Riding Skills 101

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Riding Skills 01
Must, Should, Could know - the hierarchy of learning

I often hear riders saying to the less-experienced:

"Just go riding. Do some miles and you'll get better".

It sounds good in theory, but in reality there's a huge problem - what if we don't really know WHAT we need to be better at? What if we don't know HOW to improve? And even more importantly in some way, WHY should we be aiming to improve and how do we know we NEED to improve?

How is simply piling on miles going to us improve our riding?

Simply going riding won't automatically improve skills, particularly if we're 'practicing' the wrong stuff. Experienced riders often forget their own learning experience was sometimes painful for that very reason.

So here are some thoughts of mine that will help you see where to focus your efforts going forward, and to better understand the content of these riding tips.

Let's start with what we know. 'Must Know, Should Know, Nice to Know'. There are various versions of this 'triple tier of knowledge' around. My former instructor buddy Malcolm Palmer used 'Must Know, Need to Know, Nice to Know' to define the necessary levels of our biking knowledge.

 These are roughly aligned with ‘novice’, ‘intermediate’ and ‘advanced’ riding standards. 

'Must Know' encompasses the absolute basics every motorcyclist needs to grasp before even turning the key. These are the non‐negotiable skills, concepts and knowledge that form the bedrock of riding, and they are what we learn at beginner level. Examples include an understanding of the function and the need for a correct fit of a safety helmet, knowing the rules on licences and insurance, being aware of the rules of the road (the basics are in the Highway Code here in the UK) and how to apply them, being capable of using the clutch to move off and change gear, and knowing what to do when we get to a 'Give Way' junction.


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Here's how do assess yourself - download these tools I've made available
and use them help you figure out where you sit within those parameters.
They're FREE!

'Advanced Riding in 500 Words'
an ultra-concise guide to the fundamentals of riding
DOWNLOAD HERE

'Survival Skills Self-Assessment Pie Chart'
easy to use visual aid to measure how solid your riding is
DOWNLOAD HERE 

'Guide to Self-Assessment'
explains the benefits of assessing ourselves, and how to do it
DOWNLOAD HERE 

All three COMPLETELY FREE
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Working out what 'we know' allows us to define just what it is that we 'don't know' and arguably this is actually more important because it's much more difficult to become aware of knowledge and skills gaps, at least not until something goes wrong and we realise we weren't prepared.

This is where the downloads will help you. The 'Advanced Riding in 500 words' guide defines what advanced riding is, then the other two help you work out just where you personally sit on the scale of personal development.

As experienced riders, going 'back to basics' may sound unnecessary, but it can remind us of sound practices that may have slipped to the backs of our minds over time, and nudge us to do something to correct any bad habits we've slipped into.

As developing riders, we might re-discover something that slipped through during our training, something we might have forgotten in the flurry of learning

And at any stage of development, returning to PRACTICE the basics not only reinforces what we learned by using repetition to turn good riding practices into habits - practice makes permanent.

Just print the form off, have a good think about your riding and mark your riding from inside to out for each category. If you're honest, and don't overrate your abilities, then the chart will help you identify weak areas where you need to work.

So, what if you do find a weak area?

Have a think about how you're going to fix it. Read around the topic, watch videos, ask questions. Think about getting some professional help - I'm happy to answer questions about riding without obligation by email, and if you need a more in-depth response, I offer one-hour online coaching sessions which can be run for anyone, anywhere in the world.

If you need on-road coaching, and you have a specific issue, then I'd always recommend a personal riding coach because they will work to to identify YOUR weaknesses and offer a PERSONALISED programme to fix them. Groups like the IAM have a different role - to get you up to their standard of riding so you can pass their test. RoSPA is a bit more personalised but the benchmark your riding is measure against still their own test standard.

Survival Skills offers personalised on-road training and on-line coaching . And don't forget my re-launched e-course too. They all aim to interact with you as an individual.

Start riding with Survival Skills Riding Tips today and turn every mile into an opportunity for growth and safety. Absolutely free.

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