I managed to get a short-notice place on my local (Herts) bikesafe course today. I'm not a particularly experienced rider, so I know there's probably a few things I need to work on. A ride with an experienced Police rider seemed like an ideal opportunity to pick up some tips.
The event was free (unlike, say, Essex - £55). I turned up waaay too early but this didn't seem to be a problem. I met a nice policeman called Paul who took me out.
In total, I got about 40 minutes on the road with Paul, and then about a 15-minute chat at the end of it. He said my standard was generally good, but had some really useful tips about road positioning and junctions. I perhaps had expectations of having a bit longer on the road, but for the price, I'm not complaining. There's something rather unnerving about riding around with a huge policebike behind you...
Afterwards, I hung around for a bit to see what else was happening. They had a cone course set out with a couple of guys running short courses for people who wanted to improve in their slow-handling skills. I gave that a go and had a great time.
All in all, highly recommended. Everyone was really friendly, I got some good advice out of it and learned a hell of a lot.
I might give the Essex course a blast later on in the year - that's a bit more pricey so I'll be expecting a little bit more from that one.
The event was free (unlike, say, Essex - £55). I turned up waaay too early but this didn't seem to be a problem. I met a nice policeman called Paul who took me out.
In total, I got about 40 minutes on the road with Paul, and then about a 15-minute chat at the end of it. He said my standard was generally good, but had some really useful tips about road positioning and junctions. I perhaps had expectations of having a bit longer on the road, but for the price, I'm not complaining. There's something rather unnerving about riding around with a huge policebike behind you...
Afterwards, I hung around for a bit to see what else was happening. They had a cone course set out with a couple of guys running short courses for people who wanted to improve in their slow-handling skills. I gave that a go and had a great time.
All in all, highly recommended. Everyone was really friendly, I got some good advice out of it and learned a hell of a lot.
I might give the Essex course a blast later on in the year - that's a bit more pricey so I'll be expecting a little bit more from that one.
we had a lot more time though - an evening theory session then a few hours ride on a weekend. Actually ended up doing Helmsley - Stokely route, aka the Yorkshire TT. Never ridden it so carefully lol
