In 2003, she reignited her love of biking by taking her CBT but life got in the way and she found herself bike-less and with almost no time to continue her training, Leona’s CBT sadly expired. But the excitement never faded and in 2018 Kawasaki Rider Training Services (KRTS) invited her to take her CBT once again (third time lucky!) and help Leona realise her riding dreams.
Leona was determined ahead of her first day of training at the Phoenix Crystal Palace training centre, “I’m really excited to be doing my CBT again, and especially with such a well-known brand like Kawasaki. Nothing else would get me leaping out of bed on a freezing February Saturday morning at 6:30am! I’m not so nervous, just really keen to get started.”
The training started with a classroom session to talk about motorcycles and safety, outlining where to look when you’re riding and what you can do in certain situations. The small group of students soaked everything in and then got themselves ready to ride.
“I would 100% recommend doing the CBT,” said an elated Leona. “It’s not scary at all as the team at KRTS and Phoenix Crystal Palace are so helpful and you’re given all the advice and time you need. You’re not rushed out on to the road. There are a lot of slow speed control exercises, riding between cones, U-Turns, which are really important – it’s harder to go slow than fast!”
With the cones conquered and confidence building all the time, Leona and her fellow students took to the road to apply what they had learned. Every mile covered only increased Leona’s love of riding, the biking-bug had well and truly taken over.
“If you can drive a car it’s even easier, the clutch and accelerator just go to your hands instead of your feet. In all honesty the Theory Test was harder and more stressful! When you do get out on the road it’s really exciting, a huge adrenaline rush, you feel connected to the road and everything around you,” she said after coming back to the training centre.
CBT in hand, Leona is well and truly on the path to earning her full licence and is closer than she has ever been before. “My plan is to ride to work at Absolute Radio everyday so I can beat the traffic a little more easily and enjoy the commute more. Of course, the weekends are when I’m really looking forward to having a bike, the plan is to ride as much as possible and enjoy everything from a different perspective,” Leona beamed after her training. “I want to pass the main tests ASAP and get riding whenever I can.”
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