Training to be a Bike Instructor...

[min200]

I have started to train to be a bike instructor and if it's ok with Stu I will post my blog about it here so you can all laugh at I mean along with me

Instruction & Instructing

Musings

Posted by Nicky Smith Sat, February 06, 2016 18:26:00

Well nearly a week since I last had the chance to put pen to paper dear reader but with good reason you see I have been more than a little busy.

With the offer on the house accepted we applied on-line for the mortgage we had already researched on Sunday evening and got the Mortgage in principle approved...phew.

That was the first step but many more followed over the course of a couple of days for getting things into motion, the survey was quickly booked along with solicitors instructed on our behalf so by the time Friday rolled around the survey was complete and the solicitors talking to each other along with all of those searches being ordered.

No doubt this all costs so I hope it all falls into place easily as we are digging into the savings at an already alarming rate!

Wifey has realised that she can have the house in any sort of way she wants as it will be ours to own and not rented so judging by the pictures she keeps showing me I am going to be more than a little busy for at least the next three years! So fingers crossed that all goes well but after this initial flurry of action the waiting game will start whilst all of those searches come slowly rolling back in.

Now you see that would be enough to be going on with for any normal sane person but oh no not me because I do enjoy a challenge. Remember me talking about the fact that I would like to be a motorbike instructor at some point...on top of my normal stupid number of hours a week job...oh and moving house...as well as rebuilding a Land Rover 110...doing that new house up....as well as then writing about it all dealing with the new book in progress and trying to promote them all at the same time? Well I have started that!

I spoke to a couple of training schools and was extensively cross interrogated by a couple who own a bike school called Think Bike Training here in Nottingham. I liked their ethos of work along with their attitude towards training and for some reason they seemed to like me (poor buggers have not a clue I am still being reserved and nice) so it was all agreed for me to come back to have a go seeing what I could tie from my current training role into this one.

To say I am enjoying it is an understatement it is a real challenge again but in a good way because I am teaching on something I really like doing. Today was my second session on becoming good enough to do the first stage of my training alone which is CBT training and of course I managed to cock it up a touch as well as making myself look a little daft.

The off road sections were not much of a problem just the odd nudge in the right direction on a piece of information I had omitted then it was onto the road with the student. There was me thinking at this point I was just going to sit back and enjoy the ride but nope Barry (one of the instructors) was having none of that as he handed me a helmet and radio with a smirk along with the instructions

"You can do the talking"

That woke me up a bit. Not only did I jump on an unfamiliar bike that needed me to push a button when I wanted to talk to the student (I will freely admit here to talking to myself a few times in my helmet as we rode along before remembering to push that button but don't tell anyone) but after that bit of the ride I had to get out in front to do a verbal demonstration section (using that button again...sometimes) at which point I thought that was all he wanted me to do so I ignored the student completely for 15 minutes because he was behind me between the two of us...wrong of course on a bike but completely normal in a truck when you do it with the student sat next to you...hands up on bit of a cock up there!

Overall though good progress was made on all fronts so hopefully a few more sessions will see me in good stead as a better as well as certified (not that way) trainer on bikes and I will keep you all updated, if I remember to watch the students of course...

www.nickysmith.me

[CGD217]

Another great write up. Good luck with the training and of course the new house.

[min200]

Thanks I will keep you all updated on how it develops

[Fozzie]

Awesome!

From the explanatory way you write it seems you'd make a good instructor.

[TC1474]

Good write up and the training to become a CBT instructor has changed since I went on the very first CBT instructor course in 1989 after it replaced the old part 1 test which I was also an instructor and examiner for

Anyway, I digress, don't let instructing ruin your enjoyment of riding. I got to a point where I actually did not look forward to going for a ride because I was out instructing every day, and it took the fun out of it. Try and strike a balance between work riding and social riding.

And if you get cgecked by the DSA, ignore any instructional tips they give you, they are there to check on content not your instructional technique, they are not instructors.

But good luck to you.

[min200]

Cheers folks for the compliments

I will only be doing the bike instructing 2-3 days a month tops because I will be keeping my driver trainer role (HGV) which is full time anyway! The bike bits are just for fun