It feels both strange and familiar riding a bike again after
such a long layoff; my road sense and positioning are still OK, as are clutch
control, gear changing and braking, but cornering will take a bit of
re-learning as I am too used to a car’s steering wheel. But this wasn't always the case...

Casting my mind back to when I was twenty, I had been riding
a bike for a few years before I had my first driving lesson in a car and I will
never forget that experience – neither will the driving instructor! He
took me to a quiet suburban road and then I took my turn in the driving
seat. Moving off from standing wasn’t too bad, nor was changing gear, but
then we came to a ‘T’ junction and the instructor said “Turn left”.
Instead of turning the steering wheel, I instinctively leaned on the
instructor, the car continued on its course, a front wheel struck the kerb and
a tyre punctured. The hapless instructor looked at me for a few moments
with the light of recognition gradually dawning in his eyes, “You’re a bloody
motorcyclist!” he said. Apparently it was not the first time it had
happened to him.


Chris