Tips from the Chief Observer

As Advanced riders we should always be looking to improve our skills, so I’m going to talk about the benefits of practice. There really is no substitute for mileage in the saddle, but not just riding along with your mind elsewhere but really thinking about absolutely everything you are doing. I’m sure many of you have heard me use the analogy of learning to play the Guitar - if you want to get better you put the hours of playing in. There really is no difference to riding your bike. So ,what to practice?

Slow Riding

Being good at slow riding has a massive benefit to overall bike control and confidence on the bike. Unfortunately, many riders don’t practice this nearly enough if at all. Find a suitable area, an unused car park for instance and practice riding as slow as you can in a straight line at first, (on my Tiger 800 I got it down to 0-1 mph but on my Tiger 1200 3-4 mph was the lowest I could go) and then as you improve, go round in circles. The more you practice the better you will get, pretty quickly as well and you’ll be amazed at the difference confidence you will gain in manoeuvring in car parks, petrol stations and filtering situations, to name but a few.

Single Track Roads

Many riders really don’t like single track roads, they genuinely are scared by them. This is understandable to some degree, vision is often limited, the road surface is very uneven and in many places gravel/ mud can be a big factor. However, by practicing these sorts of roads, you’re forced to consider every aspect of IPSGA. They really make you look for every nugget of information available along with where to position the bike to maximise safety as well as vision. You naturally look over the hedgerows and search for the limit point everywhere. Your level of concentration is heightened and your decision-making process becomes a lot sharper. Perfecting these sorts of roads again has huge benefits on all roads. You will find when you’re on main A roads you have more time to make decisions because you naturally take in information quicker, you look further ahead and are more precise with your positioning. The benefits are endless.

Riding in the Rain - Winter

Many riders will only take their bike out if they really have to, but riding in the rain/ winter can be great fun and increase your understanding of what the bike feels like in slippery conditions. You will be amazed at how much grip you have.

It really starts with the kit you wear; if you are warm, dry and can see through your visor your level of concentration/ fun is heightened. I f you’re cold, wet and struggling to see through a steamed up visor, your concentration is reduced greatly, even to dangerous levels and you certainly don’t enjoy the ride. Constantly riding in wet slippery conditions - to be clear I don’t mean snow and ice, that’s a different ball game entirely - your understanding of what the bike feels like increases, your ability to read the road conditions improves, as well as your ability to read what other road users are doing. Unfortunately, I have found that the standard of other road users deteriorates with the weather!

Riding at Night

Riding at night is pretty alien to many riders, vision is greatly reduced even on fully lit roads. Headlights and street lights bouncing off surfaces, as well as your visor, can really make your brain go into overload as it tries to work out what’s going on. You know what I’m going to say here though, the more you do it the more your brain will get used to it and the easier it becomes.

Riding on unlit single track roads certainly sharpens your focus, especially when cars coming are towards you with their main beam on - you learn very quickly to not look at the light. Again, your skills get sharper, and you quickly naturally develop a quicker thinking decision making process which transfers into every aspect of your riding.

Motorways

Many bikers don’t enjoy riding on the Motorway because they find it boring and those that do just use them to get from A – B as quickly as possible (which is what they’re there for). But so much fun can be had from Motorways if you “think”. Constantly think about what all the traffic is doing and work out what it’s going to do, not just the traffic in your immediate vicinity, but also up ahead and the traffic catching you in your mirrors - how will they impact your lane selection?

Working out where best to position your bike in the lane is a key skill to maximise your safety and progress. Giving everyone the best chance to see you either out of their windows or their mirrors is a constant decision making process. Use cruise control as much as possible - perfect the art of ride planning so you don’t have to come off cruise control. All this thinking and planning sharpens your level of concentration which will mean your enjoyment increases and your concentration will last longer.

What do I do?

I’m lucky, I live in Ratby and work in Coventry. I also work shifts (earlies – Lates), which means I get the opportunity to practice all the above every working day of the week. I ride between 12000 – 18000 miles a year depending on what tours I go on. I ride all year round but tend to stay off the ungritted roads when it’s below 2 degrees. The lowest temperature I’ve ridden in was -2 degrees. I have heated grips on the bike, I have heated gloves and heated insoles in my boots, I also have a pinlock on my visor. I have a top box and a waterproof bag permanently attached to my back seat to carry all the stuff I need for work.

Why am I telling you this? I guess to demonstrate I practice what I preach, but also to demonstrate that with a little change in routine many of you can get to enjoy your bike more than ever.

I also talk to and listen to other members of the club. I don’t have all the answers by a long way, but within the club we are lucky to have a vast amount of experience and knowledge and I am always willing to learn more.