Advanced Rider Course

Today was the MSF Advanced Rider Course held at the Mile High Marketplace (formerly the Mile High Flea Market). This class was originally scheduled for last weekend but after the big snow storm, they pushed it back a week. The official description for the class is:

Based on the Military SportBike RiderCourse, this one-day course is for experienced riders who desire to learn and practice more in-depth riding techniques. Classroom activities use small group discussions and interactive activities to address personal risk management strategies; to discuss options for cornering, braking and swerving; and to improve visual perception to identify collision traps. On-cycle range exercises provide practice in cornering, braking and swerving. There is no skill test in this course.

It isn't just for sport bikes. There were 5 students, including myself on the GS. There was a Harley Road Glide, an SV650, a CBR Blackbird, a Honda 919, and I can't remember the 5th one. Bummer. One of the students was actually an instructor. Here's a photo of some of the bikes lined up.

It was pretty chilly leaving the house at 7:30 am. It was about 30 degrees. But, fortunately, we spent the first few hours in the classroom. We spent the classroom time introducing ourselves and discussing some basics - braking, curves, attitude, etc. We did some interesting exercises that tested our road sign knowledge and ability to recognize the signs in a short amount of time. Another exercise involved viewing a photo of a real road situation, usually an intersection, and then trying to analyze what we saw. The image was only on the screen for about 2 seconds. Then we were given three choices and had to choose which was the most appropriate based on what we observed. It was very interesting and a bit unnerving too. But, I think that was part of the point. Stuff happens very quickly and you need to always be aware in order to make the proper choices.

Then we hit the range. Here's a shot of the range. It was a beautiful day! It was comfortable enough with our gear on until a little later, after lunch, when it really warmed up.

We did a warm up exercise riding around the range and doing some swerving between the cones. After that, we did some quick stops. The quick stops have been hard for me on the new GS with ABS. It's been hard getting used the ABS. I've never even driven a car with ABS so I wasn't sure how they worked. And I wasn't even sure when they were working or if they were working when I would brake. Well, the class helped with that. I had this problem on the Rebel too. I don't use all of my front brake for some reason. On the Rebel, I just stopped squeezing the front brake. On the GS, it is much harder for me to squeeze the brake lever all the way. My hand isn't strong enough or something. But, on the GS, in addition to not squeezing the front brake all the way, I'm also using too much rear brake, which sets off the ABS. Which means I'm doing it wrong. So, I got to practice the correct way to brake and eventually got it down. I really have to think about squeezing the front all the way and doing it smoothly. And also think about less rear. I really need to practice it more.

After those two exercises, the rest were all new to me. We practiced some cornering techniques, decreasing radius turns, going around obstacles in a curve, slowing in a curve, and also changing lanes. The exercises all built on the previous ones so by the end, I was doing quite well and started to feel much more comfortable on the GS. Which was my main goal.

I wanted to take the class because the new bike is just that - a new bike, a new experience. Even though I had lots of miles on the Rebel, all of that was like starting over with the GS. In fact, that was one of the factors we talked about in the classroom. The Hurt report found that most crashes happened to riders with more than 3 years of riding experience but less than 6 months experience on the particular bike they were on when they crashed. Except for the crash, I fit those statistics. And taking the class was my way of working on not being a statistic. I feel much more comfortable now than I did before. The friction zone is becoming more clear. The braking is getting better. I now have some skills I can build on.

Our class wasn't the only one going on. These Nighthawks were part of the Experienced Rider Course for riders who have been riding for a while but don't have their endorsement. That was interesting to watch too. Lots of engine revving going on and horn honking. LOL!

It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. I even learned some new techniques that I plan to practice when I'm carving canyons. :-) Ha, not that I do that often but now I feel more comfortable about it.

Balancing your risk level with your skill level will allow for safer riding. As your risk taking increases the chances for crashing also increases. As your skill level increases your chances for crashing decrease. However, most people tend to increase their risk after learning new skills which offset each other. Managing risks while increasing skills is a better risk offset. This lesson was discussed in detail. Ride within your limits. We hear it all the time and know it's a good idea but do we put it into practice? Minimize risks, increase your skill set, ride well. It's not just about the ride. It's also about the return home. If you summit the mountain but have to be rescued or die on the way down, does it count?

Some books where mentioned as good references for keeping up with your skills. Anything by Pat Hahn, was mentioned. "Sport Riding Techniques" by Nick Ienatsch was in the classroom but I didn't get a chance to look at it, it was highly recommended. A new Pat Hahn title, "Maximum Control: Mastering Your Heavyweight Bike" was also mentioned. I'll have to check some of these out from the library.

So, it was a fabulous day and I'm very glad I participated in the class. I got some good feedback from the instructors. One was quite impressed with my skills. :-) That is always a good thing. And the other instructor commented on all of our improvements during the range rides. I could certainly tell I was improving as the day went on. We started at 8:00 am and were scheduled to go until 5:00 or 6:00. We finished closer to 3:00 because there were only 5 of us doing the range exercises. That was good too. I wasn't nearly as tired after this class. Being March and not July helped too.

It was a good day. I think hubby will enjoy this class too.

Shiny side up!!

MSF Course

I've enrolled in the MSF Advanced Rider Course. There are two courses I was considering - the Experienced Rider Course (ERC) or the Advanced Rider Course (ARC). I've taken the ERC on the Rebel. Hubby and I took it at the start of last season (I think) to get the bugs out before the full time riding season began. It was a good course for that but it did rehash some of the BRC exercises. But, I thought it would be good to take it again with the new GS. I thought it would help me get more comfortable on the GS as I transitioned from the Rebel. But, then I saw this ARC and wondered if that would be more appropriate. Today I gave them a call to find out what the difference was between the two.

The description of the ARC is:
ADVANCED RIDER COURSE (ARC-ST) Cost is $150

Based on the Military SportBike RiderCourse, this one-day course is for experienced riders who desire to learn and practice more in-depth riding techniques. Classroom activities use small group discussions and interactive activities to address personal risk management strategies; to discuss options for cornering, braking and swerving; and to improve visual perception to identify collision traps. On-cycle range exercises provide practice in cornering, braking and swerving. There is no skill test in this course.

The description of the ERC is:
EXPERIENCED RIDER COURSE (ERC) Cost: $100 Resident - $125 Non-Resident

Prerequisites: (M ENDORSEMENT REQUIRED) A valid motorcycle license, your own street legal motorcycle (motorcycle will be subject to a safety inspection), current registration and proof of insurance for the motorcycle used in the training. This one-day course is designed for the licensed rider with a year or more road experience. The course helps the experienced rider improve riding skills and increases riding enjoyment by developing the mental and physical skills found lacking in the accident involved rider. Many major insurance carriers recognize this course for discounts. Completion of the basic course is not a prerequisite for this class. Maximum of 12 participants per section. If your motorcycle club is interested in scheduling a special seminar for your members, please contact ABATE of Colorado.

After talking to the instructor this is what I learned. It seems the ERC is for the person with some experience, some one who has not taken the BRC or who has but wants a refresher course. It is geared, I think, towards riders who either have lots of riding experience but little formal training or riders with some formal training but not as much experience. The ARC seems to be geared more towards folks who have lots of experience and formal training but want to take a higher level course that pushes your training a bit more. I talked to the instructor about both classes and he sort of evaluated me over the phone and said he thought I could do either. "Experienced" is sort of a relative term I suppose. He suggested I try out the ARC, after considering my current level of comfort, and if it didn't work out, if I didn't feel comfortable or the instructor thought I was pushing myself too much, I could instead switch to the ERC. I asked if there would be other ARC course offered later in the year. Right now there is only one listed in my area. He said he didn't know because they hadn't had very many folks enrolling and that would determine if they'd offer it later. So, once he said that, I thought I'd enroll in the ARC just in case the opportunity didn't present itself again.

So, one of my goals is in motion. :-) The course is in March. March is the 2nd snowiest month for us. So, fingers crossed.

Yay!

Practice

I wanted to get a quick ride in before our family solstice celebration Sunday evening, so I mapped out this route, just west of Golden.
I even printed it out this time, and made sure I had the real map in my tank bag before heading out. I have a terrible sense of direction and time management on the bike. :-) I had two hours. On the way out, I passed this empty parking lot near 44th and McIntyre that I've always thought would make a great place to practice some slow speed maneuvers and emergency stops. Passing it, I thought to myself, I'll stop on the way back. As I got into Golden, I thought I might not have enough time to do my loop and practice, and I wasn't planning to return home this way. So, I looped back to McIntyre on 32nd and hit the parking lot.

In this image from Google maps, it is the lot to the left of the empty one. This is an older image. The lot is well maintained, with fairly new asphalt, and it rarely has any gravel or any other obstacles to slow speed motorcycle maneuvers. I haven't done any practice on this bike yet so I was glad to have time enough today to take my time with it. I started with some sweeping turns and a bit of weaving and then moved on to quick stops and figure eights.

Below is the MSF range at Front Range Community College where I've taken a few classes.

I was trying to figure out how large the figure eight box was but didn't look up this image until after I got home. So, instead I decided I'd just practice a possible real world situation. I did figure eights, between the parking lanes as if I was traveling down the traffic lane, got to the end and had to turn around. It was fun and gave me something to think about while practicing. The turns were lots of fun and I think I did very well. I wasn't sure how I'd handle the bike. I killed it once and put my foot down once but other than that, it was a good time.

The quick stops were weird. This bike is a lot different than the 450 Rebel. I'm not sure if it's the knobby tires, the ABS, or what but it felt weird. And it was harder to brake quickly. I think it'll be good for me to take the ERC again with this bike. I'm pretty sure I was doing something wrong but I don't know what it was. I'll need an instructor to point this out to me. But, it was good to get a feel for how the bike would handle and how I would handle the bike. I think I was braking too much and should have braked more gradually. I'll have to try it out again when we get another warm day.

F650GS Instructional DVD

Hubby and I just watched this DVD. I picked it up from the library through InterLibrary Loan. This might be a very nice Xmas present for some of us. It was fun to watch and informative too. Since my GS is brand new, I haven't even thought of any maintenance issues yet, let alone, do it yourself ones. But, that time will come. The DVD is available through many of your favorite online stores like Amazon and also many motorcycle specific ones like Touratech, Whitehorse, etc.

Haven't been riding much myself. Was away for a week on vacation and now it's cold and a bit icy in the mornings. Really cold. Below freezing cold in the mornings and dark to boot. Dark when I leave work too. Bums me out big time. Maybe this weekend I'll get to ride in the warmth of the early afternoon. That would be nice.

Hubby ordered a new windshield for me for my birthday. We're just waiting for it to arrive. One of us is waiting patiently. The other, not so much. (Yeah, that would be me.) :-)