind was cruising / touring, taking it easy, with a ‘sit up and beg’ seating style (no hunching over or legs bent back for me thanks).
There are of course many brands that make touring bikes, with Honda and BMW springing to mind. But the marquee that I have always been drawn to is the iconic Harley Davidson. So I have decided that for once I will not do the ‘smart’ thing with my head, but that I will go with my heart on this one and look at a Harley first.
So I got in touch with my ex-instructor who had offered to help and arranged to meet him at the Harley Davidson showroom in Cheltenham in early October. He is a touring bike rider and has ridden Harleys, so knows a lot about them. He said he would also have a chat with the guys at the showroom and allay any concerns they might have at a novice rider who has just passed his test taking a monster Harley out for a test ride!
I met up with Keith and we had a brief chat. I had been doing a lot of reading up on the various models and before I had even ridden one, had decided that probably the broad ‘Dyna Glide’ range was the one for me. I decided against the smaller Sportsters as they wouldn’t cut it as two-up tourers (which Keith quickly agreed with) and I had at this stage precluded the top of the range Electra Glide partly as I think it is probably unnecessarily big for myself and the wife and on price grounds. But there is a bewildering array of models in the middle. Street Bob, Fat Bob, Dyna Glide, Softail, Road King – the list goes on.
I explained to Keith and the showroom guy what I had in mind. That is a decent two-up touring bike with a proper ‘King and Queen’ separate saddle arrangement, complete with sissy bar (back rest), front screen and panniers / saddle bags. Given my inexperience, we opted to go for a test ride first on a basic Road King – no frills, just as it comes without the extras, to see what that felt like, then I could compare the handling with a similar bike with all the goodies.
The Road King has a huge 1584cc air-cooled V-twin engine and looked enormous. I tried it on for size with Keith holding it securely. It was comfy and I guess the only way to get a feel for it was to go for a ride! I spoke to the Harley guy and he explained the conditions of the road test and that I was insured on their insurance, but with a £1000 excess which I would have to pay in the event of any damage – best not drop the bike then!
He showed me the controls and explained how to start the bike and how the proximity dongle worked (all clever stuff, I was impressed). I was happy, so off I went to change into my riding gear. Back on the bike and I started her up. What a fantastic noise! That is the thing I love about Harleys is the iconic burble of the monster air-cooled V-twin! I got the hang of the clutch biting point with a few short hops and confirmed to Keith that I was ready as he would be driving in front of me in radio contact like we did when I was learning.
With that off he went and I followed. I swear I saw a couple of the Harley guys in my mirrors watching my progress nervously, but hey, I knew I was going to be fine! So far so good. We would drive down Hesters Way to GCHQ. I was handling it gingerly, but felt comfortable. I was already grinning hugely under my full face helmet – good job I had a helmet like that as other road users would have thought I was simple or something riding along with a huge grin on my face!
For a bike this size it handled easily and was no problem at slow speed. I think my Canadian buddy was right, the secret of the bigger bikes is that they are easier! It felt a bit different on the corners as I got a feel for it. We rode along the A40 dual carriageway across the motorway and turned into Churchdown by the airfield. I managed to get up to a good speed and top gear. The gear change was quite a ‘thunk’ every time, I am certain it wasn’t me, it was a very big ‘clunk’ and felt like a huge piece of machinery. It was great giving it a twist of throttle as the bike surged forward with power to spare. The brakes felt heavy but adequate.
In no time, we were coming back in to the showroom. I coasted her in and parked up in the nearest space without trying any fancy slow speed stuff, just ride straight in and stop!
The bike felt great and I enjoyed the ride hugely. But I did find the stock saddle seemed to press on the small of my back and if I started to feel it after a 25 minute ride, I am sure it would drive me mad touring.
Well that was fantastic. I had a further chat and a look at the various bikes to point out the sort of bike I would be looking at if I were going to buy. We agreed that I could try a second ride on a ‘fully loaded’ Dyna Glide tourer. This was a bike that had everything I was looking for, except the price (about £2000 too much). But the saddle was the separate ‘King and Queen’ that I was looking for.
Keith was also going out on a trial ride on another Harley, so he couldn’t keep in touch on the radio as this was hard-wired to his existing bike. I agreed to follow him as normal.
Away we went again. Much the same route. This bike felt even bigger, but again, the size just seemed to melt away once you got going. The screen made a big difference. We goosed the bikes a bit on the A40 dual carriageway and I took the bike up to 80mph. The screen made it feel solid as a rock and more comfortable at speed than without. I did however notice windblast off the top of the screen against my helmet. When I crouched down and lowered my head, it disappeared, then when I sat up again, it came back. It wasn’t anywhere near as bad at 60mph and it occurred to me that this was a cruiser, not a racer and that 60-65mph was probably the right speed for the biking I wanted to do. Same comments regarding the gear change and brakes.
We finished the ride all too soon. I found the saddle on the second bike much better and really enjoyed my ride. I mentioned the gear change to Keith and he said that was normal on new or low mileage Harleys and that it softened over time.
Well this is the bike for me. The question is the money and whether to buy new or secondhand. Harleys seem to hold their value amazingly well and secondhand prices are not much off the price new. Also Keith mentioned the obvious to me, that dealers were going to be VERY keen to sell bikes and deal on price between now and March next year as this is the annual ‘slow season’ on bike sales, so I shouldn’t worry about putting in a cheeky offer and shopping around various dealers.
So I left it there with the dealership for now and that I wanted to bring the wife back and try her for size and comfort on the saddle. But I now think that if I can negotiate a good deal, say in November to January, I could buy it then, or if not, I would wait for spring as planned.
The problem is that I will have to get a move on and take my ‘kitchen garden’ wall down, as that is where I plan to park the bike under a bike tent if I do get one. Life would be so much easier if I had my own garage, but I don’t.
Monday, October 10, 2011
The final part of my bike test
The day of the final part of the test dawned on Tuesday 6th September. As forecast, the weather was awful! It had been forecast for a few days but this time the weather forecasters got it right. Early rain, but worst of all, howling winds. I do mean howling! They had put out a few ‘severe weather warnings’ due to the wind – oh great!
I wasn’t at all sure that they would run the tests in winds such as these. My test wasn’t until 15:00 that afternoon and I agreed to meet Keith at the usual place at 12:30, so he could get two early appointments done then pick me up for some last minute training and the afternoon test.
Well I met him there as he was saying goodbye to two ex-students who had literally both just passed their part 2 tests this morning. I congratulated them and yes, they were still running tests, albeit at the students own decision, they would not have charged for the test if you wanted to back out due to the winds.
I decided to go ahead and so Keith and I set off and headed to Gloucester to ride the likely test roads near the test centre. I did find the wide-open dual carriageway a challenge as I was getting buffeted and thrown around a bit at 50mph, but Keith urged me on saying that I really needed to get up to 60mph on this stretch otherwise I would get a ‘minor’ (minor fault that is – I think 15 or more minor faults means a fail and of course one major fault equals a fail etc.). Other than that and perhaps a heavy gust of wind catching me at slow speed, I thought I was OK.
I met the examiner and he seemed fine. He was very keen to put me at ease, while I was a bit nervous, I was determined to enjoy myself and treat this as just another excuse to go out for a ride. We did the casual sight test (which I passed of course), then he asked if I was happy in this wind and if at any time I was concerned, to simply signal and pull in at the side of the road.
He asked me some of the ‘motorbike maintenance’ questions, which I had already revised and answered easily.
I confirmed that I was fine and he fitted me with the one-way radio that he would give me instructions with. I was surprised when he then proceeded to climb into a car that he would follow me on and assess my riding.
I said to Keith beforehand that provided the first minute or two went well, I was quite confident of passing, but if I knew that I made a mistake in my first few minutes, I knew it would affect my concentration and up the pressure levels. So I had spent many evenings going through my every move for the first two minutes. I wheeled the bike off the stand, positioned it and started up. He gave me to instruction to move off and I carefully checked over both shoulders then pulled away to the first mini-roundabout. I gave the usual indication and the required rear mirror checks and lifesaver check, then turned. Then another turn at the next mini-roundabout to the traffic lights as I expected. We were now clear of the quiet ‘industrial estate’ roads that the test centre is located on and now into the main traffic around Quedgley in Gloucester, so far and I knew that I had got it right every step of the way.
Via the radio link he would tell me where to turn, it was a bit like a GPS. I was steered towards some residential backroads, where he was clearly looking at my speed (30mph max) and how I would handle all the parked cars and opposite direction traffic. Then he pulled me in behind a parked car and asked me to stop. Then the ‘pull out from behind a parked car’ manoeuvre. That went fine, then a bit more riding and he pulled me over again, this time on a pronounced hill. OK, here comes the hill stop and start. I held it nicely on the rear brake and pulled away with no drama at all. I was settling into this and really enjoying it now, but don’t get cocky – concentrate on the traffic and what the other idiots are doing, it’s them that will screw you up!
Halfway down a 40mph road in Gloucester and someone steps out into the road! I see him in plenty of time as he holds his hand up in a ‘stop’ signal. Well he isn’t a policeman, he looks like a construction worker. I stop anyway and shortly after see a cement truck start backing out onto the main road. I have no choice but to wait. This clears then I carry on. I then go onto the ‘self-drive’ part of the test, where he tells me to navigate myself and follow the signs to ‘x’. This I do without drama, then he takes over again and starts to tell me where to go.
I cannot say that I have noticed the wind at all, other than that it is still howling and the trees are bending impressively, I am just ‘in the zone’ and seem to be compensating when I need to without thinking about it – a good sign I guess.
The I come up to a roundabout with a traffic queue. I slow ride and inch forward with the rest of the traffic, taking care to leave a good distance. I am then faced with a ‘should I inch forward to close the gap or stay here until they move again’ decision. I decide to slow ride forward, but a bit too slow and wobble slightly before I brake and put my foot down and stop, no drama you understand, but not great. Forget about it and carry on.
Then after a while he directs me to turn left. I signal and 50m in front a large ‘sit-on’ lawnmower pulls out onto the road also intent on turning left at the same junction as me. I am not close enough to overtake so tuck in behind him as he reaches his full speed of 15mph! The catch is that we are now on a very narrow one way road that I know feed into the dual carriageway in about 200m, I am the traffic immediately behind him and a queue of cars is forming behind us both! The lawnmower guy pulls as far over to the left as he can obviously trying to give me room to pass. Well there is enough room for a motorbike, but not for a car. If this were me alone after my test on a motorbike, I would overtake, but the examiner following me in a car wouldn’t be able to. Now I know he said ‘ride the bike as if I wasn’t there and do not take me into account at all, other than as though I was a normal following car’, but would he agree that the gap was wide enough? They way I figured it was that if he did think it was wide enough and I sat behind the obstruction, he might give me a minor fault for hesitation. But if he thought that it wasn’t wide enough and I drove through, he might give me a major fault for dangerous driving and fail me. Well, I would sooner have a minor than a major, so I sat there until we came to the junction and I could pass him safely.
The after a couple more directed turns we were back at the test centre and he tells me to park up and shut down.
It isn’t over yet. I take my helmet off and he asks me some verbal test questions, this time on riding with pillion passengers. I had revised all of the question bank he could ask from and knew all the answers by heart, together with the rationale behind them. I easily answered the questions and he said I had passed and asked me into the test centre. I could see Keith looking at me through the window of the test centre and I gave him a smile and a wink as we headed in. Keith joined us for the debrief. The examiner said that I had collected two minor faults only (maximum of fifteen minors before you fail), one for the wobble at the roundabout (yeah, I expected that) and the other for not cancelling my indicator soon enough after turning in behind the lawnmower, but that he did understand why I didn’t do it immediately. I don’t remember any hesitation, but I know I was distracted by that bloody lawnmower!
I suspect he has a sense of humour, so I have a little joke with the examiner and congratulate him for being able to organise both a cement truck and the lawnmower to pull out in front of me on my test, I said I thought the lawnmower was a particularly inspired choice of ‘what are you going to do now’ situations and must have involved split second timing and co-ordination. He laughs and signs the pass certificate. He collects all my bits of paper and says he will send them all off the DVLC and that my upgraded licence should follow in a week or ten days.
So that’s it. Motorbike test done! Now I can ride the biggest and nastiest machine on two wheels. I felt pretty pleased with myself. Keith and I mounted up and rode back to Cheltenham. I took it easy and enjoyed the now silent ride, without Keith giving me instructions, but also keen to carry on with the same observations and standard of riding that got me through the test.
We parked up and I thanked Keith and gave him a reasonable ‘tip’ on top of the days normal charges.
Well, now I need to figure out where I go from here and when I buy something and what it might be. My prejudice is to buy a Harley Davidson the size of a small planet so I can go touring with the wife (always supposing that she will be fine on a bike, well she has said she used to enjoy going on the back of a bike).
I wasn’t at all sure that they would run the tests in winds such as these. My test wasn’t until 15:00 that afternoon and I agreed to meet Keith at the usual place at 12:30, so he could get two early appointments done then pick me up for some last minute training and the afternoon test.
Well I met him there as he was saying goodbye to two ex-students who had literally both just passed their part 2 tests this morning. I congratulated them and yes, they were still running tests, albeit at the students own decision, they would not have charged for the test if you wanted to back out due to the winds.
I decided to go ahead and so Keith and I set off and headed to Gloucester to ride the likely test roads near the test centre. I did find the wide-open dual carriageway a challenge as I was getting buffeted and thrown around a bit at 50mph, but Keith urged me on saying that I really needed to get up to 60mph on this stretch otherwise I would get a ‘minor’ (minor fault that is – I think 15 or more minor faults means a fail and of course one major fault equals a fail etc.). Other than that and perhaps a heavy gust of wind catching me at slow speed, I thought I was OK.
I met the examiner and he seemed fine. He was very keen to put me at ease, while I was a bit nervous, I was determined to enjoy myself and treat this as just another excuse to go out for a ride. We did the casual sight test (which I passed of course), then he asked if I was happy in this wind and if at any time I was concerned, to simply signal and pull in at the side of the road.
He asked me some of the ‘motorbike maintenance’ questions, which I had already revised and answered easily.
I confirmed that I was fine and he fitted me with the one-way radio that he would give me instructions with. I was surprised when he then proceeded to climb into a car that he would follow me on and assess my riding.
I said to Keith beforehand that provided the first minute or two went well, I was quite confident of passing, but if I knew that I made a mistake in my first few minutes, I knew it would affect my concentration and up the pressure levels. So I had spent many evenings going through my every move for the first two minutes. I wheeled the bike off the stand, positioned it and started up. He gave me to instruction to move off and I carefully checked over both shoulders then pulled away to the first mini-roundabout. I gave the usual indication and the required rear mirror checks and lifesaver check, then turned. Then another turn at the next mini-roundabout to the traffic lights as I expected. We were now clear of the quiet ‘industrial estate’ roads that the test centre is located on and now into the main traffic around Quedgley in Gloucester, so far and I knew that I had got it right every step of the way.
Via the radio link he would tell me where to turn, it was a bit like a GPS. I was steered towards some residential backroads, where he was clearly looking at my speed (30mph max) and how I would handle all the parked cars and opposite direction traffic. Then he pulled me in behind a parked car and asked me to stop. Then the ‘pull out from behind a parked car’ manoeuvre. That went fine, then a bit more riding and he pulled me over again, this time on a pronounced hill. OK, here comes the hill stop and start. I held it nicely on the rear brake and pulled away with no drama at all. I was settling into this and really enjoying it now, but don’t get cocky – concentrate on the traffic and what the other idiots are doing, it’s them that will screw you up!
Halfway down a 40mph road in Gloucester and someone steps out into the road! I see him in plenty of time as he holds his hand up in a ‘stop’ signal. Well he isn’t a policeman, he looks like a construction worker. I stop anyway and shortly after see a cement truck start backing out onto the main road. I have no choice but to wait. This clears then I carry on. I then go onto the ‘self-drive’ part of the test, where he tells me to navigate myself and follow the signs to ‘x’. This I do without drama, then he takes over again and starts to tell me where to go.
I cannot say that I have noticed the wind at all, other than that it is still howling and the trees are bending impressively, I am just ‘in the zone’ and seem to be compensating when I need to without thinking about it – a good sign I guess.
The I come up to a roundabout with a traffic queue. I slow ride and inch forward with the rest of the traffic, taking care to leave a good distance. I am then faced with a ‘should I inch forward to close the gap or stay here until they move again’ decision. I decide to slow ride forward, but a bit too slow and wobble slightly before I brake and put my foot down and stop, no drama you understand, but not great. Forget about it and carry on.
Then after a while he directs me to turn left. I signal and 50m in front a large ‘sit-on’ lawnmower pulls out onto the road also intent on turning left at the same junction as me. I am not close enough to overtake so tuck in behind him as he reaches his full speed of 15mph! The catch is that we are now on a very narrow one way road that I know feed into the dual carriageway in about 200m, I am the traffic immediately behind him and a queue of cars is forming behind us both! The lawnmower guy pulls as far over to the left as he can obviously trying to give me room to pass. Well there is enough room for a motorbike, but not for a car. If this were me alone after my test on a motorbike, I would overtake, but the examiner following me in a car wouldn’t be able to. Now I know he said ‘ride the bike as if I wasn’t there and do not take me into account at all, other than as though I was a normal following car’, but would he agree that the gap was wide enough? They way I figured it was that if he did think it was wide enough and I sat behind the obstruction, he might give me a minor fault for hesitation. But if he thought that it wasn’t wide enough and I drove through, he might give me a major fault for dangerous driving and fail me. Well, I would sooner have a minor than a major, so I sat there until we came to the junction and I could pass him safely.
The after a couple more directed turns we were back at the test centre and he tells me to park up and shut down.
It isn’t over yet. I take my helmet off and he asks me some verbal test questions, this time on riding with pillion passengers. I had revised all of the question bank he could ask from and knew all the answers by heart, together with the rationale behind them. I easily answered the questions and he said I had passed and asked me into the test centre. I could see Keith looking at me through the window of the test centre and I gave him a smile and a wink as we headed in. Keith joined us for the debrief. The examiner said that I had collected two minor faults only (maximum of fifteen minors before you fail), one for the wobble at the roundabout (yeah, I expected that) and the other for not cancelling my indicator soon enough after turning in behind the lawnmower, but that he did understand why I didn’t do it immediately. I don’t remember any hesitation, but I know I was distracted by that bloody lawnmower!
I suspect he has a sense of humour, so I have a little joke with the examiner and congratulate him for being able to organise both a cement truck and the lawnmower to pull out in front of me on my test, I said I thought the lawnmower was a particularly inspired choice of ‘what are you going to do now’ situations and must have involved split second timing and co-ordination. He laughs and signs the pass certificate. He collects all my bits of paper and says he will send them all off the DVLC and that my upgraded licence should follow in a week or ten days.
So that’s it. Motorbike test done! Now I can ride the biggest and nastiest machine on two wheels. I felt pretty pleased with myself. Keith and I mounted up and rode back to Cheltenham. I took it easy and enjoyed the now silent ride, without Keith giving me instructions, but also keen to carry on with the same observations and standard of riding that got me through the test.
We parked up and I thanked Keith and gave him a reasonable ‘tip’ on top of the days normal charges.
Well, now I need to figure out where I go from here and when I buy something and what it might be. My prejudice is to buy a Harley Davidson the size of a small planet so I can go touring with the wife (always supposing that she will be fine on a bike, well she has said she used to enjoy going on the back of a bike).
Getting ready for the on-road test
Well, just before taking my theory test, based on the horror stories I had heard from others of a huge waiting list for the ‘on-road’ part 2 practical test, I decided to book my part 2 test before I had passed my part 1. The thinking being that it would be at least a few days after my part 1 test due in early August, so if I failed I could always cancel it and reschedule, but in any event, I should be able to get it in before my holiday with my buddy in Canada.
So I went on the website around mid-July. The earliest date I could get with a sensible time was 6th September! So the horror stories were true then! Well, I booked that on the basis that at least I knew where I stood.
Of course I then passed my part 1 easily the first time on 5th August, so a one month wait now.
I have now had a few lessons. Having been a car driver for many year, these are the main things I have learned about riding a motorbike that is different from driving a car (apart from the obvious handling differences, which I have no problems with).
Passing your test is a lot about observations and being seen by the examiner to have made observations, by that I mean looking behind you in both directions before starting off, checking mirrors before every potential hazard (crossings, traffic lights, roundabouts, etc.).
Then there is the essential ‘lifesaver’ look over your shoulder in the direction of the turn before turning. Then the ‘shut the door’ move over to one side of the road or the other before you actually turn, not something you really do in a car. Then the damned ‘remember to cancel your indicators after you turn’ gotcha – some of the high-end bikes have auto-cancelling turn indicators, but the ones we are learning on don’t, and if you are a car driver you are spoiled with self-cancelling indicators!
And the last sin of all, not indicating correctly at roundabouts! C’mon, we all do it, or more accurately don’t do it, but don’t do it in your test and expect to collect a fail!
So to ingrain these checks and the sequence of checks before a turn, I drive around in my car all the time until the test doing the things I must do on a motorbike. It is hard at first and I feel stupid, but after a while it becomes automatic. By the time I came to take my part 2 on-road practical test, I was feeling pretty confident of my observations and riding skills.
I have of course learned a lot about handling the bike, but as I had ridden before, most of it came back very quickly. Hill starts and pulling out from behind parked cars were no problem at all. Getting caught in the wrong gear happens, but it is very easily fixed. But what I have learned about riding from Keith is cornering. The idea of pushing down on the handlebar in the direction you want to turn is new on me and really works.
I have also read up and spoken to Keith about what happens on the test and in what order and what the examiner is looking for. We have also ridden the very streets that the examiner is likely to take me on and particularly gone through the ‘gotchas’ that would not be obvious if you didn’t know the actual roads. I am about as prepared as I can get without the luxury of being able to ride a bike with L-plates on whenever I like (as a ‘Direct Access’ student, I can only ride the bigger bikes in the company of a licenced instructor with whom I am in radio contact etc.).
So I went on the website around mid-July. The earliest date I could get with a sensible time was 6th September! So the horror stories were true then! Well, I booked that on the basis that at least I knew where I stood.
Of course I then passed my part 1 easily the first time on 5th August, so a one month wait now.
I have now had a few lessons. Having been a car driver for many year, these are the main things I have learned about riding a motorbike that is different from driving a car (apart from the obvious handling differences, which I have no problems with).
Passing your test is a lot about observations and being seen by the examiner to have made observations, by that I mean looking behind you in both directions before starting off, checking mirrors before every potential hazard (crossings, traffic lights, roundabouts, etc.).
Then there is the essential ‘lifesaver’ look over your shoulder in the direction of the turn before turning. Then the ‘shut the door’ move over to one side of the road or the other before you actually turn, not something you really do in a car. Then the damned ‘remember to cancel your indicators after you turn’ gotcha – some of the high-end bikes have auto-cancelling turn indicators, but the ones we are learning on don’t, and if you are a car driver you are spoiled with self-cancelling indicators!
And the last sin of all, not indicating correctly at roundabouts! C’mon, we all do it, or more accurately don’t do it, but don’t do it in your test and expect to collect a fail!
So to ingrain these checks and the sequence of checks before a turn, I drive around in my car all the time until the test doing the things I must do on a motorbike. It is hard at first and I feel stupid, but after a while it becomes automatic. By the time I came to take my part 2 on-road practical test, I was feeling pretty confident of my observations and riding skills.
I have of course learned a lot about handling the bike, but as I had ridden before, most of it came back very quickly. Hill starts and pulling out from behind parked cars were no problem at all. Getting caught in the wrong gear happens, but it is very easily fixed. But what I have learned about riding from Keith is cornering. The idea of pushing down on the handlebar in the direction you want to turn is new on me and really works.
I have also read up and spoken to Keith about what happens on the test and in what order and what the examiner is looking for. We have also ridden the very streets that the examiner is likely to take me on and particularly gone through the ‘gotchas’ that would not be obvious if you didn’t know the actual roads. I am about as prepared as I can get without the luxury of being able to ride a bike with L-plates on whenever I like (as a ‘Direct Access’ student, I can only ride the bigger bikes in the company of a licenced instructor with whom I am in radio contact etc.).
Friday, October 7, 2011
Motorbike practical test - Part 1
The UK motorbike practical test used to be a single test ridden on the public roads, complete with emergency stops etc. But in the late 2000’s this was changed to split the practical motorbike tests into two parts. Part 1 is the general handling, emergency stops and obstacle avoidance etc. and is carried out at set DVLC locations around the country with their own standard configured paved areas specifically for the part 1 test. Part 2 now concentrates on the sort of stuff you should be tested on using public roads. You can book both the Part 1 and the Part 2 at the same time, you can even book the part 2 to follow on immediately after the part 1 (or same day at least), BUT if you fail the part 1, it will be too late to cancel the part 2, so you loose your £75 fee – so probably not a good idea. So I only booked the Part 1. With hindsight, I should have booked the Part 2 at the same time, albeit for say, two weeks later, on the basis that if I did fail the part 1, I would have time to retake and pass it and still make the original Part 2 date.
Now you can’t book either of these until you have both your CBT and your theory test pass certificates, these are both required for the on-line booking system. So shortly after passing my theory test in late-June, I logged on to book the Part 1. The earliest date I could get at a sensible time was 5th August at 14:50 – wow, some waiting list eh? I booked that anyway so I had something anchored in my diary to aim at. I figured a late afternoon slot would mean I could take the whole day off and get a fair bit of practice in first with my instructor so I was nice and relaxed and recently practiced.
In the meantime, I did make a further two days riding on various weekend dates. All of these rides were on a bike suitable for the ‘direct access’ route, in this case, a Suzuki GS500. Each days training consisted of the instructor, Keith with two students following him in radio contact. What he can see in his mirrors is amazing, you couldn’t get away with much! The rides consisted of on road tuition to take us over Gloucester to be near the test centre, then practice using various cones doing many of the manoeuvres expected of us in the Part 1 test, although we didn’t seem to practice the ‘at speed’ manoeuvres of emergency stops or obstacle avoidance, which was starting to concern me. I was starting to settle into the on-road driving and no longer felt I had to look at the RPM counter every time before moving off!
The motorbike school can book the actual test centre track on a Sunday to practice the Part 1, so I was having some of that! The last of the days training was with me and another ‘mid-life-crisis’ hopeful, Gary, actually using the test track. When we finally got on for our one hour between the two of us, we each went through the whole test in the same sequence as we would on the day with Keith using as close to the ‘official’ wording as the instructor would, so a ‘mock test’. I was watching carefully as Gary was put through his paces, then came my turn. I found the slow speed manoeuvres easy enough and was remembering to pretend that I was on the public roads by always checking both ways behind me before moving off and a lifesaver check before changing directions etc. So far so good! Then the ‘at speed’ manoeuvres. For this you had to accelerate down the length of the area into a turn marked by bollards, then pick up speed coming out of the turn to at least 50 kph going through a speed measuring gate, then either the emergency stop when indicated, or the obstacle avoidance around a cone then back onto the original line and a controlled stop between two cones.
There wasn’t much room from the end of the corner to the speed check gate and I took a few attempts before I got up to the required 50 kph, modest though that speed is in reality, then because I was concentrating so much on getting to speed by the speed gate, to then do another manoeuvre was a lot in a very short space of time. Suffice to say that my first speed stop would have failed me, I put on mainly front with what I thought was a touch of back and could feel the bike ‘fish-tailing’ merrily away. Keith smiled and said ‘look behind you’ and there was a very nice back skid mark! Next attempt, I left the back alone completely and used only front and stopped in a shorter distance, but fully under control.
But I did struggle with the obstacle avoidance. At the first attempt, I was so preoccupied by the speed gate that I was on the obstacle cone before I knew it and simply rode in a straight line straight ‘through’ the imaginary obstacle. Next time, I clipped a cone and knocked it over. It was only on the third attempt that I managed it, albeit at a speed below the required 50kph – so not great.
To be fair, this final practice session was excellent as I learned what I had problems with and I knew what to do to do it properly, so I could now work away in my mind on visualising the correct process. I tend to learn far more from my mistakes and taking them away and ‘internalising’ them, then when I come back next time, I am fine first time as I have been through it so many times in my own head.
So the day came and we both met Keith and set off on our school supplied Suzuki GS500’s. Keith put is through manoeuvring practices near the test centre until we had the slow speed stuff down pat. Then riding on public roads with speed humps and where traffic allowed, using the speed humps to practice obstacle avoidance.
Gary had his Part 1 test first, around lunchtime. I was of course watching closely as in my opinion, Gary was better at this and almost anything about biking except that he always forgot to cancel his indicators! He was doing the ‘let’s pretend we are on a public road’ checks well (these can really catch you out and they will fail you if you miss this more than a couple of times). The manual parking was fine, then he started his cone slalom and that went fine. Then straight into the figure of eight. Now we were told it didn’t matter how wide you went on the cones as long as you did the figure of eight two or three times until told to stop by the examiner. I have to say I thought Gary was pulling his first figure of eight unnecessarily tight, then just at the start of the second iteration, disaster! He somehow lost the slow speed balance and put his foot down. We all know that that is a ‘major’ and meant failure. The examiner still took him through the rest of the test, but the outcome was already decided. He came out looking completely gutted. He always managed this part of the test with ease and possibly let nerves get the better of him or maybe was so pre-occupied with the ‘at speed’ section that he screwed up the easy slow speed part! As I wasn’t on until later, we rode back to the school to drop Gary off then back to the test centre for my turn.
I could see that Keith too was gutted at one of his students failing and was concerned that I shouldn’t be ‘spooked’ by Gary’s failure. I wasn’t. I was nervous of course, but I kept telling myself ‘you know how to do this stuff, just go out there and take your time, think everything through until YOU are ready, think, but above all, have fun!’.
My turn came and I was briefed by the tester. Keith didn’t watch and stayed in the test centre. I felt like a kid again, skating out to his first hockey match while ‘Dad’ couldn’t bear to watch! I was ushered in to the test ground and told to ride into one of the marked parking bays and park up. I did this. He asked me to manoeuvre the bike by hand into the other parking bay, so just a case of look around, take the bike off the stand and walk it backwards in a circle so that it is back end in in the other parking bay – does anyone really fail this bit? I doubt it!
Then the slow speed stuff. He positioned me at the start of the cones and told me what he wanted, the usual slalom through cone until the last two, then figures of eight around the last one until told to stop. He indicated I could start when ready. I sat there and had a good think and visualisation. About ten seconds later (I think the examiner was wondering if something was wrong) , I did my over the shoulder checks then moved off. The slalom was easy enough, keep the bike ‘growling’ and control the speed with dabs of brake and clutch. Nice and slow, then into the figure of eight cones. I deliberately went wider on these, but not so wide that I was taking the piss. I used the brake to keep my speed down and managed the figure of eight fine and was told to stop.
Then the slow ride to stop between cones, basically how slow can you ride but stay in control, maximum is walking speed. Again, I waited ten seconds or so from the time he said I could start until I did so. Usual traffic checks then off we went, engine growling and speed controlled with clutch and brake. It went really well and I stopped exactly where I should. I had always enjoyed that bit.
Then the set up for the U-turn - a 180 degree turn within the confines of two lines (about as wide as a normal road). I did my traffic checks and the over-the-shoulder lifesaver before the turn and managed the turn well within the lines, nice one!
Then he positioned me at the start of the high speed manoeuvres. The first run was a ‘sighting run’, basically I had to get around the corner, through the gate at 50 kph min and a controlled stop between two cones. Off I went and quickly got the bike into third before I hit the curve, kept it in third and accelerated hard out of the curve, glance at the speedo, but mainly going by the engine note that I now knew to be 50 kph. Through the speed gate and a leisurely controlled stop where indicated. That went great and no comment from him on speed, so I knew it was right.
Then the emergency stop. Same again but once through the gate, watch for him to raise his hand then come to a controlled emergency stop with no skidding. Off I went again. The speed felt good as I gunned it going into the speed gate, glance at the speedo, engine note good, watch him – his hand went up. Front brake only as I applied first pressure to get the tyre to flatten then progressively squeezed more on while pretending to touch the back brake (they expect to see you use the back as well) when in fact I was barely resting on the pedal. Boy, did I stop quickly, but it was by far the best emergency stop I have done – lovely!
Then he sets me up for the final run which is obstacle avoidance. This is my weakest. I repeat the process, feel good about the speed and shift my attention well before I hit the speed gate to the blue cone, I shift my weight and hove the bike over a bit, pass the cone easily, then back the other way to come back to my original line with a nicely controlled stop between the two cones – THAT IS HOW WE DO THAT!! Oh, pleased with that.
He then tells me I can exit the test area. This is the final ‘gotcha’ as many people are feeling so goo at finishing that they take straight off without doing any traffic checks, then hey presto, another minor that could add up to failure.
Well I am not sure how many ‘minors’ you can incur on the Part 1 and still pass, but once I have parked up and shut down he tells in front of Keith the good news that I have passed and had no minors at all – basically a clean sheet! The only comment he made is that I was using the brake a lot on the slow speed stuff, he couldn’t give me a formal fault, he was just mentioning that I should be able to manage it without much brake. I asked for the speed at the gates and he had recorded it as 51kph on both occasion – fluke or skill, I was happy either way! He wrote out the formal pass certificate and off I went, the proud holder of a Part 1 pass certificate. I was VERY keen to get this one out of the way as I really had it fixed in my head that this was the harder of the two practical tests and really didn’t fancy a retake.
Next step, book my Part 2, which I was hoping now to get a date before my holiday to see my buddy in Canada on 20th August.
Now you can’t book either of these until you have both your CBT and your theory test pass certificates, these are both required for the on-line booking system. So shortly after passing my theory test in late-June, I logged on to book the Part 1. The earliest date I could get at a sensible time was 5th August at 14:50 – wow, some waiting list eh? I booked that anyway so I had something anchored in my diary to aim at. I figured a late afternoon slot would mean I could take the whole day off and get a fair bit of practice in first with my instructor so I was nice and relaxed and recently practiced.
In the meantime, I did make a further two days riding on various weekend dates. All of these rides were on a bike suitable for the ‘direct access’ route, in this case, a Suzuki GS500. Each days training consisted of the instructor, Keith with two students following him in radio contact. What he can see in his mirrors is amazing, you couldn’t get away with much! The rides consisted of on road tuition to take us over Gloucester to be near the test centre, then practice using various cones doing many of the manoeuvres expected of us in the Part 1 test, although we didn’t seem to practice the ‘at speed’ manoeuvres of emergency stops or obstacle avoidance, which was starting to concern me. I was starting to settle into the on-road driving and no longer felt I had to look at the RPM counter every time before moving off!
The motorbike school can book the actual test centre track on a Sunday to practice the Part 1, so I was having some of that! The last of the days training was with me and another ‘mid-life-crisis’ hopeful, Gary, actually using the test track. When we finally got on for our one hour between the two of us, we each went through the whole test in the same sequence as we would on the day with Keith using as close to the ‘official’ wording as the instructor would, so a ‘mock test’. I was watching carefully as Gary was put through his paces, then came my turn. I found the slow speed manoeuvres easy enough and was remembering to pretend that I was on the public roads by always checking both ways behind me before moving off and a lifesaver check before changing directions etc. So far so good! Then the ‘at speed’ manoeuvres. For this you had to accelerate down the length of the area into a turn marked by bollards, then pick up speed coming out of the turn to at least 50 kph going through a speed measuring gate, then either the emergency stop when indicated, or the obstacle avoidance around a cone then back onto the original line and a controlled stop between two cones.
There wasn’t much room from the end of the corner to the speed check gate and I took a few attempts before I got up to the required 50 kph, modest though that speed is in reality, then because I was concentrating so much on getting to speed by the speed gate, to then do another manoeuvre was a lot in a very short space of time. Suffice to say that my first speed stop would have failed me, I put on mainly front with what I thought was a touch of back and could feel the bike ‘fish-tailing’ merrily away. Keith smiled and said ‘look behind you’ and there was a very nice back skid mark! Next attempt, I left the back alone completely and used only front and stopped in a shorter distance, but fully under control.
But I did struggle with the obstacle avoidance. At the first attempt, I was so preoccupied by the speed gate that I was on the obstacle cone before I knew it and simply rode in a straight line straight ‘through’ the imaginary obstacle. Next time, I clipped a cone and knocked it over. It was only on the third attempt that I managed it, albeit at a speed below the required 50kph – so not great.
To be fair, this final practice session was excellent as I learned what I had problems with and I knew what to do to do it properly, so I could now work away in my mind on visualising the correct process. I tend to learn far more from my mistakes and taking them away and ‘internalising’ them, then when I come back next time, I am fine first time as I have been through it so many times in my own head.
So the day came and we both met Keith and set off on our school supplied Suzuki GS500’s. Keith put is through manoeuvring practices near the test centre until we had the slow speed stuff down pat. Then riding on public roads with speed humps and where traffic allowed, using the speed humps to practice obstacle avoidance.
Gary had his Part 1 test first, around lunchtime. I was of course watching closely as in my opinion, Gary was better at this and almost anything about biking except that he always forgot to cancel his indicators! He was doing the ‘let’s pretend we are on a public road’ checks well (these can really catch you out and they will fail you if you miss this more than a couple of times). The manual parking was fine, then he started his cone slalom and that went fine. Then straight into the figure of eight. Now we were told it didn’t matter how wide you went on the cones as long as you did the figure of eight two or three times until told to stop by the examiner. I have to say I thought Gary was pulling his first figure of eight unnecessarily tight, then just at the start of the second iteration, disaster! He somehow lost the slow speed balance and put his foot down. We all know that that is a ‘major’ and meant failure. The examiner still took him through the rest of the test, but the outcome was already decided. He came out looking completely gutted. He always managed this part of the test with ease and possibly let nerves get the better of him or maybe was so pre-occupied with the ‘at speed’ section that he screwed up the easy slow speed part! As I wasn’t on until later, we rode back to the school to drop Gary off then back to the test centre for my turn.
I could see that Keith too was gutted at one of his students failing and was concerned that I shouldn’t be ‘spooked’ by Gary’s failure. I wasn’t. I was nervous of course, but I kept telling myself ‘you know how to do this stuff, just go out there and take your time, think everything through until YOU are ready, think, but above all, have fun!’.
My turn came and I was briefed by the tester. Keith didn’t watch and stayed in the test centre. I felt like a kid again, skating out to his first hockey match while ‘Dad’ couldn’t bear to watch! I was ushered in to the test ground and told to ride into one of the marked parking bays and park up. I did this. He asked me to manoeuvre the bike by hand into the other parking bay, so just a case of look around, take the bike off the stand and walk it backwards in a circle so that it is back end in in the other parking bay – does anyone really fail this bit? I doubt it!
Then the slow speed stuff. He positioned me at the start of the cones and told me what he wanted, the usual slalom through cone until the last two, then figures of eight around the last one until told to stop. He indicated I could start when ready. I sat there and had a good think and visualisation. About ten seconds later (I think the examiner was wondering if something was wrong) , I did my over the shoulder checks then moved off. The slalom was easy enough, keep the bike ‘growling’ and control the speed with dabs of brake and clutch. Nice and slow, then into the figure of eight cones. I deliberately went wider on these, but not so wide that I was taking the piss. I used the brake to keep my speed down and managed the figure of eight fine and was told to stop.
Then the slow ride to stop between cones, basically how slow can you ride but stay in control, maximum is walking speed. Again, I waited ten seconds or so from the time he said I could start until I did so. Usual traffic checks then off we went, engine growling and speed controlled with clutch and brake. It went really well and I stopped exactly where I should. I had always enjoyed that bit.
Then the set up for the U-turn - a 180 degree turn within the confines of two lines (about as wide as a normal road). I did my traffic checks and the over-the-shoulder lifesaver before the turn and managed the turn well within the lines, nice one!
Then he positioned me at the start of the high speed manoeuvres. The first run was a ‘sighting run’, basically I had to get around the corner, through the gate at 50 kph min and a controlled stop between two cones. Off I went and quickly got the bike into third before I hit the curve, kept it in third and accelerated hard out of the curve, glance at the speedo, but mainly going by the engine note that I now knew to be 50 kph. Through the speed gate and a leisurely controlled stop where indicated. That went great and no comment from him on speed, so I knew it was right.
Then the emergency stop. Same again but once through the gate, watch for him to raise his hand then come to a controlled emergency stop with no skidding. Off I went again. The speed felt good as I gunned it going into the speed gate, glance at the speedo, engine note good, watch him – his hand went up. Front brake only as I applied first pressure to get the tyre to flatten then progressively squeezed more on while pretending to touch the back brake (they expect to see you use the back as well) when in fact I was barely resting on the pedal. Boy, did I stop quickly, but it was by far the best emergency stop I have done – lovely!
Then he sets me up for the final run which is obstacle avoidance. This is my weakest. I repeat the process, feel good about the speed and shift my attention well before I hit the speed gate to the blue cone, I shift my weight and hove the bike over a bit, pass the cone easily, then back the other way to come back to my original line with a nicely controlled stop between the two cones – THAT IS HOW WE DO THAT!! Oh, pleased with that.
He then tells me I can exit the test area. This is the final ‘gotcha’ as many people are feeling so goo at finishing that they take straight off without doing any traffic checks, then hey presto, another minor that could add up to failure.
Well I am not sure how many ‘minors’ you can incur on the Part 1 and still pass, but once I have parked up and shut down he tells in front of Keith the good news that I have passed and had no minors at all – basically a clean sheet! The only comment he made is that I was using the brake a lot on the slow speed stuff, he couldn’t give me a formal fault, he was just mentioning that I should be able to manage it without much brake. I asked for the speed at the gates and he had recorded it as 51kph on both occasion – fluke or skill, I was happy either way! He wrote out the formal pass certificate and off I went, the proud holder of a Part 1 pass certificate. I was VERY keen to get this one out of the way as I really had it fixed in my head that this was the harder of the two practical tests and really didn’t fancy a retake.
Next step, book my Part 2, which I was hoping now to get a date before my holiday to see my buddy in Canada on 20th August.
Motorbike theory test
So following by successful CBT, I figured out the next step was to get the theory test. The internet was my friend again and I soon found out that there was a theory test centre in the centre of Cheltenham. So I logged on and found that the nearest timeslot I could book was during a normal working day in mid-June. Well, OK, I had better take that.
Of course I have been driving for years so I know all about the highway code right? Well maybe! As it happens there were two ‘mock tests’ on the internet for motorbike theory, so I tried those. The passmark is 43 correct out of 50 questions. Well I managed to pass both mock tests, but only just. There were a few questions I guessed at and the motorbike specific questions I also had to guess at. In addition to the multi-choice, there is also a second part to the test where you watch a series of video clips and click when you see a hazard etc.
So rather than be complacent and assume that I could just waltz in and breeze through it, I again turned to Rob, who had passed this test a year or two ago for advice. He had some software that generated random multi-choice questions using the actual DVLC question bank and had the video clips test. In addition to using the software, I also bought the book that had the complete DVLC question and answer bank. Suffice to say that I read through the book cover to cover about four times and ran numerous tests on the computer software.
The problem with the clickable video clip section is not so much spotting a developing hazard, as spotting it when the guy who made the video thought it was a hazard, I was finding in many instances that I was scoring zero on a particular clip. When I reviewed it, it turned out that I spotted the hazard just before the software decided it was a hazard. Plus the real test will disqualify you if you just click too many time. So I evolved an approach where I clicked when I thought it was a hazard, clicked again when I thought they would think it was a hazard and clicked a third time when it was bleedin obvious it was a hazard. It was this hazard perception part of the test that many found so difficult – the passmark for this was a ‘mere’ 47 out of 75, but it certainly seemed to me that 75 was pretty nigh on impossible, so this was more challenging than it appeared at first sight.
The gotcha was that you had to pass both the sections of the theory test to get a theory pass, it wasn’t a case of if you fail one, you just had to retake that part only.
So by the time I came to take the test, I was very confident of the multi-choice test and was going to try hard to get 50/50 just for the hell of it. I was only slightly concerned about the video clips section and thought that I would pass, but maybe not with stellar marks.
Off I went to Pates Court in Cheltenham and handed across all the required documents (including government issued photo-id as some have tried sending their mates in to take the test for them!). I waited and was soon called into the test room, a bank of PC’s behind screens with workspaces four I would guess 15 – 20 people at any one time. They logged me on and I went through the introductory video and instructions and started. First the multi-choice tests. I went through that carefully, but fairly quickly, I was sure on virtually all of them and only had to make ‘I am pretty sure this is right’ answers on three or four questions.
Then onto the video clip section. There were about 9 video clips, most with only one hazard, but a couple with two hazards, not that they were going to tell you which was which. I plunged in and followed my formula of one click when I saw it, another when I thought they would think you saw it and a third when it was obvious. The clips are a lot harder than they sound as they are real videos taken from a car driver point of view and you would not believe the number of potentially dumb things that could happen, it was a case of sorting the wheat from the chaff, it certainly wasn’t a long driving sequence with nothing happens, then a tractor pulls out from a side road! I finished this and felt OK about it, I certainly couldn’t believe I could have failed.
I shut down and walked out of the room. They asked me for the keyfob they gave me and printed the letter with the results. They had carefully folded the letter so they couldn’t see the results, so I opened it and scan read it until I came to the relevant section. Yes I had passed both sections, with a score of 50 / 50 for the multi-choice and I suspect a very good 63 / 75 for the hazard perception. So all in all, I was pretty pleased with myself. I know a pass is a pass and it doesn’t matter two hoots what mark you got, but there is personal pride at stake here!
So I had passed the theory test and now had the required certificate, I could now put in for the Part 1 practical motorbike test (you can’t even book it until you have the pass certificate and the unique pass number).
I now had the basic CBT and the Theory test under my belt, Now just the Practical Part 1 and Part 2 tests to go.
Of course I have been driving for years so I know all about the highway code right? Well maybe! As it happens there were two ‘mock tests’ on the internet for motorbike theory, so I tried those. The passmark is 43 correct out of 50 questions. Well I managed to pass both mock tests, but only just. There were a few questions I guessed at and the motorbike specific questions I also had to guess at. In addition to the multi-choice, there is also a second part to the test where you watch a series of video clips and click when you see a hazard etc.
So rather than be complacent and assume that I could just waltz in and breeze through it, I again turned to Rob, who had passed this test a year or two ago for advice. He had some software that generated random multi-choice questions using the actual DVLC question bank and had the video clips test. In addition to using the software, I also bought the book that had the complete DVLC question and answer bank. Suffice to say that I read through the book cover to cover about four times and ran numerous tests on the computer software.
The problem with the clickable video clip section is not so much spotting a developing hazard, as spotting it when the guy who made the video thought it was a hazard, I was finding in many instances that I was scoring zero on a particular clip. When I reviewed it, it turned out that I spotted the hazard just before the software decided it was a hazard. Plus the real test will disqualify you if you just click too many time. So I evolved an approach where I clicked when I thought it was a hazard, clicked again when I thought they would think it was a hazard and clicked a third time when it was bleedin obvious it was a hazard. It was this hazard perception part of the test that many found so difficult – the passmark for this was a ‘mere’ 47 out of 75, but it certainly seemed to me that 75 was pretty nigh on impossible, so this was more challenging than it appeared at first sight.
The gotcha was that you had to pass both the sections of the theory test to get a theory pass, it wasn’t a case of if you fail one, you just had to retake that part only.
So by the time I came to take the test, I was very confident of the multi-choice test and was going to try hard to get 50/50 just for the hell of it. I was only slightly concerned about the video clips section and thought that I would pass, but maybe not with stellar marks.
Off I went to Pates Court in Cheltenham and handed across all the required documents (including government issued photo-id as some have tried sending their mates in to take the test for them!). I waited and was soon called into the test room, a bank of PC’s behind screens with workspaces four I would guess 15 – 20 people at any one time. They logged me on and I went through the introductory video and instructions and started. First the multi-choice tests. I went through that carefully, but fairly quickly, I was sure on virtually all of them and only had to make ‘I am pretty sure this is right’ answers on three or four questions.
Then onto the video clip section. There were about 9 video clips, most with only one hazard, but a couple with two hazards, not that they were going to tell you which was which. I plunged in and followed my formula of one click when I saw it, another when I thought they would think you saw it and a third when it was obvious. The clips are a lot harder than they sound as they are real videos taken from a car driver point of view and you would not believe the number of potentially dumb things that could happen, it was a case of sorting the wheat from the chaff, it certainly wasn’t a long driving sequence with nothing happens, then a tractor pulls out from a side road! I finished this and felt OK about it, I certainly couldn’t believe I could have failed.
I shut down and walked out of the room. They asked me for the keyfob they gave me and printed the letter with the results. They had carefully folded the letter so they couldn’t see the results, so I opened it and scan read it until I came to the relevant section. Yes I had passed both sections, with a score of 50 / 50 for the multi-choice and I suspect a very good 63 / 75 for the hazard perception. So all in all, I was pretty pleased with myself. I know a pass is a pass and it doesn’t matter two hoots what mark you got, but there is personal pride at stake here!
So I had passed the theory test and now had the required certificate, I could now put in for the Part 1 practical motorbike test (you can’t even book it until you have the pass certificate and the unique pass number).
I now had the basic CBT and the Theory test under my belt, Now just the Practical Part 1 and Part 2 tests to go.
The Compulsory Basic Training certificate
So of course the next thing to do is to book the CBT. To do this, I have to choose a motorbike driving school that is authorised to carry out such tests (I suspect that most if not all are so authorised). Rob recommended the school he went to, but they were based in Leckhampton south of Cheltenham. That would be a bit of a trek for me, so I hit the internet and found a school in either Pittville or another near the Tewkesbury Road stores. The website for the Pittville one wouldn’t load and the website for Toms School of Motoring in the Tewkesbury Road seemed fine, so I called them.
They seemed to say the right things. At this stage, I only needed to get the CBT from them, if I didn’t like the look of the school or the instructor at the CBT, then I could change schools, so it was a sort of ‘try before you buy’ way of seeing if you can work with that particular school. I booked the CBT for a Saturday in early July, just turn up at 09:00 at the car park of a civic centre near Hesters Way (not a terribly salubrious part of town).
It was a cloudy, cool, breezy and drizzly morning in early July (it is the UK summer after all!) that I turned up car park in question. I spotted a couple of bikes lined up outside the scout hut, so I thought that must be me. I saw a big guy walking in and out of the hut laying cones out, so bright guy that I am, I figured that must be my instructor, Keith. I parked the car up, left the kit in the boot and walked over to introduce myself. It was indeed Keith and yes, he was expecting me. I asked if I could help him, so I grabbed the remainder of the cones and helped him lay them out (courtesy costs nothing).
He did say he was expecting another student to turn up, but suggested I garb my kit and we make a start in the scout hut. I introduced myself and I am sure he figured out pretty quickly that I was one of those ‘mid-life-crisis’ guys that wanted a new toy to play with – hey, fine by me! I did say that I used to ride motorbikes, but that was 30 years ago, but like riding a bike, while you get very rusty, it isn’t something you ever forget.
So we went through the theory. First of all the kit that was mandatory and what was sensible. What was legal and what wasn’t, including a piece on the different types of helmets with pros and cons. Then he decided he would have to give up on the other guy turning up and was somewhat annoyed at this. I can understand this, they charge a fixed £100 each for the day and one guy not turning up has halved the income. It really is the height of rudeness to make an arrangement and not turn up or even leave a message. While I felt bad for Keith, it was my good fortune as I got his 100% attention.
He showed me around the 125cc the school supplied which was far more advanced than my old GP125 I rode thirty years ago. No, it was a four stroke engine, so no oil to add to the fuel and it had, GASP, an electric starter (I was used to kick starting). Other than that and a few more bits and bobs (engine kill switch etc.), it was pretty much like the bike I used to ride, mercifully the main controls were still in the same position (gears and clutch on the left and brakes on the right etc.). He talked me through the normal daily checks, which I would be expected to know for the test. He showed me how to take the bike on and off both stands and how to move the bike manually around for parking etc.
Then onto the bike and start it up. He held the bike firmly with his not inconsiderable weight and asked me to try the biting point on the clutch in first gear. I did this and easily kept it under control with tiny adjustments to the pressure on the clutch handle – it was all coming back to me. After a few attempts at this I think he was satisfied that I wouldn’t go careering off out of control in first gear with arms and legs flailing (you laugh – I’ve seen this, it isn’t pretty!) and worst of all, damage the bike!
So I tried a few gentle starts and stops in first gear. No problem. Then a couple of free rides around the car park in no more than second gear as I got used to cornering again. I probably looked ungainly on the bike, a 125cc with a 6’ 2” guy weighting 210lbs! This was all good, then onto slow speed control, especially using the clutch and keeping the engine ‘growling’, control the speed with the clutch not the revs. This was new to me as I didn’t bother playing with cones when I was riding 30 years ago, I just manoeuvred the bike to do what I wanted without thinking too much about it. This really slow speed using the clutch and manoeuvring the bike at the same time wasn’t so easy. I was really wobbly at first, but as I listened to Keith and his advice (Relax the shoulders! Move your head to look where you want to go and the bike will follow! Turn with your arms, don’t try to lean into it! etc.) it started to happen! Listen to what your instructor has to say, I guarantee he knows what he is talking about, I learned this when I did my pilot training ten years ago.
OK, I was doing the slalom now, if not with huge confidence, at least passably. Then onto the figure of eight. This took a while to come, but it did come. Then he tried me doing it from the other direction, so I didn’t become ‘one-sided’. Then I had to put it all together into a slalom, followed by figures of eight.
Then onto U-turns between two lines. This was tough to start with, but I gradually managed it. Then we put everything together. The slalom, followed by figures of eight, the into U-turns. I was getting the hang of it now. So a bit of free riding around the car park.
Keith thought I looked silly on a 125cc and knew I was going for the Direct Access test anyway and asked if I fancied trying the 500cc instead. I agreed readily and he took the 125 away and returned on the school 500cc. So we walked around that as he pointed out the slight differences. I had never been on anything as big, but like others, he said that in general, the bigger the bike, in many ways, the easier it was to ride as it was heavier and more stable.
So we repeated the process that I followed with the 125cc. This felt hugely more powerful and certainly heavier, but I quickly got used to it and was doing every bit as well on the manoeuvring as I was on the 125cc – if not better. So he decides that now we go out on the road for two hours or so. Out came the radio and Keith showed me how to fit it. I only have a receiver, so all I can do is listen to him. The plan is to go out on the road with me following him at all times. IF we get separated, I should follow where he went when it was safe to do so and not worry about it, he would wait for me.
So out we went. He stuck to some quiet residential roads at first. I knew that my gear changes and slow speed acceleration wasn’t particularly smooth, but hey, I was learning! There was a hell of a lot to think about, despite the fact that I knew how to drive a car and was quite happy with the rules of the road and had a lot of ‘road sense’ – this was a whole new world! We ranged a bit farther and found some more open roads, as I got the machine into fourth and fifth gear and reached heady speeds of 50mph (which feels a hell of a lot faster on a motorbike than it does in a car I can tell you!).
I was amazed at how quickly the time passed before we headed back to the centre. He was happy and wrote out the official CBT pass certificate while I handed over the required £100. Well this was my official licence to learn. I was happy with Keith so I promised to book a lesson with him at a weekend. He seems to do 5 hour sessions as a preference (at £25 per hour including bike hire and fuel etc.) rather than the one hour sessions typical of driving a car.
Well I certainly was rusty and my on road performance may have looked OK-ish (or at least adequate enough for a CBT) to Keith, although he saw an amazing amount on-road of my mistakes, obviously in his mirror. I know how I felt on the machine and I know how much capacity I had for ‘road sense’ (not much at all) so I know I have a lot of work and a couple more sessions before considering going for the practical tests.
But what a really good day and I enjoyed myself – I think this is for me!
They seemed to say the right things. At this stage, I only needed to get the CBT from them, if I didn’t like the look of the school or the instructor at the CBT, then I could change schools, so it was a sort of ‘try before you buy’ way of seeing if you can work with that particular school. I booked the CBT for a Saturday in early July, just turn up at 09:00 at the car park of a civic centre near Hesters Way (not a terribly salubrious part of town).
It was a cloudy, cool, breezy and drizzly morning in early July (it is the UK summer after all!) that I turned up car park in question. I spotted a couple of bikes lined up outside the scout hut, so I thought that must be me. I saw a big guy walking in and out of the hut laying cones out, so bright guy that I am, I figured that must be my instructor, Keith. I parked the car up, left the kit in the boot and walked over to introduce myself. It was indeed Keith and yes, he was expecting me. I asked if I could help him, so I grabbed the remainder of the cones and helped him lay them out (courtesy costs nothing).
He did say he was expecting another student to turn up, but suggested I garb my kit and we make a start in the scout hut. I introduced myself and I am sure he figured out pretty quickly that I was one of those ‘mid-life-crisis’ guys that wanted a new toy to play with – hey, fine by me! I did say that I used to ride motorbikes, but that was 30 years ago, but like riding a bike, while you get very rusty, it isn’t something you ever forget.
So we went through the theory. First of all the kit that was mandatory and what was sensible. What was legal and what wasn’t, including a piece on the different types of helmets with pros and cons. Then he decided he would have to give up on the other guy turning up and was somewhat annoyed at this. I can understand this, they charge a fixed £100 each for the day and one guy not turning up has halved the income. It really is the height of rudeness to make an arrangement and not turn up or even leave a message. While I felt bad for Keith, it was my good fortune as I got his 100% attention.
He showed me around the 125cc the school supplied which was far more advanced than my old GP125 I rode thirty years ago. No, it was a four stroke engine, so no oil to add to the fuel and it had, GASP, an electric starter (I was used to kick starting). Other than that and a few more bits and bobs (engine kill switch etc.), it was pretty much like the bike I used to ride, mercifully the main controls were still in the same position (gears and clutch on the left and brakes on the right etc.). He talked me through the normal daily checks, which I would be expected to know for the test. He showed me how to take the bike on and off both stands and how to move the bike manually around for parking etc.
Then onto the bike and start it up. He held the bike firmly with his not inconsiderable weight and asked me to try the biting point on the clutch in first gear. I did this and easily kept it under control with tiny adjustments to the pressure on the clutch handle – it was all coming back to me. After a few attempts at this I think he was satisfied that I wouldn’t go careering off out of control in first gear with arms and legs flailing (you laugh – I’ve seen this, it isn’t pretty!) and worst of all, damage the bike!
So I tried a few gentle starts and stops in first gear. No problem. Then a couple of free rides around the car park in no more than second gear as I got used to cornering again. I probably looked ungainly on the bike, a 125cc with a 6’ 2” guy weighting 210lbs! This was all good, then onto slow speed control, especially using the clutch and keeping the engine ‘growling’, control the speed with the clutch not the revs. This was new to me as I didn’t bother playing with cones when I was riding 30 years ago, I just manoeuvred the bike to do what I wanted without thinking too much about it. This really slow speed using the clutch and manoeuvring the bike at the same time wasn’t so easy. I was really wobbly at first, but as I listened to Keith and his advice (Relax the shoulders! Move your head to look where you want to go and the bike will follow! Turn with your arms, don’t try to lean into it! etc.) it started to happen! Listen to what your instructor has to say, I guarantee he knows what he is talking about, I learned this when I did my pilot training ten years ago.
OK, I was doing the slalom now, if not with huge confidence, at least passably. Then onto the figure of eight. This took a while to come, but it did come. Then he tried me doing it from the other direction, so I didn’t become ‘one-sided’. Then I had to put it all together into a slalom, followed by figures of eight.
Then onto U-turns between two lines. This was tough to start with, but I gradually managed it. Then we put everything together. The slalom, followed by figures of eight, the into U-turns. I was getting the hang of it now. So a bit of free riding around the car park.
Keith thought I looked silly on a 125cc and knew I was going for the Direct Access test anyway and asked if I fancied trying the 500cc instead. I agreed readily and he took the 125 away and returned on the school 500cc. So we walked around that as he pointed out the slight differences. I had never been on anything as big, but like others, he said that in general, the bigger the bike, in many ways, the easier it was to ride as it was heavier and more stable.
So we repeated the process that I followed with the 125cc. This felt hugely more powerful and certainly heavier, but I quickly got used to it and was doing every bit as well on the manoeuvring as I was on the 125cc – if not better. So he decides that now we go out on the road for two hours or so. Out came the radio and Keith showed me how to fit it. I only have a receiver, so all I can do is listen to him. The plan is to go out on the road with me following him at all times. IF we get separated, I should follow where he went when it was safe to do so and not worry about it, he would wait for me.
So out we went. He stuck to some quiet residential roads at first. I knew that my gear changes and slow speed acceleration wasn’t particularly smooth, but hey, I was learning! There was a hell of a lot to think about, despite the fact that I knew how to drive a car and was quite happy with the rules of the road and had a lot of ‘road sense’ – this was a whole new world! We ranged a bit farther and found some more open roads, as I got the machine into fourth and fifth gear and reached heady speeds of 50mph (which feels a hell of a lot faster on a motorbike than it does in a car I can tell you!).
I was amazed at how quickly the time passed before we headed back to the centre. He was happy and wrote out the official CBT pass certificate while I handed over the required £100. Well this was my official licence to learn. I was happy with Keith so I promised to book a lesson with him at a weekend. He seems to do 5 hour sessions as a preference (at £25 per hour including bike hire and fuel etc.) rather than the one hour sessions typical of driving a car.
Well I certainly was rusty and my on road performance may have looked OK-ish (or at least adequate enough for a CBT) to Keith, although he saw an amazing amount on-road of my mistakes, obviously in his mirror. I know how I felt on the machine and I know how much capacity I had for ‘road sense’ (not much at all) so I know I have a lot of work and a couple more sessions before considering going for the practical tests.
But what a really good day and I enjoyed myself – I think this is for me!
Retail therapy courtesy of Dr Heine Gericke!
Having booked the CBT, I knew that by law I needed to have at least a helmet. In addition, it is a pretty stupid person who rides bikes without further protection, unless you really like broken bones and skin grafts. So I needed some biker gear and equipment – a guys dream – buying technical stuff for a hobby (sort of a guy equivalent to what clothes shopping is for women!).
As I didn’t know when or what sort of biking I might get into at this stage, I decided to buy multi-purpose low end stuff, I wasn’t going to splash out a fortune on leathers at this stage! So I spoke to Rob who was happy to come with me to Hein Gericke, a German motorbike chain fairly big in the UK who sell their own and other brands of gear. Their own stuff is well respected and they do various bits of kit that win ‘best of’ in independent evaluations for the biking magazines. I was keen to have someone along that could give real advice rather than rely on the sales guy.
So we met up at the local Hein Gericke. Fist stop, a helmet. I didn’t want to spend much at this stage and saw this only as a ‘learner helmet’. I decided on a full-face helmet and spotted a decent quality one that was last years model and somewhat garish, but it was heavily reduced, so tried it on. It was very tight by my estimation, but both Rob and the sales guy agreed it was a good fit (they are meant to be ‘firm’ and hold in place apparently, I said I would let them know when the feeling came back to my face!). OK, that’s the helmet, modest at £60
Now the jacket. I settled on a Hein Gericke own brand ‘Shelltex’ jacket – their version of Goretex. It was watherproof with a detachable inner quilt lining with built in elbow and shoulder armour. It fitted pretty well and a sensible price at £110. I go the matching trousers, also in Shelltex and with detachable quilting and built in armour, for a further £85.
Now all I need is gloves. I chose a lightweight leather pair for summer, not waterproof, but then I didn’t think that mattered. I decided not to bother with boots, but changed my mind quickly after I had a lesson where it rained solidly and my feet were soaked, so it was back to Hein Gericke for a pair of their Shelltex boots for £100.
I did feel a bit of a fraud, buying all this kit when I hadn’t even sat astride a motorbike yet, but I figured I should have it for the CBT and I was likely to crack on quite quickly with the training and hope to finish it this year before the winter.
Well that was me kitted up in sensible gear that was generally waterproof and with body armour in appropriate places. The gear would not pass the ‘cool’ test, but I couldn’t care less. I figured that once I had passed the test and decided what to do, I would be in a far better position to assess what I really wanted / needed and then buy that and treat this as disposable gear.
As I didn’t know when or what sort of biking I might get into at this stage, I decided to buy multi-purpose low end stuff, I wasn’t going to splash out a fortune on leathers at this stage! So I spoke to Rob who was happy to come with me to Hein Gericke, a German motorbike chain fairly big in the UK who sell their own and other brands of gear. Their own stuff is well respected and they do various bits of kit that win ‘best of’ in independent evaluations for the biking magazines. I was keen to have someone along that could give real advice rather than rely on the sales guy.
So we met up at the local Hein Gericke. Fist stop, a helmet. I didn’t want to spend much at this stage and saw this only as a ‘learner helmet’. I decided on a full-face helmet and spotted a decent quality one that was last years model and somewhat garish, but it was heavily reduced, so tried it on. It was very tight by my estimation, but both Rob and the sales guy agreed it was a good fit (they are meant to be ‘firm’ and hold in place apparently, I said I would let them know when the feeling came back to my face!). OK, that’s the helmet, modest at £60
Now the jacket. I settled on a Hein Gericke own brand ‘Shelltex’ jacket – their version of Goretex. It was watherproof with a detachable inner quilt lining with built in elbow and shoulder armour. It fitted pretty well and a sensible price at £110. I go the matching trousers, also in Shelltex and with detachable quilting and built in armour, for a further £85.
Now all I need is gloves. I chose a lightweight leather pair for summer, not waterproof, but then I didn’t think that mattered. I decided not to bother with boots, but changed my mind quickly after I had a lesson where it rained solidly and my feet were soaked, so it was back to Hein Gericke for a pair of their Shelltex boots for £100.
I did feel a bit of a fraud, buying all this kit when I hadn’t even sat astride a motorbike yet, but I figured I should have it for the CBT and I was likely to crack on quite quickly with the training and hope to finish it this year before the winter.
Well that was me kitted up in sensible gear that was generally waterproof and with body armour in appropriate places. The gear would not pass the ‘cool’ test, but I couldn’t care less. I figured that once I had passed the test and decided what to do, I would be in a far better position to assess what I really wanted / needed and then buy that and treat this as disposable gear.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
How do I go about getting a licence?
So I started to figure out what I needed to do and how to go about it to get my unrestricted motorbike licence.
In the UK, for a few years now, there is a bit of a performance you need to go through to get your motorbike licence, and even then, there is a choice. If you are under 21, then that’s it, all you can do is train and learn on a 125cc max, then once you have passed all of the tests, you are limited to either a 125cc with a maximum power output of 33 bhp for two years or a bigger bike, but ‘chipped’ to a maximum power output of 33 bhp. After the two years, the licence is upgraded to unlimited and you can then ride around whatever you like. This is called the A2 ‘restricted’ licence. But, if you are over 21, then you can do the ‘Direct Access’ test, which means that you must train and take the test riding a bike of at least 47 bhp, you then get an unrestricted licence from outset and can ride around on whatever you like once you have passed all the tests.
The advantage of going the A2 ‘restricted’ route is that once you have your provisional licence and have passed the CBT, you can buy your own 125cc bike, slap ‘L’ plates on it and ride around to your hearts content. The ‘catch’ with the A1 ‘direct access’ route is that you can still buy and ride around on a 125cc with ‘L’ plates, but you can only ride the bigger bikes needed for the ‘direct access’ test when you are accompanied by a registered trainer who is no more than 50 m from you and is in radio contact with you.
So for me the choice was obvious, I would go the ‘direct access’ route to a full and immediate unrestricted licence.
As for the tests themselves, well, that has changed hugely since I took my car test way back when. For a motorbike you have to take a:
- Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) day with a registered school,
- Theory test,
- Practical part one (off road) test
- Practical part two (on road) test
Once you pass all of these, then you are through and riding. There is a catch, which is that they must all be passed within two years, if any one of these is over two years old, you have to take it again. This wouldn’t be a problem for me.
The CBT was a whole day going through first the theory, laws and kit required. Then learning the basics of a 125cc bike and handling it. Then riding around cones in slalom and figures of eight, stopping correctly etc. Then only if the trainer was satisfied, it was two hours on the road playing ‘follow the leader’ with two bikes to every trainer. At the end of this, an official certificate to allow you to move to the next stage.
The theory test was now all computerised and consisted of two parts. The first part was 50 multi-choice questions on the highway code and motorbike specific stuff followed by the dreaded second part, the ‘hazard perception’ video clips, where you watch a series of video clips taken from a drivers point of view, then click when you spot a hazard. You have to pass both sections of the theory to get a theory test pass and you have to have both a theory test pass and a CBT certificate before you take the first practical tests.
The practical off road test is done at one of the big UK official test centres dotted around the country. Fortunately there is one in Gloucester, not far away. This is a large enclosed tarmac area marked up with lines and cones. An official examiner then asks you to do a series of handling tests, while pretending to be ‘on the road’ at all times – the catch here is that they insist that you do the full ‘look all around you’ checks before you move off and always do a lifesaver check before turning (as you would on the road), this isn’t easy as you know full well that it is just you and the examiner on this huge expanse of tarmac, but forget it once and you have failed. First moving the bike by hand, then slow speed slalom between cones, then a couple of figures of eight around cones. Then the slow ride as you ride as slowly as you can and stop in a specific spot while the examiner walks alongside you. Then the ‘high speed’ stuff. Ride around a bend and pick up speed to at least 50 kph (it is measured at a certain point electronically) then stop at a specific point, then do it again, but with an emergency stop when indicated by the examiner, then do it again but with an obstacle avoidance as you swerve around cones then come back onto line and stop at a certain point.
The ‘on road’ practical is probably what you would expect. Ride around on the public roads being told where to go by the examiner over a radio link and he is following behind you marking you as you go. So a hill start, pulling out from behind a parked car, turning etc. Given I was already an experienced car driver, I wasn’t so worried about ‘road sense’ and what to do in what circumstances, other than having picked up a lot of bad habits and of course riding like a car driver.
So that’s it. Not much to it eh? Well, this looked like some project to me now, but hey – it was something to get my teeth into, so away we go.
In the UK, for a few years now, there is a bit of a performance you need to go through to get your motorbike licence, and even then, there is a choice. If you are under 21, then that’s it, all you can do is train and learn on a 125cc max, then once you have passed all of the tests, you are limited to either a 125cc with a maximum power output of 33 bhp for two years or a bigger bike, but ‘chipped’ to a maximum power output of 33 bhp. After the two years, the licence is upgraded to unlimited and you can then ride around whatever you like. This is called the A2 ‘restricted’ licence. But, if you are over 21, then you can do the ‘Direct Access’ test, which means that you must train and take the test riding a bike of at least 47 bhp, you then get an unrestricted licence from outset and can ride around on whatever you like once you have passed all the tests.
The advantage of going the A2 ‘restricted’ route is that once you have your provisional licence and have passed the CBT, you can buy your own 125cc bike, slap ‘L’ plates on it and ride around to your hearts content. The ‘catch’ with the A1 ‘direct access’ route is that you can still buy and ride around on a 125cc with ‘L’ plates, but you can only ride the bigger bikes needed for the ‘direct access’ test when you are accompanied by a registered trainer who is no more than 50 m from you and is in radio contact with you.
So for me the choice was obvious, I would go the ‘direct access’ route to a full and immediate unrestricted licence.
As for the tests themselves, well, that has changed hugely since I took my car test way back when. For a motorbike you have to take a:
- Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) day with a registered school,
- Theory test,
- Practical part one (off road) test
- Practical part two (on road) test
Once you pass all of these, then you are through and riding. There is a catch, which is that they must all be passed within two years, if any one of these is over two years old, you have to take it again. This wouldn’t be a problem for me.
The CBT was a whole day going through first the theory, laws and kit required. Then learning the basics of a 125cc bike and handling it. Then riding around cones in slalom and figures of eight, stopping correctly etc. Then only if the trainer was satisfied, it was two hours on the road playing ‘follow the leader’ with two bikes to every trainer. At the end of this, an official certificate to allow you to move to the next stage.
The theory test was now all computerised and consisted of two parts. The first part was 50 multi-choice questions on the highway code and motorbike specific stuff followed by the dreaded second part, the ‘hazard perception’ video clips, where you watch a series of video clips taken from a drivers point of view, then click when you spot a hazard. You have to pass both sections of the theory to get a theory test pass and you have to have both a theory test pass and a CBT certificate before you take the first practical tests.
The practical off road test is done at one of the big UK official test centres dotted around the country. Fortunately there is one in Gloucester, not far away. This is a large enclosed tarmac area marked up with lines and cones. An official examiner then asks you to do a series of handling tests, while pretending to be ‘on the road’ at all times – the catch here is that they insist that you do the full ‘look all around you’ checks before you move off and always do a lifesaver check before turning (as you would on the road), this isn’t easy as you know full well that it is just you and the examiner on this huge expanse of tarmac, but forget it once and you have failed. First moving the bike by hand, then slow speed slalom between cones, then a couple of figures of eight around cones. Then the slow ride as you ride as slowly as you can and stop in a specific spot while the examiner walks alongside you. Then the ‘high speed’ stuff. Ride around a bend and pick up speed to at least 50 kph (it is measured at a certain point electronically) then stop at a specific point, then do it again, but with an emergency stop when indicated by the examiner, then do it again but with an obstacle avoidance as you swerve around cones then come back onto line and stop at a certain point.
The ‘on road’ practical is probably what you would expect. Ride around on the public roads being told where to go by the examiner over a radio link and he is following behind you marking you as you go. So a hill start, pulling out from behind a parked car, turning etc. Given I was already an experienced car driver, I wasn’t so worried about ‘road sense’ and what to do in what circumstances, other than having picked up a lot of bad habits and of course riding like a car driver.
So that’s it. Not much to it eh? Well, this looked like some project to me now, but hey – it was something to get my teeth into, so away we go.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Here's how it all began....
It all started in May 2011 on the way home from ice skating in Coventry with my daughters’ ex-boyfriend. I like to go skating once a week if I can and for company I offer to drive Rob as well as he enjoys skating. It is a fair old drive, some 55 minutes door-to-door one way – ice rinks are few and far between in the UK you know!
Anyway….. Oh hell, it really started back in 1982! I had just changed jobs from my first job (which I did for 8 years) in central London to a new job near Shepherd Bush, on the outskirts of London. Well, I hadn’t bothered to learn to drive beyond a few lessons, what with my involvement with the Territorial Army, which left me with little free time at weekends. So I got the train into Central London everyday and walked to and from the station, I simply didn’t need a car.
Then the job in Shepherds Bush came along.
I took the job and handed my one months notice in. Then I thought ‘how do I get there every day’. Well I could do a train into London then a tube out, but that would cost a fortune. Driving was out partly due to the traffic in London but mainly because I didn’t have a licence!
I know! Genius! I’ll buy a motorbike, stick ‘L’ plates on and commute that way! Yeah, I lived in Weybridge so it was already on the same side of London as Shepherds Bush, so I’ll do that – how tough can it be?
Only 20 miles one way through rush hour London traffic and a packed three lane A road with 70 mph traffic jams!
Now in those days, you didn’t need any of this CBT basic training nonsense. In fact they had only just lowered the maximum spec of a learner motorbike from 250cc to 125cc. All you had to do was get a provisional licence, get a 125cc motorbike, stick ‘L’ plates front and back, get it insured and a tax disk and off you go!
I bought a Suzuki GP125 on the Friday, practiced on disused roads where the prefabs used to be on Sunday and went off to drive from Weybridge to Shepherds Bush up the A3 in the rush hour on the following Monday morning – smart move eh?
Anyway, I didn’t kill myself. I rode the bike like that in all weathers day in and day out for two years. No leathers, just a one piece ‘shower-resistant’ over-suit which of course leaked badly in the crotch region!
In all that time, I only came off twice. Once when I decided on a very cold a frosty morning in January (I guess you can see what’s coming!) to take a short cut through the back roads in Bushy Park off the A3 near Roehampton. Yep – black ice. I was sliding along my side at 35mph thinking ‘this is a really stupid way to break my leg!’. Well I didn’t. I got up, shook myself off, picked up the bike, straightened the bent bits and carried on. The second time I was literally blown off riding around Feltham in very high winds, I just passed a tall office block when a funnelled and very strong gust blew the bike into the curb and I bounced off. Both me and the bike were fine.
Well for me at the time, the bike was a means to an end. A way of getting cheaply and conveniently from A to B. I got promoted, took my car licence then bought a brand new Opel Manta as my first car. What of anything I have written so far make you think that I do the smart thing – huh?
So I sold the bike and moved onwards and upwards into cars. So that was damned near 30 years ago and that was the last time I rode a bike.
Anyway, Rob and I got to talking on the way back from skating in the car, ……well, skating in Coventry, not actually IN the car, but you knew that didn’t you?
He is a young man of 23-odd and a very keen biker. So he said why don’t you get a motorbike? Well, I went through a few reasons, like I would have to do that PITA new series of tests, I already had an expensive hobby, I didn’t have much free time etc. etc.
But the more I thought about the more I thought, ‘y’know, it would be a fun project to get your teeth stuck into, why not just get the licence and sit on it, then when the time was right in a year or two, get a bike’. So that is kinda what I thought I would do.
We only have one life and I would hate to get to age 75 and think ‘you know, I really wish I had done XXXX (whatever XXXXX is)’. So I suppose if you call that a mid-life crisis, then yep – that’s what I’ve got! But hey – I have had it since I was I was aged 45 in 2000 – that is when I started making lists – lists of places I wanted to see, lists of things I wanted to do, lists of things I wanted to achieve etc. Damn Tony Robbins and ‘Awaken the Giant Within’ – damn him I say!!!
So that was the plan. Get my motorbike direct access licence and sit on it for a couple of years as a preparation step.
But plans have a habit of morphing and changing don’t they?
Anyway….. Oh hell, it really started back in 1982! I had just changed jobs from my first job (which I did for 8 years) in central London to a new job near Shepherd Bush, on the outskirts of London. Well, I hadn’t bothered to learn to drive beyond a few lessons, what with my involvement with the Territorial Army, which left me with little free time at weekends. So I got the train into Central London everyday and walked to and from the station, I simply didn’t need a car.
Then the job in Shepherds Bush came along.
I took the job and handed my one months notice in. Then I thought ‘how do I get there every day’. Well I could do a train into London then a tube out, but that would cost a fortune. Driving was out partly due to the traffic in London but mainly because I didn’t have a licence!
I know! Genius! I’ll buy a motorbike, stick ‘L’ plates on and commute that way! Yeah, I lived in Weybridge so it was already on the same side of London as Shepherds Bush, so I’ll do that – how tough can it be?
Only 20 miles one way through rush hour London traffic and a packed three lane A road with 70 mph traffic jams!
Now in those days, you didn’t need any of this CBT basic training nonsense. In fact they had only just lowered the maximum spec of a learner motorbike from 250cc to 125cc. All you had to do was get a provisional licence, get a 125cc motorbike, stick ‘L’ plates front and back, get it insured and a tax disk and off you go!
I bought a Suzuki GP125 on the Friday, practiced on disused roads where the prefabs used to be on Sunday and went off to drive from Weybridge to Shepherds Bush up the A3 in the rush hour on the following Monday morning – smart move eh?
Anyway, I didn’t kill myself. I rode the bike like that in all weathers day in and day out for two years. No leathers, just a one piece ‘shower-resistant’ over-suit which of course leaked badly in the crotch region!
In all that time, I only came off twice. Once when I decided on a very cold a frosty morning in January (I guess you can see what’s coming!) to take a short cut through the back roads in Bushy Park off the A3 near Roehampton. Yep – black ice. I was sliding along my side at 35mph thinking ‘this is a really stupid way to break my leg!’. Well I didn’t. I got up, shook myself off, picked up the bike, straightened the bent bits and carried on. The second time I was literally blown off riding around Feltham in very high winds, I just passed a tall office block when a funnelled and very strong gust blew the bike into the curb and I bounced off. Both me and the bike were fine.
Well for me at the time, the bike was a means to an end. A way of getting cheaply and conveniently from A to B. I got promoted, took my car licence then bought a brand new Opel Manta as my first car. What of anything I have written so far make you think that I do the smart thing – huh?
So I sold the bike and moved onwards and upwards into cars. So that was damned near 30 years ago and that was the last time I rode a bike.
Anyway, Rob and I got to talking on the way back from skating in the car, ……well, skating in Coventry, not actually IN the car, but you knew that didn’t you?
He is a young man of 23-odd and a very keen biker. So he said why don’t you get a motorbike? Well, I went through a few reasons, like I would have to do that PITA new series of tests, I already had an expensive hobby, I didn’t have much free time etc. etc.
But the more I thought about the more I thought, ‘y’know, it would be a fun project to get your teeth stuck into, why not just get the licence and sit on it, then when the time was right in a year or two, get a bike’. So that is kinda what I thought I would do.
We only have one life and I would hate to get to age 75 and think ‘you know, I really wish I had done XXXX (whatever XXXXX is)’. So I suppose if you call that a mid-life crisis, then yep – that’s what I’ve got! But hey – I have had it since I was I was aged 45 in 2000 – that is when I started making lists – lists of places I wanted to see, lists of things I wanted to do, lists of things I wanted to achieve etc. Damn Tony Robbins and ‘Awaken the Giant Within’ – damn him I say!!!
So that was the plan. Get my motorbike direct access licence and sit on it for a couple of years as a preparation step.
But plans have a habit of morphing and changing don’t they?
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