Air Ambulance i2i

Supporting the Air Ambulance and i2i training Jill Winn

August 2020 and I’m off on an adventure, the only adventure of 2020 it seems. Having cancelled biking trips to Scotland, Austria and Wales I was determined to make the most of this trip. Coincidently I had just signed up to support the Air Ambulance run 2020 in the absence of the usual events.

The challenge is to ride 50 miles and post pictures on their facebook wall. I chose the stretch Wisbech to Thimbleby. There’s £10 entry fee and optional Tshirt. I don’t normally buy the Tshirt but thought this year was important as all charities have had their fund raising events curtailed.

Leaving mid morning my plan was to get to York without using dual carriageways. My Tomtom taking me directly North and over the Humber bridge I journeyed through through Ely, Wisbech and the Lincolnshire Wolds.

Quick Stop in Ely Thimbleby on Lincolnshire Wolds

Arriving early evening at my lodgings The Red Lion at Upper Poppleton I was made

to feel welcome by the hosts Mark & Jean. Being part of the ‘eat out to help out’ scheme I enjoyed a superb evening meal. Mark is a biker himself and offers discounts to bikers booking through their website. https:// www.redlioncountryinn.co.uk/bikers Rooms are comfortable and if you are thinking of attending the i2i courses in York you are 5 minutes away. While I was researching where to stay I noticed Mark & Jean had appeared on ‘4 in a bed’ I found the episode and watched on my first evening. They are both characters and it gave me an insight into their personalities which I found very entertaining.

Next morning onto the main event ‘Machine Skills 1’ at the i2i training venue at Rufforth Airfield. The day started with Tom Killeen in the café with views over the airfield and a brief get to know the other 10 attendees. Then onto the airfield…

I’ve done a few courses now and been an Observer for nearly 10 years but every so often someone comes along and shakes up everything you thought you knew and understood.

Tom has spent 14 years questioning everything relating to machine control. Everything he teaches/explains he shows you, taking some exercises to extremes.

I’ve always known I should ride with the balls of my feet on the pegs, I’ve never questioned why but seem to remember the suggestion being ‘it looks tidier’ or ‘stops your feet hitting the ground when you corner’. Now I understand the subtle difference foot and leg position can make in machine control and core stability.

Various exercises later Tom had made us all laugh, gasp in amazement and rethink just what a bike can do.

Machine skills 2 followed the next day and Tom expanded on the capabilities of the wonderful 2 wheeled machine we all love. I have been shown how and why counter steering works, I never did get the pushing down on the bar thing!! Steering using only 1 finger on each hand taught me how subtle rider input should be.

By the end of my second day I was undergoing hard braking from 50 mph using only the front brake and just 2 fingers with my left hand off the bars, feeling totally relaxed and in control. Tom’s demonstration included lifting the back wheel off the ground (one handed).

In conclusion, do you go where you look? Do you push the bar down to steer? Is braking using only 2 fingers right or wrong? I’m not getting into arguments, I loved the 2 days and encourage everyone to go try it, you will learn something. https:// www.i2imca.com/

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