Club Night January  20 2010 

California Superbike School

Andy Ibbott

CWAM was delighted to welcome visitors from neighbouring IAM biker groups, many of whom had travelled some distance to attend. Leicester, Stafford, Hereford & Worcester and Birmingham were all represented in the crowded lounge. At the start of the evening Tony Williamson would have congratulated six CWAMs who had recently passed their test had there been six test passees present, fortunately Spencer Dobbs saved the day and the honour of the group at the last minute by collecting his certificate and claiming his five seconds of fame.

When Simon described our speaker as the ‘most excellent Andy Ibbott’ in the Club Night flier, it crossed my mind that he could be engaging in over-hyping to increase attendance. How wrong I was (yet again)! Andy, the School Director from California Superbikes took the floor and effortlessly held our attention for a good two and a half hours. His relaxed and inclusive style made understanding how grip, speed, line, surface and lean interact, a painless experience. Even I could understand how the perception of danger compresses time and space and how  peripheral vision takes on an even more significant role in such situations. And that was just the first half.

After a short break Andy parked the white board and put some volunteers through their paces on the simulator. This ably demonstrated how the ability to grip with knees and thighs is as essential on a motorbike as it undoubtedly is in other situations; in this instance in allowing arms and the upperbody to be relaxed and mobile. Not that it will ever apply to me but when hanging out or was it hanging off, I'm not sure, the maxim 'one cheek good, two cheeks bad', is one that will live with me.

I often end these little items by saying what a great night we had but this time it is no exaggeration. We are very lucky to have knowledgeable speakers of the quality of Andy Ibbott who are prepared to spend their time with us.

Quite a few guys present had experienced the Superbike School to great advantage so take a look at http://www.superbikeschool.co.uk/index.php