RAPID TRAINING ROADMASTER
Rapid Training’s new Roadmaster courses aim to give you the skills to become an elite road rider
WHILE SOME LOVE the rules and discipline of traditional advanced-riding courses, they aren’t for everyone. However, Rapid Training does things differently. There are no ‘high-viz’ vests here, nor any strict assessments or hard-and-fast rules. Instead, Rapid offers a unique take on advanced riding… and one that really resonates with me.
We’re here to try a version of its twoday (three if you train with a partner) Roadmaster Level 1 course. Introduced recently, the three levels of Roadmaster courses are designed to help you improve all aspects of road riding, from observation and road position to the detail of machine control. At £795 a go, they aren’t budget options but the aim is that after completion of the courses, you’ll have the skills and the knowledge to be an elite road rider.
“We take the best parts of the performance advanced-riding side of things and apply the best, most-relevant bits to the way you ride, rather than turn you into a robot,” explained Rapid’s National Operations Manager Ryan Decarteret, my coach for the two-day Roadmaster course, when we met at our start point just outside Reading.
The wealth of experience within the team is unparalleled; all are police class-1 qualified riders, and many have raced competitively for decades.
“What we’re about is riding the bike well and, as a by-product, your safety and your speed will grow with it,” say Ryan. “It isn’t about riding fast,” he added. “It’s about making you as good as you can be in as short a time as possible.”
In order to do so, Rapid tailors the tuition to the rider’s own strengths and weaknesses, which are identified with a background brief before the ride.
We set off, Ryan on his S1000XR (he’s done nearly 18,000 miles in four months on it) and I aboard a Kawasaki Versys 1000. The roads were greasy, the temperature low and the sky overcast. But immediately, the difference to other rides was stark.
The two-way intercom was like a window into Ryan’s thought process, as he explained what he could see and, more importantly, the implications of that
information. The analytical monologue was eye-opening and before long, I found myself subconsciously replicating it.
“There’s bins out, that means there will be a bin lorry,” he remarked with the brevity of Sherlock Holmes. Interspersed are anecdotes of his local experience, his friendly demeanour putting me at ease.
For the first half-hour I lead the way, following Ryan’s directions. This is his assessment, during which he instructs to ‘do your thing, ride your ride’. Then he overtakes and introduces the concept of ‘explanation, demonstration, imitation, practice.’ First, he explains the method, either with a drawing at the side of the road or through the intercom, before demonstrating and instructing me to imitate. It’s like a game of follow the leader.
With the basics mastered, it is time to break down the ride into the three fundamentals: reading the road, planning and machine control.
I was aware of the concept of looking as far ahead as possible while riding but often found my field of view narrowing as I reached the point that I had focussed on previously. By introducing a more dynamic approach, I was able to break that habit.
Planning, meanwhile, introduced an elasticity to my ride — an ability to adjust a pre-made plan was a lot easier than making it up on the fly – but more importantly, slowed everything down. While I was riding at the same speed, I felt less rushed and as a result, the bike was more stable. I began thinking about overtakes as soon as I saw a car in the distance, and using the information on my road positioning, speed and gear, enabled me to seize the first safe pass.
When it came to machine control, my experience off-road meant that naturally I covered the clutch and brakes. Ryan advised me to remove my hovering hands in order to make braking more of a physical action. Instead of feathering the brakes anytime I felt a little hesitant, it became a thought process that would ultimately inform me I didn’t need to brake, and instead I could scrub speed by rolling off the power. It made me smoother.
As the day progressed, we unpacked more of my riding gremlins – it was like a motorcycle therapy session. In each instance, Ryan suggested adjustments to make my riding smoother and faster.
After 124 miles we found ourselves back at the start point, where he reeled off the topics we’ve covered – everything from forward observations to late apexes, overtakes, braking and bend assessments.
Day two was about tidying up the loose ends and consolidating and developing the skills learned the day before. We took a similarly scenic route, drilling the techniques and perfecting them through a variety of road conditions. We went in search of overtakes, stopped to break down the limit point and even covered trail braking – a ‘great skill to have, but not the best plan for every bend’.
We later debriefed over a coffee. “Your homework will be to keep that vision, read that book, after every junction, every hazard,” Ryan instructed. “Learn the signs and what they mean, so you know what’s coming and can build it into your plan.” It’s made me eager for more learning.