Welcome to the latest edition of the Survival Skills Rider Training newsletter, which goes out on Thursdays and covers my Facebook posts up to Wednesday. Survival Skills is all about helping you improve your knowledge, your skills, and your understanding of ‘better biking’ and I won’t take up half your day with random ads or product placement! All you get are links to my ‘better biking’ posts of Facebook.
TRAINING – we’re into the changeable time of year now. It’s still possible to get some nice mild and sunny days, but it’s likely to be interspersed with wet, windy and rather chilly weather too. I am continuing to offer training, but don’t forget – if the weather doesn’t look promising, the Survival Skills WET WEATHER GUARANTEE will avoid having courses disrupted. I am currently taking bookings to mid-November.
—LATEST FEEDBACK FROM SUE GREGORY—
Really enjoyed the time, especially helpful when you get constructive information with an area of my riding that is giving me concerns. Good riding on some nice twisty roads giving me loads of practise… Would recommend Kevin to anyone…
Visit www.survivalskills.co.uk for more info on training courses. You can also download the latest information PDF here. Or drop me a line at info@survivalskills.co.uk.
Talking of the website, it has been given a bit of an upgrade! As well as some new articles about my courses and training generally, I’ve adds links to my EBOOK SHOP at Ko-Fi, my paperback BOOKSTORE at Lulu, the 60 SECOND SAFETY VIDEOS on YouTube, as well as the FACEBOOK ARCHIVE of 500+ better biking articles!
And of course, I’m also available for ONLINE COACHING sessions immediately.
READ ONE THING – normally, I say “if you’re pushed for time, have a look at…” and point you at one post. But this week, several posts got excellent feedback – Tuesday’s “should I cover the rear brake”, the Friday discussion on whether “modern bikes spoil us for touring” and Thursday’s ‘60 Second Safety’ video on reading the road. They’re all worth a look.
NEXT LIVE PRESENTATION: BRAKING IN BENDS – must-have skills or avoid at all costs? In theory, we’d enter every corner ‘at a speed that allows us to stop in the distance we can see is clear’. In reality, the situation ahead of us can change in an instant. And we’re human – we make mistakes. And so sometimes, the ability to lose speed rapidly and under control in corners is an absolutely essential skills. Unfortunately, not every rider manages to slow down AND keep control – braking in corners leads to far too many crashes.
In this webcast, we’ll look at how braking and steering inputs can work together without overwhelming tyre grip. Tickets cost £5 – get yours here:
WEDNESDAY, 3 NOVEMBER 2021 AT 20:00
DECEMBER’S TALK – SCIENCE OF BEING SEEN (SOBS)
CLUB & GROUP TALKS – It’s been a busy couple of weeks for presentations – last week I travelled to Gloucester to deliver my first in-person SOBS talk for ages, then followed that up with an online SOBS presentation for Thames Valley RoSPA who said they now had “loads to think about”. And yesterday, it was the turn of TVAM and a talk on why we should look beyond ‘skills training’ and offer ‘INSIGHT TRAINING’ – for a rather technical topic, there was plenty of positive response. I have several dates to the diary going out to May next year, but if you’d like me to arrange something for your own group or club, get in touch. As well as the ‘Science Of Being Seen’ and ‘Crash Course (as in “how not to…”) and this latest ‘Insight’ presentations, I have a selection of others on various riding issues. Drop me a line to sort something out.
NEXT Ko-Fi WEBINAR – I planned to run this on Monday October 4 but due to other commitments, I have had to postpone it – I WILL get it sorted. Free to all supporters & subscribers!
THIS WEEK ON FACEBOOK
*** ELEVENSES *** Elevenses 181 Wed 20 October
In today’s webcast… UK plans legislation to turn off EV chargers at peak hours… reports of EU compulsory Intelligent Speed Assistance by 2030 are exaggerated… New Zealand to get compulsory ABS on bikes over 125… France could aim noise cameras at bikers… Gwent road safety campaign appears to suggest that ‘being insufficiently visible’ is a factor in motorcycle crashes that DON’T involve another vehicle… Moto Morini re… See more
*** TIPS ON TUESDAY *** Should I cover the rear brake in traffic
A question that dropped my way a while ago was “which brake should I cover as I ride? My instructor said the back brake was the one to use in traffic, as it means you’re not on / off all the time”.
I gathered that by the ‘on / off’ comment, the instructor was suggesting that the front brake was too ‘sharp’ and causing fork dive that destabilised the bike or even caused sudden, off-balance stops. … See more
*** COMMENT *** ‘Lifesaving Tips’ from Survival Skills
Along with some of the UK’s best-known trainers, I’ve just been featured on the Devitt Insurance motorcycle riding pages! It’s an article penned by journalist David Williams and titled:
“REVEALED: Experts’ Top ‘Secret’ Riding Tips”… See more
*** ELEVENSES *** Elevenses 180 Sun 17 October
In today’s webcast… National Motorcycle Council call for changes to rider training… drivers and riders who pass a red X on motorways now face fines and penalty points… wire rope barriers to be replaced in Northern Ireland… Kawasaki show off hybrid motorcycle… would the NMC’s changes actually result in ‘safer biking’… today’s better biking tip – to stay warm heat the CORE and not the fingers!
Make a brew, grab a bisc… See more
*** SKILLS ON SATURDAY *** ‘Thirds’ and overtakes
Last time out I was talking about how I learned about something called the ‘Thirds’ system for cornering. It came up on the old bike forum, around twenty years ago, and the explanation was that in order to avoid arriving at bends too fast, we split any straight into three – an ‘ACCELERATION’ phase out of a bend, a mid-straight ‘ASSESSMENT’ phase, then approaching the next corner, a final ‘DECELERATION’ phase.
After a bit of … See more
*** FOCUS ON FRIDAY *** Do modern bikes spoil us for touring?
Last week I asked “are modern bikes degrading riding skills?” – the question was actually about what riders are beginning to consider ‘essential’ technology, such as the person who wouldn’t consider a bike without a quickshifter.
By coincidence, just a few days later a second debate fired up over what constituted a ‘decent touring bike’ and one person told us very forcefully:… See more
*** 60 SECOND SAFETY *** #54 Bridges on rural roads
60 Second Safety is a series of short Better Biking tips from Survival Skills Rider Training.
Many of the hazards we encounter as we ride can be predicted…… See more
THAT’S IT FOR THIS WEEK – so finally SHARE THE NEWS!
Please Please PLEASE pass on the newsletter to biking family and friends. Let’s get everyone we know ‘better biking’.
See you next week
Kevin Williams
Survival Skills Rider Training
