Advanced
biker and me
I took an early retirement option and on a whim
decided to return to motorcycling after a 12 year lay off. My last bike had
been one of those seriously fast Japanese sports bikes and the unspoken reason I
gave it up was because i knew if I kept going I would die !
Any how I bought a sensible BMW GS1200 and also
made the sensible decision to find an “Advanced
trainer” as I wanted to
A)
Continue with a long and happy
life enjoying motorcycling
B)
Go on fanciful long distance
tours with my girlfriend as pillion and as I cherish her greatly wanted to be
safe as well as fast and as well prepared as possible.
Anyone who knows me will tell you that this
decision was very much out of character for me as I usually err on the side of
recklessness ( you need to bear in mind I bought the GS without a test ride
having never ridden for 12 years)
I also have a bit of a personal hatred of
pedantry which sort of ruled out the usual IAM type training and besides I have
no patience and wanted to be better immediately.
I hit the Internet searching for a suitable
trainer, there are many out there but I liked the sound of this chap called
Bowers so I gave him a call and explained my position/predicament. He
immediately got it and talked sense to me on the phone, E mailed me a questionnaire
and we arranged a date and a place to meet and have a day's training.
That phone call and the subsequent training were
the most fortuitous things that have happened to me in my motorcycling history.
In one day in the peak district my riding was transformed
from point and squirt shenanigans to comprehensively understanding the
principles of better motorcycle riding. Don’t get me wrong here, I did not become the riding God I am now ( that
is a joke) straight away but it was an epiphany and gave me a fantastic
foundation to continue with and practice and constantly improve things.
Nigel's style of delivery is simple and easy to
understand with key phrases that stick in your head and just make sense, no
technical claptrap ( He can do that if you want) When i say they stick in your
head I mean it and you find yourself reciting them as you ride along.
That day was the first day in my life on a bike
that i didn't break a speed limit and it is also one where I had never ridden
so fast or a safely. I believe the video is still available of my day with him.
those three years ago.
Somehow, and I feel quite privileged about this,
Nigel and I have become friends and have since ridden many miles together as
such but my desire to raise my standards to somewhere near his has continued
and I remain a customer as well as a friend and have attended his training week
in France and having recently been noticing that I was not as smooth as i
should be since getting a new bike booked a day with him to sort me out ! (Yes
we are friends but he has a business and I accept that) It took him just
moments to diagnose my problem, Something that I could never really have done,
the phrase forest for the trees springs to mind, and having done so spent the
day drilling me into the cure which has done the trick. I doubt I will ever be
a smooth or as good but I haven't spent a lifetime riding professionally.
For people sitting considering it I say book it
and do it ! It may seem allot of money but in reality it will be the best
biking money you will spend.
R Midgley
