Welcome to the latest newsletter takes you to this week’s posts on Ko-Fi and enabling you to sidestep Facebook altogether. I’m trying to make the newsletter date MONDAYS as that makes it easier for me to prepare, and to stick to Mondays but occasionally it may come out later. Best of all, no tracking or ads! But don’t forget. if you don’t open it, you can’t read it. It only takes a few seconds to skim through.
Remember that whilst the newsletter gives you access to the previous seven day’s posts, there is a HUGE archive of old articles that can be accessed via the Ko-Fi Content Index. In case you are worrying, 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.
WHY NOT REGISTER AS A FOLLOWER – it’s free, and you get email alerts when a new post is ready to read.
And if you find the articles useful, then you can consider supporting my writing by becoming a one-off SUPPORTER which will open up content to well over SIX HUNDRED better biking articles, or a monthly SUBSCRIBER opening up specialist posts including DIY training articles, bike set up and rider psychology. Not bad for a little as £3 per month.
I’d welcome your feedback, as always.
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 got several group talks in the diary no, and I’m also firming up another. I’m taking bookings for 2022, so 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.
TRAINING February 7 How do you benchmark my riding?
The aim of any training course is to provide a path for personal development. And developing often involves discovering what you, the trainee, are doing well, what could benefit from some minor tweaks and if there are any areas that need particular attention to upskill your riding. READ MORE…
Elevenses 212 Sun 6 Feb
in the show… today’s discussion point – after Oxford Products recall jeans that fail to meet AAA standard, can we be sure the CE system is working… and in today’s news…. driver with over 70 years behind the wheel never had a licence… riders detained and bikes seized in police blitz in Stoke Newington… transport select committee tells government to shift to road pricing… proposed Kent plant could recycle Li-ion car batteries… is this the Bajaj-Triumph lightweight at last… London Bike Show organisers remind traders of CE rules for clothing… WATCH NOW…
SoS February 5 Aim High In Steering – Smith System part 1
Yesterday in Focus on Friday, I looked at the sixty year old ‘Smith System for Space Cushion Driving’ and concluded by mentioning the five basic principles. Let’s start with the first – aim high in steering. READ MORE…
FoF February 4 Making time – survive or crash Part 3
Last week I was explaining that if we’re to actually react to a developing emergency, we have to be aware of the POTENTIAL for things to go wrong a minimum of three seconds BEFORE it can actually happen. And that necessarily requires looking MORE than three seconds ahead along our path. At that point, my buddy and former instructor Malc, jumped in and reminded me that the US-based Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) actually used a much longer twelve seconds for planning and four seconds for urgent response. READ MORE…
COMMENT February 3 How much lean angle do we need?
Some weeks back I was reading about an upcoming Indian Motorcycle model. To be perfectly honest, I’m not really interested in Indian’s range. The whole cruiser thing has never appealed to me but I was somewhat alarmed to discover that due to lowering the bike over the model it’s derived from, the Bobber has a reduced ground clearance. OK, now unless you happen to ride over a lot of kerbs, ground clearance per se isn’t really an issue. But what it affects is the available degree of lean. And the Bobber’s maximum lean angle drops from 31 degrees to 29 degrees. Is that enough? READ MORE…
Elevenses 211 Wed 2 Feb
in today’s show… LAST CALL for tonight’s SOBS in-depth special live webcast… any colour bollards you like so long as they are black… DVSA under fire as car tests are cancelled due to pencil rubber and hair on carpet… Leeds to get motorcycles in bus lane trials… learner riders in France to be taught to filter… Danish police will seize bikes if ridden in an ‘insane manner’… three wheels on this police wagon… today’s better biking tip… blind crests and hidden dips – don’t get it fatally wrong… WATCH NOW…
ToT February 1 Moving – how to fail your bike test Part Three
Once we’ve got the bike pulling away, it’s a simple matter of keeping it moving… …or is it? There’s a surprising amount that can go wrong. Why write about what can go wrong? You have your instructor who is there to help you do the right things, and there are plenty of internet ‘pass your bike test’ articles too. But over the decade-plus that I was taking candidates to the bike test, there turned off to be plenty of unexpected ways in which they could pick up minor faults and even fail. And with many riders now ‘picking up experience’ on a 125 with just a day’s CBT training behind them, there’s a greater chance of developing bad habits. READ MORE…
BUY WINTER GIFT VOUCHERS NOW then SAVE WHEN YOU BOOK A COURSE
Winter gift vouchers are available until the end of February and since they’re worth more when you redeem them against a course, you can make significant savings.
You can find them in my Ko-Fi shop. There’s a post giving you precise details on the vouchers here:
https://ko-fi.com/post/2022-GIFT-VOUCHERS-NOW-ON-SALE-G2G07AFQA
ONLINE TRAINING – inexpensive courses available at most times seven days a week. Got a puzzle you want to understand? Need some suggestions for practical exercises you can work on when riding? FIND OUT HOW I CAN HELP
ON-ROAD TRAINING – I’m still training and looking forward to MARCH when courses resume in full but for now bookings are:
- short notice only to take advantage of dry days (with a WET WEATHER GUARANTEE)
- based on my North London training routes
Visit www.survivalskills.co.uk for more info.
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
