Feature: paul pitchfork - advanced training
December 2012 - I was stranded in southern Chile.
A week earlier I had come off my Tenere, losing it in
a descending, tightening turn on a Patagonian
gravel road. With time to kill whilst the local
Yamaha mechanic assessed the damage I found
myself in a hostel swapping stories with Bart, a
Dutch KTM 990 rider who was heading south to
where I’d come from.
Over the following 30,000 miles of riding, many of
them on twisting mountain roads, I came to the
conclusion that the highest probability of an
accident was in a bend. Even if I avoided another
self-inflicted crash like the one in Patagonia, a
myriad of other dangers awaited me; in addition to
overtaking trucks I came across rockfalls, mudslides,
herds of goats, stationary donkeys, other
His crash story trumped mine with ease. Rounding a motorcyclists and of course countless pedestrians
bend on a Peruvian mountain road, he had found
lurking on the far side of bends.
himself confronted by two lorries driving abreast
each other as one attempted an overtake. To his
During my travels, I met many overlanders who had
left was a precipitous drop and to the right, a cliff
included some rider training in their preparations,
where the road had been cut into the mountain. He but every one had opted for off-road training. The
opted for the latter, swerving violently and almost
further I rode, the more convinced I became that
clearing the path of the trucks. A glancing collision advanced on-road training should be an adventure
pushed him into the cliff. His bike was a write-off
biker’s priority. Despite actively seeking out dirt
and his escaped with a broken leg and a few
roads wherever I could, the reality was I rode the
crushed ribs.
large majority of my South American miles on
tarmac. So I made the decision to undertake some
It’s a memorable story, but one part in particular
advanced training when I returned home.
stuck in my mind. He explained that, anticipating
such dangers, he had adopted the technique of
Back in UK, I met up with an old friend who had
moving well into the oncoming lane for right-hand
recently qualified as a coach at the California
bends (they drive on the right in Peru) to increase
Superbike School. I’d heard of the school, but knew
his visibility around the corner. He figured the extra nothing about it and assumed it to be the reserve of
reaction time this bought him was longer than the
sports bikers and track day junkies. But Nick isn’t a
time needed to execute a rapid counter-steer and
sports biker - he rides a Multistrada - and by the
cross back on to his side of the road - and it had
time he explained the syllabus and told me how it
saved him in this instance. It was a technique he
revolutionised his riding, I was convinced it was the
had learnt on a advanced skills course run by the
way forward to improve my road riding skills.
police.
Registration starts early, at 7am. Forms are signed, numbers and wrist bands
issued. If you need riding gear, this is also dealt with.