Remembering What It's Like to be New

Uncategorized Dec 05, 2016

I spent last Saturday at a motorcycle safety instructor update training. This is something that happens in every rider training program I am aware of and the purpose is for instructors to continue to get better at the business of teaching riders.

It was a day well spent and I took away a few "nuggets" that I look forward to applying in my teaching. But more than that, I was reminded of the passion and commitment of the hundreds and even thousands of motorcycle rider training instructors around the country. These are men and women who spend countless hours standing on the asphalt in the heat, the cold, the rain, and sometimes in the snow, to serve motorcycle riders in their efforts to get their license, learn basic skills, learn advanced skills and to prevent and survive crashes.

I would like to say "Thank you" to all of those people out there who are in the business of motorcycle rider training and education. You give your all for a day or a few days to these riders to have an effect on their riding (skills, strategies, attitude, approach to riding gear and impairments, etc.) for the rest of their lives. It's a tremendous responsibility and a tremendous contribution. I salute you all.

One of the things we did at the instructor update this past weekend was to be a student in a mini-class where we learned basic ice-skating skills (you can imagine what THAT must have looked like!). We got to experience first hand what it feels like to be new at a skill, to try to understand what is being taught, to take coaching from our instructors, and yes - to take a skills test.

For your viewing pleasure, here is my "final exam" in basic skating skills after 2 hours of instruction. I have been appropriately humbled, and have more empathy for the novice riders in my classes. It's a good reminder for all of us that we may take certain knowledge and skills for granted and can forget what it is like to be a novice.

As I took my skating skills test, my awareness of everything else disappeared - it took all my focus and attention just to navigate the test and perform the skill. It was a good reminder for me that new riders (and experienced riders, too) can be so focused on the physical aspects of riding that it is easy to miss hazards in the environment. So, when you are out on a ride with new riders, please be aware that they may not be seeing the hazards as soon or as well as you are. Do your best to look out for them and ride at a speed that is comfortable for them (instead o pushing them to ride at YOUR speed).

Ride well, and Be Crash Free.

~Ax

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