A Guide To Planning And Leading A Successful Parking Lot Practice
Developed by David McElderry

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THE FIRST STEPS

Find a suitable location

Surface free of major defects and obstacles
Safe from traffic (or can be made to be safe)
Restroom facilities reasonably close by
Shade available if possible
Realize that the lot will have to be cleaned before use

Get permission to use the lot

Reserve it for your planned dates

Include practices on your ride schedule

Indicates support at a CD level
Protects for liability under GWRRA insurance

Decide on some details

How long will it last?
Will you open it to other motorcycle groups?
Does rain cancel?
Lightening/high winds cancels!
Will you have a brown bag or carry in lunch?
Will you have a lunch/dinner/ice cream ride afterwards?
If so, invite the whole chapter - not just those who participate
Keep the ride short. A few hours on the range will have been tiring

Do some P.R. work

Talk it up at chapter gatherings and in the newsletter
It will be a social event. Tell everyone to bring folding chairs and/or blankets
Advertise outside if you want participation from other organizations
Do a news release; invite the press
Put out fliers to other chapters

OTHER PREPARATIONS

Set the ground rules on safety

Name a range captain (usually the Chapter Educator)
Will you have a bike safety inspection?
What will be the required riding gear?
Determine range rules and decide how to share them with all participants

Plan the range area

Suggested 100 by 200 ft minimum range, plus runout
Can operate as two ranges if enough space and people
How are you going to make it safe and secure?
What will its size be?
Where will the ancillary areas be?
Onlookers and break area
Waivers table, safety check, and slow ride
Refreshments

Get your supplies together

Cones/tennis balls/traffic tape
Marking paint or chalk
100 ft measuring tape
Duct tape/100 mph tape
Stopwatches (if you want to time the slow ride)
Oil-dry absorbent
Brooms, dustpans or scoop shovel (recommended)

Plan the exercises

Allow plenty of time ahead for measuring and marking the range
Exercises should include cornering, swerving, weaving, and braking
How much time will you spend on each exercise?
Are you including three wheelers, and if so how much time will you allot for them?

Handle miscellaneous details

Communications
CB radios for range communications
Telephone close by for emergencies (does someone have a cellular?)
Get volunteers
To work the range
To do safety checks
To time slow ride
To work waiver table
To oversee refreshments, if you are going to have them
Will you make handouts showing the different range layouts?
Make signs to show range entry and exit points, and any other important features

ON THE BIG DAY

Prepare the range

Range cleanup (often can be done the day before instead)
Secure the range from outside traffic
Safe entry and exit
Avoid: pedestrian, bike inspection, refreshment, and waiver table areas
Set up:
Bike inspection
Waiver form table
Refreshments
Lay out the first set of exercises and the slow ride

Brief all riders on the present range layout

A riders meeting is a good time to distribute any handouts
Make sure everyone understands who is in charge, and why
People who are not working the range need to stay off of the range
Riders should start solo and do some warm-up before adding a co-rider
Have a pre-picked person ride a demo to illustrate the exercises
Note to everyone that this is not a competition - they ride to their own comfort level

Open the range on time

Keep people off of the range until it has management and can be run safely

Manage the range

Limit the number of bikes on the range appropriate to the present exercise
Everyone on the range does the same exercise at the same time - no renegades!
Watch for inappropriate/unsafe riding practices
Make sure no one pushes themselves too hard
Close the range briefly between layouts while changing exercises
This is a good opportunity to brief the riders on what is coming up

DOs and DON’Ts
DO let each rider set his/her own pace
DO be active about maintaining safe distances between bikes, and other safety considerations
DO keep the exercises simple - nothing is accomplished by intimidation
DO offer tips if someone is exhibiting a riding habit which is putting him/herself or others in danger
DO ask a rider to leave the range if that rider refuses to follow the rules
DO respect the programs and rights of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) and the Ohio Motorcyclist Enrichment Program (OMEP)
DO clean the area completely at the end of the day
DON’T use large amounts of copyrighted material. If quoting brief excerpts of copyrighted material, be sure to give proper credit to the originator.
DON’T instruct! We are not certified instructors, and even an instructor is not allowed to teach in a Parking Lot Practice environment

AFTER IT’S OVER

Recognize your participants and volunteers

Participation ribbons
Newsletter mention
Chapter gathering recognition

Talk it up, again

Tell everyone what a great time it was via your newsletter and talk at your gathering

Thank your range "sponsor"

Send a letter to your contact who helped you get your range location. Explain how appreciative you are to have been able to use the facility and how important the day was to improving the safety and skills of your people. Note that you made every effort to clean the area before you left, and if there are any problems with the way your people used the area that you want to be made aware of them so that you can make things right. Mention how productive the day was and that you would appreciate being able to do this again in the future. A sample letter follows:

Dear Mr. Smith,

Our Parking Lot Practice was held Sunday as planned. Chapter Z-4 is very appreciative of the opportunity to use your facilities for this important event. The Gold Wing Road Riders Association takes pride in its efforts to help people improve their motorcycling safety and skills, and this is one of the ways we work toward that goal.

We cleaned the area thoroughly before we left and believe that it is in good condition, but please contact me if you have found any problems that need to be resolved. We want to maintain the good image that we have worked hard to develop.

Our day was productive, and we would appreciate being able to use the area again at a future date. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me. Thanks again!

Sincerely,

A. Wing Rider
Chapter Educator

The last paragraph lets them know that you would like to leave your options open on future use of their facility, and that you are likely to be contacting them again on this subject. A good parking lot can be worth a lot to us, and once you find one it will be important to be able to continue to have the use of it.

Get feedback

Ask those who participated how they felt about the day
Hand out questionnaires to rate the event, and to solicit comments and suggestions
Use what you learn to improve your next PLP