To start, I rang around a few places. I worked out it would be cheaper and safer to learn in North England rather than on the fringe of London. I found a couple of places and based my decision on pass rates and testimonials.
I had my CBT booked 3 days after my birthday and can't remember ever feeling as excited as I was then. I decided to choose a school in Gateshead (Tyne and Wear) meaning I'd have to cycle around 5miles a day, giving me a bit of exercise I guess. I realise now, this was a bad decision, pulling up on a pedal bike to a motorbike training centre will give you 10x more grief than turning up in a cage (car) or by foot! I wore some jeans and a coat with some trainers. I was told to get some hiking boots or similar for the following lessons.
On the day, I was doing my CBT with a middle-aged woman who already owned a 350cc and had previous experience and a young lad, around 16, looking to get the pass to ride his moped and 125cc. So I felt relatively concerned knowing I had the least experience. To add to the pressure, the instructors were all highly qualified bikers with strict attitudes. We were all sat down and given a brief on helmet laws, the highway code and wearing the right gear (something I was always intent on doing from the start).
After a swift 15mins, we were whisked outside onto their set of bikes - some honda cg125s. The first part was focusing solely on understanding the weight of the bike and slow-riding (using the clutch, back brake and throttle) to go in a straight line - easy stuff! We then went onto cornering, shifting into second gear, shifting down and stopping in a controlled manner. I seemed to be progressing a lot quicker than the other two and was having the time of my life! I went through the basics of the MOD1 manoeuvres including the U-turn and figure of eights. Before I knew it, I was onto signalling and lifesavers. We stopped for a break and I grabbed some lunch with a huge grin on my face.
After quickly out-growing the test ground, I was told I'd be heading out early with one of the instructors - this is when the fears kicked in. I barely knew how to stop at speeds and now he wanted to take me out onto 40mph traffic? I thought perhaps the instructors were unaware this was pretty much my first time on a bike? Regardless, we set out and I was linked up with a one-way radio (meaning I couldn't talk back/swear to my instructor, I could just hear him). As soon as we left the ground, we merged onto a dual carriageway and I started to s*** myself. Trying to remember all of the controls; which brakes to use and how to shift between the gears was too much to recollect. Luckily, nothing bad happened although I was consistently being told off for doing 'everything' wrong - I didn't know what they expected? One of the hardest things to remember is to cancel your indicators and learn the routine of 'head check, signal, head check, manoeuvre'. Sounds easy right?
I was taken over to a series of barely used round-a-bouts and we stopped at the side of a road. I was given a very stern talk about the seriousness of biking and my errors. I took everything in my stride and tried my hardest to amend. I was struggling to use the engine to brake, by shifting down through the gears along with the idea of 'counting' gears. You're told to count the gears as the bike, unlike a car, doesn't tell you what gear you're in. I was taken by the instructor as a pillion and shown how to do it, but it looked far too easy compared to what I was doing.
The most important thing I learned today was to relax and plan ahead. Don't constantly look down at your tyre/speedo, keep looking ahead at where you're going and where you're going to stop. Most situations on the bike were planned so that you could drive into junctions and roundabouts in 2nd gear.
We drove back to the centres after two hours and I was given my CBT certificate. After my first day, I would have never gotten on a 125cc alone, for fear of killing myself. I was severely put off the idea of biking but persevered and booked a further 6 hours. For my first few lessons, I was genuinely scared.
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