| |
|
ERC Riding Day
The Experienced Rider Course riding day is much
like the more advanced sections of the
hands-on riding days of the
Gearing Up course, but on your own bike,
and with higher standards. The practice
sessions will be adjusted to the needs of the individual
students, but often include the following (not necessarily
in this order):
| |
Balance.
You will begin by using very-slow-speed riding techniques
to work on your balance and control. Riding a large bike
at a crawling pace is challenging, is excellent balance
practice, and will improve your ability to ride in
slow-moving traffic without having to drag your feet.
You will work on straight-line riding, circles, and
slaloms, while controlling your bike at a very slow speed.
You will learn advanced techniques such as transferring your
body weight to help you maintain control at slow speeds.
Turning.
Moving back to normal road speeds, you will polish your
technique for handling curves. You will experiment with
lean angles and with the effect of weight transfer while
turning, as well as learning to control your turn while
accelerating or decelerating. On more complex turns, you
will experiment with picking optimum paths through the
curves to maximise your visibility and improve your cornering
speed and confidence.
Braking.
You will improve your braking in graduated steps. First you will
practice smooth and controlled braking under normal circumstances,
then work on emergency techniques. We'll work with you to help
you learn how fast your bike will stop, in straight lines and in
curves, without losing control. You'll experience, and recover
from, rear wheel locking, and we have a method to simulate front wheel
locking so you will experience what it feels like without the risk of
crashing. We'll also help you practice emergency "surprise" braking by
having you quickly stop in response to a signal from an instructor.
Swerving.
In an emergency situation, swerving around an obstacle is often a
better alternative than stopping quickly. We will discuss this,
and you'll practice swerving around obstacles without losing control.
|
These are just a few of the techniques you will practice during the day.
We have a number of other techniques that we may teach depending on
the needs and interests of students. It's a physically demanding day,
and you'll go home tired. Most students tell us they are amazed at the
improvement they feel in their riding ability and confidence after this
course.
For information on requirements and registration, go back to the main
Experienced Rider Course page.
|
|
