2019-07-01_RiDE

‘Havehandsignals

youallunderstand’

If you’reridingina group,

decideonsomerules.Forinstance:

taketurnstolead;noovertakingeach

other;ridetothecapabilityofthe

slowestrider.Usehandsignals:

pointingat yourtankmeaning;“I need

fuel”orpointingatyourfacetosayyou

needa drinkorfood.

StephenDWoolley

‘Makesureyoudrink

plentyofwater’

Makesureyourbrakes

haveplentyoflifeinthem,especiallyif

youintenddoinganymountainpasses.

There’snoneedtorushbutuse

motorwaysoccasionallytosavetime.

Investina sheepskinseatpad(best

£20youwilleverspend).Makesure

youdrinkplentyofwaterregularly:it

reallydoeshelpconcentration.

PeterCushing

‘Getslowlybackinto

thegroove’

If you’regoingtogetsporty,

scrapsightseeing:theydon’tmix.Take

properbreaksand,whenyoustartoff

again,letyourselfgetslowlybackinto

thegroove:don’tgobonkersstraight

awayasyouneedtogetfocused

again.Don’tunderestimatehowtired

youcangetaftera day‘onit’.

RobinBegley

‘Geta decent

intercom’

Takea fewshorttripswith

yourpilliontogetusedtoriding

smoothlytwo-upandtotuneintoeach

otheronthebike.Thingsyoudoon

yourownarenotalwaysconduciveto

a goodrideforthepassenger.Geta

decentintercomordevelopa good

communicationsystembetween

passengerandrider.

StephenCollins

‘Breakthe

journeydown

intochunks’

If youaregoingtousea satnav,

breakthejourneydowninto

manageablechunks(morning,

afternoon,etc...)ratherthan

programmingthewholethingas

oneroute.Onewrongturncan

makea navthrowa hissyfit.

AlanBennett

‘Savespaceandkeep

clothingdry’

Usevacuumbagstosave

onspaceandkeepclothingdry.Layer

clothesflatintothepackthenpartly

sealit.Rollit uptodisplaceairbefore

sealing.Eitherkeepit rolledupor

flattenit out.

SteveBoyes

‘Carrydrinks

andsnacks’

Alwayscarrytwospare

setsofgloves:wethandsgetcoldand

yourmindgoes...andyouneeda good

mindsettobesafe.Fuelyourselfupas

wellasthebikeandcarrydrinksand

snacks youcangrabeasily.

VincentMacdonald

‘It’ssupposed

tobefun’

Don’tbiteoffmorethanyou

canchew.Attheendoftheday,it’s

supposedtobefun,nota slogfest.

Speaktolocalstofindhidden-gem

routesandplacestoseeoreat.

MattSheen

YOUR TOP TIPS

RiDE readers offer the tips and advice

they have built up over the years

StephenDWoolley

useshandsignals

withhismates

MattSheen

remembersit’s

abouthavingfun

Alan Bennett
breaks a day down
into sections

Robin Begley

recommends

starting off slowly

JULY 2019 | 53

SPORTS

TOURING

SPECIAL

Stephen Collins says

an intercom is useful

for pillions