From Nick Alp, September 09 after a Bends course

“Thank you again for your time and energy during our course yesterday and also for these very detailed and relevant feedback notes. I feel the experience has been extremely worthwhile and thought provoking, and I will work to practice and reflect on these lessons.

“I was impressed by the structure of the day and I think your teaching/coaching skills are excellent, using a range of visual, verbal and physical/practical techniques, which would engage students with a variety of learning styles.

“I think a lot of these approaches (particularly hazard awareness) are transferrable to car driving.

“I’m aware that I have spent most of my time riding and driving on automatic, far from the optimum. Improving these skills requires bringing these processes back into conscious awareness, which is mentally exhausting while the re-training and practicing takes place. But this is just what we have to do.

“I’ll recommend you to Jo, my wife, and to others, and I will aim to get back in touch in due course for more coaching.”

 

Nick and I had an excellent day out in gorgeous early Autumn weather in Oxfordshire on Saturday, lovely weather for doing the “Bends” course.

Helping out a nervous new rider

One of the frequent calls for help comes from a relatively newly qualified female rider who’s taken a 125 test, either because it’s a bit cheaper or they’re under 21. Sometimes it’s because they tried a DAS bike and couldn’t ride it well enough at the basic training school, and were advised to take the test on a 125.

Leaving aside my thoughts that in the last case the basic school should take the time and make the effort to make the rider competent on the bigger machine, the upshot is that they then get onto a bigger machine and can struggle for a number of reasons, not least because the 125 was physically small and light, and unthreatening in terms of performance.

Last year I had Charlie out, a very nice young lady who’d gone the 125 route and struggled with the bigger bike to the point of giving up. Her father contacted me direct, and managed to persuade her to do a day’s training. As she waas so nervous, I trekked over to her location near Farnborough to start the training from her garage.

There are advantages and disadvantages to this. Obviously the trainee doesn’t have to ride anywhere on their own to reach my normal locations in Maidstone or Oxford, but the downside is that I don’t know the roads so well, although after 16 years despatching and around half a million miles covered in that job there aren’t that many areas in the South and Midlands that I don’t know at least in passing! A particular problem that I usually struggle to find somewhere to practice slow control, which is often an area where new riders on the bigger bikes have an issue.

In Charlie’s case, the big problem was bends, with a side order of poor slow control! She just didn’t like doing them at any kind of speed, decelerating far too early, creeping into them virtually upright, and hugging the kerb on left handers and the white line (scary!) on right handers.

So we started out on fairly straightforward roads, working on basic positioning in the middle of the lane, and blending smooth braking and throttle control with steering, and by the end of the day she was tacking reasonably testing roads successfully – not quickly, but fast enough not to be a mobile chicane in front of impatient traffic. Just being able to go with the flow is a huge confidence boost – and MUCH safer!

Slow control was a little more difficult to tackle without access to my usual empty carparks, but we managed to find some quiet housing estate roads, and worked on the techniques there. Not ideal, but it did the trick for her, the quiet roads allowing me to offer explanations and demonstrations, and then she could practice in relative safety.

“Sorry it’s taken me so long to reply. Just wanted to say thank you for all of your help. I did not feel so different about my riding when we got back to mine that day, but when I went out again later that evening I noticed how I was a lot more comfortable with my bike

“I’m still working on my cornering; practicing braking when I need to before the bend and trying to keep myself positioned in the centre of the road as I go round it. I’m also leaning a lot more into the bends that I know now which has allowed me to increase my speed a little, not so much that Im scaring myself silly you understand but just enough so that Im not holding up the traffic, lol

“I’m more willing to attempt slow control turns now as I’m getting used to the idea of what I need to be doing in order to make sure my bike stays on both wheels, lol My stopping is a lot more controlled now as well

“My friends have noticed the change in my riding and they say my confidence has grown which is always nice to hear I feel different – I’m not shaking with nerves whenever I go anywhere near my bike now

“Thank you again for all of your help – the advice that you gave me provided me with the push that I needed to start working on the parts of my riding that I was really sketchy about and would rather ignore or avoid if I could, lol. There is still much room for improvement but I’m starting to accept that we all have to start somewhere – the only way that confidence is gained is through plenty of practice “

Some more comments on Survival Skills from the Archives

“Have done Bikesafe (it is NOT training) and a 1:1 one day with a Rapid trainer and a 2:1 Survival Skills 2 day with Kevin. Not going to do comparisons but… I can recommend Survival Skills type training. B**g*r the ‘making progress’ – start with the ’staying alive’ and take it from there.”

(After a 2:1 ‘Tour’ event up in the Lakes) Count Steer from Visordown.com (December 2003)

“Having completed my second full day with Rapid – 2:1 on the road ‘advanced’ riding recently…they’re actually more ’system’ than Spin. Which is to be expected given the background of all the Rapid trainers.

“The IAM is ’system’ too.

“Different strokes for different folks – some types of training suits some types of people. I enjoyed both for some similar and some different reasons.”

Count Steer again (October 2005) on Visordown.com

 

“I’ve done IAM, Bikesafe and Advanced training with Kevin (excellent).

“Please, take it from me… advanced road training is the way forward.

“Both the IAM and Bikesafe are “shallow”, not to be dismissed, but nowhere near enough.”

Green Lantern on Visordown.com (July 2004)

“One of the first things I commented on when we got back home from Yorkshire, having [trained] with you, was that the most dangerous guys on the road were the riders apexing all the bends and taking the right handers virtually on our side of the road.

“It all made your countersteer avoidance training particularly pertinant when trying ourselves to go around a left hander (the same left hander as was thier right hander!), using the safer technique of staying out to the right to be able to see more and be seen quicker by the opposing traffic!”

Bikerlass (July 2004), Visordown.com

“I did a Bikesafe course and I went though the IAM process. Both were very helpful but, as it was two years ago, I had become complacent and, in some areas, I had become overconfident.

“I have just completed two days advanced training with Spin. His experienced and systematic approach raised my safety standards back up again AND helped me improve my riding style – especially the overtaking and cornering (see my Sig below) exercises.

“I would recommend that you seriously consider real-life, on-road training conducted by a full-time professional. It’s thorough, it will help you improve your riding/traffic skills AND it will emphasise safety at the same time.

“BTW It’s fun and exciting too!”

Bikerider from Visordown.com also in July 2004

[Many people tend to think that advanced skills are only for the sports bike riders. Bikerider was on a Harley, which was being ridden distinctly enthusiastically!!!!]

On the Survival Skills e-books…

“[Kevin] writes exceptionally well on his subject. His writing is clear and easy to read – it’s never heavy going, and every so often there are stories from his experiences as an instructor that will have you sometimes laughing, sometimes cringing – and he’s a master at putting the physical process of riding into words.

“The format is great, too: he takes each subject through what to do, what can go wrong and what you can do to fix it. And it’s the second two that are really useful: a lot of other stuff I’ve read basically comes down to “here’s how to do it right” – you get no help if it all goes pear-shaped.

“I guess that’s what I like the best about Kevin’s writing (and courses): instead of giving you rules to stick to, he recognises that things can and do go wrong and gives you the abilities to deal with mistakes, whether they’re your own or other peoples.”

Thanks to Alan C for those nice words!

What’s the difference between IAM/RoSPA and Survival Skills?

I’ll let one of my trainees answer that. John did a training day with me as well as the Somerset ‘Rider Performance’ day back in May and this is what he has to say:

“I did this combination in May this year (Castle Coombe Track one day, followed by Survival Skills- tight bends and slow bike control) – the next day. It was excellent. I am going to book with Kevin at SS again as soon as I have recovered from a hip operation (no not bike related!

“I have passed IAM and RoSPA tests, but the SS experience opens up another perspective on the whole ‘bike skill enhancement’ arena providing both practical help and ideas to reflect upon.

“Keep up the good work!”

John Challis, August 29, 2009

Black Forest Delights

From Deirdre Siddaway, after a Bends/Double Bends course!

“You are an all time legend!!! We had the most amazing time in the Black
Forest, thanks to you!!! Bends with a decreasing radius … no fear!!! We
rode on roads I could only have previously imagined – & all thanks to your instruction in the Cotswolds. Fish Hill … push …. push … push … I
don’t know how we would have coped on the first day in Germany without your instruction … mountain passes with … tight bends … decreasing radius then … cobble stones – joy!

“If your ears were burning 13 – 22 June, we were singing your praises in
Germany…

“On a final biking note – I had the front springs changed on my bike a
couple of weeks ago … it’s like having a new bike!!! Apparently the
ER6 is renown for having v hard shocks!!! There’s no stopping me now!!!
Don’t worry, I’m not planning another off with 6 months off work.

“Thank you again Kevin for your training. It really made such a difference
& I really do have more smiles for the miles now … bends … bring them
on! Think we’ll have to go back to Germany for some more bends .. they
are a bit tame in Suffolk!!!”

Deirdre and her husband did a “Survival Skills” course with me in Suffolk a few years back, and came back to do another “Double Bends” course earlier this year to really sort out highly technical bends like hairpins which she wasn’t confident on.

So we went to Fish Hill in the Cotswolds amongst others and did a couple of trips up and down that!

Slowing early, getting the bike set on the throttle and taking the time gained to look though the bend early to pick up the general line, looking round it to stay on line, and positive use of mid-corner countersteering to hold the bike on line mid-turn proved the key points to sorting her problems mid turn out.

Much of the worry turned out to be down to fear she wasn’t making enough ‘progress’ mid-turn as her IAM group had encouraged her to. I showed how braking positively on the approach rather than just rolling off the throttle, then getting the power on later but harder took away the stresses mid-turn and meant that she actually got round the bend no slower overall (if not quicker from end to end!).

Her husband Paul wasn’t convinced he’d pick much up from the course after taking an advanced bike test himself, but he admitted after the two days that he had a far better grasp of how to get a bike round an awkward bend than before as a result, particularly in the issues of how to use positive body shifts to influence the way the bike turns.

Excellent result, when someone goes away and enjoys their riding so much as a consequence of covering the right stuff on a course!

“A wide range of machines can be used for training…”

Here’s one I’d forgotten from a few years back which I found on one of the forums:

“I recently completed a day’s one-to-one training with Kevin Williams, who runs the highly-respected “Survival Skills” training operation.

I found it extremely useful. I would recommend him to any rider. And he wasn’t in the least bit snobby about me turning up on the
SupaFive…”

After arriving in a monsoon, which had me seriously worrying about having to cancel the course, the sun came out for the afternoon and we had an excellent day’s riding down in the South West, along the Devon coast including a cuppa at the castle at Dartmouth, if I remember right.

The trainee was a bit concerned about turning up on the MZ, worrying that I’d say it was “too slow” for advanced training. I soon put him right on that one! You don’t need a GSXR1000 to do 70mph down a narrow country lane or round a bend and discover it’s too fast!

The only real issue with following two strokes is that the fumes do eventually give me a headache!

From Sarah

From Sarah Gray (Confidence Builder / Survival Skills courses, June 09)

“Thank you too for the training it is so good to have a course that is so flexible and at a pace that a beginner like me felt comfortable with at all times. I have plently to work on now and looking forward to a much safer and enjoyable time on my bike.”

Feedback on a course – from Carlo

Every course I run, I try to remember to ask for feedback, when a trainee has had time to think about it. I do get some, not often very much more than “great time, thanks very much” it has to be said, but from time to time I do get some considered and constructive criticism, which is excellent because it helps me make improvements to my courses.

So it was good to get the following comments from Carlo Rimassa last year, after he did the two day Bends/Double Bends course. He’d already done a fair amount of training, including a course with a well-known police run training school so it’s particularly interesting to see what he picked up over the two days.

I’ve split his comments up with the replies I made to the various points, to make it a little easier to follow and also to throw some extra light on the way particular issues were approached during the two days. It also hopefully offers an insight into the way courses are put together, carefully planned with serious goals in mind, and not simply a nice ride out for me.

“As promised, here are some thoughts about the two day course I did with you. I think the balance of the first day could probably be shifted a bit more towards riding. I found the notes about road signs quite informative and a lot of information was new to me. The practical part though was maybe a bit too disjointed, it was difficult to get into a riding rythm. The second day was good, and the rides long enough to enable me to establish some flow in my actions. I think you could maybe give some consideration to incorporate a couple of variations in your riding plan.”

Interesting feedback. Good to hear the information about road signs was useful! I find it an unusual ommission from advanced training, to tell the truth.

As for the “disjointed” comment, to be honest, part of the problem may be your history of previous training. In fact, what I am trying to achieve on the first half of the first day (after a short ride to assess the trainee’s standard) is precisely NOT to get into a rhythm, because as soon as riders feel comfortable, they start doing what they already know and NOT what I’ve asked them to do.

There’s also a danger of overwhelming the trainee with new info – the opening briefing tends to last around 45 mins, of which 15 or so is actually the intro to the course, then approx 30 to cover the core ideas of reading signs – which quite frankly is long enough to start most trainees glazing, despite the fact I’m really only expanding on the briefing notes they already have. I have more information I want to get over to the trainee in the first half of the first day.

So for two reasons, the initial rides are designed to be short exercises with a precise task to be achieved, followed by a brief review, then a bit more information. This is classic teaching technique too.

After lunch, the last hour or so of riding on Day 1 is usually where the “flow” starts to be achieved. Interestingly on the Double Bends second day, which I’ve planned as a chance for trainees to get on and ride a wide selection of bends precisely to get the “flow” you mentioned was missing from the first day, we didn’t get to ride some of the more interesting roads we would have finished the day on because you wanted to repeat some of the sections we’d already ridden. Having said that, it’s no problem for me, it’s up to the trainee to decide what they want to cover.

“I have to say not having radio did probably contribute to this: you are surely used to delivering commentary while you ride in front, not having it made those parts less useful than they could have been, and more difficult to spot your riding demonstrations. I’m sure you do, but check again your radio works in all its parts before you get to meet your pupil.”

[The radio malfunctioned!] Indeed, it didn’t help as some of the stops could have been avoided or shortened by use of the radios – two new radios have been ordered, delivered, and were in use by the next course. I had a spare but still haven’t got to the bottom of why the spare didn’t work. I’d checked that earlier in the year when it worked fine and it hasn’t been used since. Anyway, apologies for that.

“I found the “body outside, bike leant away from you” technique for turning very tight bends quite useful. I would have liked to try that more, maybe on a big, flat and empty surface, just doing tight figures of eight and circles.”

Given your previous training history, I’m interested that you found this a new technique – given that it’s simply a variation of what most Direct Access instructors teach on basic training to cope with U turns and tight turns, I’m not sure why it hasn’t already featured! There’s certainly something missing from other advanced courses if this is not covered. As for off-road practice of counterweighting, you could have done that – it’s part of the Survival Skills 2 day course – or the Slow Control short course. If you’d booked the 3 day “Survival Skills + Double Bends” course, it would have been covered along with swerving. But there’s obviously a limit to how much I can fit into each course, and there are those expectations to meet too – I think most trainees would be a bit put out if I started a bends course in a carpark!

Incidentally, this should show show readers that the different courses incorporate different material – they are not simply “the same stuff rehashed with a different name” as one advanced instructor suggested I was doing!

“That 90 degrees bend we found in the afternoon would make a great “testing ground”. You can approach it in several different ways, each testing important roadcraft parts: you could try to do it without braking or approach it with a racing line, braking well deep into it, or every other braking point variation in between. It’s an open bend with full visibility, so you could use it to test several body positions and approach speeds, up to and incuding those that require you to use more than your lane. And the presence of a side road right in the middle would enable you to stand aside and obeserve the pupil from a side. It requires a bit of time to turn around and do it again, but really, I think that bend has a great teaching potential.”

Main objection to that is that it’s not a particularly safe place to be turning the bike – it does get cars and riders coming along there at extremely high speeds who won’t expect a bike doing a three point turn. Safety has to be paramount – but the concept is something I’ll think about and see if I can incorporate a sensible loop at some other point on the course.

“That’s it really. I think that among the notes I took home, the ones that might affect my riding most were those related to your riding philosophy. I have always liked riding because of the mental challenge it represents, but if I incorporated more of your “easy ride” attitude I think I could improve further my daily mileages. Plenty to ponder for me over the coming season.”

That’s good to hear. I sometimes find I’m at odds with other trainers on my “plan for what goes wrong” and “Keep it simple” strategies, but they’ve worked for me for many years and I do think they are more applicable to the vast majority of riders than “max progress and perfection” style” riding. Tortoise and hare. At very least, I think the contrasting approach does, as you mention, get people thinking which to my mind is one of the most important outcomes of the course.

“Thanks again for your time.”

You’re more than welcome and many thanks for your attendance on the course!

From the Archive…

…or more exactly from Visordown!

I’d completely forgotten about these reviews of one of the training courses until it got flagged up this morning to someone interested in doing a course. This one dates from April ‘05 and refers to training in Montgomery, mid-Wales.

Went to Wales with Bonners to do some refresher training…we’d both booked in for a general look at our riding, and to make sure we weren’t an absolute liability.

Unfortunately, cos the Dragon in Montgomery is so bloody expensive, me and Bonners had to share a room I pity the cleaner, unless she had nose plugs… :burp:

Had a lovely rideout with Spin, Bonners, Ruby and TRX, up through the Cwmbran (sp??!!) hills, round some gravel tracks, etc. Welsh countrside was beautiful, fields of Oil Seed Rape at it’s most pungent, verges screaming with Wood Anemones, daisies, yellow flowers (Marsh Marigold look-alikes), wide vistas, babbling brooks, and everything

Bonners persuaded me to have the steak in the Dragon. I then pointed out that the 8oz was only £2 cheaper than the 16oz, so i insisted we order that, along with a few pints of Brains (how ironic) and Woods. Fat Bastards-r-us

Hence the room the next morning

Went out Monday (yesterday) for the training. Started off absolutely gorgeous

Did a few roads, Bonners leading, then me, then Bonners, then me

Then it pissed it down – thunder lightning RAIN!!

Just as we stopped for lunch It took us 20 odd mins to get served with standard fares of beans eggs and sausages, and the like. NEVER let it be said that inbreeding is rife at the Morrisons in Newtown

Then it stopped raining – just as we were leaving the caff. For about 30 seconds when the heavens opened again . For a few miles, anyway. Hit the A483…class road, but thankfully we didn’t hit it in the same way as the parked up Gixer appeared to have. Slightly mangled, leaning up against an armco, with a set of leather pants draped over the Armco

It was wet on the way up, but was mostly drying nicely on the way down!!

Headed back towards Monty, where I got the lead, and took Spin for a spin at a less sedate pace for the last few miles – sorry Bonners :burnout:

Best bits were doing the A483 in the rain – I hate the wet roads that I ride routinely, cos they tend to have had loads of traffic and feel fucking greasy and horrible, and it scares me The A483 is a bit less traversed by vehicles, and feels so smooth and grippy it was a joy to ride in the wet. Not particuarly quickly, mind, but brisk enough to bring a smile

Spin’s commentated bit around Newtown was excellent – he even seemed to be able to predict the prescence of skips around blind corners This really was informative as he takes a far wider view than I do – or more notice of things I choose to ignore. Also the way he reads what is likely to be around semi-blind corners is good.

We spent a fair bit of time during the day chatting, which was good – reinforcing some things I knew, introducing some things in a different way, etc.

Not sure what NEW things I learned, but I certainly have a lot of thinking material, maybe slightly different ways of doing things, etc.

Finally, it was nice to do a refresher – make sure I’m still in the correct ball park, and that when I do give her her head that I’m not a total fucking liability, and that I judge each situation on it’s merits, rather than blindly charging headlong into any old situation. And that my obs (which is what was worrying me a few months ago) isn’t so bad.

Well recommended.

Even by hardened battle scarred veterans like meself.

Thanks to Rainmaker for that view of a day out for experienced riders.

By the way, I’ve moved the lunchstop from the Morrisons!

And Bonners had this to say:

First off, Monday’s training.

We started off with a talk for about an hour with Spin, going over some of the principles of what we would be doing, and also focusing on what we wanted to get out of the course. This bit I find pretty essential, as it really focuses the mind on what we are trying to achieve.

Started off the riding with both taking it in turns leading the way, and stopping for a debrief with Spin. He would then start bringing up the next concepts. After he had had a chance to assess both our riding, he started to bring in some slightly different concepts to the training.

We worked a lot on visualising hazards, body positioning, and even Thirds was mentioned Have to say that the whole concept of Thirds still leaves me a bit cold. Having said that, once we had gone over the concept, I kind of put my own interpretation on it, and found my braking in a straight line before the bends seemed to be better judged, and I was getting set up for the bends a lot easier. So, I guess there is something in there, you just have to use these things in the way that makes sense to you. So despite my threat to go home if Thirds was mentioned , it was actually quite useful.

As for the body positioning, again really useful, actively thinking about why you move your body, it also seems to have gone some way to curing one of my main faults of turning in too early on right handers, definately more work needed, but that was something that definately put me on the right track.

As Rainy has mentioned the around town riding was brilliant, I love those commentated rides. Shame about the slow speed control training, but I have to admit my enthusiasm for doing it in the pouring rain and thunder storms was a little ‘dampened’.

There were lots of other things which I’m sure will come to me later, but all in all was a cracking, if tiring day.

As for the rest of the weekend, we had a brilliant time, Rainy actually turned up at my house at the apointed hour on Sunday morning, and we had a lovely ride down, very sensible, apart from the bit on the motorway where the matrix signs were telling ‘bikers save the racing for the track, not the road’ Stupid sign, red rag to a bull, etc…

Met up with everyone at the Dragon Hotel ready for the rideout over the Welsh Mountains (hills?) lovely rideout. I have a feeling that TRX’s ‘Blade was the first one ever on some of those gravel tracks I’m sorry someone has to mention the Goldwings that flew past us, not exactly the most sensible o overtakes on single track roads with blind bends, but hey they seemed happy enough, I’m still not sure when the one behind me saw my right indicator when we turned off for Devil’s Bridge.

Had a lovely snack, also bumped into something like Nick Sanders Moto Challenge, some seriously dirty bikes. Then on for some more cracking B-roads. Just five riders, all willing to go at a nice brisk pace, but no stupidity, lots of fun.

Back to the hotel, I dont think I can even mention the stake without feeling full, ever had a lump of red meat plonked on your plate that moos?

Lovely evening, but I really hope the cleaners had gas masks.

Once we had done the training me and Rainy headed off, great ride back. Got a bit caught up in the crowds leaving Oulton Park (BSB), so we headed for the back routes, and found some more cracking little roads. A perfect way to finish a great weekend.

So, thanks to everyone for a great time, and Spin’s excellent training. The whole thing was very much worth it.

Thanks, Bonners!!

“Thirds” is a means of breaking down straights between hazards into a ‘go’ phase, a ’steady whilst you think’ phase, and a ’slow’ phase. The key point is the ‘think’ phase; if the faster rider is encouraged not to leave the transition from throttle to brake as late as possible, the middle ‘think’ phase does away with a lot of “in too fast” errors, which paradoxically means they are happy to carry more speed on the straight!

It also gives the steadier riders something to do in the bit between corners where they tend to switch off and make exactly the same “in too fast” error but for a different reason!