Some months ago at a club meet at Sandyacres Iain Moss, our Chief Observer, announced he was planning a weekend jolly to Peterborough. Okkaaay…… (why would you I thought?).
Turns out KAMG have been doing them for years with great success.
Concept is simple. 10 Riders plus 5 Observers, meet at Thurrock Services on Saturday morning, ride some absolutely fabulous roads to Peterborough. Eat and Sleep. Repeat coming home Sunday on a different but equally brilliant route until finally dispersing at the M25.
OK - I’m game.
The game commences at Thurrock, riders make ready and the Chief Observer is smiling (should we be worried?)
The methodology was simple. 10 riders were paired off into 5 groups of 2, each pair with an Observer. First rider in each pair completed the first section of the route and received Observer feedback during the coffee break. Second rider then took over the lead and was given the Observer’s views over lunch. After lunch the Observers moved group and during the afternoon the paired riders each completed another section with their new Observer. Sunday morning the process was repeated again with a third Observer.
Riders therefore got the benefit of feedback from three observed rides and, of course, whichever rider was running third got to observe both another rider and the Observer in a way you never do during a regular club ride. It proved to be very instructional.
By 1 o’clock on Sunday though that was about enough – on Sunday afternoon, after an extended lunch and not a little discussion, the last section was ridden as a full group in standard Second Man Drop-off mode. Great fun.
Duncan B followed by Observer John R somewhere between Thurrock and Peterborough
So was it any good? Well for me absolutely. I passed my green badge in late 2023 and I haven’t been on an observed ride since. I’ve been working on it though and progress seems to have continued, inevitable with room for further improvement. How do I know that? Because three different observers all told me the same things over the course of the weekend. Bit hard to argue about your weaknesses after that……. However I’m pleased to say it was largely positive, better than I thought anyway, and the three Observers each separately encouraged me to go for a Member’s Assessment. Need’s work etc etc but I’m now hopefully about to go for it. So there’s an outcome.
And the views of other riders. Well I spoke to most people and the consensus was very similar – everyone seemed to have got real value out of the whole exercise and everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves. All levels were on the ride from an Associate, who was looking to embed his new learnt skills prior to his test, on to other more seasoned riders looking to hone their technique. Our Chairman has attached his own observations which accompany this article. Iain Moss has carried out a survey post-event and I think EKAM will be doing another event like this next year. If you are interested start pestering him now!
And there was a bonus. It was also a great social weekend (albeit we weren’t up late on Saturday night).
And all from a weekend trip to Peterborough – who’d have thought it…..
The Peterborough Class of 2024 at the end of the Sunday group ride (and ice-creams)
Lastly, I know I’m speaking for everyone who was there but I have to offer a big thank you to Iain Moss and the Observers for the huge amount of work they put in to make this happen. Aside from the preparation work the levels of focus and concentration they provided over the whole weekend to make this so worthwhile are frankly awe-inspiring.