Collective Thoughts

Triumph - Step 2

Having triumphed ( ooh that hurt! ) on my biker theory test, the next step came on Saturday 29th July. I enrolled to do my 1 day CBT ( Compulsory Basic Training ). This gives you the ability to go out on the public roads on a bike up to 125c.c. with L plates ( no passengers ) for 2 years I think before you have to pass the motorcycle test itself.

The company I did this with were A2B Training. Spooky, I found out that the guy who runs it, and who instructed me on the day, was an ex-Bournemouth Dolphin and we had worked together on the initial web site!

So the day started at 9:00 a.m. where we met Paul and Dave the 2 instructors for the day. Also learning was John, a young lad who had had his new bike delivered on the day and was probably very excited about getting under way and on the road.

The first hour was spent chatting about road safety, why we were doing this, practical things such as insurance and looking at road signs etc. etc.

Then it was time to go to their training site. Yippee! I borrowed the full gear, helmet, gloves, jacket and looked as far from a hard biker as could be.

We were introduced to our bikes very gradually ( "hello bike, I'm Stu, please be gentle"! ) and spent quite a while going around their small track in first gear just slipping the clutch, which is allowed and encouraged on bikes, and then coming to a standstill in the safe position. Left foot, right foot on the brake. The first couple attempts were mega-wobbly and ended up with me scraping both feet along the road trying to stop. But we progressed.

Next we had to introduce second gear. Not a huge step you may think. But this meant co-ordinating 1 hand and 2 feet and you know how bad men are at multi-tasking. Going faster was a cinch but I was still struggling when it came to stopping. Now I had to stop from a faster speed the before so using my trainers as brakes were now not an option.

OK I cracked that in the end. Then came slow riding. Phew! I was good at that, slipping the clutch, using that and a dab of brakes to do tight figures of 8s and U turns ( doing it out on public highway later was another story though ).

Last thing for the morning was using the front brake as well. So that's both hands and both feet - nightmare! My emergency stops were quite comical as I slid on the first 4 or 5. I had been putting the clutch in too early. But now if a cat pulls out on me I can stop quickly...... survey the damage and the move on.

A quick sausage roll for lunch ( actually about 2:30 by now ) and we were ready for the road. Oh my God.

This was quite an event going around Parley, Ferndown and Poole with an instructor talking to you via intercom into your ear. "Command the road, command the road". This was one of the most frightening but exhilarating times of my life. I did get the hang of it quite well, probably with my road experience and cycling skills helping out.

John wasn't so happy at his new bike though, slamming it in and out of gear and getting very frustrated at junctions. I think he had his right foot on the brake at the same time as he was trying to pull away and kept stalling. I hope he is still alive and out there and enjoying his biking now.

The worst thing about it for me was that my left hand was almost completely numb at the end of the afternoon and I could hardly pull the clutch in at the end. I hope this isn't the sign of things to come.

So I am the proud owner of a CBT certificate now but still no bike. Why?

It seems mad to buy a 125 c.c. for a few months just to want to swap it in for a bigger one once I have taken the proper test. I haven't booked this yet but am looking for September while I am looking for another job ( a few posts on that in the future! )

Thanks to Paul and A2B for giving me the confidence on a bike and it has whetted my appetite still further. Roll on Direct Access training and Triumph - Step 3.

posted by Frederick The Butler @ 11:30 am