Stay Upright Slow Riding Training – 8 August 2016

Yes, I know it would sound like a Ulysses winter fairy tale if I were to start by saying “the day dawned bright and full of sunshine beaming down on a perfect winter’s day as the 12-member strong ride roared through the Stay Upright gates” so I wont. What I will say is that it was damn cold (temp hovering around zero) as I headed across the border to Stay Upright’s rider training facility in Queanbeyan on my latest motorised acquisition, Hilary Honda (CB300), to introduce her to her big brothers and sisters belonging to 11 keen riders in the Ulysses Canberra Branch’s tribe.

I knew the day was going to be a huge success when I got all green lights and no turners at roundabouts so that I didn’t have to put my foot down after joining Hindmarsh Drive at the Canberra Hospital till I pulled up at Stay Upright (SU). I was later accused of running red lights but that was not true. However on a non-heated grips machine with no fairings, I was frozen so fast was good.  As I arrived a few very keen people were already defrosting and by 8.30 there were 12 of us gathered to hear from our instructors – Andrew and Andrew (thanks to SU for making the name bit easy).

We started with introductions all round which set the scene for a very relaxed course, which of course gave us all the chance to find out a bit more about our fellow students and their riding skills. The day followed a similar format to other Stay Upright courses – a bit of theory, practice and then recap with feedback and questions.

First up it was about our bike’s Balance Point – handling the bike from the ground, understanding what it takes to move it off balance (out of the ‘manageable zone’) and appreciating its weight. This was followed by learning to walk our bike around by slightly leaning it onto a hip and within the ‘manageable zone’ and (with feet clear of pegs) move it backwards and forwards.

Next, after a run through of the best body position, we leapt on our bikes and in two groups had a session on cornering where we all learnt the benefits of a few key points – scan ahead, turn the head, prepare for the corner, lean & turn, moderate speed and use of the back brake.

After that things got a bit more complicated – manoeuvring at low speed with a series of stops followed immediately by a turn and another stop. For this exercise we used the bike’s friction point and with a constant speed established, focused on use of the brake to vary speed. After a few runs through everyone was more confident with this technique – or system for manoeuvring say in car parks, even when loaded with luggage and maybe a pillion.

U-turns were the next challenge after a briefing on technique and use of a steady throttle and speed moderated by the rear brake. A range of performances turned up in this exercise but I think we all learnt a lot – for me as clearly the worst, it was mainly that I need a lot more practice!

And finally (after 2 coffee breaks – one including the arrival of a coffee van, which was a great alternative to the instant version available in the kitchen) we did turning and stopping at low speed, through a series of generously spaced cones, using the rear break for slowing and stopping.

That all done with much success and some outstanding performances, we retired to the training room for a debrief and to receive our Certificate of Attendance. The group agreed that the session was more than valuable and served as a good reminder that formal training can chase away bad habits and that skill refreshing is great and should be a constant for everyone. 

A big thank you to our two excellent instructors Andrew and of course to Mick Winters for his role in initiating the course happening in the first place, chasing up members to participate and for facilitating the opportunity for our slow riding to improve. Thanks also to the other 11 trainees (now graduates) for joining in and doing what Ulysseans do so well – riding and socialising.

Jenny Carlin 
 

Ride Report Adelaide-Sydney-Snowy Mtns and return August–September 1978

In February 1978, after returning to Oz from five years in New Zealand and with nowhere in particular to go, I finished up in Adelaide for the arts festival and the wedding of my friends Spot the Dog and Pat the Sheila. I moved into their shared house in St Peters, living in the enclosed veranda until a proper room became vacant.

My first home in Adelaide in 1978 (that’s me on the left).

With a roof over my head, a steady supply of food and a steady income from a journalist job with SA National Parks and Wildlife Service, the only other thing I needed (apart from a woman, but read on) was a set of wheels. I found a fairly youthful Yamaha XT500 advertised for $1200 so I took $1000 in cash and wafted it seductively in front of the vendor’s face. It was an offer he couldn’t refuse.

On the XT500 wearing state-of-the-art safety gear from the 1970s.

The XT500 was a 500cc single-cylinder dual purpose thumper. It was my sixth bike, following (in order) a black Honda S90 sports model with patented T-bone frame; a red Triumph Trophy 250 which handled like a dream but set new records for unreliability and on one trip left a trail of parts from Sydney to Hobart, returning on the train while I hitch-hiked; a red and white Honda CB350 twin with hollow megaphone exhausts that my whole suburb hated; a green Yamaha DT360 two-stroke enduro that was fun to ride except at night when the headlight would switch off without warning till I pounded it repeatedly with my fist; and, my favourite until then, a white Honda XL250 that carried me and Jan Number One all over the South Island of NZ. 

In July the money ran out for my NPWS job so I went back onto the dole and decided, with my new-found freedom, to visit my parents in Sydney. And, seeing as I was going that far, I might as well pick up my skis, which were stored at Mum and Dad’s along with lots of my other stuff, and head up to the snow for a few days’ skiing. 

The XT500 packed for the ski trip.

It didn’t take long to strap my gear – tent, sleeping bag, foam mat, cooking gear, pack, daypack and cameras – onto the bike’s rack. I left Adelaide in bright winter sunshine (similar to Adelaide’s summer sunshine except a bit cooler and no dust storms) and took two days to ride to Sydney, crossing the glorious Hay Plain for the first time in my life. 

It was a simple matter to tie the skis and poles onto the bike – in fact, the skis sticking out backwards at a 45 degree angle gave the XT a rather dashing look. Back in those days there was no freeway and the ride from Sydney to Sawpit Creek campground, on the road to Perisher Valley, took most of the day. I set up camp, put the billy on and kicked back with a good book till it was time for bed.

Camp at Sawpit Creek.

I skied by myself at Perisher for a few days till my friends Steve and Prue turned up, then skied with them for a few days at Perisher and then at Thredbo. After that, Steve and I donned our cross-country skis and slogged from Guthega Power Station up to Whites River Hut and the crest of the main range for a few days, learning how it feels to face-plant in the snow wearing a 25kg pack. The snow was still good after Steve left, so I stayed on and skied some more at Perisher.

But eventually my body clock told me it was time to leave the mountains and get back to responsible living on the dole, including maybe even looking for a job. I packed the bike again and headed for Sydney in one of the worst storms I have ever ridden in. At one point during torrential rain on the Federal Highway (highway in name only in those days) the car in front of me braked suddenly on a right-hand bend and, knowing I would be unable to stop without laying the bike on its side, I veered past him on the left and rode straight into a flooded creek. The water was near the tops of my wheels and there were waves from oncoming vehicles but I kept the power on and somehow made it through.

I left the skis at Mum and Dad’s and, after a detour to go rock climbing for a few days in the Blue Mountains, I headed back to Adelaide. The XT had performed flawlessly for the whole trip and, while it was definitely no Goldwing, it made the 4000km trip seem easy (of course, I was a lot younger back then).

While I had been on the road a new tenant had moved into the house in St Peters, a Kiwi named Meatloaf. We became good friends and, even better, his ex-wife started visiting. This eventually solved my only other problem, and at the end of the year she and I moved to Hobart. (Note for history buffs: this was Jan Number Two; Sally came later).

Ian Paterson


Rider was:

Ian Paterson        Yamaha XT500

Aldi - Motorcycle Gear - 13 August

The 13 August Aldi catalogue has a "Special Buys" for motorcycle gear. 

The range includes helmets, gloves, ramps, stands and clothing ( inner and outer ) and a few otehr items. Clothing appears to be in mens sizings and CE certified.

For your information :-)