I have been talking to ROSPA about providing some training for all of us newbies, learners and smaller bike owners. Anyway, they have offered to do the following either a talk or a talk and some practical training.
Alternatively, I have also spoken to a private instructor who is willing to do a shortened version of the advanced riders training for six people half day each in Gillingham for £180 in total for the day (so split between whomever attends to a max of six people)
Is anyone interested? If so drop a note here and I will try and arrange it…
“newbies, learners and smaller bike owners”
Which one are you, Andrew?
I believe this arose from the fact that advanced training is usually only available for those without L-plates and with bikes capable of 70mph, as some of the training will be on motorways. Kim has kindly found trainers who will take those of us on that the standard courses do not cater for, so unless we can’t get the six needed, could we please keep this opportunity for us rejects?
I am an observer (advanced riding coach) for an IAM group (see www.iam.org) and could perhaps help out here.
The theory that we (and most other road-based advanced trainers) use comes from a book called Motorcycle Roadcraft (see here http://tinyurl.com/r3n9e). It is not a fun read but it can get you thinking.
The usual format of the training runs that I do is to take 1 or 2 riders and after a short discussion to go for a ride of 2-4 hours with stops to discuss points that arose during the ride. The two riders take turns to ride in front while I observe, and I might lead for short periods to demonstrate particular points. Most runs seem to end at a tea shop
If anyone is interested in this sort of thing then we could arrange some runs. I am based in Crystal Palace so I normally head south, into Surrey and Sussex, but I frequently ride into Essex, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk.
I should point out that I have no professional qualification, I am not an instructor and thus cannot charge any money although I have an IAM qualification that allows me to act as an obsever within an IAM group and 14 years experience of giving advanced training.
I have no particular plans for Saturday, so I could do a training run to Ditchling in the afternoon. Probably leaving Crystal Palace around 11.30-12 and heading for Dolly’s Tea Rooms in Ditchling.
i did my IAM training two years ago and must admit that before doing so i was a little sceptical about it all, but once i had done a few observed runs i was hooked. i did about five or six runs before being put forward by the observer for my test.
It is in my opinion well worth doing, you can never know enought about riding and you will definitly learn somthing.
i did start training to become an observer but work commitments stopped this… hopefully i can restart at some point and then pass on the knowledge…!!!
hopefully i can restart at some point and then pass on the knowledge…!!!