Well dangit, Coffee_brake went down AGAIN today!
But I wasn't even on a bike. It happened at the beginner motorcycle class today. One of my students target-fixated on me at the same time that another student lost balance and I got pinned between the two bikes as they both fell. It was a CB Sandwich on Honda bread (a Rebel and a Nighthawk 250).
I've pulled my hip joint a bit, nice fat goose egg on my very raw shin, and scraped-up hand, but I can walk and as soon as this rash scabs over I'll be walking the range, riding demos, and kicking cones tomorrow as usual.
I need combat pay... :smiley_confused1:
The poor kid was completely torn up about it, she's small and having trouble over-thinking it. The other student is a senior and learning is generally harder as we get older, so he's got his hands full too. I have high hopes for both of them because they really, really want to ride and are working hard to improve.
So what did I learn? We RiderCoaches are taught that "Staging," when the riders come into the parking area after an exercise, is one of the most dangerous parts of coaching, and that's where this happened. I step (sometimes jump) out of the path of student bikes often, and I expect students to target fixate on me and come right at me--happens many times every day, every class. Students are generally horrified when they run right over the place I was a second ago, and that gives me an opportunity to drive home the concept of "Look where you want to go, not at the thing to avoid."
But this time I got trapped. This student turned the front wheel towards me and lost her clutch control at the same time as the older student was learning what happens when you grab the front brakes with the handlebars turned--toward me. I couldn't step out of the way because there was a student struggling under his bike right there. The other way was moving motorcycle and I couldn't jump far enough, so I basically had to stand there and get plowed over.
We are taught to NEVER stand in front of a student. If they make a mistake, you need to be off to the side so you can step away. I wasn't in front of either student, but suddenly BOTH bike trajectories changed to pinch me in the middle.
From now on, I'll space my more challenged students such that they aren't approaching the staging area at the same time. But in some classes, that won't be possible if LOTS of students are struggling. And I can't instruct from behind the students. They invariably turn their heads to look at me when I speak and we all know what happens when you look away from where you want to go while you are braking into a parking area.
I really don't know how I could have prevented this. There are always two coaches in these classes; two heads trying to coordinate (in this case) eight riders, five of them raw newbies. The other coach and I have always worked well together. He's laid-back and chill, and I'm...not. But both of us are there to prepare the students to have fun riding well and safely. It's a class dynamic that works for just about all kinds of learners. The other coach said it was wrong place, wrong time. I'd like to agree, but I'd like MORE to know what I could do differently. My entire stiff painful leg would also like to know.
You know, I can't count how many times I've ridden my bike between two potential hazards and thought to myself, "Motorcycle sammich! Motorcycle sammich!" as I prepare to dodge both hazards at once. (Imagine the guy in the middle of the road waiting to turn left in front of you while another guy 20 feet down the road begins to turn right in front of you.) But when it finally caught me, I was on foot between motorcycles, not cars.
I'd be interested in y'all's feedback. I'll be in bed early so I can be fresh and sharp to continue the class in the morning, but I really want to learn from this.
But I wasn't even on a bike. It happened at the beginner motorcycle class today. One of my students target-fixated on me at the same time that another student lost balance and I got pinned between the two bikes as they both fell. It was a CB Sandwich on Honda bread (a Rebel and a Nighthawk 250).
I've pulled my hip joint a bit, nice fat goose egg on my very raw shin, and scraped-up hand, but I can walk and as soon as this rash scabs over I'll be walking the range, riding demos, and kicking cones tomorrow as usual.
I need combat pay... :smiley_confused1:
The poor kid was completely torn up about it, she's small and having trouble over-thinking it. The other student is a senior and learning is generally harder as we get older, so he's got his hands full too. I have high hopes for both of them because they really, really want to ride and are working hard to improve.
So what did I learn? We RiderCoaches are taught that "Staging," when the riders come into the parking area after an exercise, is one of the most dangerous parts of coaching, and that's where this happened. I step (sometimes jump) out of the path of student bikes often, and I expect students to target fixate on me and come right at me--happens many times every day, every class. Students are generally horrified when they run right over the place I was a second ago, and that gives me an opportunity to drive home the concept of "Look where you want to go, not at the thing to avoid."
But this time I got trapped. This student turned the front wheel towards me and lost her clutch control at the same time as the older student was learning what happens when you grab the front brakes with the handlebars turned--toward me. I couldn't step out of the way because there was a student struggling under his bike right there. The other way was moving motorcycle and I couldn't jump far enough, so I basically had to stand there and get plowed over.
We are taught to NEVER stand in front of a student. If they make a mistake, you need to be off to the side so you can step away. I wasn't in front of either student, but suddenly BOTH bike trajectories changed to pinch me in the middle.
From now on, I'll space my more challenged students such that they aren't approaching the staging area at the same time. But in some classes, that won't be possible if LOTS of students are struggling. And I can't instruct from behind the students. They invariably turn their heads to look at me when I speak and we all know what happens when you look away from where you want to go while you are braking into a parking area.
I really don't know how I could have prevented this. There are always two coaches in these classes; two heads trying to coordinate (in this case) eight riders, five of them raw newbies. The other coach and I have always worked well together. He's laid-back and chill, and I'm...not. But both of us are there to prepare the students to have fun riding well and safely. It's a class dynamic that works for just about all kinds of learners. The other coach said it was wrong place, wrong time. I'd like to agree, but I'd like MORE to know what I could do differently. My entire stiff painful leg would also like to know.
You know, I can't count how many times I've ridden my bike between two potential hazards and thought to myself, "Motorcycle sammich! Motorcycle sammich!" as I prepare to dodge both hazards at once. (Imagine the guy in the middle of the road waiting to turn left in front of you while another guy 20 feet down the road begins to turn right in front of you.) But when it finally caught me, I was on foot between motorcycles, not cars.
I'd be interested in y'all's feedback. I'll be in bed early so I can be fresh and sharp to continue the class in the morning, but I really want to learn from this.