It may not feel like it today, but Spring is just around the corner and the green shoots of a new biking year are appearing in the TVAM Calendar. Now is the time to plan that trip to the Alps or the Isle of Man for the TT Races. The hugely popular 7Ws is oversubscribed again with almost 100 members wishing to attend, so if you are one of the unlucky ones who didn’t get a place, remember that there will be another 7Ws in the Autumn.
On a personal note, Amanda and I have just returned from a week in Gran Canaria, biking with Canary Motorcycle Tours. Gran Canaria may be a small island but it has some fabulously twisty mountain roads and January temperatures in the mid-twenties. If this appeals to you, check out their website or see me for details, www.canarymotorcycletours.com
It hasn’t been all holidays however, the Training Team ran another successful Core Skills Days recently, where potential Trainee Observers attended a full day’s training to gain an insight into the skills needed to qualify as a TVAM Local Observer before taking their 1st Assessment with one of TVAM’s eight Assessors. Following the 1st Assessment they will be awarded a yellow TOb badge and start their live training under the watchful eye of their Mentor. We are now 12 months into the new TOb training process with 9 new Observers now qualified as IMI Local Observers, and the feedback from all those involved is excellent.
We are also preparing for the Observer Training Day on the 27th February with 90 Observers signed up so far.
The Green Team have also been busy refreshing the Social Run Course which has been rebranded as Group Riding Skills. Previously only open to Full Members, this course is now available to Associates providing they have the approval of their Observer. With both classroom and on-road content over a full day which will include Run Leading and Back Marking, it is hoped that more members will offer to lead a social run.
Leading or Back Marking a social run can be very rewarding and as with most things, the success lies in the preparation, so if you are a Full Member and would like to know more please speak to the Green Team Desk at St. Crispin’s or look in Slipstream.
It is becoming a tradition in this column to highlight one of the many who contribute to making TVAM successful and this month I would like to give a mention to our editor Salli Griffith who somehow manages to pull Slipstream together from wherever she is in the world.
Safe Riding!
Pat Coneley
Chief Observer
