Apart from a close brush with a scooter years ago on a holiday with a girlfriend, I haven’t been near a motorbike.

However, I now feel totally immersed in the biking culture and have come away fluent! Actually that’s rather an exaggeration, but I do feel as if my understanding and knowledge has taken a leap on the learning curve.

I spent a long but amazing day at Bedford Autodrome where we were treated to a day of motorbikes. Mostly men, and mostly decked out in their biking gear.

I had feared that I would be bored to tears. But within minutes I was swept along in the enthusiastic holiday atmosphere and made my way to the novice area, where I was reliably informed I would learn to ride a bike. Just like that.

By the end of the morning, having sample a couple of 125′s, a scooter and a 500cc monster, I ended the morning going round the mini circuit on a Harley Davidson! I could barely breathe from the sheer excitement of it. I even managed to change gears but sadly, just as with my car driving, my clutch control was rubbish.

I just find it so amazing that within a 90 minute period I could go from complete novice (never having ridden a motorcycle before), to driving round a small track and even weaving between cones on a Harley with some amount of control.

Now I understand why more and more women are taking to the open road on motorbikes, be it for recreation or commuting. And not only that, but the atmosphere of the day spoke volumes to me about the great community feel there is amongst bikers.

The first words my husband spoke to me as I entered the house was, ‘you’re not having one’. We shall see…