When riding at walking pace, if you can stop the bike at any time throughout the manoeuvre without falling off then you can say you have full control.

Yeah I know, it’s a lot to ask. But even a rough approximation of success here will be very encouraging, ‘cause it works. And once you can claim a modicum of skill in this regard you can claim to be in control of your machine.

Start by making a 90 degree turn from going up to going across. Do it both ways, focus on keeping the bike vertical. Try across / down.

As things improve slow it down. Put it together into a full 180. I promise within half an hour you’ll be doing u-turns like a pro.

If the audience is stunning enough you can now launch into full figure eights at a crawl. Get that right and you’ll pull ‘em every time.