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A View from the Chair
Dave Lowe
SAMM’s Chair
Hello to all our readers – old and new.
As I sit and write this article the rain is still tumbling down in what has been one loooong drawn out start to spring!!!
It is difficult at times to imagine the hazy warm days of summer – however they will be here – and soon.
Biker Down – SAMM are continuing to support this great initiative once more. We are very proud to again be heavily involved with presenting module 3“The thinking rider” - alongside West Mercia police and the Midlands Air Ambulance paramedics.
SAMM also offer free motorcycle taster rides to interested individuals immediately following the presentation.
I urge anyone (family;friends;work colleagues) to sign up for this FREE workshop on the following link https://
shropshire.gov.uk and that will take you straight to the site.
For obvious reasons the free tasters are designed for individuals who have not as yet signed up for the ARC course – AND are potentially ideal for anyone under 30 who would also benefit from the young driver and rider discount –full information on our website: www.advancedmotorists.org
Places go very quickly, so advise them to not delay.
The motorcycle social rides are due to commence this weekend with the first for 2024 on 14th April – again keep an eye on the website.
Sorry for the brevity of this article –the season has taken a long time to commence this year – however SAMM is in excellent shape, and I anticipate a great 2024.
Right off to continue to build my Ark. Any ideas will be welcomed – chair@ advancedmotorists.org
Dave Lowe Chair
Dave Lowe
We need your help!
SAMM is run entirely by volunteers; from the observers helping train new associates, right through to every committee member.
If you could spare a little time to help your local IAM group then get in touch.
members@advancedmotorists.org
Here are a just a few of the posts we have open:
My history with the bike
Julian Lloyd
A newly qualified Advanced Rider, Julian Lloyd, shares his riding history and his experience of his Associate training with us. Thank you, Julian.
59 years after …
my motorbike riding life started aged about 11, on a field just outside the village of High Ercall in this lovely county of ours, I finally became an Advanced IAM Rider.
The first bike I was riding was a Sprite, powered by a Villiers engine which was owned by a similarly aged friend; we rode it as often as we could, but time in the saddle was severely limited by the Sprite’s appetite for contact breaker points. We seemed to be forever fitting a new set to keep the old girl happy.
At 15, I sold my BMX (a Skyway, bought with wages earned collecting eggs at the weekend on a poultry farm near Shawbury) and bought the first motorbike that I could call my own - a black Yamaha DT50, and I then started counting down the days until my 16th birthday.
The DT was one of a new breed of restricted mopeds capable of just 30mph, so no match for friends SS50s, AP50s and ‘Fizzys’ - have you seen the price of these now!? - so something had to be done. Armed with a hacksaw and cold chisel, I set about removing the exhaust gas restrictor plate in the expansion box and, being an apprentice at Walker Engineering in Donnington at the time, I spent a lunch hour sticking it all back together again with old Joe’s Oxy-Acetylene welding set, finishing the job off with a few coats of high temp paint which thankfully covered up my welding, which was terrible at that time!
What a difference! Having also upgraded to a larger 15-tooth chain drive sprocket, I could now easily hit 40mph and mix it up with the unrestricted big boys, and if I stuck my chin on the tank and my feet on the pillion pegs, 45mph hoved into view down Haughmond Hill on a Shrewsbury run. Bliss!
Fast forward 35 years or so, a career in the Army and a further career in business behind me, and I find myself largely retired and with time on my hands. The Army facilitated HGV Class 1 and a Category H tracked vehicle licence and with them many opportunities to drive all sorts of weird and wonderful vehicles. However, I had retired having never taken my bike test - despite competing for some years in Enduro and Motocross events.
So aged 52, I found myself amongst the moped boys once again to complete a CBT followed by a direct access programme on a larger bike in pursuit of my A licence.
I managed to pass despite ‘emerging at roundabouts like you’re driving a tank’ (funny thing that, eh?!) The next day, I popped down to Kidderminster to stick a deposit down on an ex-demo Tenere 700, and so began my belated road riding career.
I loved it, could not get enough of it –even sold the car, I loved it that much. I immediately became a year-round rider covering some big mileages to see friends in Scotland, riding largely on A and B roads. I was unphased by almost anything - except perhaps the 21-inch front wheel on the T7 fighting me in bends, following every deviation in the road and trying to throw me off over cat’s eyes.
4 or 5 road tests later, the T7 morphed into a 1250GS (we all see the light eventually eh!) and what a difference it has made riding a bike that goes around corners! A blast down to Switzerland with old school friends followed and my riding career was now well underway. Things were feeling good, but something was missing. I always felt that I was a pretty good driver, but I felt less connected and less competent on my bike somehow.
I felt that, as a good car driver and a decent off road bike rider, I could simply combine the two and bingo, but it wasn’t working out that way. My Switzerland riding buddies had not had the 35-year gap and were far better riders than me and I was feeling it a little. So, what could I do? I did the usual. I spent a few hours on YouTube, I read a few articles, but being from a training background it was clear to me that what I needed was help from someone who really knew what they were doing and were willing to share it with me.
I’d known of the Institute of Advanced Motorists for some time, I worked for a number of years in an office adjacent to theirs at Centrex in High Ercall; I also knew that Dad had passed the IAM assessment in the early days of the Institute.
In ’64, Dad was influential in the sector. He wrote the HGV test and became the second person to pass it, having examined the first who then examined him. However, I had no idea they had an offer for motorcyclists until Google put me straight. A few emails and a couple of phone calls later and I’m signed up and on my way to Long Lane café to meet my IAM observer, Paul Warren, for the first time.
Paul and I hit it off from the start. Over a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich, we got to know each other a little and chatted about our riding careers; we reviewed the essential parts of the programme and Paul highlighted what he was looking for in my riding and how he would do this. I was surprised to learn that our rides would be without comms, and that so much emphasis would be placed on making ‘good progress’ on my rides. Having
retired before passing my bike test it would be fair to describe my style as ‘relaxed’ so this was going to take some adjustment!
With the first ride complete, Paul encouraged me to review my own performance, an approach that has always worked well for me. It was clear that Paul had worked out my learning style quickly and accurately (I’m a reflective theorist).
The next few rides went well with good progress, and then we had ‘the biblical one’…..During our pre-ride brief / pot of tea, the sun was shining and all was well with the world. The very second we pulled away from Long Lane, the heavens opened and it did not stop for the entire ride. It was torrential. I had got into the habit of riding with my visor open and wearing a pair of Oakley Radar sunglasses (they are almost goggles), this felt more familiar to me
pulled over to regroup, helmet envy set in – Paul was sat there serenely, a clear visor, looking cool and comfortableWTF? Sometimes, just being around more experienced people is all that is needed, it is as much about what they do as what they say.
Over the next few rides 2s became 1s and Paul suggested a pre-test. I felt ready and also prepared, albeit at a cost of 400 quid for a Shoei lid, but this has transformed my riding experience.
A pre-test was arranged, and it was a pleasure to meet up with another exforces’ rider, Simon Knight. Despite our service rivalry (RAF!) we got on well and we had a good ride together.
Paul had been encouraging me to attend IAM group rides at weekends - ‘so other Observers can share their specific knowledge with you’. But this had not been possible due to weekend commitments. Simon shared his thoughts on aspects of my riding which complimented Paul’s observations very effectively and provided a useful difference in perspective. It was a really good experience.
In due course, my test date came through and the day arrived. I ensured I was at the agreed meeting point very early – ‘If you ain’t 10 minutes early, you’re 5 minutes late’, it’s an Army thing! Someone had also suggested (can’t quite remember who) that it was a good way of preventing the observer from starting the test early by watching you ride in…..
An hour or so later and I am an IAM Advanced Rider, qualifying some 59
years and 500,000 or so members after Dad.
I am very proud to be able to call myself an ‘Advanced Rider’. Do I feel it? Some days yes, others, less so. We all strive for the ‘perfect ride’, some days they come close, others I turn around and put the bike away, but these are fewer now thanks to the excellent programme that the IAM offers.
I occasionally find myself looking at other riders and thinking ‘position 5 on that bend would be a good idea mate, IPSGA…..’, it’s never going to leave me, it comes naturally now which is such a good thing. Am I less ‘relaxed’ now? I’m still pretty chilled as a rider but noticeably swifter. I understand the importance of ‘progress’; as riders we are vulnerable, progress is your friend.
My youngest son Adam is a keen rider and takes his riding seriously (he joined me on the ride to Switzerland on his restricted Tracer 700). He is completing his A licence this summer and is very keen to complete his Advanced with the IAM soon after, but first we have a ride in the States booked to celebrate his graduation after 3 years hard graft at Newcastle University.
What does the long-term future hold? I’m now a full member of the Shropshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire Blood Bikes - having undertaken a further riding assessment and several courses, I am very much looking forward to giving something back in this way. I am fortunate to be retired at a relatively young age, SSCBB midnight shifts have got me written all over them.
IAM Observer? I’d love to, definitely my sort of thing. ‘Progress Julian, progress’… given my offroad riding background. Rain is normally no problem - so long as I am quick enough pulling the visor down so that my glasses do not get wet. But this rain was quicker than me. I guess we all know that feeling when the world seems to close in on us and we feel isolated in the confines of our helmet, disconnected from the outside world and its inherent risks. When we
Paul and I have become friends, and it has been great to meet Sally and my wife Nicky and I are looking forward to rides together in the near future.
Introducing Dave Johnson
Dave Johnson was elected at the November AGM as the new SAMM Secretary.
Here he introduces himself:
I have been riding motorcycles regularly for the last 20 years having returned to ‘bikes’ from my teenage years. Commuting was the main reason, and I was incident free until one cold February evening on my way home to Shropshire from Bristol in 2018 (and only 4 miles from home) when I made a silly decision – Ouch! Did not take long before I was back on a bike and completed Advanced Rider training with RoSPA in 2020 in order to ride for Shropshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire Blood Bikes.
Two years later I joined SAMM and passed with a F1rst and then became a Local Observer in June 2023 and I am now working for my National Observer.
I am fortunate to be able to ‘retire’ but find myself busy with lots of different activities which mostly revolve around motorcycles as well as a small sideline in beekeeping.
Looking forward to getting ‘stuck in’ as Sec for SAMM and meeting members on social and observed/training rides.
Best regards, Dave J
We need your help! SAMM is run entirely by volunteers; from the observers helping train new associates, right through to every committee member. If you could spare a little time to help your local IAM group then get in touch.
Troubles and Travels
Nigel Gibbons
They say that troubles come in threes. That certainly applies to me. Wife and two kids, the three non-functioning discs at the bottom of my back, the number my barber uses on his trimmer to disguise hair in rapid retreat and to those we can add one more.
Three motorcycling mishaps on September 6th, 2023!
They say that troubles come in threes. That certainly applies to me. Wife and two kids, the three non-functioning discs at the bottom of my back, the number my barber uses on his trimmer to disguise hair in rapid retreat and to those we can add one more. Three motorcycling mishaps on September 6th, 2023!
The day started well enough. Rising at first light from my tent, jet boil providing the first cuppa whilst I sat contentedly in the camping chair watching the sun rise over the hills to the east of our very comfortable, if expensive, camp site in Hawkshead.
Together with brother-in-law, Jon, and Paul - friend of some 40 years, we were on a week’s holiday touring Yorkshire Dales, Lake District and Scottish Lowlands.
The plan was to meet Paul, who likes his creature comforts, in the middle of Hawkshead before heading off for the day. Jon having already departed the camp site, I followed on a few minutes later and whilst travelling the short distance from the camp site heard a
strange thump from the back of the bike.
In one of those rare moments of lucidity, I put two and two together and came up with four. A quick glance over my left shoulder confirmed that the left-hand pannier had made a bid for freedom. Luckily for me I was barely doing more than 20 mph and the transit driver behind was following at a safe distance and had avoided the absconding luggage which had come to rest on the verge.
Park up, walk back and a careful inspection revealed a mild case of gravel rash but no structural damage. Re-attaching the offending item, being careful that all latches were closed and correctly locked, I continued to our rendezvous in Hawkshead. One down, two to go!
Exiting the lakes, we headed northwest towards Hexham. Enjoying the more open roads, I was leading the ride when exiting an easy bend at a brisk pace I spied a set of black and white chevrons fifty yard ahead. As the vegetation to left of me cleared it became obvious that this was no ordinary bend but a sharp left hand, 180º hairpin with a very steep uphill exit. No problem, move to the white line to give an easier apex, firm but controlled braking, tap down through the gear box. IPSG done, all that remained was the A. Using the remaining momentum, I tipped the bike into the hairpin. In our lives thus far, all of us will have had those moments when a few seconds can last a lifetime and we know it will not end well. I’d just added another of those ‘wake up sweating’ moments to an already long list.
Feeling quite satisfied with my entrance into the bend, I opened the throttle to drive the bike around the remainder of the hairpin and up the hill. A twist of the wrist was rewarded with an unnaturally rapid increase of revs and an equally rapid decline of forward momentum. Another two plus two equals four and a sinking feeling as I realised my descent down the box had only got as far as neutral!
Stamping down into first gear and dropping the clutch was a case of too little too late. 230 kg of almost stationary 1290 KTM, laden with another 110 kg of rider and camping gear was, at this moment, leaning well beyond the vertical and heading earthwards.
The only way to stay on board was to follow the turn around to the left. First the front and then the back wheel gently mounted the kerb and I found myself facing down a very steep grass verge back towards the tarmac from whence I’d just come. Recognising discretion to be the better part of valour I simply stepped off, leaving the already battle-scarred pannier to add some grass stains to its’ gravel rash.
My two colleagues, observing my ‘off ‘, carried on further up the road to a safe parking space and walked back. First on the scene was Paul, a long-time cynic of all things IAM. His open remark was, “Did they teach you to do that at the IAM, Nige?”
I am not a violent man, but my first reaction was to deliver a straight right through his conveniently open visor. Gladly, common sense got the better of me as I quickly realised that in my
current predicament Paul was far more use to me vertical than horizontal. To be fair to the lad, he quickly caught on that his remark was not appreciated, as I gave him my very hardest Paddington stare and he proffered a readily accepted apology. The three of us picked up the bike and reversed it back onto tarmac. Two down, one to go.
And what a ‘one’ it was. So deeply, painfully embarrassing that I genuinely thought about submitting this article anonymously. However, confession, so they say, is good for the soul. So here goes.
Anxious to depart the scene of the crime, assisted by my pals, I climbed back aboard, selected first, and pulled away. Three metres later the bike was back on its’ side, with the left-hand pannier, which by now must have been feeling thoroughly p****d off, once again making a selfless sacrifice to leave the rest of the bike unscathed. My trio of cock ups having been completed, I remounted and fortunately the rest of the holiday passed without incident.
Many years ago, when my firm was taken over by a Norwegian group, I was sent to Oslo for a one-week intensive course learning about our new company. Accepted wisdom was that the course was intended for potential future leaders and for troublemakers that needed to be brought into line.
There was never any doubt that I was firmly in the latter category. I did not find much of the week enlightening, but one thing I did value was being encouraged to spend 15 minutes at the beginning of each working day reflecting on what we wanted to
achieve and how best to avoid the myriad distractions likely to blow us off course.
What follows is my ‘reflections’ on why I messed up and how to avoid a repeat. Please note that these will be the opinions of the muppet on the KTM and not those of the IAM.
It all began as Jon and I exited the camp site in Hawkshead. Jon, the brotherin-law, is ex-Royal Navy and incredibly organised. Whenever we pack up camp, he always has the Africa Twin neatly loaded and ready to go at least ten
minutes before me, even when I start thirty minutes earlier.
That morning in Hawkshead was no different. In my haste to keep up I clearly had not correctly latched the pannier into place. What I should have remembered was that this was a holiday, not a military exercise, and taken another minute because that’s all it would have needed, to check that that everything was correctly locked and latched into place.
To rub salt into the wounds, when I did arrive my caffeine-fuelled friends had decided to have a pre-ride expresso at
the excellent Poppi Red - where Paul was staying, before departing for the day. I could have pushed the bloody bike there and still been on time!
And so, to the horrors of the hairpin. To understand this one, we need to go back a bit, not to the previous bend but to the two days leading up to it. These had been spent in the spectacular scenery of the North Yorks Moors and Lake District. Fabulous days but spent mostly on narrow roads, badly surfaced, and with a fair smattering of tourist traffic. Not exactly the ideal place to stretch the legs of a 1290 KTM. The sweeping open bends of the borders had been too much of a temptation to up the pace. A better approach would have been to use the day to acclimatise to a quicker pace, knowing that we were soon to enjoy the fantastic roads around our next base of the unique and highly recommended Buccleuch Arms Hotel in Moffat. Had I done this, I would have exited the first bend at a slower speed and then had more time to set up for the hairpin, driving into the bend in first. Even if I had selected neutral, I would have known about it well before the point of no return and had time to safely correct the error.
And the final excoriating embarrassment? That was much simpler. I fell off because I failed to sit down, and I don’t mean on the bike. Let me explain. As I got back on the bike, in my haste I had not noticed two things. Firstly, we had returned the bike to the road where the camber and gradient was at its’ steepest and secondly, to keep it there my pals were holding it upright. As I released the clutch, they withdrew their support and with the wheels not turning fast enough to
generate any gyroscopic force, the combination of camber, tyre profile and irresistible gravity put the bike almost immediately back on its’ ear.
When I used to row competitively, we talked about using adrenaline constructively, but adrenalin, 160 bhp and public roads can be very unhealthy cocktail. On reflection - that word again, what I should have done was had my pals help me push the bike up the road to where theirs were parked, sat down, removed my helmet, and let the adrenalin subside and return to the road in a better state of mind.
Which pretty much brings me to my conclusion.
Like much in life, 90% of motorcycling occurs between the ears.
When I rushed out of the camp site on that fateful morning, I was not in the right state of mind - it’s holiday, nobody’s keeping time).
On the entrance to the hairpin, I was having to rush my decision making because I was not giving enough thought to my riding and the burning embarrassment of the final act because I had allowed adrenalin to cloud my decision making.
To sum up, ‘awareness of ones’ environment and circumstances and being in the right state of mind to navigate safely through them’.
What I now try to do is to spend the time putting on gloves and lid, thinking about what I want to achieve on my ride and getting into the appropriate frame of mind as best I can.
As I said earlier, these are only my reflections, and I would be very happy to get the advice of any of those with longer IAM experience than myself. Every day is a school day, as they say.
Is that the end? Not quite, because my tale has an interesting little postscript. About a week after we returned, Paul rang to tell me he had received a speeding fine and to ask if I had, which I hadn’t.
The offence occurred on the A59 Skipton bypass heading west. Exiting a roundabout it’s a long straight uphill stretch with an overtaking lane. About halfway up, a minor road crosses above and on the bridge, you’ve guessed it, a mobile camera van parked off to one side, almost out of sight. Jon, exiting the roundabout 100 metres ahead of Paul and I, being a Yorkshireman, had local knowledge and rode accordingly. Paul did not. Being the last to leave the roundabout and working on the IAM mantra of ‘information’, I had spotted him lurking behind the shrubbery and kept to the speed limit.
Now I’m sure that some of you may be thinking that any IAM member should be aware of the road designation and environment and be able to deduce the speed limit and stick to it, and as such there would be no need to look for speed cameras. Like the man said, ‘Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone’!
When being quizzed by Paul as to why he hadn’t seen it, I had talked sympathetically about it being difficult to see, how anyone could miss it until it was too late and how I just got lucky.
What I should have said was, ‘They taught me to do that at the IAM, Paul’, but that would have been churlish.
Nigel Gibbon Muppet on KTM.
I’m a 65-year-old, soon to be retired, Geordie living in exile in southern Shropshire.
My first foray on two wheels was as a 15-year-old, illegally riding my fathers’ Honda CD 175 around the quiet country lanes near the house when no one else was home. Not necessarily a clever thing given that Dad was the locally village bobby! I suspect someone must have grassed me up, as he asked me if I knew anything about a helmetless youth tearing around the lanes on a bike that resembled his.
Ever since then I’ve had bikes in my life except for a brief four-year hiatus between starting my first job in 1982 and the first company car arriving on my drive in 1986.
Always one bike, often two and occasionally three. The current line-up is the KTM and a 1999 Fireblade in the vomit inducing ‘shell suit’ colour scheme.
I joined the IAM to do Blood Bikes but I wish I joined years ago. I’ve learned a lot, although you might not think so reading the article, and contrary to the popular image it was fun. This was thanks in large part to my excellent mentor, Rob Loynes.
I’ve not done much recently due to job and family priorities, but as I approach retirement I’m going to start doing more.
SAMM membership was due for renewal on 31st March 2024 and two focussed emails have been sent to nonpayers. Please let me know if there are circumstances which means you have not renewed yet or if you wish to leave the group for any reason. I need to keep our SAMM Membership list up to date.
Please remember that you need to be a current member of IAMRS in order to be a SAMM member although you can be a stand alone IAMRS member.
NEWSLETTER:
I was delighted to receive two spontaneous articles from SAMM members for this issue – thank you very much Julian and Nigel. This is greatly appreciated.
However, it’s obvious that they are Motorcycle members and I do try to keep newsletter items balanced between Bikes and Cars.
So - PLEASE – Car members, send me anything you’re interested enough in to write about! Photos go a long way too and it doesn’t have to be a long article!
WE NEED YOU!
Are you a SAMM car or bike member? Are YOU media savvy?
Could you spare a little time to help promote SAMM?
If so, we need you to develop this role and publicise what SAMM can do for Road Safety in Shropshire.
