The group of six that I trained with for the Stayin Safe course continue to be in contact, including the two instructors. We pass along things that we learned, etc. so I continue to learn and will share. Here is a an example from rider David Y.
Participant Feedback -- Stayin’ Safe Motorcycle Safety Training – spring 2016
Now more than a month after two intense days of on-road, Stayin’ Safe Motorcycle Training, I’m a lot clearer about its impact on my riding. Integration is the key concept for me and it results from continually evaluating past misadventures and asking how to avoid doing again what made them misadventures.
Here are three examples where Stayin’ Safe Training help me pull individual concepts together:
1. Light hands used to mean am I relaxed? Is my riding posture comfortable, not tense? Are my shoulders down and not hurting or stressed? Now light hands mean heavy feet. Am I leaning the bike by changing my weight on the pegs? Am I transferring butt weight down to the balls of my feet? Are my knees in and relaxed? Am I using my entire body (body steering) by moving forward and to the side to create more lean control? Am I aware of how my left handgrip moves forward and down when I’m initiating a left hand turn (countersteering) In other words does my bike lean like a bicycle starting a turn? Can I make the bike LEAN with light hands? Yep.
2. Do a mirror check every 5 to 7 seconds used to mean do a mirror check every 5 to 7 seconds -- or feel guilty. Now do a mirror check every 5 to 7 seconds is a suggestion about how to insure “no surprises” and maintain 360 degree awareness about what might threaten me from behind, from either side, or from ahead. It means trying to focus on the greatest risks and balance attention among them. Sounds like common sense but adding in “put your bike where they can’t get you” and maintain relentless attention adds up to a more integrated approach. You put yourself at the center of your visual circle and break the circle up into perhaps 6 sections. Your eyes rotate around the circle looking for the potential risks in each section. You rearrange your crash potential priorities at each click around the circle and pay most attention to those sections with the greatest risk. Sounds simple but every surprise car in your blind spot is a screw up.
3. Smooth riding used to mean pulling off a snick shift (instead of a clunk) every once in a while. Now fork travel gets my attention. Every abrupt movement of the forks signals an opportunity to get better at shifting, braking, or steering through road crud. Low speed control of simultaneous clutch, throttle, brake, and body weight management has direct application to high-speed bike smoothness. We only have a few controls to use but using them all at the same time is a stretch. A good stretch especially when done daily.
In my integrated head, a rider can only do two things:
1. change speed or 2. change road position.
Skills that lead to safer riding involve preparing to do both, then doing them well.