A Cold Ride, A Poorly Driven Porsche, and some Bad Parking

I realise I have put up a number of videos on my YouTube channel, and haven't even mentioned them here.  I'll try and do that more often, starting now.
Also, I feel I must apologies for the audio on my videos - they are horrendous!  I've been using a (relatively) cheap camera from eBay to do my recordings, and the microphone seems particularly sensitive to the wind.  The video quality is also rather shocking.  To this end, I have now purchased a Drift Ghost, which is a proper camera with actual 1080p resolution.  Early tests show the video quality to be much better, and the sound is so much more clear - you can actually listen as each of the 11 horsepower gets wrestled out of the mighty 125cc engine!
So, keep your eyes (and ears) peeled - better videos are afoot.  I hope.
Anyway, here is this weeks exciting video:

So it was a really cold morning; there was proper frost everywhere.  The roads themselves weren't slippery, but I was very, very thankful for my heated grips, that's for sure.  As I was riding, I saw a chap on his bicycle wheeling his arms around to stay warm - I thought it was funny, anyway.  If you don't, well screw you.
On the Latchmere Road in Battersea, they are currently doing some watermain works, so traffic has been particularly horrific.  On this frosty morning, I rode over some steel manhole covers, and immediately the bike started skidding in eleven different directions at once.  It was a very disquieting thing - there is a reason they instruct you to avoid these during your Compulsory Bike Training.  I tried to put my feet down immediately, but before they even touched the floor, the bike was righting itself, and carried on its merry way.  It took a minute or so for my grip on the handlebars to loosen.
A few mornings later, when I arrived at my favourite parking bay, I found that half of it was occupied by a Fiat 500.  It was perfectly parked within the lines, so kudos for that - the only problem was the lines clearly state 'SOLO M/Cs ONLY'.  Unless the driver fancies himself as the rapper Solo MC, I doubt this was appropriate parking.  I am not sure how long they were parked there for, or what the vehicle's fate was, but in my imagination, a big lorry came and picked it up and deposited it in an impound yard!
The very next day, I approached the same parking bay to discover a Land Rover in the same spot.  Shocking.  Luckily, the driver was in the car at the time, so after motioning to her that I wanted to park my bike, she kindly relocated.  I'm grateful she did, but at the same time, shouldn't one know better?
The other bit of footage was a scary one for me.  It seems it happens to me a fair bit - I'm not sure if I am to blame, or if its a combination of minimal road presence with my tiny bike, my road positioning, and the exquisitely slow acceleration of my poor little bike, force to propel my admittedly bulky frame around town and up hills.  Either way, I would think that if I were driving a car, and I saw a wee motorcycle with 'L' plates, I would give them plenty of room, and stay well back.  Anyway, the driver of this 944 decided that it would be better if he passed me on my left, on a stretch of road that had only one lane for travel in my direction.  I had to do a double take, as he surprised me with his actions.  When he saw that his manoeuvre was doomed to fail (and risky at best), he backed off, and I waved at him to let him know I needed more space.  I then moved my bike more towards the middle of the lane to assert my position.  This wasn't a dick move, this was just to give me the confidence that I wasn't about to be passed illegally and dangerously.
Anyway, enough ranting.  I will retroactively add some more posts giving more descriptions about my YouTube videos.  I will also post a review of my new camera, to let you know how i find it works for me.
Thanks for looking!

Taking the Next Step

My evening commute begins at 6:30pm, which at this time of year is full dark.  My morning commute begins about 7:00am, which is still dark, but I do get to watch the world get brighter as I make my way in.  This makes me happy; the traffic gets thicker, the air gets warmer, and the bike gets happier.  I am very much looking forward to summer, when my day is all sunshine.  We've had a bit of rain, but all in all, its been a great winter so far for riding.  I've only missed one day of riding - I looked out the window and saw frost everywhere.  I'm not experienced enough to risk freezing temperatures.
As I am still on my 'L' plates, I have some restrictions in place - I am not allowed on motorways, and I'm not allowed pillion passengers.  I'm also limited to a 125cc bike.  The worst restriction for me is the pillion part - I love riding, and I wish I could share the experience with my wife.  She really wants to go out as well, but it won't happen until I pass my test.  Here in the UK, its a two-part test, a theory test and a practical test.  I'm not too concerned about the practical; I think I'm okay if not terribly confident, but the theory part makes me nervous.  I grew up in Canada, so the road signs are a bit foreign to me - I mean I get the gist of what they're saying, but I haven't got them memorised or anything.  I have been revising on the practice app on my phone - I hope it all sticks.
To supplement my skills, I am hoping to participate in a day out with the BikeSafe program.  For not a lot of money, I get a one-on-one critique on my riding skills, with the aim to give me more confidence.  I will certainly be reporting on that.
I am looking forward to the day I get a bigger bike and I can take the missus out for some fun leisurely rides.  It will be nice to have the extra power to get out of sticky situations as well.  I have a colleague who rides a 250, and says that's all one really needs to get around London.  It is a rare occasion when I'm able to surpass 40mph; so top speed isn't a concern for me.  However acceleration is.  My bike is very, very slow, especially when compared to other bikes.
I am not sure if I will upgrade past a 250; I have to wait some time after getting my license before being allowed to legally ride anything larger.  I can see the appeal of a bigger displacement; my bike is pretty rough and unsettled, with one cylinder thumping away.  The exhaust is quiet - almost to the point where I get worried people won't be able to hear me.  And Hank doesn't have much road presence.  I am often undertaken and overtaken by cars, and they cut very close.  I don't want to intimidate, but its difficult to defend my road position with such a small displacement bike.  There is a safety element in play here for sure.

So I dream of the day when I pluck up the courage, and call the testing office, and reserve a spot.  The next step is beckoning me.....