Advanced Training Assessment day

30th October 2004

 

An invite had been sent out by the Thames Valley Vultures to join them on some Advanced Riding Assessment rides. All assessors being Police Instructor level.

Dave and myself from the Rejects took up the offer. And so at ungodly times of morning we headed to the Ellie near Twyford. A hostelry I have visited a few times, but still have never made the same journey twice, reaching there before many of the locals.

A bacon buttie and cup of coffee revived spirits

I will admit to being apprehensive prior to the day (not had any training for nearly a ¼ of a century) but Graham soon put us at ease, giving a pre ride briefing and sorting out our fears etc.

We were then paired off two riders to one assessor; myself and Robin (an honorary Vulture for the day) who is a Buell rider were to ride out with martin.

The plan is you swap front and rear riders with Martin in the middle keeping us in check via an intercom. So pre-ride checks done, Rob (who knows the area) led us out to the pretty Oxfordshire Countryside,

Once we had both been in front, Martin then called us in for our first debrief, and a few pointers made for us to consider. An hour on we pulled in for a coffee and more advice. Then we followed Martin as he led for a while and described all he was doing, 

Arriving back at the Ellie there was a real buzz, it seems everyone had had a great ride out, and had all found it worthwhile. We had a thorough De-brief by Martin, with a few pointers for future rides.

The thing I liked most is that no one was forced to change their style, it was only an assessment and observations, I did find the observations very accurate, and I shall be working hard now to improve in one or two areas.

After a cuppa back at Dave and Saz’s it all went out the window when I realised how late I was for getting to a show. I made it with 3 minutes to spare.

If you get the chance I would thoroughly recommend such a day, Thanks TVV

 

The last word must go to Graham, who runs the courses who sent this message Back

 

“I have just returned from what I thought was an excellent day, everyone from the club attended with an "open" mind and put a great deal into the day. The interesting thing is that the riding is of a good and safe standard although we were able to offer advice and suggestions along the way to make individuals more aware of their surroundings.

 

I think individuals were honest regarding their personal abilities although clearly some were underestimating themselves and proved to be much better than they had me believing at the start of the day. The feed back from the instructors was equally as enthusiastic and it was clearly enjoyed by them as well.”

 

Bosun