The last 12 months have been incredibly difficult for all of us, with most of us unable to meet with family and friends and do the things that we label as ‘normal’ in our lives. Like many of you, motorcycling to me is not just a hobby, it’s a lifestyle that when removed, leaves a huge void.
The TVAM year started in November and so we are now halfway through our current year. Realising that got me thinking about what we have been able to achieve in the first six months, given that much of that time has been spent in lockdown.
So I thought that I would share a few stats with you that will hopefully give you all a picture of how the Club is doing. At the time of writing this, we have a total membership of 1045, of which 237 are Associates. At the same point 12 months ago we had 1054 members so are slightly down, by 9 members. Between the beginning of November and the end of April, we have attracted 43 new members. 10 of these joined in March and another 15 in April.
Taster rides appear to be a very successful way of recruiting new members. There have been 35 taster ride requests since the beginning of November, 11 of those being in March and another 11 so far in April. Most of these have been allocated, and many completed, so a huge thanks to all the Observers that have found the time to take out members of the public and tell them more about the Club. Seven people that have completed taster rides since November have gone on to join the Club and this is a figure that we expect to increase from the latest group to go out. I have been lucky enough to meet a couple of our new members through the social group Zoom meetings that have been happening regularly whilst we have been unable to actually meet up.
Test passes so far this year sit at 7. Of these, 4 were in November and 3 in December. IAM RoadSmart suspended all tests between January and early April which is why figures are currently lower than usual.
The Events Team has been putting on regular seminars over Zoom. By the time you read this, we will have hosted three excellent seminars: One from Steph Jeavons, talking about her trip around the world on a motorcycle; Motolegends, talking about the different equipment that’s out there; and Kevin Williams, talking about the science of being seen on a motorcycle. These events have been extremely well attended by members and many more are planned throughout the remainder of the year.
Communications within the Club are extremely important. We have 1004 members registered on Groups.io and 541 messages were posted from 126 individual posters in March alone. Our new website, which is far more customer facing than the previous one, received 5,049 page views from 1,757 unique visitors. Our Social Media Team is also working hard on promoting the Club via Facebook and Instagram.
So, considering that for four out of the first six months of the TVAM year we have been in lockdown, the figures above would suggest that we’re still doing very well as a Club. In the next few weeks, we’re going to see far more of the ‘normal’ Club activities being allowed, like Observed Rides, Social Rides, X-Checks, Observer Assessments and it’s even rumoured that we may be able to meet in the not too distance future at St Crispin’s.
I really hope to be seeing many of you out on the road soon..
Barrie Smith
Chairman
