‘THERE’S A REASON DUCKS LIVE ON WATER’
Vanessa rides a KTM off-road, a Harley-Davidson on it, and is gobsmacked by how many bikers can’t manage slow-speed control
Sat with a warming coffee I took a moment to observe the twowheeled fraternity outside my local biking haunt and it made me realise something rather shocking. Do you remember the day you passed your test? That dreaded U-turn? Heart pumping as you rode into the manoeuvre and the relief of pulling away. Slow-speed control can be one of the most stressful parts of learning to ride but many of us neglect the skill the minute we pass.
We’ve all seen it. Negotiating an exit from the local bike night, feet dragging along the ground in search of balance. This ungraceful practice is called duck walking. The signature move signposting an inability to fully control the bike at slow speeds and using feet like a kid on their first push-bike with stabilisers. Frankly, it’s embarrassing. How many of us have dropped a bike, run wide or simply messed up a feet-up U-turn? These events should lead to us relearning the skill, but many just default to paddling like a bloated duck. I would hazard a guess that bikers are among the most coordinated segments of humanity, whether you’re matching full leathers and helmet combo in some eye-jarring colours, or part of the flannel shirt and turn-ups brigade. So how, with so much passion, are so many of us letting ourselves down with such poorly executed riding skills? If we diverted energy away from deliberating our next anodised aluminium accessory and devoted more time progressively advancing our riding skills, we would soon find ourselves equipped for every scenario we might wobble in to. A little extra time on the basics could see you avoiding an accidental drop resulting from your misguided feet, a snapped ankle on a kerb or a trip on stone that could cost you a bomb in replacement plastics and a dented tank. Not to mention the damage to your ego.
I ride an eclectic mix of bikes, from my Harley to flailing around in the mud on my KTM, and to hone my slow control skills to perfection I’ve now got a trials bike, too. I’d love to see more people practising their slow-speed manoeuvring and helping each other out. Maybe we should all take ten minutes each time we ride to hone our basic balance and slow riding skills, then bikers waddling around like ducks might be a thing of the past.