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I then re-did my CBT, passed my theory with no problems and asked my instructor about doing the direct access course. The conversation was very much "I do 4 day and 3 day courses, up to you which one you do.". I eventually signed up for the 4 day course.
What a horrible experience.
We did a bit of the off-road section on a school playground, told how easy it was and you can do it one-handed (which he demonstrated a couple of times), the other rider asked which bay is best to park (as you have to manually handle it to the other and then go through the slalom) and the instructors response was "I don't give a fuck which one you park in". He spent most of time ranting about how he hates teaching people who can't ride a motorbike and how he throws people off the CBT.
The instructor is the owner, it's a one man show.
I'm happy to not get on a bike again, i've got the van which is a makeshift camper. It is infinitely better than a bike as it's got a kettle in it.
All I need now is to rig up a makeshift auto-drive thing so i can make a brew on the motorway. I think some pool noodles around the bumpers and a brick on the accelerator should do the trick
You were unlucky by the sound of things. My brother did the equivalent of the Direct Access thing in Ireland, and got an excellent instructor who tailored his approach to the ability of the individual riders. For the more experienced types who just needed to go through the formalities moreso than a huge amount of skills development, he spent a percentage of time on the stuff you needed for the bike test itself - and then a separate piece which he described as 'what's not in the test, but what you need to do to stay alive" - things like staying out of car driver's blindspots and overtaking as quickly as possible to minimise time in the danger zones pre and in-overtake. and suchlike.
I wish you'd got a better one.
My instructor was a one man show but was entirely the opposite. I didn't like him much as a person but as a motorcycle instructor he was very good.
I found the direct access course a struggle. It's a lot to take in in a very short space of time. I didn't get a bike after doing my CBT, so I went straight from CBT to riding a Suzuki SV650 - the machine was better in every way to ride than the little Honda 125 but you don't get much machine time before you're on the road among traffic - I struggled with that.
It's probably a good way to pass the tests but I don't think it's the best way to learn.
There is no 'H' in Aych, you know that don't you? ~ Wife
Turns out there is an H in Haych! ~ Sporky
Bit of trading feedback here.
I'm thinking of that scene from anchorman
You could always get a wee trail bike to strap on the back of your camper.
My dad got me into trials (IA) when I was young. Safer than racing around the streets, probably makes you a more confident rider too.
The way the owner chose to run their business, interface with their customers (apart from actually when running a training session, which was assessed under "instructor assessment") and generally operate wasn't on their radar. Yes, the local assessors would know which schools were good, which were bad and might assess accordingly (be more thorough with a school that had a bad rep, or lots of test fails), but that's all. The marketplace would decide which schools survived and which failed. When you consider most customers don't take repeat courses, (most customers are new, pass and don't come back), then it's easy for a bad school to stay in business for far too long. Especially if they're the only school in town.
It's what the customers want - a driving licence. They don't really want the education and don't want to pay for the professional time that it would require to get them there.
Most CBTs in London, where there is competition, are chosen based on price. For most people it's a distress purchase. I decided to take a different approach and marketed my business on the basis of quality - but I was the most expensive school in the whole city as far as I was aware. But I had nice customers and they got to ride nice bikes because they paid a reasonable fee for it.
Offset "(Emp) - a little heavy on the hyperbole."
There is no 'H' in Aych, you know that don't you? ~ Wife
Turns out there is an H in Haych! ~ Sporky
Bit of trading feedback here.
I failed my first test for blocking an entrance to let some emergency vehicles pass - harsh I thought, but technically yes I had done something wrong.
Second go, we were going around a roundabout and she got cut up by another rider and had to go around again (I wasn't involved at all). I was failed because on the approach to the roundabout - which was a dual carriageway with both lanes queuing - I hadn't moved into the lane which had cleared up and stayed in the same lane. That was my only fault on the test, major or minor. My riding instructors simply refused to believe that's what had happened and seemed convinced I'd missed an observation. I told them that wasn't the reason I was given. Brassed off with the whole situation I decided that I'd done the best I could and that I'd never be able to get past this examiner - so I gave up.
Until last year.
We moved in 2015 and our new next door neighbour is well into his bikes. I'd taken an interest and loved going around to see what he'd bought next - but despite his cajoling I told him I'd not be trying again to do it. When he needed someone to go to MCN live with him in late 2021 I thought I'd just go for the craic, but after seeing some of the wonderful machinery I thought I should given it another go.
My wife took a bit of convincing but eventually got on board. I went back to my old instructors, took 1 three hour lesson a week, passed my theory, Mod 1 (no faults) and Mod 2 (2 minors). I didn't feel nervous - I knew I could do it because I'd done it all before!
Shortly after I got a Ducati Monster and I absolutely love it. I can't tell you how much of a positive move doing this has been for me. Living on the edge of the Peak District I've got loads of great places to ride to and roads to do them on, and I've met some great people too. My neighbour and I just went out for a 120 mile ride today, it's fantastic. And not just the riding too; I take a lot of pride in my machine and enjoy the cleaning and tinkering almost as much as the riding.
Don't give up on it just because of your arsehole instructor, and also you're never too old to do it - I eventually passed when I was 42!
Yay, ....a Biker is born !
Offset "(Emp) - a little heavy on the hyperbole."
Used prices aren’t high. You could do worse.
There is no 'H' in Aych, you know that don't you? ~ Wife
Turns out there is an H in Haych! ~ Sporky
Bit of trading feedback here.
Reminds me a bit of the quote from a chap whose name I can't remember to the Alan Rickman / Stephen Spurrier wine snob character in Bottle Shock:
"You're a wine snob, which both defines .. and, sadly, limits you in so many ways.."
(probably misquoted..but you get the gist )