Rider training, what’s the big deal? At the March meeting I discussed dates and offered up the contact numbers for parties interested in the Experienced Riders Course, now I am going to work on the uninterested and see if I can’t sink the hook in your jaw also. First off, why do I think it is important to take the training? Simple enough, riding is a skill that is developed through drill (repetitive performance of a task to develop proficiency). How else does our brain learn to calculate the amount of pressure to place on one end of the handlebar to get the lean needed for a specific speed going into a curve of a particular radius? We weren’t born with that knowledge, no matter how “born to ride” we may consider ourselves; we have learned it through doing. The Experienced Riders Course takes the individual, their motorcycle and a certified instructor onto a controlled course to drill real world road riding skills. The rider could take and conduct these by themselves, it isn’t rocket science or some national security secret, but the rider coach, in position to observe their actions and mechanics of riding is priceless. Where are your boot toes, what of your throttle hand, when to cover the brake, which brake are you applying at what point in a curve… all these things are skills used while riding and there IS a reason that certain things are done at certain times. If you don’t know, maybe you should be getting a little coaching.

Bottom line up front, if you haven’t taken it before, or it has been several years, you WILL gain rider skill and knowledge at the course. The course takes one Sunday and costs $55 at Germanna Community College ($50 of which is redeemed in a coupon from Mother HOG). If you are confident enough to climb on your bike and ride it in the Northern Virginia area you are capable of completing the riding portion of the ERC. Go for it, can only make you a better rider. Oh and by the way, you back seaters… why haven’t you taken the Basic Riders Skills Course? So you don’t want to ride your own, does learning a new skill set ever hurt?

Chuck
Ride hard, ride safe