bit of a weird post i admit, but i’ve been biking for a couple of years now and have still not told my old man i have a bike. get on great with him but didn’t tell him initially as i knew he would constantly worry and now i want him to know (mostly so i can head down to his place in Hereford on the bike in a few weeks time, some great roads near him ;() and am not sure how to approach it. also feel like a punk as the rest of my family know and if he heard it through the grapevine it would not be very nice for him.
if i tell him i’ve had it for a couple of years he will be miffed that i haven’t mentioned it, but if i say i just got it he will think i am an absolute novice and should not ride down to his place. catch 22 really. and it is my own fault for not telling him at the start i know.
fyi, i am 28 years old, a pretty sensible rider/bloke and he had a scooter in his early years! unfortunately the one time i thought i would mention it last year someone on a superbike stormed past us on a country road at about a ton and my dad muttered what ‘death traps’ bikes were… eeek.
anyone been in a similar awkward situation and able to offer (constuctive) advice? i do expect at least 6 posts taking the p1ss of course…
Tell him that you have had the bike for some time and didnt tell him because you didnt wont him to worry.
and that you are somewhat experienced now and he shouldnt worry as much as if you had just started out.
he wont like it but like you said better to hear it from you… and better to admit you didnt say anything rather than get caught lying (saying that you just bought it)
my mum didn’t know for a full year after i got my first bike and she’s fine with it no fuss was made. just be up front about it and get it out the way so you can enjoy yourself. only have the road on your mind while you’re riding and not an angry parent;)
Don’t take this the wrong way but you are definitely old enough to make your own decisions. My advice- don’t make it a big deal. No reason to tell him in advance, just turn up on your bike and say nothing about it. If he asks tell him you’ve been riding for a while and really enjoy it (I assume you do!). If he doesn’t like it TBH it’s his problem :). If he asks why you never mentioned it before say you thought he wouldn’t be interested as you know he doesn’t much like bikes.
Did the intensive 4 day course where you kept the bike (CG125) overnight.
Lived on a hill and used to leave the house in the morning and freewheel to the bottom before starting it so my mum never guessed what I was upto.
Passed my test and bought a CBR600 which I told her I had ‘borrowed’ from a shop to see if I liked it (to gauge her reaction) so I could leave it in the garage…
I had the usual comments, which I expected, had to make phone calls when arriving and leaving places to let her know I was ok…but all was well.
Then my brother got a bike a few years later and I made him do the same for my peace of mind…
My father died, never knowing I rode a bike. I never knew he rode one until recently. He would have LOVED the fact that I do and Im sure Id have taken him out and about on one.
My mum didnt know I rode until the July bombings. She called me in tears the next day when the phone services were resumed, panicking that I’d have used public transport to get in. I explained that I didnt need to use public transport. Her response was not what I expected at all - she’s like a mixture between the mother in Absolutely Fabulous and Mrs Bucket… she’s even ridden with me and LOVED it…
My personality is such that Id just turn up on the bike one day. You dont have to say anything then Just make sure you clean it first Present them with an image first. Then they can think about the practicalities.
I mean you dont necessarily tell people when you join the gym or get a new car, do you?! You just turn up. It’s just a part of life…
I told my parents from the start. My Mum lives up in Scotland so obviously worries more than my Dad who lives a few miles from me because he works down here. They both knew about my bike accident in 2006 2 months after I passed my test, but I never told Mum about the near miss I had when I was side swiped by the Sainsburys lorry…Dad knows though and I’ve sworn him to secrecy.
As long as they know you’re riding but don’t know about the near misses they’ll be fine!
thanks for all the advice/thoughts. i know i just need to man up and tell him, it is just one of those dumb things that i never got round to doing and now it has become a bit of an issue in my mind. as you say, i am old enough to make my own decisions, i just really didn’t want to worry the old fella! my mum knows (parents are split) and she loves it, always wants to go out on the back, and so there is every chance he will just tut a bit and then be interested (he likes his cars etc.)
anyway, just dont want to be make a big deal of it, i’ve probably built it up in my mind too much as it is. i had thought about just rocking up to his place on it, but i think it might be a bit of a shock too much for him! i’ll give him a buzz, tell him i want to come down and see him soon, and say i am coming on my motorbike. then he can make his own mind up about how to react!
clean bike til it sparkles and just turn up smiling and looking sensible and safe
if he hates bikes and thinks they dangerous maybe put a nice yellow hi vi vest on so you look like you care about others being able to see you and you care about your safety . my mum likes my hivi rucksack cover .she was well impressed said oh thats lovely and bright and sensible
You all need a mother like mine … she bought a motorbike and talked me into getting my licenceSome 12 years, 3 hospital visits/operations, and a number of bikes later, I am still out and about and loving it!
Just tell them straight, simple as. My old man rode for years and used to take me pillion when I was younger (10-13) until he had to give up biking due to breaking his scaphoid in an accident. I’m 34 and I still get grief about riding a bike. “Ooh it’s so dangerous” etc etc but it’s your life and you’re not a teenage anymore. They will have more respect if you tell them than if they have to find out via another source.
I understand your problem. My worthless advice…just pitch up on it and when he gets over the shock he’ll probably be like a kid wanting to play with it…then start on the fact that when he rode there was none of all this new technology crp lol.
i have alwasy been into bikes, mum rode, my dad rode, my aunt rode, when i was 4-5 i used to sit on teh back of a GS1000 race bike in the back of a transit all the way to tracks! (mums fella raced)
i would ride wether my parents liked it or not…its my calling…and i love it!!
What’s involved? Are there any forms!?