Eunos Chump

Yes, that's what buying a motorbike is, people keep telling me.  Have they not noticed the stupid sports car I've been squandering money on for the past 4 years?  I don't know, or care, 'cos biking is ACE FUN.  I still get a bit flustered at times but the 35 miles I did today were 100% more competent than yesterdays. Decided to change the oil today, very simple job - bizarre that there's no oil filter though.

Picked the bike up this morning (after a short stop to buy gloves, which I'd somehow forgotten).  It is absolutely as new with 197 miles on the clock (despite being 2 years old).  There was some confusion on the way back; I didn't know the way home and it needed fuel, so Mrs B was going to lead but the plan did not come together and I had to find my own way back with the gauge showing empty.  It was fine though, quite a pleasant ride and only a couple of incidents of really shoddy riding... it's a very forgiving thing to ride, I'm sure it's let me change gear a couple of times without the clutch.  The engine is still running in so top whack is 50mph, and this makes it a bit of an obstacle on A roads. Best bit was filling it up (cost £10.99), riding it about all afternoon (more than 100 miles), and still having 3/4 of a tank left!

I won an auction for a bike this afternoon, check it out!  It's a Yamaha YBR125, it looks ALMOST IDENTICAL to the one above.  Yes, it really does.  If you squint a bit.  It's certainly got 2 wheels and some type of rudimentary propulsion device, anyway.  Picking it up tomorrow AM from Farnborough, so roads I know very well, should be OK.  It's got less than 200 miles on the clock, so should be fine 'cos I didn't have time to go look at it in person.

Another trip to Southampton this morning to complete the CBT road training.  It was HARD WORK on busy unfamiliar roads with a miserable bastard instructor, but I was getting into it by the end.  By that point a car had slipped in between me and the guy ahead (an MX5 in fact), so I was able to ignore the instructor and sort it out myself - this was better.  The other guy doing the training did not enjoy himself, and quit before getting the certificate.  He wasn't a driver though and it's a definite drawback, really you need a course of lessons. Might go buy a bike tomorrow then...

Did my CBT today... well, half of it, I have to go back tomorrow to do the 2 hours of road riding.  There were 4 of us doing the training, all complete novices, and the sun was going down before we'd even finished the basics.  It was bloody difficult at times; I knew it wouldn't be a walk in the park, but it pushed me much further out of my comfort zone than I anticipated.  For quite a chunk of it, I didn't enjoy it and was thinking biking wasn't for me.  Although I felt more comfortable later on, and started to have a bit of fun, even now I'm still not 100% sure.  It might have helped if the training wasn't in a small school playground, bordered by roaming gangs of bored teenagers.

BIKES BIKES BIKES... I have suddenly got into motorbikes.  You may already know this, in fact I may have visited your house very recently and ridden a bike in your garden, and I just might have fallen off said bike after travelling around 6 inches, but it DON'T MATTER.  BIKES = ACE. I was going to do a free trial at a bike school next week, but just doddering around the garden in 1st gear was proof that it's something I want to do.  I'm not completely sure why; it's been suggested it's my mid-life crisis stepping up a gear, but for me it's about the challenge of learning new skills and mastering an unfamiliar type of machine.  I've been looking at getting other cars, but I couldn't muster sufficient enthusiasm for something that's just going to be a little different to what I already have. So, tomorrow I'm going to cancel the free session and book the CBT instead.  I've had a trip to George White's factory outlet store in Swindon tod...

I've been holed up in THE NORTH for the past 10 days or so, but finally I'm free.  I reckoned I deserved a treat after a record 72 hours overtime, so went karting at Sandown .  Excellent fun! This was much better than the indoor karting I did a couple of years back; they're very quick, it's easy to drift them all over the shop (and spin if you're not careful), and the track is long and wide.  After a 30 minute race I was absolutely knackered though, more knackered than I can ever remember, and Mrs B had to drive home.  I won't be appearing in F1 any time soon :(