Blogs
Tuesday, 21 October, 2014 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 5 minutes.
OK, it’s admission time. Who goes to YouTube, and watches those “Crash Compilation” videos? Nobody admitting it? Well, OK. I’ll go first. I do!
Now, in my defence, I don’t merely watch them for voyeuristic reasons. I watch them to see if there is anything that can be learned from the mistakes that have been made.
You see, I adamantly refuse to call crashes “accidents”. Very rarely indeed is a crash the result of an accident. OK, maybe the unfortunate soul who is riding along when a rock dislodges from the cliff above, and knocks the hapless individual on his noggin… that could be called an accident. Well, possibly the guy who is riding along, minding his own business when a freak wind blows a carelessly discarded newspaper on to his visor — causing him to lose control as he is desperately trying to see through the sports section… that could be called an accident. But no more! For everything else, there is culpability.
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Wednesday, 8 October, 2014 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 1 minutes.
After much frustration with the publishers, and much work to try to get the print cost down, I’m happy to announce that the print version of “Proficient Scootering” is finally here!
So, if you have haven’t quite got into the e-readers yet, or simply prefer the feel of good old-fashioned paper in your hand, I have you covered. Mosey on over to the book page for details.
Wednesday, 27 August, 2014 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 5 minutes.
There was a definite unfamiliar chill to the air this morning. It reminds me that glorious summer is preparing to give way to spectacular fall.
Even for the “fair weather riders” amongst us, there are still plenty of great riding days ahead. Sadly, along with the spectacular show that mother nature provides for us each year, she brings a heightened danger from our wood-dwelling fauna — most notably the deer.
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Friday, 22 August, 2014 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 1 minutes.
I’d like to take a moment to thank my readers for the great response I have received to the launch of Proficient Scootering - A Comprehensive Guide to Safe, Efficient and Enjoyable Scooter Riding.
It is currently ranked number 2 in the Amazon Best Sellers Rank for the motorcycle category. I am humbled and grateful. My greatest reward would be to help people be safer out there.
Wednesday, 20 August, 2014 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 6 minutes.
I have two great loves. One, which won’t surprise you, is two-wheeled transport. The other is photography – more particularly, landscape photography. Fortunately for me, they are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they complement each other very well.
One of my greatest pleasures is to load Bella with my photography gear, and to head off into the wilderness in search of good photographs. Bella, incidentally, is my 2009 Vespa GTV 250. Venturing out in search of photographs is my form of hunting or fishing (except that no animals get harmed in the process). I make the reference to hunting because – just like the fishermen can report – a very enjoyable day can be had without catching a thing. What a great reason to get out and ride!
In a light-hearted departure from the usual subject of this blog, I’d like to share with my readers a scooter/photography trip I took at this time last year.
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Sunday, 17 August, 2014 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 1 minutes.
I’m very excited to announce that, after two years quietly writing and re-writing behind the scenes, drawing countless diagrams, and taking photographs, “Proficient Scootering” is available now for all the popular e-readers!
For those who prefer a traditional book, a print version is available as well!
I wish to thank all who prompted me to create this work. It has been a labour of love. I excitedly let it out into the world. Fly my pretties!
Take a look at the Book page for more details.
Saturday, 16 August, 2014 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 2 minutes.
I surely need to start this post with an apology to my dear readers. It has been a long time — way too long — since I last posted on ScootSafely.
Some major upheavals on the home and work front have taken my attention for quite some time now, and have meant that I’ve had little time to pay attention to Scoot Safely. Hopefully, as things have calmed a little, I shall be back among the living in the blogosphere!
Still, I haven’t been idle! Here’s what I’ve been doing…
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Wednesday, 1 August, 2012 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 7 minutes.
It has been quite some time since a new scooter created such a buzz among the scooter community as Piaggio’s new BV350.
I have watched with interest all the speculation leading up to the launch, and read with interest the opinions of the lucky people to first get their hands on the BV 350.
Well, thanks once again to my friends at Vespa Marietta, I was given the opportunity to judge for myself whether the machine lived up to expectations. Let’s see…
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Wednesday, 2 May, 2012 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 3 minutes.
Listen, car drivers kill us motorcyclists and scooter riders all the time by pulling out in front of us.
Because of this, please cut us a little slack when we’re wary around you.
To the guy pulling out of the gas station this morning: there you were, squinting into the sun, shielding your eyes with your hand. I was coming from the direction of the sun. You (of course) had no turn signal on, but I surmised you were about to turn left – from the great US turn signal.
The US turn signal, incidentally, is the two round black rubber things at the front of your car which can often – but not always – be relied upon to be pointing in the general direction you intend to turn. That’s all you’ve given me to work with… I’m sorry.
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Tuesday, 1 May, 2012 by Alan Hearnshaw
Reading time: 5 minutes.
Today, I’d like to talk a little about really honing our powers of observation:
Observations skills (and the use we make of the information gathered during observation) are arguably the most important skills we have to help us stay safe out there on our scooters.
Imagine a scenario where two riders encounter the same situation while doing their daily commute. For our purposes it could be any hazard situation. Let’s say – a car suddenly coming over the brow of a hill encroaching on your side of the road.
(Actually, I’m using this example because it’s a real-life situation that cropped up while I was taking my advanced motorcycle test).
For one rider, it’s a complete non-event. For the other, it’s a panic stricken, stressful moment. How could that be so?
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