That ain't workin', that's the way you do it.........

They say that if you love your work, you never have to work another day.  I'd say that's pretty true, even if it is voluntary in my case.  Over the winter, we've had quite a number of riders pass their advanced roadcraft tests and choose to continue on to become Observers (mentors) and pass on their skills to others.  The Central North Island and Auckland regions of the Institute of Advanced Motorists combine resources to periodically run 2 day theory courses with some practical work thrown in as a prelude to practical training modules run over a number of months.

It so happened that the current training course was held over a recent holiday weekend and the main roads from my home on the Coromandel Peninsula to the venue in Auckland were choked with idiot holidaymakers displaying a whole raft of poor driving habits including failing to stay in their lane on bends, ill-considered overtakes, following too closely - the whole 9 yards and really depressing.  I took to the back roads as soon as I was able and predictably, they were almost totally free of traffic!

The well-loaded Gixxer at Kaiaua, Firth of Thames

The training was held for the first time at a great venue in south Auckland which had easy access to motorways, busy urban environments and wicked country roads.  The course is based on the world-renowned UK Police Roadcraft manual and training system.  It consists of a series of theory modules interspersed with practical ride training and that dear reader, is where the fun starts - more on that shortly!

A great mix of sport tourers, sport and adventure bikes

Some of the early arrivals

It's a pretty intensive course with a 1:1 ratio of Observer tutors and Trainee Observers but with the no-ego ethos of IAM, everyone gets on famously with lots of laughs along the way.  That's exactly how it should be for a great learning environment.

Socialising with coffee and chocolate biscuits - mmmmm...

Mike, Tony, Richard and Goose (obscured)

Observers from Auckland and the Central North Island present various topics about becoming an Observer.  Many are about the technical aspects of advanced riding but it's always a surprise to the participants on just how much emphasis is placed on psychological and interpersonal skills.  We all know from our own working experience that the technical content is relatively straightforward.  However, if anything is going to derail smooth sailing, it's the people stuff almost every time!  It's understanding how to recognise and deal with human factors which is an essential skill for a successful Observer.

Rob of wicked yellow Suzuki Hayabusa fame discussing some interpersonal aspects

One of the Trainee Observers runs a commercial training organisation but also wants to give something back to the motorcycling community by volunteering with IAM.  He's an outstanding rider and coach in his own right and when living in the UK, taught Angelina Jolie and Matt Damon plus many other A-listers to ride for movies as well as working on the sets himself!  Have a look  HERE . He also has a well-developed wit and continually cracked everyone up with what might be termed a rather direct approach to interpersonal issues!  Bet he didn't talk like that to Angelina.....

Laughter is the best medicine - everyone cracking up

There are two practical rides during the course and these are what the Observers really love!  Each Trainee Observer has to take out an Associate, role-played by an experienced Observer.  The trainee is expected to follow and guide the "Associate" over a route by helmet to helmet comms, whilst maintaining good, safe positioning to observe specific good and improvement aspects of the "Associate's" ride.  These have to be remembered for later discussion!  The Observers of course, go out of their way to make life a tad difficult by all manner of devious actions.  Pulling out of an intersection into traffic when it's only safe for one bike to do so is just one simple trick to throw the composure of the Trainee Observer if he or she is poorly positioned.  Other tricks in the "dark arts" arsenal won't be mentioned.  One thing worth mentioning though....... on the ride, we display a few poor riding practices for the Trainee Observer to hopefully identify.  When you've been riding to the Police Roadcraft standard for a while and have it locked in muscle memory, it's unbelievably hard to make deliberate errors - it feels sooooo wrong!  That's by no means implying that we don't make mistakes because we do.  However, it does go to show how well the system works in practice.

Needless to say, most Trainee Observers return from the ride in various states of confusion, steam coming out of their ears and using quite a few words that would make their mothers blush!  It's an excellent exercise in demonstrating just how busy an IAM Observer is on a ride.  After a few more theory sessions, most trainees find the second ride a lot easier although it's a further 8-12 months of practical training before they're ready to take their Observer theory and practical exams.

On the second day, Mark, the police sergeant in charge of road traffic policing in the south Auckland region dropped in to say hi and lend support, along with Tim; one of his motorcycle officers.  Mark and a number of other officers are IAM members and it's a valued relationship.  Working with the police on charity rides, using their training facilities on occasion are just part of that relationship.

Officer Tim and his company BMW

Mark, Tim and Richard shooting the breeze

The course is intensive and tiring but everyone is really happy with the outcomes and future impact on riding standards in NZ.  No-one ever stops learning and it's a great opportunity for the Observers to refresh themselves, learn new presenting skills and pick up other new stuff.  A real win-win, so what's not to like?  On a personal note, I turned 70 a few days before the course and would have almost certainly stopped riding long ago had it not been for IAM.  And that can't be bad, can it?

Some riding reflections and other philosophical stuff......

As regular readers of this blog know, I joined the NZ branch of the Institute of Advanced Motorists in April 2011. The trigger for this was that being 63 at the time, I wanted to sharpen up my skills so as to safely extend my riding career for as long as possible. Like most of who have been riding for a long period, I knew I’d picked up some bad habits which potentially put me at risk but it was hard to articulate where I was falling short and by how much. Correspondence with eminent motorcycle journalist David Hough at that time about ageing motorcyclists ended up with him challenging me to stop procrastinating and actually do something to future-proof my riding which neatly backed me into a corner!

Without going over old ground the UK Police Roadcraft system seemed to offer the best potential for dramatically improving my riding. (The summary of the initial benefits to me is HERE). It paid off massively and the on-going nature of the programme still allows an assessment of the quality of my riding (and mentoring ability) against measurable standards which have been proven to be highly effective over many years. There's much more to it than I can describe here but it's shifted my pleasure from riding fast (with all the attendant risks) to riding well. That's not to say that I don't enjoy a good fang from time to time but it's now a question of time and place, backed up by a system which allows you to decide what's prudent and what's not.

After sweating blood and tears and passing the IAM Advanced Test after 8 months of driving my mentors (called Observers) insane, it seemed a great way to repay the faith of those Observers by training as an Observer myself. The training took the best part of a year before being able to take the practical and theory tests and in late 2014, sat a further test to become regional Senior Observer. That journey has been periodically documented earlier in the blog.

I hadn’t intended writing any more about IAM but there have been some recent events which have given pause for reflection.

The first was taking on a new student (called an Associate) late last year to mentor towards taking his Advanced Test.  Rob is an experienced rider and currently rides a wicked-looking Hayabusa.

Rob's magnificent Hayabusa and some old bloke who also rides a Suzuki

(photo courtesy of Rob)

By profession, Rob is a fuel tanker driver with additional instructing responsibilities.  With his motorcycling experience on top of that, you'd be correct in assuming that he is among the top echelon of public road users in NZ when it comes to skill and safety awareness.  And yet in the first conversation with Rob, he felt that there was considerable scope for getting better.  Very early in the process, Rob mentioned that he would be keeping a blog of his experiences with IAM, partially as a record for his own pleasure and reflection but also for other riders who may find his journey of interest.  I can highly recommend Rob's blog for sharing his thought processes and experiences about advanced road riding.  I might also add that his blog has been very good for me.  It's a fantastic reminder that as a mentor, people learn and react in different ways.  I have a responsibility to interact and assist with the learning process which suits the individual and not take a "one size fits all approach" which is great for staying grounded.   The blog is both candid, humorous and inspiring; really highlighting the attention to detail necessary to reach the standard required to consistently ride at a high level and pass the Advanced Test.  Rob's first post can be found HERE and subsequent posts from the side menu or Newer Post button at the bottom of each page.  Rob's posts show that no matter how good any of us think we are, there is always plenty to learn.  Even more importantly, it shows how important having an open mind to learning is to make real progress, whatever the topic.  Hope that you enjoy Rob's journey!

The second event giving cause for reflection is that last week, another of my Associates, Lloyd; passed his Advanced Test and will soon move forward to Observer training, eventually mentoring his own Associates and keeping the cycle going.

Lloyd and his mighty TDM 900

Lloyd's test pass was announced by the Chief Examiner on the IAM NZ Facebook page.  Lloyd was inundated with congratulations from IAM members from around NZ.  Not empty gestures but sincere heart-warming words.  Pondering on this, it's a fair bet that the responses are a result of a couple of things.

Firstly, IAM members are well aware of just how demanding the journey to a test pass is and celebrate success with the individual concerned.  Sometimes, it seems that the world has gone too politically correct and that everything is getting dumbed-down to the lowest common denominator and simply taking part is sufficient, whether it be school exams, school sports or whatever.  Sadly, that is not good preparation for the real world.  It's therefore refreshing to be involved with a process which makes no apology for being extremely demanding. Apologists might call it "elitist" which is actually a country mile from the truth.  Stuff 'em - since when has Excellence been a dirty word and not something to aspire to?

The other factor which I'm sure plays a part in celebrating successes within IAM NZ is that there is a deliberately strong "no ego, no hidden agenda" culture which is reinforced at all levels of the organisation and all stages of development.  This means that members genuinely want each other to succeed and willingly help each other out.  That sort of climate provides a safe and supportive environment in which to learn something which is far from easy.  All I'll say is that it's both a pleasure and privilege to be part of such an organisation which promotes not only riding excellence but the spin-off of  strong personal growth.  Leaving the final words to David Hough, he said that the instructor always gets far more out of it than the student.  Right on the money David - we never stop learning!