Motorbike Tour Guide to France and Spain - rider skills and rest breaks

Riding Skills and Rest Breaks

Introduction | Independent training | Rest breaks

So you've bought yourself a Yamasaki HayaBlade for your birthday and you are determined to set off and tour western Europe. Now what? Read on...

Most of us can move a bike around the country, but can you really ride it swiftly and safely for hundreds of miles; not just posing around town? You are probably thinking that compared to the average car driver you are brilliant. Well, you may be, but that's not so difficult, is it? Compared to a biker their lives may not depend on road positioning, hazard anticipation, vehicle control, reading the road, etc, etc. No they only need airbags and crumple zones. With a bit of luck they'll get away with being a total idiot. In their defence, I don't think car drivers are as dopey as the average biker makes out, and in my part of the country the majority seem to respect us and are courteous on the whole. But the facts are that they don't seem to be aware of the things that we have to cope with on our daily travels.

So what can we do to about protecting ourselves. Training, of course! Unless you are an ex-cop biker then you could almost certainly benefit from some form of formal training. I have been riding since the dawn of civilisation and I thought that it was pointless enrolling for a bike course. I mean, what could they teach me? Quite a lot actually. I found out by chance because I bought a new UK Honda in 1998 and had the option of a MAC (Motorcycle Appreciation Course) for free. So I did, and it was great. Not only did I actually learn something, but it was great fun as well.

Now for a little bit of history. I've never had any formal training; I slapped on a set of 'L' plates back in '68, rode around for a while, and took my test soon after I had learnt not to fall off! That was it, honestly. You did that sort of thing back in those days. If you survived, then that was fine and then they gave you a licence!

Independent Training

There are many organisations who undertake motorbike training, from beginner to advanced, but it is not possible for me to recommend anything other than the Honda MAC course described below because I haven't been on any other courses. However, there are many ways to choose a good course. What about your local branch of Advanced Motorcyclists? Many people think that they are a bunch of old fuddy duddies. Don't you believe it. They have web sites, for example the Essex Advanced Motorcyclists Group or you could ask at your nearest bike dealer. They often have the name of a local branch member. The Essex Group site has a page of road positioning tips with good quality photographs, and a links page.

Another source of advanced rider training info is available in the classified ads at the rear of magazines such as BIKE.

The BMF also do rider training courses, about five or six different ones as far as I am aware. They have many branches throughout the UK and their headquarters phone number is 0116 279 2683.

Cooper Bike Training In their own words 'Cooper Bike Training specialises in training for all riders who have a full motorcycle licence'. They are a BMF-RTS affiliated group, based at the Cooper Reading BMW dealership in Berkshire. They are an independently-run members club rather than employed by the dealership - and they don't just train BMW riders! They only offer 'Born Again' and various levels of Advanced training, including the BMF Blue Riband Award, but I cannot vouch for their competence because I haven't used their services. Its got to be worth checking out their web site though.

A good links page for UK training is the British Bull Dogs Motorcycle Links site. Click on it and have a look.

Honda MAC (Motorcycle Appreciation Course)

If you buy a new UK officially imported Honda bike of 600cc or over you will probably be offered one of these courses for about half the real price. It was originally offered for free, probably to combat the disappearing sales due to grey bike imports. If you haven't had any formal training then you should think seriously about taking it. The Honda MAC course is run by ex-police bikers and aims to improve your competence, confidence, and all round ability. In particular, it aims to make you appreciate good road riding. It does not attempt to turn you into a racer. However, because bikers (even police ones) like a bit of 'progress' you find that you would not be able to go any quicker without compromising your safety. Its not knee-down stuff, but it is great fun, and very rewarding.

Rest breaks

When you're travelling hundreds of miles on a motorbike, you will need plenty of stops - if your bum isn't aching then your bike will need refuelling. Therefore, it makes sense to stop somewhere interesting, and the pages in this section will give you some idea of what, where and when.

I took this photograph outside a French cafe near the Geneva border. It is the sort of thing you see when travelling around the continent. If you do a trip then make sure you take a camera! If you see any interesting characters, then ask permission to take their picture. Take your camera out and make gestures if you can't speak the language.

The definition of 'interesting' varies from person to person, and there may not be time to see many of the sights, so the pages in this site contain information on various interesting places for you to choose from. There are many things missing, but there are far more sights than could be viewed in one trip.

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