Monthly Group Meet - October '21

Pippa Unwin, Advanced Tutor, delivered a fantastic, thought provoking presentation entitled "Plan B"

The presentation initially focused on night riding and how to deal with the pro's and con's of the disciplne. She reviewed tips and hints from the Highway Code and RoadCraft - ensuring clear vision with clean visors fand lights or example, or dealing with oncoming traffic by averting sight away from the light source. The por's included better contrast and being able to see traffic a log way off due to this contrast and movement of lights.

This led neatly as a segway into what Pippa was calling Plan B. Plan A is RoadCraft. Doing everything using the system should mean there is never any need to have a plan B, that is what the system says - what can be seen, can't be seen, reasonably expected to occur, or scanning and planning and having a riding plan that deals with everything. However, life isn't as ordered as that!

Pippa's presentation came about as a result of the question "...but what about when it goes wrong" - a question asked by many associates.

Pippa looked at contrast and observations, countersteering, defensive riding, trust in what a motorcycle can do and the effect of human input when, for example going into a bend too quickly or riding over loose or slippery surfaces. She spoke about relaxing when things started to go 'wrong' to prevent altering the machines stability and balance.

The final part of the presentaion focused on Plan Z - when there's nowhere else to go - how to minimise the impact of a collision, such as considering 'where' to impact a vehicle, avoiding the street furniture for a soft landing, relaxing and dealing with the aftermath of an off.

Pippa covered some very controversial areas, with some thought provoking observations and suggestions which created some engaging discussion amongst the club members.

An excellent evening with food for thought.