www.irishbikerforum.com - The first and original forum for bikers in Ireland: How can advanced riding help you - www.irishbikerforum.com - The first and original forum for bikers in Ireland

I read recently in a thread by Shinwaker and some concerns he has about his off earlier this year and a nagging problem he has with confidence since the accident. I also noted some of the responses that arbitrarily suggest more training with further rebuttals that, suggestions of further training where somewhat “cliché” in there nature. It is upon this that I have come to write this blog in the hope that some may read it and hopefully understand a little more about what affect the so call advanced training can have and whether it is of benefit at all.

Bear in mind I write this purely from my perspective and accept that not everyone sees things the way I do. However we all share a common undeniable trait and that is the fragility of our bodies and their incapacity to deal with the significant impacts that many motorcycling accidents can bestow on them. Put simply hit your body hard enough against any object and you are at very best seriously injured if not heavens forbid DEAD.

I don’t often commit my opinion on matters to writing, but feel that this particular case warrants it.

As many already know I had a fairly nasty off last year that resulted in me being off the bike for just over 4 months. That said, the first opportunity I had to get back on I was strapping my walking stick to the back of my seat and out on every run I could get to that was posted on IBF.

Did my off affect my confidence? Most certainly not! Did my off affect the way I ride? It most certainly did!

Now I can hear those asking, “Is it not lack of confidence that makes your ride differently?” to which the answer is also an emphatic no.

So hopefully without being overly analytical and presenting myself as a self-confessed expert, which I can assure you I am not, why have I not lost confidence and how has the off affected my riding.

Before answering, Shins mentions in his posts that all too often the “cliché” get more training is bandied around without the necessary substance to back it up. In principle I kind of agree with what he is saying as people very often do say “get more training” and don’t substantiate their suggestion with the necessary motivation and justification.

Now getting back to myself and why I believe I have not lost confidence. I personally attribute this to the advanced riding instruction I have done in the past 2 to 3 years. What this allowed me to do was to assess what caused my accident, deal with it, package it and move on.

I like Shins, am happy to acknowledge that my off was my own fault. While I was not necessarily the cause of the accident, fundamentally it remains my fault as I allowed myself to be drawn into a circumstance beyond my control.

How so I hear you ask? Simple, really, I found myself in a circumstance where I had no-where to go and in the heat of the moment chose what appeared to be the best option (trust me you can make these decisions in splits of a split second). I don’t believe there was anything wrong with the decisions I made during my trying to avoid a worse accident, however it was decisions I could and should have made sometime before the accident that where wrong. I was drawn into a situation, contrary to everything my training had taught me and paid the ultimate price.

So what could I have done differently? Some have said that if you were just 30 seconds later you would have avoided the accident, which in essence is correct, however, would I have learnt from it? Most likely not and hard as it is to admit the off itself is the mechanism that gave me the pause for thought to assess what happened and make sure that I try everything to avoid the same in the future.

Do I ride any slower today than I did then? Not really, however, I am more acutely aware of the continually changing circumstances on the road, thanks to the additional training I have done this year in preparation for my most recent RoSPA test. What it did for me was affirm what I had already learnt previously and cement philosophies pertaining to riding that can only be gained by actually undertaking the relevant training.

Too many people perceive advance training, and I am referring specifically to road craft based training (RoSPA, IAM or the likes of) to be some mystical black art, or alternatively a waste of time as they already know all they need to know about riding a bike. Further to this they can teach themselves anything they need to know.

Unfortunately this is where so many get it wrong. First of all, when you do advance training, especially with a good instructor you will most likely only be taught what is utterly obvious, self-explanatory a perfectly logical. The problem we all face though is that, very often, it is that which is right in front of us that we miss and require an outside party perspective on things to make what is in plain sight more obvious.

So often that it’s the simple things that, catch us out and all too often are avoidable. Advanced training helps with continually assessing the road conditions and circumstances around you in a formalised structured approach, allowing you to constantly remind yourself to stay true to what you have been taught as opposed to what you have taught yourself which is very often without process or structure.

Forgive me while branch out for a while.

Imagine if you will a golf player or any self-taught sports person becoming world champion or winning some major sporting event. Unlikely, hey, well that is because the real good sportsmen and women have trainers to assist in refining what is either a natural born talent or self-taught skill. Only then do they become good enough to compete at any significant level.

Now take biking, where your life is at stake. Are you happy selling yourself the idea that you can be the best you can be by simply reading some books, magazines and getting out there and trying it for yourself? Personally I think that would be a little like being able to read up a little about firearms and then go out and buying one, practicing a little on the week-ends and then consider yourself qualified and safe to use it.


Now the application of advanced riding and training is no different to training in any other sport or activity, the only difference is that, being good at it helps you remain safe and hopefully alive for a very long time.

By applying these advance riding philosophies and techniques you eventually find yourself riding quite differently without compromising the fun and enjoyment experienced by the thrill of the speed and agility of the machine you are on.

So how do you deal with the demon that wants a bit of knee down I hear some ask?

Well that’s a completely different matter and believe it or not there are many RoSAP and IAM instructors out there that regularly attend track days and for very little reason other than the thrill of pushing their bikes to the limit.

Put simply, the track is the place to put knee down and have a bit of stupid fun, not the road. That said I know of plenty advanced trained riders that when given the appropriate opportunity don’t apply statutory speed limits just because it’s the law and can very often be found to ride well above what is the legal speed limit. This of course cuts both ways and when assessing the road based on advanced riding techniques you will often find them riding well below the speed limit. However given a nice piece of road that gives well sighted twisties with a fairly predictable road surface you will find many advanced riders pushing their bikes to surprising levels.

This is generalising of course, but, advanced riders are not the cliché that so many picture them to be as old farts riding BMW boxer machines tiddling along at an insanely boring pace when it is perfectly safe to tip along at a fair old lick. In fact I challenge anyone to go along on a RoSPA ride out one day and I am sure you will be surprised as to the make-up of the individual there, in addition to the progress that is made when getting from A to B.

What you will find is an almost fanatical approach to remaining safe and assessing the approaching dangers that are continually thrown at us while riding our bikes on a day to day basis. Outside of that the fundamental objective is to remain true to what biking is to most, that being, having fun and enjoying what has got to be, in my opinion at least, the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

What fun you have without your clothes is of course your own personal business and requires very little training. And no, I am not inviting opinions on the clothes off and no training required subject. It is off limits, inappropriate for this site, personal to many and leaves just too to the imagination.