Top tips for bikers riding in rural areas
With summer finally here, you’ll probably be thinking of dusting off your motorbike and getting out on the road. Are you planning a North Coast 500 road trip? We’ve partnered with IAM RoadSmart, the UK’s largest independent road safety charity, to bring you some top tips for riding and driving on rural areas. IAM RoadSmart have a team of Area Service Delivery Managers (ASDMs) who support their network of local groups. Below they share some of their personal top tips for bikers riding in rural areas.
Our Top Tips
IAM RoadSmart Chief Observer Examiner Richard Gladman has had his fair share of rural journeys. He comments, “Ride within your limitations and remember you are sharing the countryside with its regular residents, being able to stop in the distance you can see to be clear on your own side of the road could be a matter of life or death for wildlife or in the worst-case scenario, you and others. Enjoy the scenery and the experience and make sure we all get home safely.”
Steve Ellis who supports the Northeast, gives his tips on accelerating towards an oncoming Hazard:
“During a rural ride or drive, I often see riders accelerating towards an oncoming hazard, changing up the gears only to immediately brake, often harshly, and select the previous or even lower gear on approach to the hazard. This often results in unnecessary and unplanned ‘Brake/Gear Overlap’. I would recommend smooth acceleration and deceleration, to be riding at the correct speed when approaching a hazard. With this thinking, you should be able to link hazards together and apply good acceleration and braking to ensure the transition between hazards is smooth.”
There are certain things that you should always have with you when embarking on a rural drive or ride. One of which is a tyre repair kit! Robbie Downing (West Central England and South Wales), always has to hand…
“For me and particularly for the motorcyclists, a form of tyre repair kit to create a ‘temporary get you home‘ repair is vital. From experience, if you’re going to have a tyre deflation it’s never going to be in a busy urban area near a tyre dealer.”
Nowadays, most people would probably have a mobile device with them when setting out on a ride, usually, a sat nav unit and or a mobile phone, which would be a lifeline should any incidents were to occur. Pete Doherty, supporting East Central England and Anglia says, “Before setting out, be familiar with how to pinpoint your position either with a sat nav or mobile device, using its coordinates (which the ambulance service prefers). Apps including ‘What3Words’, ‘Waze’, ‘Find My…’ and several other apps will also help to pinpoint your exact location and enable you to share this with others. It is no good trying to work out how they work whilst in the middle of an incident, test it all before you leave so that you are prepared and have a plan in place if you need it. From a puncture to a breakdown, to a crash or just to assisting another motorist in informing the required parties as to where the stranded person is, it’s always handy to have a mobile device on you.”
Katrina Lowe (Southeast England), provides tips on what she always keeps in her top box:
“To make sure that I am always well prepared, there are some items which I keep in my top box, surprisingly, all this fits in a standard-sized top box, but there isn’t much room for anything else.”
- A spare pair of gloves – nothing worse than wet hands
- A spare pair of glasses just in case I break or lose the ones I’m wearing
- Waterproofs over leggings and a jacket if I’m not wearing waterproof clothing
- A high-vis jacket or waistcoat in case I breakdown or involved in an incident
- Visor cleaner in a small spray bottle
- Two cloths – one I use for keeping my visor clean, plus a second cloth for wiping my seat and keeping my lights clean
- A puncture repair kit – this can often get you home or to a garage without being stranded at the side of the road for hours
- Powerpack and charger lead for my phone – if you do break down (or worse), you don’t want your phone battery running out
- A small first aid kit – just in case! Not huge bandages, you can use clothing for big bleeds
- A side stand puck – useful if parking off road to stop your bike from sinking into the ground
- A good quality lock & chain for securing the bike and a smaller one for securing my helmet, if required
- Baseball cap in case it’s raining when I’m off the bike
- An additional clothing upper layer in case I get cold
- Bottle of water – important to keep hydrated and useful if repairing a puncture
- On longer trips, a battery jump pack. You don’t want to get stranded miles from home.
Visit IAM RoadSmart for more hints and tips and to find out about their Advanced Rider course to prepare you for any ride.
Not travelling by motorbike? Then check out out top tips for driving the NC500 here.
