Something of a saga!

This morning I had my module 2 motorbike test at 08:20. Which means I had to leave about 06:00, allowing time to get my motorbike out of the garage etc. These days sleep is no better (top left about 4.5 hours) so I am not usually alert at that time of the day.

Anyway I arrived at the training centre at Keynsham ready to ride to the test (the owner who was taking me there was running late) and I arrived with 1 minute to spare.

On the 10 minute ride to the centre he was telling me a completely opposing way to approach roundabouts to the one I had been 'taught'. 

Leaving the test centre I stalled but hadn't crossed the junction so only a rider fault, but he then started with the independent ride (and I didn't know) so onto the first big roundabout, middle lane so far so good, and had I used my old way I would have been fine but then I did what I had just been told to do and unknowingly committed a serious (failure) fault. 

A couple of other rider faults but that was it, which for the Warmley throughabout route is good.

The examiners are generally really nice and he was very nice when he said I hadn't been successful and said he could see that the lane markings etc. had confused me and then said about the exit being the issue. So I turned to the guy from the training school and said 'that's what you told me to do!' and he then seemed to realise he had completely confused my brain right before the test.

On the way back to the test centre he then properly explained what he had meant (and annoyingly there were cones on the lane where I went wrong and had they been there earlier I would have been fine) and I could see the logic of what he was saying, and had he been clear before the test I wouldn't have committed the mistake.

In my collage top right is Julie who I took my test on. Bottom left is a cool hanging basket made from an old helmet, and bottom left is Rob. They name all their 'big bikes'.

Well Rob is my bike! It is a former training bike, and was on sale. I asked if I could part exchange my Honda 125 cc for it (they use the CB125F for CBT) and he asked how much I wanted so I said a price thinking he would knock me down. Well he must have been feeling he had been part of why I failed so he accepted it! I think I got a good deal as it will be only £1,000 to ride away after I pass my test (and when I have looked on line before that's a saving of about £2,000). And I sold my 125 for only £300 less than I paid for it two years ago! Louise who I bought it from couldn't believe it. 

Knowing that my CBT expires on 8th September and if I haven't got my mod 2 by then I have to retake my CBT I have booked a training day for Bank Holiday Monday and my test is on the Wednesday.

I haven't felt that the training I was getting was much in the way of training. It's been very chaotic and last time the instructor was shouting in the headsets as the other trainee was being dangerous and that stressed me out.

The new school has a much higher pass rate and so I thought that it was a better investment in a training day before the test than another lottery of the cost of the test followed by a CBT and fourth test!

Third time lucky please!!!! Oh and Beau heard me come back on my current bike and insisted Jo brought him to the garage, how can I be miserable when there's a dog with a waggy tail desperate to get to me!

Told ya it was a saga!