best courses for novice rider confidence?

[MrMessy]

I did an i2i basic course a few years back and even with 30+ years of all weather riding experiance I still learnt somethings and found it really usefull. Really friendly people as well.

Originally Posted by craig dow

hi im new to bikes . and find getting conferdence rideing does come wth time , i passed my test 8 weeks ago , and i do 64 miles aday to and from work , and most on cost and dual roads and i still slow right down to 20 - 30 mph on bends , but i am getting better , im a lot slower in the rain , on the open road , in dry iv had the bike upto 70 on a stright but thats my limit , i got a second hand bike , and it looks real good condition , but im still not over sure about it think with new riders its always some thing in the back of your mind if soomething goes wrong when your on the road

Then maybe a trackday be good, just because there ain't so many nasty obstacles to distract you and get in the way, you can ride at your own pace but push the bike that bit more and find out yours and its capabilities in a safer environment. You'd be in the novice section so there would be folk in the same boat, they'll pass you if they need to so no pressure.

I was fine until I had that nasty skid a week ago. Now I am absolutely paranoid about everything....
I'm ok once I get going. been on the motorway many times, rode 95mph. The stuff that scares me are all kind of silly things like riding the bike off the pavement where I'm parked, keep worrying I will drop it, all kinds of potholes, uneven surfaces etc. Since the skid, every moment I'm on the bike and I go over something I feel like I'm about to fall. Complete paranoia.... I cannot believe how much it affected me. I think about it all the time. Can't get over it cos I don't know why I skidded. There wasn't anything specific. Was riding straight then went flying; did a full circle on the side... I cannot understand how I was facing south and ended up facing north. even my frame slider broke off.
Craig - which one is £140?

front end or back end slide ?

hi agy its the iam trainning that do it for £139 and you will proberly find that there will be someone at the police training day there from them , there was on mine , and they will offer you to join , but you need to have had your full bike licence for three months
hope that helps

Originally Posted by agy

I was fine until I had that nasty skid a week ago. Now I am absolutely paranoid about everything....
I'm ok once I get going. been on the motorway many times, rode 95mph. The stuff that scares me are all kind of silly things like riding the bike off the pavement where I'm parked, keep worrying I will drop it, all kinds of potholes, uneven surfaces etc. Since the skid, every moment I'm on the bike and I go over something I feel like I'm about to fall. Complete paranoia.... I cannot believe how much it affected me. I think about it all the time. Can't get over it cos I don't know why I skidded. There wasn't anything specific. Was riding straight then went flying; did a full circle on the side... I cannot understand how I was facing south and ended up facing north. even my frame slider broke off.
Craig - which one is £140?

Perfectly normal to have a loss of confidence after a spill, god knows I did and still have tbh from 2.5 years ago.
Don't beat yourself up over it, get some miles in at a comfortable pace and slowly it will come back.

Thanks specialone

I honestly have no idea back or front wheel.... there was a manhole there (which I took on slowly and straight on) and lots of puddles but nothing too deep. It was wet... it was just so sudden and violent. I didn't even notice the fall. I was upright, next thing I know my head was scraping the ground...

Sounds like a diesel spill, I had one of those in November, up one second, down on my ar5e the next. Sorry to hear it's knocked your confidence so much but only you can get yourself over that with more riding and slowing building it back up (buttercup ) Let us know how you get on with the course though, expecting a full writeup

[andrewsmith]

Originally Posted by BoltonSte

Get out and ride with people who are willing not to bugger off and leave you (I'm not talking big groups here), that way you'll get to see what's what...ask them how/why they did something and it'll be done at a suitable pace for you so you don't feel pressured to go out of your current comfort zone.

Most of us learn through practice, but doing it on your own could have you practicing but not learning anything. Being with someone else (doesn't have to be every time you ride) makes you realise that you can get round that corner at that speed, the bike will lean further etc...I'm all for doing an advanced course, but you can get a long way by following someone else.

This and Maria's post

My friends been doing it with a work mate and I went out with him a while ago and he did learn a bit (I ride most the rear and my mate is ex hacker). He had a moment (down shifted at high revs) and it knocked him.

I had a big off last year and I'm still trying to build up my confidence up in the wet because of it

I found bikesafe helped my confidence and ability no end, had an assessed ride from a copper who'd stop me every now and again to give me some hints. As I was told, you're only really taught to pass the bike test, sometimes it's handy to be taught how to ride by people who do it for a living instead of finding out the hard way yourself.