‘I was a nervous biker when I started riding motorcycles at 50 – I hope my book helps others enjoy the thrill’

A woman who discovered a love for motorcycling at 50 is releasing a book to help fellow new and nervous motorcyclists enjoy the thrill of being in the saddle.

Claire Jones, now 52, from Kent, is releasing her book, Remember You’re A Rider: The Mindset Guide for New and Nervous Motorcycle Riders, on January 26 2026. She hopes it will help motorcyclists “actually enjoy and be safe in the hobby that they’ve chosen”, overcoming the mental barriers to “that next-level feeling of accomplishment and freedom” that biking brings.

Inspired by her own nerves when she began motorcycling at 50, it will help riders discover why learning to ride as an adult can hit harder than expected, how identity and imposter syndrome can affect confidence, what really causes fear spikes and over-thinking, and offer simple tools to help riders feel calmer, safer and more in control on the road.

“It’s about helping people see they’re not alone, that what they’re feeling is normal, and that with the right support and the right approach, they will be able to move through and come out the other side and be able to enjoy their riding,” said Claire, who runs YourOneLife Motorcycle Mindset Coaching, which helps other would-be riders get over their mental barriers to motorcycling to enable them to enjoy the hobby safely and without fear.

“My mission, if you like, is to help people to realise that investing in their mindset… is just as important as investing in their bike, their training, their gear and their maintenance.

“That’s the bit that gets forgotten, but it’s at the centre of everything.”

Claire’s first experience of motorcycling was in her 20s, when she loved hopping on the back of her then-boyfriend’s motorbike. She had all the gear and found the excitement of biking thrilling, but she never learned how to ride herself.

When she met her husband Rick in 2002 at the age of 29, her biking gear got lost in a house move, but she thought she would never need it again, anyway.

Fast forward two decades and Claire, a certified life coach who had built a successful career in confidence and weight-loss coaching, felt the urge to get back on a bike. When she turned 50, Claire began thinking about what else she would like to do with her life, and “a big light bulb went on, like: ‘Ooh, motorbike’,” she said.

She imagined the joy, freedom and adventure that could come from being on two wheels – but little did she know that getting up to speed with motorcycling would be a bigger challenge than she had anticipated.

On August 27 2023, Claire had her first motorbike riding lesson – and “it was an absolute disaster”, she told PA Real Life.

“Realising that there’s an engine attached to this thing with two wheels, and if you open the throttle too high you’ll lose control and you’ll hurt yourself, I suddenly became acutely aware of that as soon as I sat on this thing,” she said.

During her first hour on a motorbike, Claire fell off three times, and she felt out of control and nervous.

“It was a very difficult early few months where I had to really battle with myself,” she added.

“Is this something I really, really want to do? Why did I even think that I could do something like this?”

However, this negative self-talk was something Claire had faced before. A keen runner, she completed her first marathon, the London Marathon, in 2009, but considered the race a “disaster” as she was underprepared and had underestimated the mental strength needed.

But, she said, “I picked myself up, went back and did it again”.

“That experience really proved to me that if you keep showing up, and if you want something enough, you’ll succeed.”

Now, Claire helps other people who want to overcome their anxieties around motorcycling and discover the joy that she feels on her bike.

In February 2025, she launched YourOneLife Motorcycle Mindset Coaching, an off-shoot from her weight loss coaching business, which helps other would-be riders get over their mental barriers to motorcycling to enable them to enjoy the hobby safely, without fear.

While she’s not a motorbike instructor, she can work with training providers and schools to help nervous riders make the most of their training and overcome mental barriers to learning.

She offers free resources on her Instagram page, @mindsetmasterywithclaire, as well as offering online workshops and one-to-one sessions for those keen to embrace life through motorcycling and, now, her book dedicated to new and nervous riders.

In her book, Remember You’re A Rider: The Mindset Guide For New And Nervous Motorcycle Riders, Claire discusses the pitfalls and barriers to becoming a confident rider, answering some of the most common questions she gets asked and providing solutions to issues she herself has faced, and is designed to complement their practical training.

There is a chapter about what’s really going on inside the helmet of nervous riders, including how anxiety and nerves affects riding ability; another covers how negative self-talk gets riders stuck in a vicious cycle and how they can break out and become more confident and capable.

It also includes rider stories, real-world examples of people who have overcome their nerves and made motorcycling into a fulfilling, fun hobby, as well as frequently asked questions: “Is it ever going to get any easier? Why can’t I just control my nerves? How am I ever going to get through my tests? And what do I do if I’ve had an accident? How do I get my confidence back?”

Her final chapter pulls it all together, showing people how they can “become the rider that you want to be… and ride off into the sunset.”

Claire’s perseverance and dedication to learning how to ride a motorbike, building the confidence to feel the wind in her hair on the winding Kent roads, not only proved the power of mindset, but gave her a new lease of life in her 50s – one that she is keen to share with others.

“I do biking because I just love it,” she said.

“It’s that exhilaration, that next level feeling of accomplishment and freedom, and I would have missed out on all of that if I hadn’t done it.”

Find out more about Claire’s Motorcycle Mindset Coaching at www.motorcyclemindset.co.uk.

Remember You’re A Rider: The Mindset Guide For New And Nervous Motorcycle Riders, will be published on January 26.