Practise

[hokckeyholic]

I'm currently very nervous on a bike, having only got my licence recently. I'm looking at doing some trainig, either cbta style or just riding group type thing.
I'm planning on doing the ride forever bronze course in a bit, but can't quite yet.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated 😀😊

[mrchips]

Hey there. You will gain massive confidence from the ride forever courses, highly recommend !

My advice... if you want to go on group rides, stick with advertised newbies or learner's rides. Most 'group rides' will find you outside your comfort zone with cocky riders doing stupid shit & crashing... just saying

Oh & ... take your time to bond with your machine & don't be in a rush

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Tapatalk

[jasonu]

Do a proper training course.
Don't go on group rides, they are generally full of dickheads whose talent is outweighed by their ambition...

[Ifsn8u]

When I was learning couple years back. I found going to an industrial area on Sunday arvo the best. No traffic and wide roads to practice my stuff.

Emergency breaking, seeing what pressure it took my back brake to lock up etc.
u-turns
Turning sharply
and just getting used to how the bike felt.

This did me the world of good.

I never did any proper training courses as such. But if you are really nervous this will be ya best bet in terms of up skilling.

[george formby]

When I was learning couple years back. I found going to an industrial area on Sunday arvo the best. No traffic and wide roads to practice my stuff.

Emergency breaking, seeing what pressure it took my back brake to lock up etc.
u-turns
Turning sharply
and just getting used to how the bike felt.

This did me the world of good.

I never did any proper training courses as such. But if you are really nervous this will be ya best bet in terms of up skilling.

Totally agree. Somewhere quiet and safe to practise low speed handling skills is gold. I did this with my G/F when she started riding and it has really payed off. She is confident, capable and loves riding. A good mentor is also very worthwhile and speeds up the learning process but prevents bad habits forming.

[eldog]

+1 on the 2 replies above.

Wish I had done more practise in a quiet corner somewhere. With an experienced rider would have been nice but on your own its hard to get motivated.

Do as much riding as you can. Just take it at your own pace. Plenty of time over summer. Don't fret about how long you take, each person is different.

Would leave group rides till your reasonably confident on motorway speeds. Unless you know some people who will look after you.

Going for some lessons is helpful so you can get an evaluation about how your going.

Keep some throttle open when doing slow tight turns just in case the bike stalls.:brick:

Develop some skills in observations about what hazards surround you. Without going over the top.

Once you develop as a rider everything will become easier and you will do, observe, avoid stuff automatically.

You will also find that your ideas about riding and bikes will change.

There are a few new biker related posts on here.
Look for posts by Maha in particular good new riders

Take care

[Banditbandit]

Al of the above .. do it - it will make riding more fun

And remember, every ride is practice too ..

[Boostinu13]

Hello. I am in the same realm as you. Just got a bike and quite nervous. E-mailed a few instructors but have not heard anything as of yet but early days, hoping for 1 on 1s.

I am hoping to do what everyone has said and practice in a quiet area, issue being getting the bike there confidently haha.

[caspernz]

Confidence grows pretty quickly on a bike though, so maybe start off by venturing out nice and early on a sunday morning to your chosen quiet area?

The bronze Rideforever course will help once you've mastered the basics.

[Old Steve]

Where abouts in the place desired by many but beyond the finances of most are you hokckeyholic? I'm a cruiser and don't scream about, if you were anywhere close (western North Shore, any further down our road and we'd be so close to Aussie that I'd need a passport) then you could come for a tootle with me over fine weekends.

I think you'd enjoy something like the loop from Albany, out through Coatesville and Rivershead (80 km/hr limit and gentle curves) and back to the western North Shore via the Nth Harbour Freeway. Not too much traffic, interesting countryside and a nice Cafe at Rivershead (Kauri Gum Cafe).

PM me.

[hokckeyholic]

Where abouts in the place desired by many but beyond the finances of most are you hokckeyholic? I'm a cruiser and don't scream about, if you were anywhere close (western North Shore, any further down our road and we'd be so close to Aussie that I'd need a passport) then you could come for a tootle with me over fine weekends.

I think you'd enjoy something like the loop from Albany, out through Coatesville and Rivershead (80 km/hr limit and gentle curves) and back to the western North Shore via the Nth Harbour Freeway. Not too much traffic, interesting countryside and a nice Cafe at Rivershead (Kauri Gum Cafe).

PM me.

I'm actually out East Auckland, but ill be looking on doing some longer rides once I'm done with exams :) might take you up on that offer sometime

[Boostinu13]

There are lots of video tutorials on Youtube if you are unable to find a riding school. Beware of group rides as others have said as even if the others in the group are ridng at a speed you are happy with your focus will still shift towards the other riders in the group over all the hazards on the road that you would possibly spot more easily without the rest of the group creating a distraction.

Youtube has been my best friend its great

[george formby]

Youtube has been my best friend its great

I agree up to a point. It can be hard separating the wheat from the chaff at times. Their are good videos by instructors which explain the basics really well and lead into road craft.

Road craft Nottingham springs to mind..