Learning a new skill takes time. Ensuring your learning environment is matched to your learning stage lets you pick up new skills faster. It’s the same for learning to ride as any other skill, be it physical or mental. Learning conditions matter, a lot. That’s why choosing the right motorcycle training and safety centre makes so much difference.
We all know what it’s like trying to focus with lots of distractions. It’s hard and it takes longer to pick up new concepts or sequences of action. Of course, your coach or instructor influences your learning too. At Phoenix Motorcycle Training, we make sure we bring all of the right elements together to create the best motorcycle training experience possible. Read on to find out how we do this.
The first stage of learning to ride a motorcycle
The first stage of learning a new skill is cognitive. This is when you need to see the skill demonstrated. This gives you an understanding of the skill in full, the sequence of movements, the context in which you’ll use the skill and how to put that all together. This first stage is where you’ll make the most mistakes.
At each Phoenix motorcycle training and safety centre, your journey to a licence, or upgrading your skill, will start in the classroom. That’s where we’ll show and tell you how to ride a motorcycle. We’ll use diagrams, videos, and other teaching aids that help you understand exactly what you need to do. Once you’ve covered all of the cognition bases, it’s time to put things into practice.
Stage two of learning to ride at a motorcycle training and safety centre
After covering the basics in the classroom, you’ll get a chance to put the theory into practice. We’ll practice learning to ride on the motorcycle training and safety centre’s tarmac. You won’t be distracted by traffic or other riders. We keep our training groups small so you have the full attention and focus of our motorcycle instructors.
Don’t worry about getting things wrong when you try them out for the first time. This is a natural part of learning. Our instructors will give you tips and feedback as you learn. This helps you embed the right muscle movements, ask questions to help you build your understanding, and get a good feel for the new actions.
In the second stage of learning, you’ll progressively become more fluid and automatic. This will happen gradually over a number of hours because you’re activating regions of the brain involved in the control of muscle movement. Having unhindered practice time on the motorcycle training and safety centre tarmac is crucial for your brain to create these neural pathways, embed the new information, and connect it to other actions you are familiar with.
Where is the best place to practice motorcycle riding?
The best place to start learning to ride a motorcycle is away from traffic and distractions. Road riding is different to trail riding. Because of this, for your UK motorcycle licence, you’re best to practice motorcycle riding on the tarmac. That’s why we’ve selected each location of our motorcycle training and safety centres in the way we have.
Each training centre is close to public transport, yet away from heavy traffic and distractions. It ensures new riders have the best environment to practice and focus on building their skill. Once you’ve been riding a motorcycle for a while, whether with a motorcycle licence or your CBT certificate, it’s good to practice on the road. Real-life experience is invaluable for improving what you’ve learned in a controlled environment.
Advanced training courses start in the classroom to cover the cognition stage of learning. After this, we head out onto the road. As we cover different terrain, you’ll practice skills that have already begun developing through real-world riding and classroom learning.
Stage three: autonomous skill building
After developing your motorcycling skill to a level of competence where you make few mistakes and aren’t a danger to yourself or other people, it’s time to level up. That means it’s time to leave the motorcycle training and safety centre grounds and head out onto the road. Don’t worry, our motorcycle instructors will still be with you. We’ll ride together on public roads while you put together everything you’ve practised.
If you are learning to ride for the first time, you’ll be awarded a Certificate of Basic Training (CBT) after a successful public ride. But your practising doesn’t stop there. To become a better motorcyclist, you should practice riding on different roads, and in different conditions to build your road confidence and skill further.
If you’re practising for your full motorcycle licence, be it an A1 licence or a full A-level licence, we’ll spend more time with you riding on public roads. The instructor’s feedback and the freedom of the road will help you build your riding skills faster and with more confidence.
Learning to ride at a motorcycle training centre
To get a UK motorcycle licence, you must have training from a DVSA-qualified instructor while learning to ride. A great motorcycle instructor will work with you through the three natural stages of learning. By supporting these learning stages fully, you’ll be able to learn to ride a motorcycle faster and with more confidence.
Choosing the right motorcycle training and safety centre has a big impact on how quickly you’ll learn to ride and how confident you’ll feel once you’re autonomously embedding your motorcycling skill. Why not contact us today to begin your motorcycling journey with us?
