A Biking Development Pt.2

8.30, Saturday morning, I went to do my CBT with the aforementioned friend. I felt a bit nervous about the whole thing as I wanted to do well. We started off by getting safety gear (helmets, gloves, reflective jackets) and then moved on into the classroom to go over the basics of suitable clothing, road rules, etc.

We then moved on out to the playground area and got started on the bikes and worked on manoeuvres and road positioning at junctions. After lunch, we did a couple more manoeuvres and then it was out on the road.

The first few minutes on the road were just surreal, felt like I was on autopilot. We then worked on turns and did a few laps around residential areas and then moved onto a different area to do some U-Turns and emergency stops. After what felt like 30 minutes but was probably nearer 2 hours, we headed back to the test centre.

I was worried I wouldn’t get my certificate as I didn’t feel I did as well as I thought I could, I think it was a mixture of the pressure of it all and the lack of previous experience, but, thankfully, I passed.

I am not sure what my next steps will be, I would like to get my own bike, but costs are against me, I’m trying to find a summer job to help potentially pay for it, but we shall see if that works out. Dad is being very cryptic about getting a bike, I mention wanting one, and he said he knew someone who knows someone who sells bikes, but then follows it up with “but you don’t have a job so you can’t afford it”. Very confusing :/

I’ve already started by gear buying, I bought some gloves at the CBT place as the ones they gave me were falling to bits and were so thick, I couldn’t feel the levers.

Shall keep you updated on the latest news on the whole thing.

1 month ago  /  0 notes

A Biking Development

On Sunday, I went to a motorcycle event with a friend, there was all sorts of motorbike stuff there from stunt shows, to dealerships, to clothing to…a get on scheme.

The get on scheme allowed you to try out a bike in a closed area under instruction. Initially, I wasn’t going to bother doing it, but, after little persuasion from my friend, we decided we would :p

I’m glad I did though. I was nervous to start with as I didn’t know how it would be, but once got into the fenced off area, it was a bit better :p The man showed us round the bike and taught us various bits about the bike and how to pull away and brake and then got a chance to ride round.

My friend enjoyed it too :) She has been wanting to get on a bike for ages and wanted to get it done before her 21st birthday (which is later this month so just in time :p )

That’s not the end of the story! After we had got off the bike, we went straight back into the centre and booked up for the CBT (Compulsory Basic Training) this coming Saturday! Went to the show just for a look round and to drool over some bikes and came away with a little ride on a bike and a booking for the first stage of a full motorcycle licence :p

When I got home, it dawned on me that I need to check my licence to make sure I can actually do the CBT, I checked my plastic card licence and I couldn’t see the motorcycle entitlement on there! Panicking and worried that I wouldn’t be able to do the CBT this Saturday, I rang up the DVLA to check that if I can and if not, how I could get that entitlement. The information I got was to check the paper counterpart and it should be on there. Thankfully, it was so its all systems go for Saturday now :p

My next step is to find out what to take with me clothing wise. I would like to get some gear, but, this all depends how far I’m going with this biking lark, there is no point if I can’t continue with it. I’ve had a talk with my parents but its the money issue again :(

Of course, I would like to take this as far as possible, but with all these things in the way, its not going to be an easy path. I guess there are always hurdles in life and its the getting over them that makes the result worthwhile.

Shall report back on Saturday on the results of it.

1 month ago  /  1 note