Full Member Training cancelled due to lack of interest - again!

[John_Murphy]

This year, for the first time, Full Member Training has had to be cancelled because nobody wanted to do it. The run in July was cancelled and I have just been told by John Tipper that the run on Sunday 20th has suffered the same fate. This is the first year that John has had to admit defeat and is a worrying comment on the state of affairs in the Group. I am a regular on FMT, usually twice or three times a year and I ALWAYS gain something from it, some new way of approaching road-positioning or hazard awareness for example.

For those unfamiliar with the format, the day consists of a 200-ish mile ride in the company of a Senior Observer plus one other full member. The members alternate leading the group of three and the Senior Observer critiques one's ride to a high standard in an informal, approachable manner. It is a great way to check any bad riding habits you may have slipped into and a great way of preparing for, say, the RoSPA test. In previous years it was not uncommon to have ten or twelve members taking part but, now, it seems no-one can be bothered.
John Tipper puts a great deal of work into these training days, I hope he is not too disheartened by the poor uptake this year and I would ask everyone to take advantage of this special training opportunity.
Here's to next year!!

[Geoff Preston]

A sign of the times John!!

[AndyLee]

Sorry to hear that Geoff, but I'll definitely be doing at least two days next year, as I have my RoSpa re-test later in the year and consider FMTs essential preparation!

Andy

[cster]

Yeah - me too.
I passed about 12 months ago and think that is long enough to develop bad habits/overconfidence.
I was just thinking about this the other day,.
Will defo do a couple of days if dates permit.
I can't see it advertised anywhere though.
Craig

[John_Murphy]

It's in the Events Diary. Four dates in 2019

[Tone]

I do hope John isn’t disheartened. I haven’t been able to attend due to being on holiday on the last two dates but will definitely be signing up for it again next year if it’s still available.

[telsullivan]

I went out with John for an assessment ride for my observer application. He pointed out a couple of minor points and one quite bad habit I had picked up.
The thing is, I didn't realise I was doing what I was doing because it was a habit (obviously). I would say that to have your riding looked at once a year by the senior observers has got to be the best and cheapest ways of keeping your skills at the highest level.
Sometimes we're not as good as we think we are.