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.
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I’d welcome your feedback, as always.
WHAT’S ON IN THE SURVIVAL SKILLS UNIVERSE
NEXT LIVE PRESENTATION: SOBS In-Depth… the Science Of Being Seen looks at the reasons for the most common motorcycle crash of all – the ‘Sorry Mate I Didn’t See You’ or ‘SMIDSY’ collision at junctions. In this IN-DEPTH presentation, I’ll taking a look at how we identify objects within the field of vision – and it’s not nearly as simple as “if it’s visible, we should see it”. Even if you have seen the full SOBS presentation, I think you’ll get a lot of additional insight into just why drivers often fail to spot motorcycles, day-riding lights and hi-vis clothing notwithstanding.
Tickets cost £5 – get yours here: http://thq.fyi/se/24cc9fe29cf1
Put the date in your diary today – Wednesday 2 February 2022 AT 20:00
MARCH’S TALK: Group Riding tricks and tips… whether you’re new to riding with others, or want to set up your own ride. Some do’s and quite a few ‘avoids’.
Tickets cost £5 – get yours here: http://thq.fyi/se/0852f14d860f
Put the date in your diary today – Wednesday 2 March 2022 AT 20:00
CLUB & GROUP TALKS – I’ve delivered one more group talk and added another to the diary 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. Drop me a line to sort something out.
*** TRAINING*** “Why do you need to assess my riding?”
Last week, I gave you an overview of what I look for when I commence a training course. I was explaining this to a potential client who was trying to get a feel for whether I would deliver something different to the Roadcraft-based training he’d already experienced and whilst that answers HOW I assess your riding, another question that’s been asked is: “WHY do you need to assess my riding?” I’ve heard that a number of times, usually from riders with a post-test qualification. It’s another crucial question, actually.
*** ELEVENSES *** Elevenses 208 Sun 23 Jan
in today’s show… rider of stolen bike involved in fatal collision on live afternoon TV in LA… locals point finger at frozen mud in fatal Surrey bike crash… e-scooter rider clocked at 50 mph on North Circular in London… Jaipur launches fleet of COVID bike ambulances… Valeo’s electric drivetrain weighs under 18kg and delivers 125 performance… today’s talking point – what have instructors been told about the new Highway Code Rules, and what will happen at box junctions if you enter, then give way to a pedestrian or cyclist? More questions than answers…
*** SKILLS ON SATURDAY *** Dealing with Highway Code Rule H3
This is the third article looking at the important revisions to the Highway Code that go live on January 29, 2022 and how the Rules H1, Rule H2, and Rule H3 will change things for riders. Once again, I apologise for a rather technical and long-winded article but I wanted to get to the bottom of the changes. I’ve taken as a source, the documents you can find on the official .gov.uk site since many of the ‘shock-horror’ news stories appearing online don’t seem to match the official changes.
FoF January 21 Three seconds – survive or crash
As you probably know if you’re anything of a regular to my pages, you’ll know how often I talk about how many crashes are both predictable (we should have seen it coming and taken steps to avoid the issue) and avoidable (even when things went wrong, we should have been able to get out of trouble). So if we can retrospectively identify decisions that the crashing rider could have taken to avoid crash, why do we continue to get things wrong? The answer is that many of us simply don’t make the effort to understanding crashing.
Elevenses 207 Wed 19 Jan
in today’s show… Horseshoe pass gets a blanket 40 limit… average speed cameras to go up on the A32 and A272 in Hampshire… nuisance bikes under fire in Wollongong… if you can’t beat them, host them – Indonesian police run street races… blood bikers get two new Guzzi V85TTs from sponsor… Italjet’s new Dragster… Marzocchi shift production to China… today’s talking point – as the TT goes CE, will track days go that the way too…
ToT January 18 How to fail your bike test Part One
Got a test pass in the bag? Great. Been riding for years? Even better. But would you STILL pass the Module Two on-road part of the bike test? It might be worth reading this mini-series just to double-check. And if you’re still riding on L plates and looking to put yourself in for the test in the near future, here are some traps to avoid.
And this week’s 60 Second Safety video
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? Drop me a line at info@survivalskills.co.uk
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
