stooge ride Archives

JohnR New for 2013 is a second ‘stooge’ ride. It’s the last stage in our Pre-TOb training. I met up with Senior Observer Nigel Taylor, who’d be playing the part of my Associate, at Oxford Services. Service stations are a good meeting place, because they’re a safe and neutral location, with petrol, cafe, loos etc.

This is the last opportunity for me to practice my skills in a fairly controlled environment before I’m released into the wild. After today, any mistakes I make will be made in front of a real Associate, and I could look daft – or worse. There’s a lot at stake now and I will be taking on considerable responsibilities in the months ahead.

The information gathering before the ride starts felt a little easier than my last attempt, as I asked Nigel about his riding history, and chatted about what he wanted to get out of our ride together that morning. I remembered the all-important ground rules, and got Nigel to confirm that his bike was taxed, MOT’d and insured before we headed off towards Thame. A Pre-TOb has to arrange their own route, and I’d tried to build a mixture of roads into my plan for today’s ride.

Finding fault was hard. Nigel was very much in control of his bike, and apart from a couple of ‘safety bubble’ moments I didn’t really spot too much wrong. But then, as he explained to me later, ‘You’ll get all sorts’. He wasn’t wrong, as I was to discover, but more of that soon.

It was all going a bit too well. Having taken Nigel through a mid-run de-brief and demo ride, I suggested we try a junction or two on the M40. I headed us towards junction 7, where I’d planned to join the motorway and head north. Some of you will already know what I’m going to say next. There is no slip road onto the M40 northbound at junction 7! I won’t forget that one in a hurry. We turned around in the nearest lay-by while I hastily re-planned our route.

Nigel took it really well. We abandoned the idea of a motorway section and headed back to the services for the debrief. The run report form went pretty well. My ‘associate’ went home with a very well deserved ‘A’, and I went home with a red face.

TOb Rides

Having completed both ‘Stooge’ rides, I moved on to the next stage. My training card is gradually filling up with ticks, dates and signatures showing my progress towards becoming an IAM Local Observer. I’ve got my yellow TVAM membership card and am known as a TOb. The Trainee Observer itinerary comprises eleven stages. Each TOb is encouraged to work their way through the process at their own pace. ‘It’s not a race’, as Louise Dickinson told us all those months ago.

The 11 stages each have to be signed off by a different Observer on a separate coaching run. The only exception is slow riding skills, which can be signed off on the same ride as any other observer training ride. The stages are:

Introduction and Information Gathering
Observing Skills
Demo Ride
Coaching Skills
De-brief and Run Report Form
Coaching a Progressive Associate
Coaching a Cautious Associate
Coaching 2 Associates
1 Run at St Crispin’s all at A Standard
1 Run elsewhere all at A Standard
Pre-Validation
Validation
Slow Riding Coaching

These are live runs, managing a real observed ride with an equally real Associate – a lot like trying to pat your head and rub your stomach whilst attempting a hand-stand.

At St. Crispin’s we’re all there and ready for a ride out. There are dozens of Observers and usually more than enough Associates to go round. Getting all the elements together for a TOb ride between our Wokingham meetings can be hard. Observers have their own coaching agenda with their Associates, and most of us have work commitments, so getting three people together for a three or four hour session is a challenge.

Safety is my first priority. These rides are all about polishing the key skills expected of us, whilst an Observer follows on, watching for points to be discussed at the de-brief. The TOb writes up a run report on the Associate, and the Observer writes up a separate TOb training run report form on me.

My first TOb ride was from St Crispin’s on 12th December, the same day we were to receive our yellow badges. I’d ridden down to Wokingham early to try out my planned route. Dave Worker was my shadowing Observer and I was taking Chris Handy out on my first observed ride. Chris works as a dispatch rider and was very close to achieving his Green Badge, so I didn’t have too much to worry about.

Dave’s feedback was simple and clear – a good start but I’d need to extend my route and maybe have an alternative loop or two depending on the coaching needs of individual associate. Dave signed off my first task, the Debrief and Run Report Form.

But then came the coldest winter since the last ice age, and I was working abroad for three months. TObbing was put on hold until spring.

John Rodda – July 2013 (first published in Slipstream August 2013)

JohnR Long gone are the days when you could pass your IAM test one day, and be out as an Observer, with your very own shiny, new Associate, a couple of weeks later. So, as it can’t all be fresh air and motorcycle riding, we were back to the classroom for the next stage of our training – The TOb Induction Day.

Having recently undergone major re-structuring, TOb Induction takes the form of a very full course which is constantly being tweaked with improvements to maintain the TVAM Training Team’s leading position within the IAM. Not knowing quite what to expect, all of the Pre-TObs met in Basingstoke early one Saturday morning in October for our induction to begin.

First up, we were confronted by a man in a full-face crash helmet and dark tinted visor.

“Right, I’m going to take you out and watch you ride for a bit and then tell you all the things you’re doing wrong” were his words by way of a greeting. This was most definitely how not to do it, we soon learned as Simon Rawlings revealed himself!

All morning, presentations and role play continued with Observers playing the parts of Associates. We were given the task of finding out more about them. How better to build a picture of an Associate’s coaching needs than to find out as much about them as possible? Tell me about yourself, your biking history and what you’d most like to improve in your riding was our starting point as we practiced our introduction and briefing skills. Then we ran through the various logistical points we must make clear to Associates before we hit the road. We learned about how to keep the ride safe, legal, under control and hopefully fun.

Stopping for nothing (other than lunch, regular coffee breaks and chocolate hobnobs) we talked about the Observer’s position on the road, what we should be looking for from our Associate on the ride, how to spot the key indicators, root causes, and the importance of keeping ourselves safe.

The intimate details of the Run Report Form and how it is structured were next on the day’s agenda, including tips on how to involve an Associate in their coaching for lasting results.

The induction day is clearly about interpersonal skills and how we can develop a positive relationship with our Associates. We’re given a structure to help us get going, but encouraged to make it our own.

The next St Crispin’s would be a milestone for us as we were to be presented with our yellow Trainee Observer badges.

Stooge Ride 1

Chris Brownlee, the GNATs TOb training coordinator, emailed details of the next stage. I should get in touch with Martin Cragg, one of the Senior Observers, to arrange a date for my first “Stooge” run.

This is a first attempt at sitting in the hot seat and running an Observed Ride. We’re assigned a reasonably tame subject who will provide instant feedback on how we’re getting on, as well as helpful suggestions for improvements.

We got together at Thame Services on a damp Saturday morning and now, suddenly, it’s my turn to go through the pre-ride briefing so effortlessly delivered by TVAM’s corps of seasoned Observers. ‘Tell me about yourself, your bike and what you hope to get out of today’s ride’ I hear myself say, as I work my way through the stages of the Pre-ride briefing. Martin’s answers come easily. He tells me he’s an occasional biker having passed his test about five years ago, and can’t understand why he gets left behind when he’s out on weekend runs with his mates. I completely forget to ask what he does for a living, so Martin kindly offers that his character is a truck driver.

As we get to the end of the pre-ride briefing I remember to tell Martin that he should wait until I’ve got my helmet and gloves on and we’re both ready to ride off together before pulling away. He later admits that a favourite Observer sneaky trick is to ride off leaving a TOb standing there if they forget to mention this in the pre-flight checks. Can you imagine? I reckon you’d only forget that once!

Out on the road the pressure is definitely on as I try to spot each of the deliberate mistakes Martin is incorporating into his ride. After a few miles of this, I think I might be ready for my first attempt at de-briefing, and find a point where I can slip past my Associate and lead us into a lay-by. This is where we get to try out Richard Tickner’s ‘open question’ training from our TOb Induction day. ‘How did you think that went?’ I ask, hoping for his own reflections on his riding style. ‘Great’ Martin replies with a broad grin, ready to get going again!

On we go, and I hope that the short discussion about his road position has had an effect. Now I should reinforce my points with a demonstration ride and show Martin what I’d like him to consider putting into practice.

Finally and mercifully back at the services, the debrief and Run Report Form phase of our session was a complete blur. I hope I didn’t show my panic too much. Can this possibly ever get easier with practice?

John Rodda – May 2013 (first published in Slipstream June 2013)

Tag: stooge ride

TOb Blog #4: The 2nd Stooge Ride

TOb Blog #3: TOb Induction