I was down the Pied Bull one Sunday having a bit of light banter with some fellow members and was given a leaflet for the BikeSafe-London scheme. This is a one-day course in motorcycle skills to help improve your riding and hopefully your safety on the road. It is run by the City of London, the Metropolitan Police and Transport for London.
The cost for the course is £25.00 and for this you get classroom instruction and one-to-one instruction from a serving police motorcyclist (good value). The course is held at the Metropolitan sports club, Hayes Common. I arrived at 8:30 and was greeted in the car park by all the officers involved; this was a very friendly chat just to put everyone at ease. There was a brief inspection of the various machines focusing on the lights, tyres and general condition of the machines. It was made very clear that loud pipes and dark visors were not a problem and the officers were only too pleased to have us there for the day. We all made our way to the classroom for coffee and biscuits and then followed five small lectures. These involved a slide show with commentary by each of the officers. These shows covered basic skills, rider awareness, accident investigation (some parts were very hard hitting), security and finally basic First Aid.
It was now time to take the bikes out for some exercise. The weather conditions were perfect - dry and sunny, I led the way and my police observer Robin Tutchings followed. We made our way through a built up area then down a high street and eventually out into the country on to some nice bendy lanes. As we made our way further out, by chance we came across what looked to be a very serious accident: there was a car upside down in the road and eventually there were four Constables and eight riders at the scene. Luckily the driver was not hurt, only shaken, and we were asked to make an assessment of the crash with the limited knowledge we had been given earlier. Needless to say we were all wrong. We had decided as the driver was young and from the location of the accident that there must have been speed involved and that the driver lost control going down the hill. It would appear however that the car was coming up the hill and the driver swerved to miss a pheasant, hit a tree and turned over. Apparently you can turn over a car at speeds as low as 15 m.p.h.
We made our way down into Westerham once the Kent police had arrived. I thought that the ride had gone well but Robin thought otherwise, pointing out several little problems or habits that I have developed over the years. It was now Simon's turn to lead the way and for me to follow Robin. I don't know if any of you have ever followed a policeman down a country lane but their speed and cornering is far better than my own, they move across the entire road using all the available space and make the sweep through the bends as smooth as possible, entering slow but exiting fast again with smooth acceleration. The ride back to the Sports Club was very instructive.
Lunch was laid on - a very nice steak and kidney with two veg., accompanied by a very informal chat about the morning ride. It was then back to the classroom for a talk on bike control going through what we had experienced on the morning ride - again very informative. It was time for the second ride out, this time with Simon leading the way, Robin in the middle and me bringing up the rear, following the same course as the morning again and switching lead riders at the half way point, putting me in front being observed by Robin. This ride was a more progressive and enjoyable ride than the morning's one - as commented on by Robin upon our return to the sports centre.
It was back to the classroom for the final talk on hazard perception, again with a slide show and full audience participation. We were all given our appraisals and a certificate for the day. Some insurance companies will give a discount for this course.
All in all a very informative and enjoyable day and I think my riding has improved for the better because of this course, and finally this course is primarily funded by the London congestion charging scheme of Mr Livingstone. If you would like to take advantage of the course it is on the web at http://www.bikesafe-london.co.uk or you can telephone on 01689 856971. There is also a brochure at the Pied Bull on the notice board.