Stayin’ Safe Riding School
Reprinted from the February, 2008 BMW Owners News, with permission of the BMW MOA and Bill Shaw.
by, Bill Shaw
Make the road your classroom
Safety has always played an important and pivotal role in the BMW motorcycling community. BMW owners are proud of their marquee’s rich history in this respect, which is seen by many experts as the industry leader. BMW was, after all, the first to introduce ABS and traction-control, as well as some of the most sophisticated suspension systems found on any production bike. It is also one of the reasons why many of us choose to purchase a Beemer in the first place. This culture of safety also encourages us to wear full protective gear all the time, and periodically take rider-education courses so that we can hone our skills to become better, safer motorcyclists.
In this last instance, there are generally three approaches to teaching advanced motorcycle skills. The first uses a closed range similar to classes offered by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (http://www.msf-usa.org), Harley-Davidson’s Rider’s Edge Program (http://www.ridersedge.com), and the Lee Parks Total Control Advanced Riding Clinic (http://www.leeparksdesign.com). Then, there are track-schools such as those popularized by Keith Code (http://www.superbikeschool.com) and Reg Pridmore (http://www.classrides.com). The last method, and arguably the most beneficial – since this is where we spend most of our time – are on-road courses. The best-known is the Stayin’ Safe Motorcycle Training program developed by Rider magazine’s Larry Grodsky. [Web Editor Note: Larry was awarded the BMW MOA Foundation’s Motorcycling Excellence Award in 2006]
Larry had more than 30 years of experience teaching advanced motorcycle skills, and spent 12 years diligently working on this program before his untimely death two years ago as a result of being hit by a deer. This led many to wonder if the program would survive with the chief architect gone. Thankfully, the instructors and his longtime partner MaryAnn Puglisi quickly closed ranks and decided that ending the curriculum was not an option. MaryAnn said it best; “Our goal is to continue to bring Larry’s program to motorcyclists who are interested in becoming better riders.”
Although the curriculum can be presented anywhere in the county (at a local or national BMW rally, for instance), most of the Stayin’ Safe programs are taught on some of the most scenic roadways east of the Mississippi - the Appalachian region of West Virginia, Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley and Blue Ridge Parkway, and Georgia’s Smoky Mountains. Each tour employs two instructors and is limited to only six students, allowing for an unheard of 3:1 student-to-instructor ratio and a lot of individual attention. So when offered the opportunity to take the Shenandoah/ Blue Ridge tour, I quickly accepted.
The Shenandoah/Blue Ridge tour is billed as a cross between the Smoky Mountain and West Virginia/Switzerland of Ohio tours. It offers spectacular scenery from the base of the Shenandoah Valley to the top of the Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway, and also has the most variety; from winding country lanes to busy suburban boulevards, and from interstates to twisty technical roads that crisscross the Blue Ridge Mountains. This tour has it all!
Day one started with introductions over breakfast at a family restaurant in Warrenton, Virginia. Our group ranged in experience from two to more than 31 years, and consisted of four men and one woman – two of whom were repeat customers. Our instructors, Randy Kuklis and Pete Tamblyn, then briefed us on what to expect over the next two days as well as covering the three part Stayin’ Safe mantra: 360-degree awareness, continuously performing head and mirror checks at least once every 5-6 seconds (3-5 seconds in heavy traffic) for potential hazards, obstacles or other roadway impediments.
Put the bike where they can’t touch you; manage the space around you by proactively adjusting your lane position and your speed to maintain the maximum safety margin, based on what other users of the road are doing.
No surprises; thinking ahead and predicting what’s happening around you lessens the likelihood of being surprised, and can help you avert a crash.
Radios and ear pieces were then issued so we could listen to our instructors while on the motorcycle. Herein lays the genius of the Stayin’ Safe curriculum: students have a professionally trained instructor that provides real-time prompts of potential hazards, correct cornering and braking techniques, and proper lane position. Having instantaneous feedback is far superior to receiving a debriefing at the end of a session since it allows students to immediately react to situations as theyoccur and implement lessons learned.
Once on the road, an explanation on the importance of lane position was the first order of business. We were instructed to continually move within our lane to get the best vantage of the road ahead; i.e., stay to the left side of the lane when entering a right turn to maximize our line-of-sight through the corner. Putting the motorcycle in the correct lane position allows riders to recognize potential threats earlier, and react to them sooner. Using lane position to be conspicuous was also emphasized, particularly on two-lane roadways. Riding in the center or right part of the lane, for example, allows approaching vehicles to see the motorcycle’s headlight. In Stayin’ Safe parlance this is known as “presenting yourself ” to oncoming traffic. (As we ride on a two-lane highway as the lead vehicle, oncoming traffic, particularly those behind the oncoming lead vehicle, are able to see our headlight sooner when we ride in these positions; changing lane position to either the center segment, or right wheel-track segment not only increases our visibility – sooner - to those oncoming, but it also creates more time and space between our motorcycle and the oncoming traffic.)
On the morning of the second day, we evaluated instructional video-clips, before heading to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Randy and Pete then introduced us to a couple of new techniques: recognizing visual points (points of convergence in a turn) and cam braking. Cam braking is the initial application of the front brakes before the throttle is completely closed. This technique facilitates a smoother, less abrupt throttle-to-brake transition, and keeps the chassis more stable. By learning how to better “read” the road ahead by recognizing and understanding the movement associated with visual points, we were able to identify decreasing-radius corners much sooner – an invaluable skill set that every rider should have in his or her repertoire!
As it relates to the Stayin’ Safe program, the old adage that “you don’t know what you don’t know” certainly holds true. A lot of what I saw before taking the course wasn’t always being registered in my cerebral cortex as a threat. (This commonly-occurring phenomenon is called ‘Inattention Blindness.’ As riders, we must continually ‘see’ what is ahead of us with both the eyes and the brain!) My definition of what could potentially be a threat has now changed. Stayin’ Safe’s unique method of instruction – using radios to provide instantaneous feedback, the extremely low student-to-teacher ratio, the carefully chosen and spectacularly beautiful routes, and the expert instruction – work in harmony to make this a unique and exceptional program. This course did more to increase my level of threat awareness, and sharpened my cornering skills, than all my previous training combined!
The Stayin’ Safe curriculum is Larry’s legacy, and is unquestionably a fitting and lasting tribute to his memory. For anyone contemplating taking an advanced riding class, the Stayin’ Safe Motorcycle Training course should be on your short list of programs to consider – the advantage of having individual attention and instantaneous on-road feedback cannot be overstated. Tuition ranges from $975 to $1,375 depending on the location and length of the tour. Compared to a track school, this is good value!
Spend the time and money to improve YOUR riding skills, confidence and competence! Motorcycling is, after all, a ‘lifetime-learning’ avocation. Check out Stayin’ Safe Training at: 1431 21st St. NW Suite 302, Washington, DC 20036, Tel: 202-857-8384, FAX: 202-463-8091, eduvacate@aol.com, www.stayinsafe.com.
Download a copy of this article as a PDF.
Bill Shaw is a professional moto-journalist, who writes primarily for Motorcycle Consumer News (http://www.mcnews.com/mcn) and Backroads (http://www.backroadsusa.com) magazine. Bill’s work has appeared in the ON for more than 10 years. Bill is an MSF RiderCoach and owns a 1988 R100GS and a 1995 R100GSPD.
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The BMW MOA Foundation’s MotoSafe is intended to present responsible viewpoints on thoughtful and safe motorcycling skills and practices; the authors, the Foundation, the BMW MOA and the Owners News do not guarantee readers’ personal safety, and can take no responsibility for readers’ application of this material.