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Monday is now the newsletter’s regular date but occasionally other commitments might force it to come out later. Don’t forget, the Survival Skills newsletter takes you to this week’s posts on Ko-Fi enabling you to sidestep Facebook. Ko-Fi is NOT a subscription-only site – everything in this newsletter is FREE TO READ for at least seven days. Click the link, and read the post and it won’t cost you a penny. Don’t forget, no tracking or ads on Ko-Fi!
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ON THE ROAD IN 2022 – a choice of approach
This is my mission statement:
“A good course shows you what you didn’t know you needed to know, fixes the areas you thought were weak, and works with your existing style of riding.”
As the world attempts to ‘live with COVID’ – as the UK government has put it – I’m aware that there are many riders who simply want to get back to something like normal. But equally, there are others who remain reluctant to tear up all the cautions they’ve put in place over the last two years.
For that reason, I’m going to adapt my training for 2022 to do my best to cater for BOTH groups and offer a CHOICE.
From March, you’ll be able to choose a conventional Survival Skills advanced training course that maximises our on-road time…
…or you can opt to take advantage of a unique training experience that utilises ‘blended learning’ and combines ‘work from home’ online and on-road coaching. Although we are outdoors and ‘socially-distanced’ on our motorcycles, this option eliminates the need for a midday lunch and rest stop at a cafe.
If you opt for the full on-road session you can be certain you’ll be getting the same top-quality training that Survival Skills has been delivering since 1995.
But if you prefer to use the blended learning option, I am 100% confident that the overall learning experience remains very much the same. After two years of running courses with a significant online coaching element I’ll admit it’s been a learning experience for me as I perfected the delivery, but I will also say that feedback on these courses has been excellent.
WHAT’S ON IN THE SURVIVAL SKILLS UNIVERSE
MARCH’S LIVE EVENT: Group Riding tricks and tips… with the promise of warmer weather just around the corner and the evenings stretching out nicely, so ride-out season is getting under way again as riders gather for group rides. Biking with buddies can be a lot of fun – I’ve had some of my best experiences with like-minded riders. But if ride-outs lack a bit of discipline it can be hard work and not particularly enjoyable. And occasionally group rides turn into a free-for-all. So stay out of trouble the Survival Skills way!
WEDNESDAY, 2 MARCH 2022 AT 20:00
Tickets cost £5. BOOK AT: http://thq.fyi/se/0852f14d860f
APRIL’S LIVE EVENT – ‘SOBS – the full presentation’… Science Of Being Seen is a 45 minute talk covering human visual perception and motorcycle conspicuity, and explains why conventional hi-vis clothing and day-riding lights have proven less than successful at preventing junction collisions. Discover how to use Survival Skills ‘proactive measures’ in your own riding.
WEDNESDAY, 6 APRIL 2022 AT 20:00
Tickets cost £5. BOOK AT: http://thq.fyi/se/9Lw_pWQ
CLUB & GROUP TALKS – As well as an online talk scheduled for New Zealand, I’ve now got talks scheduled for Oxfordshire, Cornwall, Devon and Gloucester and more are in discussion. If you’d like me to arrange something for your own group or club, get in touch. As well as ‘Science Of Being Seen’, ‘Crash Course (in how not to…)’ and my latest ‘Fewer skills, more Insight’ presentations, I have a selection of others on various riding issues. Available weekday evenings and weekends, via ZOOM or in person. Drop me a line to sort something out.
ELEVENSES ANCHOR PODCAST – the Elevenses webcasts that go out live (almost always) on Wednesdays and Sundays are now available as an audio-only podcast – check them out HERE on Anchor.
LAST WEEK’S ROUND-UP
WINTER VOUCHERS – it’s your LAST CHANCE to save!
The Survival Skills WINTER VOUCHER offer runs out TODAY, MONDAY 28 FEBRUARY – so this really IS your very last chance to secure a saving on your training course later this year. Here’s how they work. Buy a GIFT VOUCHER now, and when you book a course YOU GET BACK MORE THAN YOU PAY.
£35 VOUCHER – worth £40 SAVE £5 on a course… …OR use it as full pay payment for an ONLINE COACHING SESSION.
£50 VOUCHER – WORTH £60 SAVE £10 on a course.
£80 VOUCHER – WORTH £100. SAVE £20 on a course. READ MORE…
Elevenses 218 Sun 20 Feb
in today’s show… trading standards warn stall holders to comply with CE rules at this weekend’s Bristol Classic show… German rider groups fight back against roads closed to motorcycles… Swedish government reverses transport administrations speed limit reductions… man posted selfies with stolen bikes in Instagram… speeding Hove rider who claimed bike had been cloned gets suspended sentence… MAG team up with MCIA… the return of the Honda Hawk… as speed limits rise in London, hundreds get tickets… today’s better biking point – how to recognise the speed limit… WATCH NOW…
SoS February 26 Get the Big Picture – Smith System Pt 4
Over the last few weeks in SoS (and also in two previous Focus on Friday pieces), I’ve been looking at the old-as-the-hills ‘Smith System for Space Cushion Driving’. It may date back to the 1950s but the five guiding principles laid down are as relevant to biking today as they were then. We covered the first three so today it’s time for #4 – “leave yourself an out”. READ MORE…
FoF February 25 What’s ‘blended learning’?
When the word ‘training’ is used, most of us will naturally think of the teacher – pupil ‘chalk and talk’ interaction of the sort we remember from school classrooms or maybe on-the-job training. And since most of us learned nearly everything we know about driving sat next to our driving instructor, most people think this must be the right way to learn about motorcycling too. But learner expectations aside, there’s absolutely no reason that rider training has to fall into this very traditional model of learning. READ MORE…
Elevenses 217 Wed 23 Feb
in today’s show… MAG quit the year-old National Motorcycle Council… rioting bikers torch market in Liberia… classic biker stopped in Spain threatened with bike seizure for no MOT… TT 2022 to be streamed live… banks to introduce new checks on online shopping… tribute to 70s Bultaco built round an 80s BMW… what’s the point of the Brabus 1300.. implants may help paralysed riders walk again… today’s better biking point – reviewing the new Highway Code Rule H3… WATCH NOW…
ToT February 22 Traffic lights – how to fail your bike test Part Six
On test you will almost certainly have to deal with traffic light controlled junctions, including filter lights. The examiner will expect you to understand the sequences of lights and to see you deal appropriately with them as they change which includes taking the appropriate rear observations. I taught new riders – everyone from absolute beginners with zero experience of the roads to experienced drivers with decades of driving under their belt – for well over a decade. And frankly far too many trainees from both groups turned out not to understand how traffic signals work. READ MORE…
And from the 60 Second Safety series on YouTube…
That’s it for today. I’d welcome your feedback, as always.
Kevin Williams / Survival Skills
