Bike Safe

  In December while at the NEC Motorbike show we came across the Bike Safe stand. We sat and listened to a short talk on cornering and decided we would like to attend a full day.
 On Sunday 17th April a cold and frosty but clear morning Col and I set off to the Police Training centre called Tally Ho in Birmingham. We arrived and met with some of the guys who were at the bike show, Richard,  Paul, Stuart, Glyn, John and the others.

   After a brief introduction we were split into groups and ours was first out on the roads. A Police rider named John was stood by me and said "right your with me". He told me which way to head and I set off with my own Police escort. The first time you look in the mirror and see a marked Police bike close behind you is a little strange, but then you remember that for this ride this guy is your friend. For 2 hours we rode around Birmingham, Redditch and surrounding areas, on all types of roads, around town and twisty country lanes. Most car drivers see the Police bike and just quickly got out of our way, as we passed everything we wanted too where the road permitted.
 We stopped for a chat for 10 minutes and John told me he thought I was doing good, but offered some useful feedback about positioning when passing side roads, looking further away to give myself more time and to use the throttle to pull through the corners.
 Next was the course on the carpark through the cones with Stuart and Glyn. For this we were to use only clutch and rear brake. Apart from a couple of engine stalls when turning right, we both managed to do a clear round, even though Police rider Stuart made me laugh when he told us we missed a cone out....yeah right superbikes steering locks aren't that tight! 
But we were filmed doing it and put on the Police twitter feed,  (below).

 Finally we attended a 2 hour class room session, with Richard and Paul (or Marcus) who went over hazard perception, cornering, Junctions, Overtaking, Filtering and Group riding. They us about the method that Police riders use which was very interesting and informative.
  We paid £35 each as we bought it from the bike show but full price is only £50 and its definitely worth it. The guys really know their stuff, they do this to help inform riders of the hazards out on the road that come in many shapes, they show you how to control your bike at slow speed and assess your riding. Personally I think however good you think your riding is, there is always some advice or something you can learn from attending this type of workshop.

Thanks to all involved with Bike Safe.

Money well spent!

Head to Bike Safe for more information and to book yourself on a Bike Safe Workshop.

Thats Me and Col in the middle in black.
Video and photo from Police twitter feed.