I used to ride in my late teens and early twenties, the usual 200cc Honda Superdreams, Yamaha's, Lambretta Scooter etc..
But then I took a break from biking deciding that after riding a Harley-Davidson in Toronto (thanks to the Metropolitan Police Dept) I knew that I only ever wanted to ride an HD.
So when I hit 50 last year I thought, this is the time to do... or I'll never do my test!!
So I booked with Two Wheelers in Nuneaton (Instructor - Tim Smith), I took my CBT a week after my 50th, proving that you are NEVER too old and with Tim's patient teaching style I soon remembered everything that I used to do as a 20 year old... but better!!
Two weeks after passing my 50th Birthday I did my Theory Test, apparently I gave the examiners a good laugh, as I sat at the desk and looked like I was riding my Motorbike in front of the monitor... arms spread, head up and feet planted. But I passed... the Theory in front of the PC is quite nerve wracking as you are trying to spot "threats" just as the do or about to occur.
Then I was onto more training with Tim, mainly early in the morning to get used to traffic around Leicester. We also had a "Dry Run" walk through on the Saturday morning at the Test Centre, where we were shown EXACTLY how the test would progress... "Visualisation" Tim called it. I passed first time with two minors, one for "whooping out loud" when I completed the 180 degree turn in the road... "Inappropriate Happiness" the Examiner said...
Then about a month after passing my Module 1, I had the same Examiner for the Module 2 test. The best bit about this test is the "Free Ride", where you are NOT under the Examiners Control. You have a Start Position and you are told where the End Position is and away you go... apparently my Examiner was impressed by my determination to get my knee down as much as possible going round the country lanes at 60MPH... it was a beautiful, dry, sunny day and I was buzzing... I was nearly killed by a truck on the test... and I only picked up one minor ... so a Pass..
That night I was out on my Harley-Davidson Dyna Super Glide Custom for the first time, ten days after it was delivered!! I was happy.
To sum it all up, get yourself a good Instructor, one who's teaching methods suit your way of learning... Tim Smith at Two Wheelers in Nuneaton had "that way" to teach me...
Steve
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