Whoever posts last is best

[robbo]

  Now got visions of dogs with their front paws in their ears, hiding under a chair

[fazerscotty]

I've got a picture of a dogs nose appearing from under a sofa - just need to find it 

[robbo]

Excellent. Post the pic if you find it. Like you, the dogs must be so relieved when the front door closes, and the little blighters are……..gone. You can almost hear the silence .

[fazerscotty]

Here it is.....

[Grahamm]

"I say, I say, I say, my nose has no dog!"

"Don't you mean 'My dog has no nose'?"

"Nope!" 

[robbo]

"I say, I say, I say, my nose has no dog!"

"Don't you mean 'My dog has no nose'?"

"Nope!" 

Hope your driving test goes a lot better than your joke

[fazerscotty]

"I say, I say, I say, my nose has no dog!"

"Don't you mean 'My dog has no nose'?"

"Nope!" 

Hope your driving test goes a lot better than your joke
[/quote


 

[robbo]

Any news about the driving test.

[Grahamm]

Any news about the driving test.

It's next Saturday.

I had my last lesson today which went very well, I might have picked up a couple of minors, but nothing to worry about.

One was a stall where I got the clutch/ accelerator balance wrong, another was on an odd-shaped roundabout where, the "straight on" was top right and there  was a road at top left. My instructor said I should have indicated and done a mirror check, even though it was pretty obvious that it was clear where I was going and there was nothing else around.

I just have to be a little more careful and be certain I play it safe

[robbo]

Must be difficult to learn “by the book” for the car test, when you’ve gained years of road sense/ survival instincts from riding motorbikes. Still I suppose it’s a case of learning how to pass the test, then after passing, you learn how to drive .

[Grahamm]

Mostly the only issues with instincts I've really had are when I default to thinking "bike" rather than "car".

To start with, several times the instructor had to nudge the wheel to the right because I was positioning as if I was on two wheels, not four.

Then there was a time when a car came a little too far out of a T-Junction and I jumped on the brakes because that's my automatic reaction for "I don't know they've seen me".

Also there was the time I first tried a Dual Carriageway (three lanes) and a car suddenly chopped from lane 3 to lane 2 (I was in lane 1), making me flinch as I wanted to get more distance from them...!

But all of these have only happened once and as I did my Advanced Test back in 2011, I'm applying pretty much all of the same principles now that I've got vehicle handling sorted out.

I now "talk along" to my driving (I do this on the bike sometimes too) because it helps me concentrate and describes what my driving plan is which means the Examiner won't be thinking "why did they do that?" as I'll have just explained it

Also I downloaded a bunch of Test routes and went round practicing them to get familiar with the roads I'm likely to be using and, especially, any awkward roundabouts etc.

[fazerscotty]

"I had my last lesson today which went very well, I might have picked up a couple of minors,"

Can you re-phrase this in anyway?

[Grahamm]

I will merely draw attention to the fact that you saw something amiss in that and I didn't...

[robbo]

"I had my last lesson today which went very well, I might have picked up a couple of minors,"

Can you re-phrase this in anyway?

Hopefully there’s no schools on your test route

[Grahamm]

It's on Saturday, so they'll all be closed!

[fazerscotty]

It's on Saturday, so they'll all be closed!

That's lucky 

[Grahamm]

Yay! Just passed my Driving Test 

Only picked up two minors (that's minor *faults* you dirty minded sods!)   

The first was pulling out of the Test Centre, there's a mini roudabout onto the main road and there was traffic to my left and right, plus it's slightly uphill, so I stopped for the cars on my right, then a car on my left (which *should* have given me priority!) decided they weren't going to wait for a learner and pulled out 

This meant my pull out was less smooth than I'd have liked, also, in trying to get around the white circle of the roundabout without running over it, I went slightly too deep, so then had to haul the car around and then haul it back before I went over the wrong side of the road 

I apologised for my test nerves and the very nice lady examiner said "Don't worry, just brush it off and carry on".

The only other issue was where I was pulling out of a T Junction onto a 60mph B road and there was a bend in the distance on my right, but a large tractor was parked right in my sight line, so I although I could see vehicles coming around the bend, I then lost sight of them behind the tractor.

I eventually started to pull out, but then saw a bike coming and, knowing that some riders tend to hoon it along that bit of road at 80mph (not me, of course    ) I said I was going to wait (I tend to talk along to my driving, it helps me concentrate on what I'm doing and also makes it clear to the Instructor or Examiner what my thought processes are.)

So I waited, only to wait a bit more and eventually, as it finally came into view I went "Oh, it's a 125!" realising that I would have had plenty of time to clear the junction before it arrived.

The Examiner said "How can you tell at this distance?!" and I explained that it had a skinny front tyre, so it was obviously a small bike.

"Oh, I didn't know that!"   

Anyway, I had got slightly over the Give Way line, so I decided to roll back a bit, but, as she said in the debrief, there was nothing behind me, so I could have easily rolled a bit further back to get back behind the line so traffic wouldn't have to possibly move out past me.

Apart from that, everything was fine and then I drove down the M275 on the way home as a newly qualified driver   

[robbo]

Well done …..you’d have been alright if your test had been next week, as it’s half term

[Grahamm]

Errr, right...!

Now I just need to sort out a car.

I'm looking at something like a Skoda Octavia which can take a 9' longboard in the back, except the cost of one I've seen locally is £6,499 and the cost of the cheapest online insurance quote is £1,025!! 

I'm going to phone up my bike insurers on Tueday and say "Look, you know I'm not some irresponsible teenager who's going to show off to his mates. I've already done my Advanced bike test, and probably going to do Pass Plus or similar, so can you do me a better price...?"

[agricola]

Well done Graham

[Grahamm]

Thanks

[fazerscotty]

Excellent news.

[robbo]

Errr, right...!

Now I just need to sort out a car.

I'm looking at something like a Skoda Octavia which can take a 9' longboard in the back, except the cost of one I've seen locally is £6,499 and the cost of the cheapest online insurance quote is £1,025!! 

I'm going to phone up my bike insurers on Tueday and say "Look, you know I'm not some irresponsible teenager who's going to show off to his mates. I've already done my Advanced bike test, and probably going to do Pass Plus or similar, so can you do me a better price...?"

9ft is a lot to get into an estate car, unless the front passenger seat back folds forward or you take the seat out. I considered an Octavia for transporting fishing gear in 2009, but settled on a Vectra estate which gives a perfectly flat surface with the rear seats folded and has a load length of around 84” to the back of the front seats, much greater than the Octavia, and perfectly comfortable to sleep in. Been happy with my choice. However one end of a 9ft board would be touching the dashboard, with the near side head restrains, front and back,removed. A van would be a better choice but the insurance would be very steep.
If the little weasel Khan gets his way, then the Vectra will be for sale, but fingers crossed it won’t come to that.

[Grahamm]

I've checked the measurements and I could get a 9' board inside an Octavia or Superb estate with the front seat down, but the cost including insurance would be really stretching my budget.

I can get a Fabia hatchback which has a much lower insurance group (only £700 insurance instead of over a grand!) and will take a 7'6" board that I have and if I can get a year of safe motoring and NCD, the premium should drop substantially.

There are also lockable roof racks for surfboards, so if I do get the 9 footer but conditions dictate a shorter board, I can store that safely without needing to put it inside the car.

[robbo]

Nice one The Superb is a great car, usefully bigger than the Octavia. Has won the annual best in class for several years, but as you say, the cost of insurance is a killer.