Got myself booked on a Bikesafe course next week at Aldershot, did my first one many moons ago at The Warren but I decided I need a refresh. At least they like Blades;
Hi SPS, The one i'm attending is for the military only, not civies. link below if you are in the military. http://www.bikesafe.co.uk/locate-a-force/surrey/military-bikesafe/ Edited to clear any confusion
Bikesafe are all over the place, and not just military. I did one 5 weeks ago, as a bit of a refresher - very friendly group of police bikers and a good laugh - hope you enjoy it! I'm also a big fan of rapid training - they go for a level of on the road assessment, training and fun that's I'd say is at a higher level than bikesafe, IAM or ROSPA. I did a course with them a couple of years ago, and I'll certainly do another. It's more pricey than bikesafe, but definitely worth it
Shackbleep, I know that Bikesafe are not just for the military mate, the course i'm attending is and that is what i was saying to SPS.
I've got one booked on July 10th at the Warren. Did one about 5 years ago & thought I could do with a refresher.
What's on the bike safe course ? Thinking of doing one as back on the road for last 2.5 years after a 25 year break lol
For me it was about loosing bad riding habits. I commute to London from Kent every day & ride at the weekends. I re learned a lot about positioning, reading the road & riding fast safely. They are not bothered if you bend the speed limits or have modded your bike. Whatever you think of them, the Police riders are skilled...
No worries mate, it was easy to misunderstand what I was trying to say so I edited so it made sense to others not just me!!!!
Stevie, After having your bike checked and a little natter, you and another get paired up with a cooper and you take it in turns taking the lead, he give you a few pointers which you put into practice. You have lunch which is all within the course fee and you have another ride afterwards. You go back to the start location, have a brew you watch a video and they point out bits and bobs like no using cycle lanes and cycle boxes and going around islands etc,etc.
I really enjoyed mine. The things I brought away from it more than compensated for the measly £34 it cost me. The instructors were all honest, frank and realistic about road riding and christ, can they ride.
So they teach you stuff like filtering do and donts , cornering etc . Take it they wouldn't do you for anything unless it was something reckless
Not so much teach. They observe, then tell you what you're doing incorrectly as compared to their good riding guide and pick up on anything that they believe will improve your riding. For example, I could not, for the life of me corner the way they insist you should. I heard their reasons, they heard mine, we agreed to differ. It was one of the two things I got marked down for on the assessment sheet in the end. He told me I was wasting effort in comfort braking, which he was watching me do in his mirrors... Pointed out I was shaving three or four miles an hour at the most off my speed so I was just wearing out my pads. I never really realised I was doing it. Force of habit. The only other thing I got a B for was he didn't think I overtook enough. He put this down to his company on the ride probably kerbing my enthusiasm, but added that it was one of the mandatory observations so he had to mark it down.
