Back to biking: No more excuses for Ola as she chases her #ride5000miles biking dream

Almost two years ago, lifelong motorcycle fan, 59-year-old dental practice manager, Ola Alara, decided to finally take the plunge and learn to ride.

Bagging all the right gear and completing her CBT, she got through the training with ease, but on each of her three attempts at her Direct Access test, failed when nerves got the better of her.

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Discouraged, she gave up on the dream of riding her own big bike. Fortunately, inspired by #ride5000miles members getting out on their bikes in the sunshine, she’s decided to give it another shot.

“I see people enjoying themselves on their motorbikes and I think, what’s my excuse?,” the Milton Keynes rider told MCN. “I’m just finding reasons not to do it. There’s never going to be a right time.”

Although previously riding as a pillion and nailing manoeuvres in training, Ola claims test-day nerves always tripped her up, saying: “I’ve always liked bikes, but I never had the opportunity to own one or learn how to ride. My friend encouraged me to go for it.

“I had lots of problems with right-hand turns, just down to me not being confident,” she added. “In training, I could do anything and then in the tests, I would fall to pieces.”

That’s all in the past though and with dealerships reopening in England last month, Ola wasted no time at all in getting stuck in – purchasing a Honda CB125F; the same type of machine on which she had previously completed her CBT.

With the bike now delivered to her home and her previous training certificate still valid until August, Ola continued: “It’s definitely exciting. I’m raring to go now, to be honest. I’m just waiting for the weather now, which was lovely when I took delivery.”

Initially getting into bikes just for leisure, a change in family working circumstances due to Coronavirus means she can now also use her new Honda for commuting – travelling to and from the dental practice.

“My two sons were concerned about me riding – worried that I would fall off, or get hit, or have an accident,” she said. “Now they are kind of grown up and responsible, it’s time for me to do whatever I want to do. And I want to do motorcycling!”