RAF Odiham and Castle Combe on cloud Nine

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The past two Bike Experience events took place in a short space of time. Last Sunday saw the charity head to RAF Odiham for the first time and on Wednesday the charity was back at the familiar stomping ground of Castle Combe. A total of nine riders attended the two events, so it was a busy time for instructors, volunteers and the bikes!
The Bike Experience (TBE) had been invited to use RAF Odiham by the Odiham Motor Cycle Club (OMCC), which runs three Airfield Riding Days (ARD) a year, along with other track days and events. Having been to an ARD earlier on in the year, the organisers were keen to get involved with the charity side of things and help provide much needed places for new riders. TBE is over-subscribed with disabled motorcyclists wishing to get back on a bike and ride again.
RAF Odiham is an active airfield, as the charity found out when it was trying to set up on the Saturday evening. Arriving the day before to create the track area on the hard stand allocated, the staff had to abandon their plan as a Chinook helicopter was booked in to land in the area later that evening.
Six riders had booked to come to Odiham, all of whom were on their first experience. Three were due from 9am-12pm and then three more from 1pm-4pm. The morning saw some of the worst conditions the bike experience had ever run in. The dry start soon became a damp drizzle, then real rain, then really heavy rain. The surface became wet and slippery, so much so, that one of the riders lost traction on their first attempt and fell over just a few yards out of the safety reach of his launch crew. The rider was unhurt but the bike had ‘reshaped’ bars and was un-usable. After looking around the hardstand, a second type of surface covering was found, which offered far greater grip, so that area was used to get the riders confidence back up and to get the fallen rider back in the saddle and riding again.
At 11am the rain and cloud cover turned the area so dark we thought the evening had snuck up already. A half hour later, with two riders cautiously making their way around the course, it was decided to halt proceedings as there were streams now running across the riding area and it was becoming dangerous.
Lunchtime came and feelings were low. It had been a tough morning, the weather seemed to be against us, the rain and puddles and streams were too much for learning, even the OMCC ARD (going on over the rest of the runways/link roads) had been stopped for safety reasons. Being stuck out on a hardstand, we didn’t have ready access to a café either, so no hot coffee or food, which would have taken the edge off the soggy feeling of wet, cold leathers. The afternoon was not going to go ahead unless something seriously changed in the weather conditions. The morning riders left and the afternoon riders arrived. We remained huddled under the one gazebo, looking forlorn and desperately hoping the situation would improve.
One thing about enough people hoping for something good to happen, is more often than not, it does. By some total fluke of luck, the rain started to ease, then actually stopped. Designed to dry quickly, the surface water rapidly dissipated and we were left with a damp area rather than a water logged area. By the time we had finished the first stage of teaching, using my race bike instead of the usual curvy SV650 (with the raised bars), the sun was out and we were all beginning to dry. The sunshine lifted everyone’s spirits, no task was too hard, no challenge too tough. One of the students had never ridded a motorcycle with a clutch, he’d had polio as a child and as a result was not allowed to take a full bike licence. It reminded everyone that riding a bike is not as simple as we take it for. Clutch control is vital in being able to pull away cleanly, smoothly and safely. Poor clutch control results in kangarooing and stalling, which is not a good thing when you are unable to use your legs to prevent you from falling over.
The other riders soon found confidence and feeling in the bikes, gradually increasing the technical difficulty of the course we had set, as well as increasing the speed along the straights out towards the main runway. If only we had the runway to play with…..next time I hope. By the end of the day, all three riders were launching and stopping with confidence, which is testament to the dedication and instruction of those involved with TBE. In fact all riders from the day achieved launch/catch and riding solo. All want to return for a second visit, some to a track some to come back to the airfield to continue the steady progress towards riding again. You have to realise that some of the riders have not been on a bike for 38 years, and that there have been huge changes in motorcycle technology since 1973!
Three days later and we are back at Castle Combe with two riders returning for their second visit and one on a first time. No problems with the weather this time, although it did try to rain as we entered the briefing room prior to heading out on track for the lunchtime session. All riders had been riding around the paddock with good control and confidence. The recent improvements made to the paddock hour have seen a quicker progression for all riders. We are always reviewing our processes and seeing how we can do things better.
The track session was stopped briefly as one of the instructors bikes decided to leak a bit of oil. The oil leak had been picked up by an eagle eyed launch crew, so the offending rider was black flagged and brought in. This was extremely lucky as there was about an inch of tire, from outside edge in-wards, that was covered in oil. Had the pace quickened any further and the instructor leant the bike over a fraction more, he would have instantly crashed. Once the riders were back out on track, the pace was picked up and soon a crowd of regular track day riders were lining the pit wall watching the three paralysed riders blast around the circuit.
It had been a great few days for TBE, with nine riders all having success and achieving something that many would not dare to do. They are the real champions, along with the volunteers and supporters that allow them to realise their dreams and start new ones.

Good man Talan, keep up the outstanding effort

[Matt-EUC]

Holy necropost batman!