piedmontfields wrote:Two tips from the friend of serious bikers:
1. Get a brightly colored helmet. Yellow is good. No it is not as cool looking as black, but it could save your life by helping you be seen. Ideally, you would also have bright colors on your jacket, too, or wear a colored vest.
2. Take a course. There are basic, intermediate and advanced courses. It is especially helpful when you have a bit of confidence but not much experience. A good course will make you sober and more skillful. You can also repeat the courses.
Enjoy, but be careful. I live in a very popular place for bikers...and we have news of bikers deaths nearly daily (at their own hands, flying through mountain curves or at the hands of cars/trucks).
Thanks. Helmet is, unfortunately, black, as that was what was in stock in the model that fitted the best. I have a hi vis over-jacket (long sleeves ) that has reflective stripes on top of the white and yellow fabric. Looking good comes a long way after being seen and staying alive
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif)
I'll repeat the above course or the next one up before I sit the test for my next licence. On a Learner's, you are restricted to specific hours of driving, specific types of bike, etc.
The course covered theory and practice on urban and open road riding, cornering, countersteering, braking, low-speed handling (ie, how slow can you go), intersections, changing lanes, alerting other drivers to your presence (when stopped at intersections, other drivers tend not to see you due to ... is the phrase motion blindness? When you stop moving, their eyes don't "see" you), hazards and scanning for them. We didn't end up on any gravel.
We didn't end up in any heavy traffic but we did have plenty of other vehicles about.