Night Rider

It was only a matter of time before I had to make my first night ride, and I suppose the sooner I got it over with the better. I decided to take the bike down to flute quintet practice, so I packed my trusty high vis vest and made sure that my lights, brake lights and high beam were all working. The ride itself wasn't actually too bad, although I think that was partly to do with the fact the roads were much less busy at that time of night. I did a lot of extra over the shoulder checks, particularly at junctions, fully aware (having done so myself on several occasions) how easy it is for motorists to miss bikers, especially at night. On the plus side, it was much easier to see the potholes in the dark with the help of my headlight!

Ironically, the journey down to the practice earlier in the evening was TERRIBLE. I stalled so many times, in particular when starting on a hill (of which there are a LOT in Sheffield). I could feel myself getting more and more angry, so had to mentally calm myself down before I could actually pull away smoothly.

B-Day!

Bike Day had finally dawned! I was so incredibly nervous and excited all at once walking down to SMC. It was a huge commitment in terms of finances, along with the obvious risk element, but as I got nearer to the store I knew I was doing the right thing. I got the bits and pieces of paperwork sorted and then it was time for the fun stuff...getting all the gear! I'd already tried on a helmet I liked so that was sorted. I knew the challenge would be finding trousers that had long enough legs and a jacket that had long enough arms, and I was right on that account. I'd also already settled on leathers over textiles, not only for the better protection but it looks I tried on a couple of women's jackets which were woefully short in the sleeves before settling on a nice Frank Thomas jacket. It was still a bit short but I managed to get some longish gloves which made up for it. The trousers proved to be more problematic. I'm an awkward size anyway, and I had to try on about 6 different pairs before I found some that even remotely fit me. It felt very strange and alien (and uncomfortably hot) walking around all togged up in the leathers but felt quite natural as soon as I sat on the bike. I few more bits and pieces to sign, a security chain to buy, then I was ready to set off.

The ride back up to work was terrifying. Only 2 weeks had past since I had last ridden on a bike but it felt like months. It also didn't help that, thanks to the vagaries of the Sheffield one way system, I didn't really know how to get back in the direction I wanted to be in once I left SMC. Eventually, after pulling in to someone's drive (oops!) and doing a sort of half-arsed U turn I managed to get back on track, and remarkably made it safe and sound back to work only stalling once!

The quest for the perfect bike

I seemed to be getting nowhere fast with my bike search, and I was worried that the uncomfortable feel of the Marauder was something to do with me being quite tall and having stupidly long legs. Whichever bike I decided to go for really had to be comfortable, and my legs did cramp up a few times on the CBT, so I decided to do some research into which was the best 125cc for people with long legs. I decided to drop SMC Bikes a line to see if they could advise me. I got a call back from a very helpful chap called Tony who invited me to pop down and try out various models, which I did that very lunchtime.

Tony was great, very friendly and helpful, hoping to make a sale of course but not pushy at all which I very much appreciated. The first model I sat on was a shiny brand new Marauder. It was still gorgeous but still didn't feel particularly comfortable. I then tried some of the motocross style bikes, which Tony thought I might be a bit more comfortable on as they're pretty high up and ideal for someone with long legs. I tried the Yamaha WR 125 X, and whilst my legs definitely didn't feel as cramped, I really didn't like the look of the bike. You may say looks aren't that important, but when you're spending this much money on something, it's got to be something you want to look at! Next I tried the Yamaha YBR 125 which was ok, but it didn't particuarly grab me. Then I tried a second hand Honda Varadero 125, again a slightly bigger bike more suited to taller riders, and again it didn't particularly grab me, although it did feel pretty comfortable. The last bike I tried was a Yamaha YBR 125 Custom. You'll have to excuse the cliché, but pretty much as soon as I sat on it, I knew it was the bike for me. It's sort of a halfway house between a normal bike and a custom, so it had the comfort but the looks as well. I tried the Marauder once more just to make absolutely certain, but it was definitely the YBR custom for me. I had to go back to work, so thanked Tony for his time and told him I'd be in touch. 2 hours later I'd phoned him to say "I'll take it" and, having paid my deposit, had thus crossed the point of no return.

Decisions decisions...

So, the question was...what bike to get? Actually, that was one of many questions; new or second hand? Private seller or dealer? Cruiser or sports bike? The latter question was pretty easier to answer as I've definitely a cruiser gal at heart. A bit of Googling revealed that there aren't many cruiser 125cc's, and the first model that caught my eye was the Suzuki GZ 125 Maruader.

It's an absolutely gorgeous bike and a search on Autotrader showed there was a second hand one for sale at a dealer about 30 miles away. So, I jumped in the car and went to see it. The trouble is, with second hand bikes, cars or indeed anything mechanical, I don't really know what I'm looking for! It was a 2001 model and in pretty good condition, some surface rust on the exhaust and the wheel lock was broken, but with 30,000 miles on the clock. Then I came to sit on it, and I hadn't expected a cruiser to feel so...well...weird. The angle of the shift pedal and the foot break meant my feet had to be stuck in a funny position, and I'm sure it's something I would have got used to, but it just felt all weird. So I drove back pondering the Marauder and thinking that perhaps it wasn't the bike for me after all. The quest continues!

The CBT

I did my CBT a few weeks ago with MCT Services in Chesterfield who were excellent. The instructor, Stuart, is I believe an ex-police rider and he was patient but not too soft on me! Unlike the first time I did the CBT where I was in a group of 4, Stuart only does 1 to 1 tuition, which is definitely the best way as you have the instructor's undivided attention. The morning was spent in a car park getting to grips with the bike controls, safety aspects and manoeuvring. The hardest things to master were pulling away slowly in first, then changing up to second still very slowly before coming to a controlled stop. I couldn't get the hang of smoothly releasing the clutch while giving it enough revs to start moving forward...I either revved much too hard or stalled! I tried to remember how it first felt when I tried to do it in a car with my feet, I suppose it felt just as strange back then! My other issue was keeping balance while doing a U-turn. The length you have to do a U-turn in the test felt ridiculously small, and despite Stuart's good advice ("make sure you grip the petrol tank tightly between your legs, it will help with the balance!"), I still kept having to put my foot down part way round.

Then in the afternoon it was out on the road for a good 3 hours which was brilliant but really tiring. We first road out to a bike shop + cafe in Clay Cross where I had a jolly good bacon sandwich, then we hit the mean streets of Derbyshire. I'm not going to pretend otherwise, it was TERRIFYING at first; doing 30mph felt about 90, and I stalled countless times. But once I got a bit more used to it and was able to concentrate less on the controls and more on actually riding it was much more enjoyable. It was an absolutely glorious day and the sense of freedom riding around the Derbyshire A roads was just fantastic. I'd been frustrated with my lack of progress in the morning and had been having a few doubts about whether I should really be doing the whole thing at all, but as soon as I got that feeling I knew I'd done the right thing and I'd been well and truly bitten by the biking bug. Before I knew it though, it was all over and I was back at Stuart's getting my CBT certificate.

Driving back from Chesterfield I had a kind of nervous excitement, the same feeling I had after I'd done the previous CBT eight years earlier. But this time it was different...instead of letting my CBT expire, it was time to seriously investigate getting a bike.

In the beginning...

I can't remember when my interest in bikes first started. My earliest memory of sitting on a bike is when I was about eight or nine up on the Isle of Skye. My dad bought me a book of custom Harley Davidsons when I was fifteen or so...perhaps he thought if I could read about them I wanted want to ride them :) Eight years ago I did my CBT whilst my parents were away on holiday. I didn't tell them I'd done it and needless to say they weren't best pleased when they found out. I'm not really sure why I did at as I couldn't afford a bike at the time, and before I knew it the two years were up and my CBT expired.

So now I'm finally at the stage where I can afford a bike, I have decided to bite the bullet and go for it. Having toyed with the idea of doing the DAS and going straight in with a bigger bike, I decided to start off with the CBT, get a 125cc and practice, practice, practice! I know I'll be a better rider if I do it this way rather than go straight in at the deep end, and as I'm not a speed demon when it comes to bikes (cars is another matter as some of my friends will vouch for!), I feel sure I'll be content with a 125cc for the foreseeable future. I decided to start this blog to keep a bit of a diary of my riding experiences which I will hopefully be able to learn from and be able to look back on with fondness when I'm an (hopefully!) experienced rider in many years time.