Thinking Fast

Quick thinking starts with sharp observation - read the road, process the risks, and make split-second decisions that keep you in control and ahead of the game.

It is all well and good gaining all the information that is available to us on the road. If we do not understand it or how to use it to influence our riding plan, it is a waste of time and energy gaining it, if not used quickly and correctly. When the information is used efficiently it can generate us time to react to things that may occur in our ride.

Your Mentor will help you interpret the information you are gaining from scoping the road, to allow you to use that enhanced level of information correctly to build a more effective riding plan which will allow you to rapidly deal with every hazard that you may encounter.

They will also help you to identify and interpretate observation links. These are subtle pieces of information that can provide much more than you think, such as ‘I can smell fresh cut grass. There are a few blades of grass on the road surface.’

We should be thinking, is there a tractor around this blind bend cutting the hedge?

If yes, will I be able to stop at the speed I am going?

Observation links are simple small clues, but when built together give us an early warning that could potentially save our lives.

You do not know what you do not know, until someone tells you about it!