RAPID ROADS - A268 (THE ROYAL MILITARY CANAL ROAD)
In a new series we’re taking a closer look at the roads our coaches use as part of our training courses, delving into the reasons why they choose them and what skills they can help develop, so you can stitch them into your next ride out.
A268 between Appledor and Rye.
The A268 between Appledor and Rye, in Kent, is unusual. On a map it looks relatively straight until you zoom in. It runs alongside the Napoleonic royal military canal which, as a defence against a potential invading French army, had chicanes built into it periodically. As a result, the road does too, making it perfect for developing a number of skills and improving your riding technique.
I feel there’s a dangerous rhetoric creeping into motorcycling, where people compliment riders for not using - or hardly using - their brakes. So, using the A268, I’m able to not only have the brakes vs acceleration sense debate, we can ride the road multiple times using both techniques in order to find out which is best, which delivers the best performance, and which is safest. We talk about best practice when it comes to the skill of braking: where to apply, when, pressure, releasing the brakes, and what happens to the bike in terms of weight transfer, traction and so on.
This stretch of road, with its national speed limit, many chicanes, and low volume of traffic, gives us ample time and opportunity to work on braking techniques and I will work it into my course routes frequently, ensuring we try different techniques each time which we will discuss at length at the end of the ride and the road even allows us to park up and dismount in the chicanes to explore the bends in detail.
Giles in coaching mode, talking through practise drills.
The chicanes, with their changes of direction, also allow us to work other drills such as exit drive and the quick steering drill covered on BIKEMASTER level three, and they are very open, allowing us to work on reading the road and using the cross views as well as the more fundamentals like positioning, linking bends and more.
The road itself runs down the east side of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, known for its landscape, castles and manor houses, farms, and woodlands, and can easily be incorporated into rides to the coast - Hastings and even Eastbourne are not far - or to other nearby towns such as Royal Tunbridge Wells.
A rider-friendly open road in fabulous Kent countryside - enjoy the ride!