Update: MOD 1 PASSED! :-D!!! Any advice for bad nerves?

[Robster]

Spent two days on and off road training for Mods 1 and 2, gone from a Van Van to an ER 6N and feckin love it

But I make a lotta mistakes, especially on the road, and suffer from bad nerves when the instructor's following me and giving me instructions - if i'm following the instructor its totally fine. The last ride of the day back to the test centre yesterday I nailed it, he only caught me out on a missed shoulder check, it all sorta clicked.

But the worst part is they lost their rag with me a bit when following. I have trouble understanding them on the radio sometimes and don't know what they're barking on at me for, and I always seem to be going too slow or too fast, indicating when I shouldn't etc.

I Keep forgetting which shoulder to take lifesavers on depending on the situation; roundabouts are horrible at the moment, always end up doing the lifesaver on the wrong side, get performance anxiety and tend to dawdle and make more mistakes.

I know I need to chill out and realise that if I fail it means I wasn't ready and can always retake the test, but any advice from the BCF veterans about how to chill the fuck out would be greatly appreciated, as i'd sooner pass first time and avoid having to rebook.

Also my throttle wrist was aching like fuck... What am I doing wrong? holding on too tightly?

I love motorbikes now, for about 30 minutes yesterday I was laughing like a fucking idiot 'screaming' down a country lane at 67 mph... and was buzzing with adrenaline after. Same sensation I used to get snowboarding, driving my Mazda along an alpine pass or go-karting. I'm hooked and determined to pass this year.

[GeorgeB.]

[Robster]

The funny thing is, on've em promised me in the morning he wouldn't shout. First ride out with him following, 5 mins later he's screaming in my ear about dawdling at junctions etc. I completely lost my nerve, almost jacked it in and got a taxi home at that moment.

I don't respond well to being shouted at at all though. I believe in positive reinforcement and encouragement, every small thing you do right needs to be recognised and acknowledged, which happened as well yesterday along with the shouting, so I was getting mixed signals.

It is a new 'world' for me, so I accept being a novice and needing to learn, but it's trying to unravel all the bad habits I may have picked up as a car driver and I always seem to have trouble following directions.

Ta for the advice GeorgeB, bit late to change places now but both instructors were very nice guys (when they weren't shouting) and we seemed to get along well so i'll stick with them.. Hopefully with less shouting next time

[Matt B]

[AlanC]

[pinkyfloyd]

Seems your instructor is a bit of an arse. We have to have the patience of a saint when it comes to training students. Getting you prepared for mod 1 and 2 on a 3 day DAS starts of nice and gently and we get firmer and firmer with you as the days progress so you are doing the lifesavers, indicators etc but never lose our temper.

I take people out on CBT and if they do something potentially dangerous I will pull them over and have a right go at them but it is not in temper, it is purely to make them see what they are doing could kill them.

My best one was after pulling a guy over a couple of times for the same silly mistakes (dangerous ones) and having a go at him something seemed to click and I had the best 40 minutes ride ever with him. When we got back to the yard and the debrief he said "I done as you said because I didnt want you to shout at me anymore!" I pissed myself laughing and told him. "Ride like that and I wont shout at you!" He was happy. I was happy.

There is no reason to lose your temper with students.
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[wr6133]

[Robster]

Thanks all around, feel a bit better about it now.

AlanC: I'll have a word with him tomorrow regarding the radio. It took a while to process what happens during the day and it takes a night's sleep for all of it to sink in. It helps when they repeat things in a simpler form. When they're trying to have full on conversations it sounds like a dog farting underwater. Cheers for the advice

Pinky: I take it you're over in Gosport? I may even bump into you very soon as i'm booked to do my Mod 1 at Lee on the Solent. Instructors, both of them, are stellar blokes and are very funny, easy to talk to, and I can empathise with them if they're trying to teach the unteachable something as dangerous as riding a motorcycle on the road. I would probably react worse if someone put both of us in a life-threatening situation. I'll reiterate we had a word with each other after I stopped having a spaz attack and everything was good after.

MattB: It was a bit of an isolated incident, on a non-busy industrial estate, I couldn't understand if he wanted me to speed up or slow down! as i'd admittedly missed the speed limit, he started barking my speed at me, you can imagine this was a bit of a headfuck.

wr6133: Ta for that, MTFU doses always welcome

[pinkyfloyd]

[Rogerborg]

I cannot fathom why people are paying money to be shouted at. There seems to be some misunderstanding of the nature of the employer / employee relationship.

My CBT road ride was done by a very nice lady instructress who was properly patient and helpful, and therefore actually effective.

There's absolutely no reason why you should put up with anything else, no matter how well intentioned it is. What actually makes you better is practice, and thinking about what you're doing, not being hectored and patronised.

All you actually need for the tests is a suitable bike and a way to get it to the test centre. If you can't find a local instructor who suits you, you can always DIY it.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[Robster]

I got the impression of that yesteday Trevor. Things started to feel a bit rushed towards the end of yesterday which may have caused the friction.

Regarding the efficiency of DAS training, its being torn into the 'chuck you in the deep end' style of training or taking baby-steps towards becoming a safe rider, and the time and cost involved in this.

I am eager to get the test done, but feel that maybe a day or two extra would have undoubtedly benefited me immensely. This is a cost issue as booking all this has cleared me out until the end of the month, and booking extra lessons will take time until I can pony up for it - time spent off the road means the skills I learnt in the last two days will undoubtedly be lost to an extent.

Its a long ride over to Lee on Solent so more time on the road - more practice. Looking on the other side of the coin, perhaps I need a bollocking or two to break some shit habits i'd have picked up from car driving.

[Matt B]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[Saltire]

Give twist of the wrist 2 a read/watch.

Why the fuck do instructors seem to feel like they can shout at you? I'm really not looking forward to doing my CBT again, if the guy I get shouts at me when I'm tryin to stop smokin' it wont end well .

About the lifesavers, you are looking to make sure the direction you plan to go has no one coming/crossing the path you aim to travel on. I'd explain more but thats essentially the fundamentals of it. I can't change lanes without doing a lifesaver or I shiver uncomfortably.

Its always good to be aware of any cars that are around you whether you plan to move or not anyway.

[Robster]

I feel like I may have given the impression I am bad-mouthing the school; which is not my intention at all. It could be that i'm just over-sensitive, nervous, and not the best student and was not at my best for those two days.

Not everyone is easy to teach or follows direction well. When i'm off the bike, stopped for a coffee/lunch etc. both guys ran through some exercises, we both had no qualms and were more or less on the same page as each other doing the off-road talky bit. In their defence, instructors are working to a tight schedule and have to cover a huge amount of ground before test day.

I'd recommend that school to another person still, they've been utterly professional throughout, even after my hissy-fit yesterday it ended on a high.

[pinkyfloyd]

[Saltire]

[Robster]

Booya! Mod 1 passed today

Thought i'd mullered it proper. Took me two attempts at both the emergency stop and the sighting lap, got 43 on the first sighting lap, and 45 on the first emergency stop.

...I rode round the outside of the speed indicator too first time round

Glad its out of the way now, had a long ride out to Lee on Solent from Poole so brushed up on road riding, much more confident this time round, didn't get shouted at either

Thanks again to the good people of BCF for the ace advice I got, you'd almost think you lot were professional riders or something!

[MC]

Nice one, that's the hard bit out the way
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Yamaha MT-03 '08 (crashed)
Honda XR-125L '04

[Matt B]

Well done
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stinkwheel: He had an animated .gif of a cat performing fellatio. It's not socially acceptable. It can have real life adverse effects on other people.

[Rogerborg]

Nice one. Less flap, more ride.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[AlanC]

We'll done!

One thing for your Mod 2: don't give up even if you're sure you've messed up. I made a stupid mistake within 5 minutes of starting my test and was convinced I'd failed. I kept going, riding as I normally did just to see if there was anything else the examiner would pick me up on, and got a big surprise when I was told I'd passed.

[Robster]

Ta for that AlanC. I got the same experience today; Made some really stupid mistakes. Some extra lessons would have done me a lot more good I reckon but hey ho!

[waffles]

I found Mod 1 harder than Mod 2, its a piece of piss compared to having someone walking right behind you with a clipboard. With someone following you on a bike and telling you where to go you can almost pretend they are a mate on a rideout (no nobbish riding though) and you have a satnav telling you where to go.

Worst bit is the independent riding. I had to read a few signs, take a left turn then go right at a roundabout. The horror!

Good luck
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Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125