Category: CLUB VIEWS

From The Chair (March 2020)

Posted on | by Andy Slater

It’s always dangerous, when writing for the March Slipstream edition, to look forward to the start of the new riding season. The daffodils may be out but last year we had the ‘Beast From The East’ in March and we all sat in St Crispin’s that month watching the snow come down. Still one brave rider made it in on a mini bike!

So I won’t go on about the weather warming up and for many riders that will mean wheeling out their trusty steed after a winter in the garage or under a tarp. Of course there’s no need to mention the POWDDERSS checks that they will all be carrying out before blasting off on that first run down the lanes, as being Advanced Riders they will be conscious their own skills will have gone off a little – just like the pressure in those tyres. So take it easy, warm up yourself, and stay safe, there’s a whole season of riding to come.

What I will write about though is a dusty corner of the TVAM online filing system which can be found on groups.io/allmembers/files/database. This is where the cafe database can be found with a list of cafes and lunch stops which are biker friendly. There’s even a map so you can use them to plan a route, or just pop over with a mate to check them out.

There’s a few missing, such as Saddleback Farm Shop Cafe just south of Wantage on the B4494 which has become popular with members over the past few years. A great farm shop serving bacon sarnies and a selection of lunches with great views over the Wantage Downs but often missed by bikers blasting down that wonderful road. Also new ones have opened, for example the Rosebourne Garden Centre Cafe at Aldermaston, which has a great selection of drinks and cakes with easy parking.

Probably my favourite though is The Pantry at Yattendon. Frequently passed by those using the lovely B4009 road out from Newbury towards Reading via Hermitage. Yattendon is that slow bit as you ride through the narrow village but why not stop and have a break? Parking is a bit tight outside the village shop but the homemade cakes are to die for and you can sit outside in a little garden enjoying the sun whilst they prepare your drinks. The database needs your input. If you know of a great little place that welcomes bikers, that isn’t in the database yet, let others know about it by emailing Keith Miller at cafedatabase@tvam.org giving details and he will enter it into the database for you.

So on the promise the weather is going to be great this season – get out and try some new stopping places with a few mates.

Keep the shiny side up.

Andy Slater
Chairman

From The Saddle (February 2020)

Posted on | by Chris Brownlee

It’s only been a month since the Annual General Meeting in January. It was great to see so many of you there to support this and, for the first time, there was food left over!

Although most of the time at the AGM was spent reviewing the last TVAM year, we also spent some time looking at the objectives for the current year. We will be spending time as a committee to develop the activities to deliver these objectives and we will, of course, keep you informed as to progress.

A couple of the training-related activities that have already started are some further intensive Associate Training Weekends and a trial of Membership by Portfolio. Following the success of last year’s pilot Associate Training Weekend, the first of these weekends for 2020 will be held on the 4th and 5th April.  There’s more information on this in a short article from Barrie Smith of the Training Team on page 16.  If you’re an Associate and you think this approach might help then please contact the Training Team.

We are also running a trial of Membership by Portfolio. This will allow Associates to gain Full Membership of IAM RoadSmart without taking the formal, external riding assessment. We hope that this approach will enable us to attract more members that are put off by the prospect of a test, and also retain those Associates that feel they’re not able to successfully attempt the test. If you’re such an Associate, or if you know someone that might be more likely to join TVAM if there’s no test, then please let the Training Team know (trainingteam@tvam.org)

The very popular Biker Down course has been revised to bring the first-aid element of the course up to date and in line with current practice. This course, which is free, is a potential life-saver and will be of use to anyone that is first on the scene of an incident. The dates for courses in Thames Valley will be published (if they haven’t already) on the Biker Down Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/bikerdownthamesvalley/.  I would strongly recommend attendance at this course.

Although we’re pretty much still in the depths of winter, it’s great to see so many runs and meetings happening, with people taking advantage, often at short notice, of the better weather days to get out and ride bikes. The calendar is being populated with social rides, weekends away and overseas trips – and lots of them are filling up quickly. There are trips to France, Germany, Spain as well as lots of UK trips – including Wales and Scotland. There are more details of all the runs, weekends and trips in Slipstream and on the groups.io calendar – https://tvam.groups.io/g/allmembers/calendar.

I hope to see you on a ride soon.

Best wishes

Chris Brownlee
Chief Observer

From The Chair (January 2020)

Posted on | by Andy Slater

Happy New Year everyone

As I sit here writing this just before Christmas it’s tempting to look forward to the New Year and riding season with some excitement. The short, grey, wet days will be banished along with the Winter gloves and thermals. Already I’m hearing of trips being planned for the summer, some to favourite haunts on the continent, usually involving mountain passes, others to those wonderful roads in countries within the UK (which still includes Scotland!). Some brave souls are even considering much more adventurous journeys to Asia riding hired Royal Enfields. Sounds more like Top Gear or The Grand Tour than TVAM but I look forward to seeing all the photos.

For many though the challenge of passing the Advanced Test will be focusing the mind for 2020. Getting those Observed rides in with good marks on the run report form. The Cross Check then the Test itself. On the way the popular Look, Lean and Roll and Advanced Bike Control courses will build skills and confidence, as will an occasional Track Skills Day. As always our Observers are here to help, as will many other members willing to share their expertise. The Club remains a centre of excellence in the training we offer and it’s the many volunteers who make all this possible.

Whatever your personal riding goals are for the coming year I hope you’re successful in achieving them and most importantly have loads of fun in getting there. Along the way you’re sure to meet new people and make lots of new friends.

New Year is also a time to reflect on the past year. The Club’s annual report is now available from the groups.io/allmembers files. There are many highlights covered in the various reports and I would encourage you to take a dip into the file to read about what’s going on in your Local Team and the Club in general. I can’t encourage you enough to get involved with your Local Team to get the most out of your membership.

2019 was the seventh successive year of membership growth with 1,063 members registered at the year-end and we also recorded the Club’s 2,600th Test pass in October. We remain by far the largest IAM RoadSmart Group which enables us to run courses and events other Groups are unable to resource. We also ran the RideUP Scheme for young riders where we sponsor possibly the most vulnerable group of riders through to their Test and on to a Track Skills Day. We’ve now had 31 Associates on the scheme meaning that as a road safety charity TVAM is demonstrating we are delivering on our aims, and hopefully making it fun at the same time.

Finally, it’s unusual for the Chairman not to attend an AGM but unfortunately the NHS has decided that it wants to perform open heart surgery on me three days before our meeting this month. I know it’s a poor excuse, but assuming it’s not cancelled in the meantime, I’ve offered my apologies for not attending to the Secretary and he and Chris will I’m sure run the meeting perfectly. I hope to be back at St Crispin’s in February, though probably not on the bike!

See you in 2020

Andy Slater
Chairman

From The Saddle (November 2019)

Posted on | by Chris Brownlee

In my last “from the saddle” piece in September I mentioned that we were planning to trial a weekend of training for Associates. The weekend went ahead as planned on 12th and 13th October and each Associate that attended had four observed runs over the weekend, each with a different Observer. We combined the individual feedback from these runs with some group discussions and theory reviews to help build the overall learning experience. It was quite an intensive experience for both the Associates and Observers involved and there was no time to practice the issues highlighted on a run before moving on to the next session and then the next run.

The feedback from the weekend was overwhelmingly positive and the Associates felt that they’d been able to make a step-change forward with their riding. Of course, it will take more riding to consolidate the learning. The objective of kick-starting, or re-starting, some Associate training was fully met.

We will, therefore be scheduling some further sessions for next year. If you are an Associate that could do with a bit of a re-start, or you know of one, then please drop an email to the Training Team (trainingteam@tvam.org) and we’ll start the scheduling process. I’d like to say thank you to the Observers for their participation and support and a special “thank you” to Barrie Smith of the Training Team for the theory sessions, group discussions and logistics management on the day.

We’re also starting the trial process for “Group Sign Off” (which is also known as Membership By Portfolio). This is a process whereby Associates can gain Full Membership of IAM RoadSmart through a monitored series of observed runs without the usual formal advanced riding test at the end. If you’re being put off by the advanced test, or you know someone that might join TVAM were it not for the test, then please let me know as we’d like to discuss this with you as part of the trial. We’re hopeful that by setting proper evaluation criteria for the trial we can understand the benefits and resource implications of this approach for Associates as well as for the club. If the trial is successful then we will seek to roll this out on a general basis available to all, although due to the nature of the trial this may take some time to fully evaluate.

I’m writing this at the end of October, the end of the TVAM year. We’re pulling the various reports together and we’ll soon be putting all this in the Annual Report for 2018 – 2019 which will give an overview of the activities of the club over the past year. This will be followed by the AGM at the St. Crispin’s meeting on 19th January; please put this date in your diary now as we’d like as many of you as possible to attend this important event.

Keep an eye on the weather in the meantime and hope to see you on a nice winter run.

Chris Brownlee
Chief Observer

From The Chair (October 2019)

Posted on | by Andy Slater

I’ve just got back from the last IAM Track Skills Day of the year which was held at Thruxton. It was a great day with most of the riders present being TVAM members taking the opportunity to brush-up their cornering skills on the lovely flowing, grippy track and to explore parts of their tyres not normally in contact with tarmac.

This was the first year I’ve instructed for these events throughout the season, meaning I saw around 450 riders go through the process from track familiarisation to independent riding under supervision over the 6 sessions on track. With a focus on accuracy and smoothness the progression of exercises encourages riders to experiment with braking harder than you would on the road, just to see how quickly our bikes can slow, to maintaining positive throttle through corners and accelerating away. The day isn’t about speed but smiles – and there was lots of those around yesterday despite rain in the afternoon sessions.

Demand for these special skills days has been growing over the past few years as the IAM recognises there is a demand for events using the safe environment of a race track but which aren’t out-and-out track days with screaming 600’s and 1 litre bikes ridden by power-ranger clad racers going for a lap time. Dates are already being negotiated with circuits for 2020 and these will go on sale from the first day of Motorcycle Live 2019 in Birmingham on 16th November. Whilst we will continue to organise our own TVAM days at Castle Combe if you want to ride Thruxton you will need to book these early through IAM RoadSmart as the track’s owners will only deal with them. As more details become available we’ll push a note out on the ‘all-members’ Club groups.io forum.

Just occasionally one of our number distinguishes themselves through quiet perseverance and by ‘just getting on with the job’ of training riders to be safer on our busy roads. Every month we recognise our Observers who have successfully guided another Associate through their Advanced Test. One of our Observers though has now decided it’s time to hang up his gold badge having moved to Poole and bought a boat. With 48 test passes and having been an active club member for many years (decades) quite a few know Colin Wheeler for his sense of humour, fun, and healthy scepticism for bureaucracy. I understand Colin will be at St Crispin’s this Sunday and I’m sure we will all want to wish him well for the future.

Andy Slater
Chairman

From The Saddle (September 2019)

Posted on | by Chris Brownlee

Hi everyone

One of the key activities of the club is the training we carry out to enable our Associates to put into practice a range of advanced riding skills and become ‘thinking riders’; truly Advanced Riders in every sense of that phrase. And to carry out that task we need Observers. TVAM has developed a comprehensive and structured programme to enable Advanced Riders to become the best Observers within IAM RoadSmart. With support from a mentor and the Training Team, the training programme builds observing and coaching skills to enable those with the commitment and drive to become TVAM Observers.

We keep our Observers up to date with specific sessions on riding skills, knowledge and coaching skills, through activities such as the Aardvark riding programme with Rapid Training, the Observer Day and the Observer Weekend.

If you’ve passed your Advanced Test and you’re interested in becoming an Observer then please come along to one of the talks with a member of the Training team at 8.45am in the library at St Crispin’s, or drop an email to observerinterest@tvam.org.

We are always looking for ways to make our training more effective and you will recall that I mentioned some potential weekend sessions for Associates in a previous ‘from the saddle’ article. These sessions will be slightly more ‘intensive’ than normal and are likely to comprise observed runs in the morning and afternoon of both days of a weekend. I’m pleased to be able to tell you that the first trial of these weekend sessions is planned for the 12th and 13th October. We are working on a suitable venue and we will be discussing with the Observers how we will resource the sessions. I hope to have some more information on this very soon.

I’d like to remind run leaders to submit social run report forms for all TVAM (and local team) runs. The social run reports provide an important measure of engagement for TVAM, as well as an indication of the activity levels of run leaders and back markers.

Look forward to catching up with you all on a social run or trip somewhere soon.

Chris Brownlee
Chief Observer

From The Chair (August 2019)

Posted on | by Andy Slater

One of the most rewarding moments of being an Observer is when, at the end of a ride, your Associate pulls off their helmet, there’s a broad grin on their face, probably followed by, “Wow, I had no idea you could do that!” or something similar. It’s known as the  light bulb moment’. I had such a moment with a new Associate a couple of weeks ago and I know he’s still smiling as we’ve just done a second run together this morning. An already seasoned rider, joining TVAM has opened a window to a world he just didn’t know existed and I’m enjoying showing him around. If you’d like to become a Club Observer see the Training Team at St Crispin’s and see how much fun you could bring to other members wanting to achieve Advanced Test standard.

Across the Club members are always learning new skills, especially with the summer we’re having. Even crusty old Observers can discover a new way of explaining something that suddenly opens up an aspect of biking for an Associate, or a member discovers a few more degrees of lean at Castle Combe or Thruxton on a track skills day that they’ve never experienced before. It’s what makes our sport challenging but also possibly the best fun you can have in leather. Bring it on.

At the same time many members are off exploring new lands, new roads, mountain passes, cols and cafés. Facebook photos of groups waiting at the ferry or channel tunnel terminals make us all slightly envious – I know – that’s exactly why you posted it! But by the time you read this we’ll have posted our own photos from the David Jacobi Müllenborn trip which I’m impatiently looking forward to. The bike’s got new brake pads, fluid, and rubber, and I’ve even booked the service for when I get back as an oil change will be due within a few hundred miles. I’m packing the top box as I write this….

So here’s another edition of Slipstream. As members we’re probably pretty used to a copy plopping through the letterbox a few days before each St Crispin’s. However it’s only when you speak to some new members do you realise just how good this monthly journal is. Some IAM Groups only get a newsletter every other month, or even quarterly, but each month Salli and her team pull together this little gem, packed with details about what’s going on in the Club, reports of members trips, bike show reports, and riding tips. I’d like on behalf of all of us members to say a big ‘Thank You’ to Salli and everyone else who contributes articles. Please keep them coming…..

Enjoy the summer, keep safe

Andy Slater
Chairman

From The Saddle (July 2019)

Posted on | by Chris Brownlee

I hope you’re all enjoying the summer weather and making the most of the runs and trips available.

As I write this, we’re preparing for the Observer Weekend, which is an important event in the Observer and Training calendar. We will be taking some key themes from the Observer training day we held earlier in the year and developing these into practical sessions that can be applied on the road. The Observer Weekend provides an opportunity for communications and updates with the Observers, is partly a ‘thank you’ for all the work the Observers put in and allows the Observers and Training Team to further develop and share best practice.

There are two initiatives that will be discussed at the Observer weekend that have a much wider relevance to the club:

  1. We are planning on organising some weekend sessions for Associates. These will be slightly more ‘intensive’ than normal and could comprise observed runs in the morning and afternoon of both days of a couple of weekends. This should give the selected candidates up to 8 observed runs over a couple of weekends.
  2. We are planning on running a trial of the IAM RoadSmart scheme ‘membership by portfolio’ which was previously known as ‘group sign off’. This scheme gives a local group, such as TVAM, the ability to qualify Associates as Full Members without the requirement for an exter-nally conducted assessment. The intention is to attract and retain those members who are currently put off by having to face an external examiner (however friendly they might appear on the day).

We will be discussing both of the above at the Observer Weekend so that we have criteria in place to evaluate the trials and we can judge what resources we might need to ensure they are effective. I hope to be able to update you on these initiatives soon.
With lots more riding going on in the summer weather I want to remind everyone that if you are unfortunate enough to suffer an incident whilst riding then please let the Training Team know by dropping an email to incident@tvam.org. We would like to gather more information about incidents so that we can evaluate our training programmes and all information will be treated confidentially.

Look forward to catching up with you all on a social run or trip somewhere soon.

Best wishes

Chris Brownlee
Chief Observer

From The Chair (June 2019)

Posted on | by Andy Slater

Riding our bikes has to be fun and exciting. After all it gives us a sense of freedom, power, and bonds us to mates who have shared the same experience: an experience you can only get if you’ve ridden a bike; gone to the same places; seen the same things; maybe ridden through rain for an hour for a coffee and cake with mates – just to ride back again afterwards!

However, as well as being in the minority of road users on our bikes, we are the most vulnerable. Compared with cyclists, statistically, bikers are almost three times more likely to die on a motorcycle than a bicycle and almost just as likely to be seriously injured. It all means, regardless of what you ride, having only two wheels when on the road is definitely much more ‘risky’ than having four.

The latest government statistics, which report on 2017, make for sombre reading if you’re a motorcyclist. Not only did casualty rates increase by 7%, but if you’re a male, aged between 17 & 24 and live in London and the South East, (including TVAM’s area) you are statistically the most vulnerable road user in the country1 – by a long way. However, these figures do not make any distinction between moped riders; those riding on a provisional licence; or riders with advanced training and maybe even a test pass to reflect their on-the-road-skills. Yes, members of TVAM still have accidents. Thankfully very, very, few are of the most serious but there are stories of members visiting a nearby hedge or ditch every now and then, appearing later at St Crispin’s bearing the scars of their ‘trips’.

But the question is, does the training we undertake at TVAM make us safer? We believe so. Good training means our observation and planning skills are honed and we can hopefully spot hazards as they arise in the distance. Taking early action, sometimes instinctively, means we can avoid trouble the vast majority of the time without sudden changes of direction or speed.

If the totally unexpected happens and the only alternative is to stop very quickly we’ve practised emergency braking many times (maybe done the Advanced Braking Course) so without thought you go through the three phases of braking; applying the front brake smoothly to push the centre of gravity forward onto the front tyre and then increasing the braking force as the grip increases as the tyre gets squashed into the road, finally feathering the brake as you come to a halt to prevent the fork springs rebounding with force. Only after you’ve stopped do you consider the possibilities had you not reacted quickly in a controlled manner. Grabbing the front brake would have just locked-up the front wheel spilling you onto the road, possibly creating another statistic for the DoT annual report. Not braking hard enough would have similar consequences. When did you last practise an emergency stop?

IAM RoadSmart believes our training makes us safer and are conducting research to quantify it. Neil Grieg the IAM’s Policy and Research Director is leading the work and, later this year, a Motorcycle Evaluation report is due to be published. We’ll share what it says once available.

So this training stuff matters. It means we can enjoy the thrill and excitement of riding progressively whilst managing risk in the knowledge our training gives us the skills to do this well and our bikes are well maintained. To embark on the roads without both of these in place can only be put down to innocence or ignorance, neither of which is a good prospect for your long-term bike insurance premiums.

Have a great summer, have loads of fun and keep safe.

Andy Slater
Chairman

From The Saddle (May 2019)

Posted on | by Chris Brownlee

Well, the weather is certainly improving, the run calendar is filling up and we’re all able to take advantage of the wide variety on offer.

Getting out on social runs is really what the club is all about. Not only is it great fun to ride with like-minded, skilled riders – it’s great for improving skills too. There’s no better place to put into practice the concepts of self-evaluation and the thinking riding to  great effect. A fun way to improve – what could be better?

We have a great assortment of runs and trips available that allow many of us to enjoy riding on new roads and visit new places. I’d like to extend my thanks to all the run leaders and back markers for the effort they put into planning and executing their runs and trips. If you’d like to lead a run, then please get in touch with the events team at events@tvam.org and they’ll help you put it together. And don’t forget that, whilst it’s not a requirement to lead a run, the Run Leading/Back Marking course will help you  develop the specific skills and techniques for leading and back marking a run.

To help encourage more people to join social runs we have revised the run classification so that those new to social runs can feel confident that the type of run they’ve chosen is appropriate to their skill level. You can see the run classification on page 19.  Whatever type of social run you decide on, get out there and enjoy it.

The other key activity within TVAM is, of course, our training. And to implement many of our training programmes, including Associate training, we need Observers. We’re looking for more people to join our Observer training programme so that we can extend  the levels of training we offer. Whilst the ability to ride well is a key part of being an Observer, the most important attributes are enthusiasm, commitment and a willingness to learn. We have a very comprehensive and well-structured training programme to  develop the required coaching skills so that our Observers are the best within IAM RoadSmart.

If you’ve passed your Advanced Test and you’d like to develop your coaching skills to help and coach others then please consider taking up the challenge. To find out more about becoming an Observer, come along to the informal chat in the library at 9am on St Crispin’s Sundays or drop an email to observerinterest@tvam.org and one of the Training Team will be in touch.

That’s it for now, I’m off to get my diary sorted for the runs and trips I want to do – before they fill up!

Ride safe.

Chris Brownlee
Chief Observer

From The Chair (April 2019)

Posted on | by Andy Slater

Last year the club ran the RideUP Scheme again. This is where we pay for young riders (under 30 years old) who have passed their test in the past two years to take the Advanced Riders Course including Test; give them free Look Lean & Roll and Advanced Braking courses; Club Membership for a year; and then when they pass their test, a free track skills day at Thruxton or Castle Combe.

You would imagine that we were inundated with applicants for the 25 places we had on offer and we had to operate a very strict qualification process to fight off the hoards of leather-clad bikers queueing at the Welcome Desk each St Crispin’s wanting to sign-up.

Unfortunately not!

Last year we recruited only 4 new members to the Scheme. So either that means riders are now born with advanced riding skills (unlike those of us who first threw a leg over a bike in the ‘70s); or Direct Access courses are now so good they teach what you need to get your licence and advanced riding skills – all within a week; or, most likely, we’re just not getting the message across that there’s a better way to build roadcraft skills in advance of visits to the ditch, hedgerow, or A&E.

This season we’re again offering 25 places on the RideUP scheme. With over 1,000 bikers talking to other bikers across the Thames Valley I hope we’re more successful in convincing young riders that there’s a fun way to improve their riding that may just  save their life – and it’s free. Every one of us can help promote the Scheme – so when you’re out and about and talking to other bikers mention RideUP. Details are on the web at: rideup.tvam.org.

Those of you at St. Crispin’s the past couple of months will have heard us talk about the TVAM Shop. Please take a few minutes next month when drinking your coffee to take a look at the things they have on offer. Many are at a discount/trade price, such as the TVAM badged fleeces last month at just £15. As with any store, the shop depends on customers, so please use it or risk losing it. It’s also available online at tvam.org.

Finally, a new booklet, ‘Insights Into Advanced Motorcycling’, was released at St Crispin’s last month and over 70 copies were bought by members on the day. With a forward by Shaun Cronin of the IAM, the booklet covers many areas that Associates ask  questions about and many think it’s easier to read than the Advanced Rider Course Handbook. The Club will be selling them to the public at events this summer in order to appeal to those who may not understand what Advanced Riding is all about and for whom the £140 course fee is a big commitment. At just £5, of which £2 goes to Club funds, it might bridge the knowledge gap and entice more riders to sign up. It’s available in the TVAM WebShop to buy, or for anyone organising a TVAM event stand talk to Phil Donovan (email: eventsdiary@tvam.org) who holds stock.

Spring has Sprung, tyres are being scrubbed, and old haunts being revisited. The social run calendar is bursting with activities from breakfast runs to week-long trips abroad and training courses. With the whole season ahead of us it’s an exciting time to be a biker and TVAM member.

Have fun and stay safe.

Andy Slater
Chairman

From The Saddle (March 2019)

Posted on | by Chris Brownlee

The record temperatures this February encouraged a lot of bikes out on to the road. At H Café on Sunday there were many bikes that appeared to have spent the previous months carefully cocooned in garages, having been lovingly cleaned before being put away. I imagine that many riders spent an hour or two cleaning and checking their bikes before a Sunday run in the warm, dry and sunny weather. Everything looked shiny, bright and ready for action.

Some of the riders, though, looked decidedly rusty. Contrasting with the polish that had been applied to their bikes, the lack of polish in their riding was clear. It struck me that we’re generally very good at making sure our bikes are ready to ride, but less good at making sure that we are. The IAM SAFE checklist that Andy Slater discussed in a previous issue is a good way to check before each ride, but it’s also important to recognise where our skills may have slipped when, for example, we haven’t been riding as much as normal due to poor weather. So please take the time to build up your riding skills when you’ve been off the bike for a while and make sure that your riding is well polished – not just your bike.

Keeping skills up is also a key theme for our Observer Day being held on 2nd March. Almost all our Observers and Trainee Observers are coming along to a day of workshops and discussions, prepared by the Training Team, to keep their knowledge and skills up to date. The day is a classroom-based day, and together with our Observer Weekend in July (which is focused around riding), is designed to keep our Observer skills honed around the four key areas of being an effective Observer:

  • Creating a learning environment
  • Knowing your stuff
  • Relating riding issues to the System
  • Riding to the IAM RoadSmart Advanced Standard (as a minimum)

    I am grateful that so many of our Observers are keen to continue to improve their knowledge and
    skills since these form an important element of the training and development for Associates and Full Members and enable us to develop truly ‘thinking riders’ that view Advanced Riding as an ongoing skill development.

    If you’re interested in becoming an Observer then please come along to one of the introductory discus- sions with the Training Team at 10:00am at the St. Crispin’s meeting, or drop an email to observerinter- est@tvam.org

    Safe riding

From The Chair (February 2019)

Posted on | by Andy Slater

Well it was January’s St Crispin’s and nearly 100 members had gathered in the lecture theatre for the Club’s AGM. For so many to give up their Sunday lunch for sandwiches and slides is either a sign of a revolution brewing or testimony to the support the Club has from members right across the board. Thankfully it was the latter. The AGM is when the Committee reports back on what happened last year and what’s planned for the coming one. For the first time Paul our Treasurer presented not just the accounts from last year but the budget we’ve drawn up for the coming year. At the end of last year we had very healthy cash reserves but this year we’re planning on spending slightly more than forecast income which will slightly reduce these.

It was a pleasure to recognise those members who have been contributing to the Club, often behind the scenes. Alan Mossman and Wendy Dance for social run leading and back marking were each awarded a day with Rapid Training as was Greg Ward for his IT support and for running the Club’s membership data- base for the past 18 years. Mimi Carter-Jonas was thanked for her three years on the Committee responsible for Events, which she will continue to assist with. Sarah Chandler was also thanked for her service as Green Team Leader, only stepping down just before Christmas due to a change in work circumstances. As probably expected, all those standing for roles on the Committee were elected including Alan Hudson to represent the Green Team as the new Green Team Leader and Phil Donovan who takes over for Events and Promotions.

I presented some objectives we have for the coming year for the Club which include continuing our role as a road safety charity actively promoting the RideUP scheme for young riders and strengthening our links with regional Fire & Rescue services, County Councils and BikeSafe.

Given we can no longer claim Gift Aid for Associates (who make up about 25% of the Club’s membership) we will be asking all Full Members who qualify to sign up for Gift Aid. There’s no need to do anything as we will be approaching members for whom we don’t have a declaration.

This year we hope to develop an active off-road/Adventure riding activity and I know people are already working on organising events. This will bring a new avenue for many members, some already have off- road bikes and have experience of green lane riding which I hope they will share with the rest of us. Not sure I’ll be taking my S1000XR off-road though, I think I’ll need something lighter and smaller.

We will also be investing in providing opportunities for Full Members to develop their riding skills on- road. Chris has just announced that the Enhanced Advanced Rides (EARs) have been re-launched. I’d encourage anyone who passed their test over 3 years ago and hasn’t been out for an Observed ride since to consider doing one of these. All our Observers have to do a health check and an Aardvark with Rapid Training in that timeframe because our riding style and skills change gradually over time and an EAR is an opportunity to re-set those and have some fun.

The AGM slides are available to view in the website library in the Meeting Minutes/AGM 2019 folder.

Finally, Spring is on its way….Yes it is… and now is the time to think about destinations that could be visited during the season ahead. There will be more social runs than ever in Slipstream but how about organising a run for a few mechanical motor head Club mates to maybe the Beaulieu Motor Museum, Museum of Army Flying, or Haynes International Museum? Then there’s the MotorGP at Silverstone. Could we have a Club run to a day there?

Keep warm in the saddle.

From the Saddle (January 2019)

Posted on | by Chris Brownlee

Happy New Year!

It doesn’t seem as if it was a year ago that I was elected to the role of Chief Observer but with the AGM later this month it must be! The AGM is an important event in the TVAM calendar and provides you the opportunity to elect those who will run the club on your behalf, find out what has been done over the previous year and what is planned for the forthcoming year. I hope that as many of you as possible will attend the AGM, which will be immediately after the normal January St Crispin’s meeting. There’s also the Motojumble sale that morning too, so if you’re after a used bargain or have extra stuff to sell, this is the event for you.

Two key events for Observers in 2019 will be the Observer Day on Saturday 2nd March and the Observer Weekend from 5th to 7th July. The Observer Day is a classroom-based day with workshops prepared by the Training Team on topics of interest to Observers to help keep knowledge and coaching skills up to date.

The Observer Weekend will be held in Llandrindod Wells and, building on the theory sessions from the Observer Day, will focus on keeping riding skills up to date.

Both events are open to all Observers and Trainee Observers and I would strongly encourage attendance at both. There will be more information coming soon so please put the dates in your diaries now.

Winter is traditionally a time when many of us ride a little less due to the poor weather. It’s important not to let those riding skills get too rusty however, so I’d encourage you to take advantage of those days when the weather is good and get out on social rides or observed rides whenever possible.

There are also specific training-oriented weekends coming up. Kicking off with 7Ws in March, there is also the 3Rs at the end of May with a trip to Yorkshire. These events provide opportunities for Associates and Full Members to get away for a weekend and take advantage of informal observed runs – a perfect way to improve skills, get some time in the saddle and enjoy a weekend’s riding on some great routes. More details in the calendar section and on the web calendar at www.tvam.org

And if you can’t get away for a weekend, why not book an Enhanced Advanced Ride (EAR) to brush up your riding skills with a half or full day’s observed riding?

Don’t forget to carry out your regular bike checks (e.g. using POWDDERSS) to ensure everything is working as it should, and keep a check on yourself (using I AM SAFE) to make ensure that you are too.

I hope you have a great start to 2019 and that we all manage to get some good riding.

From the Chair (November 2018)

Posted on | by Andy Slater

As we approach the end of the year I thought I’d take a moment to look back over the highlights of the TVAM season in 2018.

My, and how the summer just went on, and on. Normally one would be stoking the log burner whilst writing the column for November but this year’s Indian summer has extended the riding season – and use of the t-shirt wardrobe. And what a year it’s been for the Club! Traditionally the TVAM’s year end is October so technically we’re already in the new year. The AGM, where we report formally on all the comings and goings of the club, is scheduled for January again alongside the, now annual, Moto Jumble. For new members, the Moto Jumble is a great opportunity to find new owners for the bits of kit you’ve collected but no longer use and also to spot a great deal on something you’ll need for the new season just around the corner.

The popularity of training weekends away was highlighted in the membership survey last year so it was great to see the first 3Rs weekend get off to a flying start in Ross on Wye at the end of June. A spin-off from 7Ws, Coral, Brian, Kelly and Anthea deserve a big ‘thank-you’ for stepping forward to organise these new training trips.

We also saw two “WAGS in Wales” weekends in July as well as the ever-popular 7Ws trips in March and September and a Rutland Rally weekend in May – all of which were fully booked. Finally the David Jacobi Mullenborn weekend took 45 riders to the wonderful Eiffel region of Germany for three days of wonderful riding. Our thanks to Guy Lipscomb for taking on the challenge of organising us all there and back safely.  So there are lots of opportunities to extend your riding and meet new TVAM members. Just be quick next year to book as they are all very popular and places will be prized. As always Associates get priority but there’s always a mix of Full Members and Observers.

We also ran, for the first time, two Thruxton TVAM Skills Days with the assistance of the IAM. This was a plan hatched by Pat Coneley last year which included getting enough TVAM qualified track guides trained to run the different groups. The days were based on the successful IAM Skills Days format and gave members the chance to ride the iconic circuit whilst improving their riding skills in a safe environment.

With all those miles ridden, the common component that seems to have given people issues has been tyres.  What with punctures in tubed tyres (on which you can’t use a Crafty Plugger, Paul Kemp) to unexplained high levels of wear leaving an embarrassed rider with no tread, those black rubber bands have been the cause of much angst over the summer. So keep an eye on those pesky critters. They have a habit of letting you down – literally.

We also had the thrills of the Sausage, Slow Riding and Social event at the August St Crispin’s. The devilish course devised by the Training Team was attempted by a good few members. Probably the only time you’ll see members riding with just gloves and helmets. (Well t-shirts and trousers too of course – but not full road gear). The 100 tickets for food were all sold and suncream was the order of the afternoon as we watched cones being squashed by some. Of course there were some excellent exponents of the art of slow riding. And it was proven that riding with a pillion slows you down…

There have been lots and lots of Local Team social rides and my thanks to everyone who led or back marked a social ride during the year and the Team Leaders for ensuring we had a full calendar. These rides really are the heartbeat of the Club going on week after week, evenings, mornings, and all-day.

Of course the Club’s Observers have continued to excel in the training they deliver. With just under 100 test passes this year with a F1RST pass rate of 37% the 120 active Observers in the Club, supported by the Training Team, deliver probably the best bike advanced coaching around. If Heineken did advanced coaching it would look like this…. Well done Team!

And I must say, “Well done and thank you” to everyone who volunteers for the Club, from running the coffee bar to standing on a blustery airfield whilst others practice their braking or weave around cones trying to get their foot-pegs down. If it wasn’t for everyone who does this, TVAM wouldn’t be the great and successful Club we are today. My thanks especially extend to Sarah Chandler who is stepping down from having led the Green Team. Her drive and enthusiasm has ensured that the Green Team is more active than ever and now represented on the Committee.

So for some it’s time to draw breath and reflect on the year just past. For others it’s the time to start planning for next year. Assuming we’re still allowed onto the Continent next summer, where will we go? Which mountain passes and cols could we ride and where will we stay? And of course, much closer to home, those wonderful roads in Wales…

See you on yer bike – maybe at the Reading Toy Run on Sunday 9th December – and read the Winter Riding advice under Latest News.

Andy Slater

Chairman

From The Saddle (October 2018)

Posted on | by Chris Brownlee

I’m writing this having just returned from a weekend riding in Wales on the 7Ws trip.

There’s something very different about riding in Wales; there’s no single thing, but the combination of (generally) good road surfaces, lower levels of traffic, great scenery and roads that bend and twist, as well as vary in elevation, produces a great riding experience that ‘advanced’ riding allows you to take full advantage of. Looking well ahead and maximising the Information part of the System enable the ride to really flow without significant interruption and the Position phase keeps me safe whilst using the view to maximum benefit.

Riding home on Sunday required the usual adjustments to riding, with more focus on the higher levels of traffic, busier roads and worsening road surface.

The 7Ws weekend is one of the key training riding events in the club calendar and with approximately 70 bikes attending, it’s also one of the largest. Getting this organised twice a year is no mean feat and the 7Ws team does a great job of making this weekend accessible and enjoyable for all, and particularly appropriate for Associates.

It was good to see the ‘I AM SAFE’ philosophy, as discussed by Andy Slater in last month’s Slipstream, being actively discussed and implemented by everyone on the trip. It was clear that anyone that didn’t feel up to riding could decide not to take part in a ride and there was even a high degree of forward planning for this in the bar the evenings before the rides!

Sean Westlake, who is now an instructor with Rapid Training, entertained everyone with his views, and tips, on ‘Riding in Wales’ and Sean is now offering three and four day tours, with coaching, for anyone that wants to explore some of the lesser-known routes with a smaller group. You can contact Sean at sean.westlake@me.com for further information.

The focus on the 7Ws weekend is, of course, training, and it was great to see everyone discussing their experiences and building confidence on the roads. Time in the saddle on good routes is a great way to build experience and riding skills. Adding in informal observation for Associates and Full Members means that there’s a bit of extra input too to get maximum benefit from time on these roads.

This philosophy is extended to our other club training weekends, such as 3Rs and Rutland Rally and I’d encourage everyone to try and get away on at least one or two training weekends with the club. They’re great fun, help you build your social network in the club and really develop your riding skills in an encouraging environment.

Talking of riding skills, after some delay, we’re finally re-launching the Enhanced Advanced Ride (EAR) process. I’d like to thank Sarah Chandler and the Green Team for helping to redefine the process. The EAR is a half or full-day ride with an Observer and is normally for two Full Members. Designed to be an evaluation and coaching session, the aim is to help keep your riding skills up to scratch. And it’s great fun, and free (well, you’ll buy the tea as is usual on an Observed ride). If you’d like to take advantage of an EAR then send an email to enhancedadvanced@tvam.org

Although the nights are starting to draw in, and the weather is starting to get a little cooler, there are always some great riding days to be had in the Autumn, so do take the opportunity to join social rides, and trips, and keep those riding skills up.

From The Chair (September 2018)

Posted on | by Andy Slater

August’s monthly meeting at St Crispin’s was followed by the Slow Riding and Sausage Fest in the afternoon. The sun came out and it was great to see all 100 of the tickets sold for the food and a queue of riders willing to take on the slow riding course for the delight of those watching. The level of skill on display was admirable, with a number completing the course without putting a foot down, and a few riders even taking it to the next level by riding with pillion on board! The results will be announced at this month’s St Crispin’s with suitable prizes for those who shone through on the day.

You may be aware of the short articles that have been appearing in Slipstream over the past 6 months on aspects of Advanced Riding. The intention was the series would be just for the summer to help those working towards their test. However, having declared that last month’s was the last, we’ve received so much positive feedback that the series will continue for a few more months. This time we look at when it may be better to use a ‘momentum’ rather than a ‘3-stage’ overtake. If you have an aspect of riding you’d like to see discussed in these pages then email Salli at slipstream@tvam.org with your idea or question and we’ll try to cover it.

Over 40 of us have just got back from the David Jacobi Mullenborn weekend in Germany. What a fitting memory it was to our past Chairman to see all those smiling faces and hear the tales of exploits on the wonderful roads around the Nurburgring. A few even ventured onto the ring despite it pouring down with rain that evening. Thankfully most of us stayed dry on the road, and had a great time. Germany is now looking to be a much more biker-friendly destination than France with few speed cameras, no environment zones and a national speed limit that remains at 90km/hour – something to bear in mind when planning next year’s adventures.

Probably the most valuable component on a bike is the rider. As upsetting as it can be when damaged, everything else on the bike is probably insured and repairable. However, the rider is a little more complex to repair and spares are not always available from the maker. As part of the pre-ride checks for an Observed ride, or indeed your test, you’re asked to run through the check you do on your bike. But how many of us run through the check list for ourselves before riding? I AM SAFE is an acronym that appears in Roadcraft but few of us actually apply it. This self-aware checklist is particularly applicable when on longer trips when you may be riding longer distances than you may be used to, over a number of days in succession, and possibly you had a few drinks to un-wind the night before. Take a read and bear in mind that TVAM Run Leaders do have the discretion to ask any rider to show they are fit and able to join a club ride. Lack of sleep, the effects of residual alcohol from the night before, or even medication, can all affect how fit we are to ride with colleagues. We owe it to each other to remain safe.

Have fun on your bike as this long summer continues.

BTW – I hear rumours that manufacturers are announcing their 2019 bikes soon – something to look forward to.

From The Chair (July 2018)

Posted on | by Andy Slater

As I write this, the sun is streaming down with the forecast set to be fine for the next week, the temperature is 24 degrees, and yes, I’m actually in Berkshire. My Facebook notifications are full of TVAM member posts as they travel around Europe and the UK having adventures, so the riding season is in full swing. (Funny how many are pictures of food though!).

Last Thursday I was part of the TVAM Skills Day at Thruxton. These are days on which to hone your riding in an environment where the traffic is all going the same way and there’re no nasty lorries or cars to get in the way of you making progress. The day concentrates on building confidence in your cornering abilities through accuracy and smoothness. It’s not about flat-out speed at all costs but developing skills and widening your envelope of experience about what your own bike is capable of. We were blessed with wall-to-wall blue skies and a gentle breeze to keep the heat down. I think all 70 riders found their own level across the three groups with everyone getting 1-1 coaching throughout the day from the TVAM track Instructors. In all it was a great display of what this club is capable of. Thanks to Pat Coneley and the IAM team for organising it. There’s another day arranged for 17th September so if you’ve not experienced a day at Thruxton get along to the web shop and register your interest, you’ll enjoy it.

This is the first month Slipstream our monthly club magazine is not at St Crispin’s to be collected as they are now posted out to everyone – except those who have opted to be electronic only. If you are one of the 150+ members for whom this is your first printed copy, welcome to your club’s shiny monthly magazine. Enjoy! The online version is still available on the website library if you can’t wait for the posted copy to drop through your letterbox.

The summer is finally here (I do hope it’s not raining in July, when you read this!) so get out on yer bike to enjoy the roads and company of TVAM friends.

Be safe and see you around,

From The Saddle (June 2018)

Posted on | by Chris Brownlee

I hope that you’re all making the most of this much better weather, after such a poor start to the year.

We’ve just returned from the Observer Weekend at the Metropole Hotel in Llandrindod Wells, where the Observers discussed and developed personal plans to improve their riding, as well as put some of it into practice, of course. We used feedback from our Observer riding checks (called Aardvarks) and focused on:

    • The optimum road position, taking into account Safety, Stability and View
    • Use of gears
    • Planning and crisp execution of overtakes

Sound familiar? Yes – it’s the fundamentals of the System of Advanced Riding and something we should all be practising.

We had guests at the Observer Weekend from Bournemouth & Wessex Advanced Motorcyclists as well as Stuart Haythorn from IAM RoadSmart and Sean Westlake, the local IAM RoadSmart examiner (who happens to know the local roads very well…). It was good to build these relationships further. One of the comments I received from the guests was how impressed they were with the level of engagement of our Observers and their willingness to learn and improve their riding.

It was this willingness to learn and improve that made the Observer Weekend such as success, linking the learning from the Observer Day held earlier in the year. I’m looking forward to developing the learning and riding skills further with the Training Team, for the advantage of all members.

Taking advantage of the good weather myself a couple of weekends ago I noticed an old British bike coming the other way. I was struck by how small it was compared to most of the other bikes out on the road that day, and this was a 650cc twin – a big bike when it was new in the 1960s. I began to wonder why bikes had got so much bigger and heavier. Of course, bikes are much more powerful now, maybe some excessively so for the road, with larger engines, and more electronic riding aids, and ABS, and traction control and so on. And they go, stop and corner so much more effectively. But they’re also much bigger and much heavier. I guess manufacturers recognise that people buy more powerful and better equipped bikes and they have to compete for market share. But I do wonder if we’ve lost something by not pursuing lighter bikes that handle better, rather than just being more powerful… Do you?

From The Chair (May 2018)

Posted on | by Andy Slater

As an Observer you know when your Associates have really ‘graduated’ to become Advanced Riders when they start doing things you haven’t quite got round to. One of mine, who only passed his DVSA test 6 months before passing his IAM Test, has since gone through the California Riding School syllabus and now owns a dedicated track bike – sending back photos from open pit days in sunny Portugal whist we shivered in the rain.

Another is now organising TVAM weekends away and leading runs. It was he who encouraged me to sign up and attend a Biker Down course run by Bucks Fire and Rescue at the Marlow Fire Station a couple of Saturdays ago.

Now I’ve done all sorts of First Aid courses, including Off-shore First Aid for my commercial sailing ticket, which meant I could play with Class C prescription drugs, but the Biker Down morning covered far more than First Aid. Having the skills to be able to step forward and manage a crash scene when others around are possibly in shock can make all the difference to the eventual outcome. Around 40 years ago when I was a new (young) driver I came across a head-on accident between two small cars on a fast A road in a National limit. Both drivers were still in the vehicles and a small crowd of people were mingling around shaking their heads but no-one was tending to the drivers who were both unconscious, very pale and possibly not breathing. Could I have helped? I have to admit back then I didn’t have the confidence to step forward and I sometimes wonder what happened to those involved?

The Biker Down course is not just about motorcycling but is applicable to any road traffic collision and I would like to think I now know how to make the scene safe and how to administer First Aid if required until help arrives.

The course also covers things such as when, and how to, safely remove a crash helmet and how drivers may see us on a bike and which Hi-Vis actually works and why. The courses run all through the summer so I would encourage you to sign-up and learn some new skills. https://bucksfire.gov.uk/roads/biker-down/

There’s a rumour going around that spring is here. The other week when temperatures hit 27 degrees I was hunting around for the airflow jacket and summer gloves which were buried at the back of the cupboard. Whilst I haven’t been able to keep them on with more unsettled weather returning, it reminded me that other riders will be getting their bikes out and fettling them for the first time since last autumn. Just like my summer gear I guess their riding skills may just have got a little buried over the winter and need to be dug out. It may not apply to yourself but be aware of other riders who may be out for their first Sunday ride in six months when they come blasting by. Give them space and take your time to get back up to the pace you had last summer.

The TVAM calendar is beginning to bulge with club activities, plus of course those organised by the local teams. Last year we ran a Slow Riding event, and yes, we’re going to do it again after the St Crispin’s meeting in August. The format will be slightly different from last time. Firstly, we’re not inviting the Wey Valley mob (who embarrassed us all by winning everything last year) and so secondly the courses will be much less ‘It’s a Knockout’ in format and more about developing and demonstrating slow riding skills. Maximum participation is hoped for with £5 off food for those who take their bikes around the course. More details will follow but reserve the afternoon in your diary for some fun in the sun (hopefully).

Whatever your plans this coming season, round-the-world tour or dashes to the coast for breakfast, ride safe and come back smiling.