“Advanced riding for the thinking biker”
Welcome to the latest edition of the Survival Skills Rider Training newsletter.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.
Visit www.survivalskills.co.uk for more info on training courses – it’s had a bit of a makeover. 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! You can also download the latest information PDF here. Or drop me a line at info@survivalskills.co.uk.
And of course, I’m also available for ONLINE COACHING sessions immediately.
ONLY 16% OF YOU CLICKED A LINK LAST WEEK
So this week READ ONE THING – why you shouldn’t just indicate and go when overtaking multiple vehicles at one go. The post has had several thousand views, and some interesting comments too. It’ll take you three minutes to read it.
NEXT LIVE PRESENTATION: BRAKING the CIRCLE – is braking in bends a must-have skill or to be avoided at all costs? 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 – I’ve delivered one more group talk and added another to the diary for some weeks ahead, and 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 – watch out for a date in NOVEMBER. Free to all supporters & subscribers!
THIS WEEK ON FACEBOOK
*** LIVE WEBINAR *** Braking the Circle
It’s a funny world. A few days ago on the bike forum, someone – and it wasn’t me, honest – asked: “trail braking on the road – is it useful? I’ve always looked on it as a track technique for squeezing extra seconds, but does it have a place on the road?”
He linked to a video which I’d already seen, which – frankly – is actually a pretty poor explanation and demonstration of the problem. … See more
*** ELEVENSES *** Elevenses 183 Wed 27 Oct
In today’s webcast… police watchdog finds some speed cameras are installed to make money… Northamptonshire police seek Suzuki rider who fled scene of collision with pedestrian… Dublin Gardai seek scrambler rider who seriously injured pedestrian… Sunderland and South Tyneside police plan off-road biking park… organisers of Isle of Wight Road Races submit application to local authorities… Honda’s not-very-secret NT1100 brea… See more
*** TIPS ON TUESDAY *** Watch out for autumn colours
In just a few days, the clocks go back, and many of us will be riding home from work in the dark. October’s been a bit of a mixed back of a month, but the weather has been reasonably mild in the south east. But with the arrive of November we’re into a month that is traditionally still, cold and foggy, but interspersed with periods of wind and heavy rain.
Falling temperatures brings another problem. Falling leaves. For an e… See more
*** COMMENT *** Perceptual Countermeasures
A few months back, Clive copied me this article on the Devitts biking blog:
https://www.devittinsurance.com/…/mystery-biker-road…/… See more
*** ELEVENSES *** Elevenses 182 Sun 24 October
In today’s webcast…
Survival Skills riding tips appears on the Devitt bike features page… if you ride in London, the ULEZ zone extends TOMORROW… anti-tampering rules being discussed by Government… DVLA plan major digital licence chances… and warn of backlog in licence renewals as COVID extension deadline approaches… A2 test motorcycle requirements to be changes… today’s discussion point – do we need anti-tampering… See more
*** SKILLS ON SATURDAY *** Indicate and Go? NO!
Some years ago, a mate of mine was telling me how upgrading to his new mega-horsepower bike made “overtaking rows of cars so easy”. He explained: “I just indicate, twist and go. I wind the throttle open and shoot past”.
I asked him this:… See more
*** FOCUS ON FRIDAY *** NMC says time to change training & testing
Back in Elevenses last Sunday I reported that the National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) released a paper arguing that as we’re no longer linked to the EU, it was time to make changes to the UK’s motorcycle licence testing and training regime.
Now, as I know many of you won’t watch the webcast, but the topic is an important one, I’ve re-written it as a regular post. … See more
*** 60 SECOND SAFETY *** #55 Mini-roundabouts 1
60 Second Safety is a series of short Better Biking tips from Survival Skills Rider Training.
With recent changes to the Highway Code, mini-roundabouts have been in the news because now, we MUST stay off the paint. … See more
ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER – it 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.
THAT’S IT FOR THIS WEEK – so finally SHARE THE NEWS!
Please Please PLEASE pass on the newsletter to biking family and friends. If everyone who reads it shares it to one other rider, that’s another hundred riders who have a chance to read something potentially useful to them. Let’s get everyone we know ‘better biking’.
See you all next week
Kevin Williams
Survival Skills Rider Training