After completing the Bikesafe Day with Essex Police, I decided that going the advanced route would be beneficial as I'd learnt so much on the day and wanted to improve my road craft and gain a Rospa advanced riding certificate.
I got in touch with Mick Jones of 'Total advanced' (www.totaladvanced.co.uk) as he had been recommended by many of the instructors on the Bikesafe day, and I was his pupil on the day as well, so I knew him and his capabilities of tutoring me.
Mick returned my initial enquiry within a few hours and a date was set in July for a 'one on one' day of instruction. We met at Boreham services and had a cup of coffee and Mick briefed me on the day's activities. Weather was fine and warm - soon to change - more on that later!
Mick asked me about the maintenance of my bike - fluids, tyres, electrical, throttle, brakes etc... All of which I managed to explain were fit for purpose. This is an important part of the Rospa advanced test, so you're expected to list your machine's road worthyness' prior to riding out and how you have established this.
So - on with the communication head set and Mick follows me out on to the roads to establish some of my weak points and to determine which areas of my road craft need tweaking. The headset is quite comfy and unobtrusive and works very well - you can only hear though and can't respond (suits Mick fine as I understand!) I often nod my head in gesture to his comments and instruction - especially if he says there is a sharp bend ahead or a notoriously dangerous junction approaching.
We ride for about 40 minutes and Mick overtakes me and we park in a lay by and have a debrief (and I may have had a sneaky cigarette - but then I may not have, because I may not smoke......ahem!)
Mick discusses where he feels I need improvement and comments on other aspects of my riding that have either improved or are more than satisfactory. Mick then takes the lead and shows how it's done. He is very vocal and physical - pointing and talking you through why he's positioned where he is and what his reasons are - all very logical and he is repetitive throughout the training - which does make it all sink in.
We stop for another debrief and a delicious sandwich/coffee at Cannon's BMW in Braintree (did I smoke another fag? Nah - just my imagination...). Okay, lunch all finished and we're ready to go out and ride Essex's finest highways once again. During the lunch stop, Mick has his camera system all set up to record my riding (Rospa/Total advanced do not expect/condone wheelies/burnouts etc - so now's not the time....!)
Time to put Mick's tuition into practice (on film, so no pressure eh?!).
Did I mention the weather was fine earlier? Waddya expect mid July? Yep, torrential rain and it didn't let up for the entire afternoon. Even the inside of my visor was getting wet and misty. On a positive note, it gave me more experience in riding in the wet, increased stopping distances and less grip etc..On a negative note, my hands now had a mild black full tattoo from the colouring of my summer race gloves.....it was blooming wet. Of course, Mike had his BMW GS 1200, fully equipped panniers/top box with waterproofs/mitts and so on. I'm sure I glimpsed a hair dryer in there somewhere.....!
The afternoon flew by and we had frequent stops to clear my visor and chat about my riding (Mick insisted that I take up smoking - so I may or may not of had another ciggie). We ended up back at Boreham services at approx 4.30pm and I welcomed a hot coffee in McDonalds to savour and get a full debrief on todays' riding. Mick furnished me with documents relating to the Rospa advanced riders test and we chatted at length about the next steps to take.
I booked up another days tuition for late July - this time on a saturday. It was agreed that I would practice my road craft during the next two weeks and also study what's to be expected in the Rospa test - which is fairly indepth, although all logical. I now had a rotten ride back home on the M25 at 5pm on a friday, in torrential rain - oh the joy! Mick said to text him to let him know I arrived home safe - a nice touch. Mick sent me the dvd he promised - very clear and sharp - most impressive (he even kept up with me sometimes! only joking Mick if you ever read this!!)
The next lesson will be blogged shortly!!! A pic of my beast that has been a superb tool thus far:
Me - before Mick rescued my road craft........!!
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