Transition from two wheels to four

[missyburd]

Hi folks!

So I successfully passed my driving test 3 weeks ago (first time yey!!). Just in time for the rotten weather. After 5 winters on a bike I've gone over to the dark side and I now have a little Skoda Fabia 1.9 diesel. Despite still not having recovered from the sting to my bank account that is first year insurance, I had my first solo drive on Monday morning after getting the car Saturday night, 30 miles to work...did 300 miles by the end of the week in the warm and dry...feels very odd indeed!

So seeing as I survived, I thought I'd start a thread to see how many other people did the bike thing first and how they found the transition to four wheels...what was it like getting back onto a bike? :smt003

[Tomor]

I'm lucky enough to have a car and a bike. I bike to work when the weather is good enough, but it is so convenient to wake up, see it raining/cold outside and jump in the car to go to work in the warm and dry. Rode in today as the weather was good and I certainly don't get that grin from driving in the car! For me it makes riding a bit more fun and special when I swing my leg over in the morning and fire her up. Makes work more enjoyable!

[Geodude]

Well done chuck im chuffed for you :) still no car licence for me though 40 odd years ( yes i know i look 21 still so its hard to believe ) and still bike only and proud.. and wet and cold and aching.. ;)

What about poor lonely thump is he now fun only :)

[daveyrach]

I rode a bike for 2 whole years from 16 years old. I learnt to drive when I was 18 as my partner wanted me to do some of the driving, then we got pregnant. Now I have no MC at all 😢. I like the warm and dry esp this time of year but can't stand sitting in traffic especially when it slightly drizzling and the world has to take little Johnny to school coz he can't get wet. I do massively miss the bike thought like this summer as it was my first full summer without a bike.

[Phoenix22]

I did the same as you & passed my bike test first and for a couple of years a bike was my sole form of transport. That was about 30 years ago tho' in the 2-stroke mayhem of the 80's. I somehow managed to survive that and did the car test a couple of years later.

It was no fun riding in winter back then, nowadays we have heated jackets & waterproofs that actually are.

Nowadays i try just to go out in the dry for pleasure. I don't mind wet but it takes hours cleaning the bike afterwards & japanese metal doesn't like getting wet. Well, possibly a Honda but they are boring!!

[missyburd]

What about poor lonely thump is he now fun only :)

I'm actually thinking of giving her a good clean when we have a nice sunny day, now she's not just going to get mucky the next day!

I like the warm and dry esp this time of year but can't stand sitting in traffic especially when it slightly drizzling and the world has to take little Johnny to school coz he can't get wet. I do massively miss the bike thought like this summer as it was my first full summer without a bike.
Yeah traffic is a bind, finding it hard to sit and be patient... My SV has worked so very hard this summer, since April I've been pushing 500 miles a week on her and she's not even faltered. She certainly deserves a cosy winter in the garage! It will be nice to bring her out for pleasure and the odd bimble to work but this time of year is no fun for me, too much diesel on the greasy roads, wet leaves, dark mornings and nights with blinding headlights...on a shorter commute maybe but not 60 miles of it a day :rolleyes:

I can't imagine a summer without a bike now, you must be finding it very hard indeed :( What's the reason for not getting another, money/time?

[squirrel_hunter]

Congratulation on passing.

I did 10 years on bikes before learning to drive a car.

The strangest thing for me was having a conversation with someone when driving. I still think its odd, but do like to ability to listen to music on the move now. Once I had the car my time on a bike dropped off massively for about 3 years, but I do more miles on the bike than the car again now. For me I was starting to not enjoy riding as much as I used to as I had to do it, but now I can choose and that means that I'm much happier riding again. Also having the car has enabled me to do more with bikes then I did before.

The insurance will hurt but give it a year or two and it will improve. Mine did even after shorting my first car after a year.

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s216/squirrel_hunters_photos/28112010851.jpg

I'm used to driving a car now, but much prefer a bike. I feel much, much safer out on a bike in all weathers compared to a car. And the thing to remember is that if you're in a car, you will hit traffic. Accept it. I still think its quaint, if I want to get anywhere fast I go by bike.

[maviczap]

Rode my bike (cg125,cx500,CBX550, Guzzi Spada, GSX750) for probably nearly 8 or 9 years, day in day out to work before passing my test first time in 1984

Didn't get my first car until at least 1987/88 I think, when I got my first flat.

Done my time on the bike & my office is only 10mins away, so the car is easier, jump in start up and go. No getting waterproofs & crash helmets on, its too much hassle.

In the 1980's the roads were quieter than they are now, I wouldn't like to do the commute I did then.

Well done you for passing your test first time

[andrewsmith]

Much prefer 2 wheels to 4 wheels.
Passed the car test first and bikes came afterwards.
I shouldn't be allowed to drive, as the vehicle normally ends up like this through a corner

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/astraownersclub/Astra%20G%20888/Mulleron2wheels.jpg (http://s155.photobucket.com/user/astraownersclub/media/Astra%20G%20888/Mulleron2wheels.jpg.html)

[Bibio]

congratz. but being a woman should you not be tied to the sink....


















runz and hidez. well done missy :-)

[BanannaMan]

Congrats on the car test!!!! and the car!

I like having the bike just for fun. I enjoy it more. It makes even a mid -winter bimble seem a treat.
And look how much longer you'll have the bike to ride and with much less maintenance since the daily miles are going on the cage.

Nothing wrong with warm and dry either. Especially autumn and winter.








On this side of the pond you must get a car license first.
Then you can take the tests for motorcycle endorsement (Class M) and this info will be printed on the front of your car license.

[Jayneflakes]

You are braver than me, I had a couple of lessons in the car, but I struggle to make sense of it and I had no idea where my wheels were pointing. For me riding a motorbike was the natural progression from the many years that I spent riding and earning a living from mountain bikes. I will never make it as a motorbike guide like I did on my MTB, but I still enjoy riding the big beast. Riding push bikes off road was always a real joy for me, then I took my SV along a green lane... Now there is something I could do more of if I had the cash for another bike and a working shoulder.

As for cars, I will leave the driving to the wife.

[DarrenSV650S]

You're dead to me now MYC, ...dead.


I used to respect/idolise you. Now I merely pity you
Not only because of your recent wheel numeral duplication, but you have also converted from the heavenly petroleum spirit to the devil's sex aid, commonly known as diesoleum. May you forever suffer in the pits of Skoda hell!!

[maviczap]

Been drinking again Darren :rolleyes:

[NTECUK]

Congratulations on the car test pass.
People my age could ride a 250 on a provisional. So it's pretty common that you passed the bike test before the car.
Car test was a more difficult than the bike test back then.
For the bike test all you did was ride around the block a few times. You only failed if you fell off or couldn't answer 4 hiway code questions.

[Geodude]

I'm actually thinking of giving her a good clean when we have a nice sunny day, now she's not just going to get mucky the next day!

Ha nice one, i gave mine its yearly clean yesterday :D

[Biker Biggles]

MIND THE GAP
The new wheels wont fit through it

[missyburd]

You're dead to me now MYC, ...dead.


I used to respect/idolise you. Now I merely pity you
Not only because of your recent wheel numeral duplication, but you have also converted from the heavenly petroleum spirit to the devil's sex aid, commonly known as diesoleum. May you forever suffer in the pits of Skoda hell!!
:smt046:smt043Drinking again indeed Master Darren, absolutely hilarious as usual. However, I must correct you on one thing, technically I've converted to not so much the devil's sex aid but the harpy's lubricant that is biodieseleum...and the added benefits of Skoda hell - it's damn toasty in there! :D

[missyburd]

MIND THE GAP
The new wheels wont fit through it

Hehe, tell me about it...what's all this prioritising rubbish about on narrow roads with parked cars, what do you mean 3 vehicles won't fit, never stopped me before dammit! :rolleyes:

P.S. Thanks for all the congratulations (and commiserations), much appreciated! :kiss:

[timwilky]

Congrats on passing.

I passed my car test back in 78. So didn't ride again until I became quite poorly in 2002 and got back on two wheels for stress relief. to discover bikes had changed one hell of a lot. My last bike being a Moto Martin CBX. suddenly small bikes are so much faster, flickable, ridable. Suspension and brakes actually work. But christ car drivers have got far worse.

3 days later, one runs up my backside whilst I am stopped at a red light. What have I done? But those 3 days must have worked as 2 months later I am back on two wheels again.

[punyXpress]

MIND THE GAP
The new wheels wont fit through it

. . but Yorkie Chris can beat out the dents - the worry will be gulls following the spoor of chip oil ;)
Well done re the test BTW

[maviczap]

I'm actually thinking of giving him a good clean when we have a nice sunny day, now he's not just going to get mucky the next day!

Yes, about time YC had a bath ;)

[Sir Trev]

Well done on the test.


Like several other it seems I too only had a bike for several years before getting a car. I got my test out of the way at 18 but it was five years later that I got a fire-breathing (not) 652cc Citroen Visa. I would commute every now and then on the bike but I much prefer saving the riding for the weekend now.

[Jayneflakes]

Yes, about time YC had a bath ;)


You leave that boy alone! If he gets too clean, he may not want to finish the awful shock repair and modification jobs I sent him! ( I think that he hates me now and wishes that he had never met me through here! :smt077 )

[dirtydog]

I rode my 125 for about a year before doing any driving lessons, then passed my test and passed my bike test a month later so not a massive transition for me.
The car is soooooo much nicer when it's pouring with rain, freezing cold etc.

I used to do more miles on the bike though (at least 250 a week) as the car was just a necessary tool really.

[jambo]

Curvy SV650 & Diesel 1.9 Skoda Fabia.

You are beyond cool, those vehicles are both iconic. I know, I have the same.

Don't care what anyone says, when the trip's going to be dull anyway, and it's cold and wet outside, I I love the inside of that car. As my commute takes me into London, however, it's bike / Train for me whatever the weather :)

Jambo

[ClunkintheUK]

Curvy SV650 & Diesel 1.9 Skoda Fabia.

You are beyond cool, those vehicles are both iconic. I know, I have the same.

Don't care what anyone says, when the trip's going to be dull anyway, and it's cold and wet outside, I I love the inside of that car. As my commute takes me into London, however, it's bike / Train for me whatever the weather :)

Jambo

All the cool kids have em. Ok, well my VAG varient is a different one, but basically the same car.

[ophic]

As my commute takes me into London, however, it's bike / Train for me whatever the weather :)
+1

Car is relegated to the odd trip to B&Q now.

[missyburd]

Curvy SV650 & Diesel 1.9 Skoda Fabia.

You are beyond cool, those vehicles are both iconic. I know, I have the same.


All the cool kids have em. Ok, well my VAG varient is a different one, but basically the same car.

#virtual high five# :driving:

Settling into the driving routine now, can't quite get my head round not being able to get up to speed as quick as on 2 wheels, impatience is a pain in the ****!