Gold:
Stefan Wilczak (C)
Joe Hill (C)
Silver:
Brian Durie (C)
Brian Durie (M)
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A warm welcome to new group member Duncan Burnell.
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If you have interesting snippets or would like to write a short article for this newsletter then please let us know.
All contributions welcome.
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Wanted: Group Ride Leaders |
Group rides are back and we need volunteer Ride Leaders - No experience required, full training given.
Interested?
Call Stephen Wilkinson-Carr on 07976 644485 for more details.
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I’ve had some very positive and unsolicited praise for the newsletter. Thank you to those who have said such kind things.
Lots of good news at the moment, we’ve just had our first day’s training for Approved Tutors and now have at least three new Car Tutors and five new Motorcycle Tutors. Two Car Approved Tutors are undergoing Advanced Tutor training with Wilts RoADAR personnel and one has already booked his test. Motorcycle Advanced Tutor training has begun with 8 candidates who are enthusiastic and studying hard for the 3-part test (Gold ride, Tutoring session & Theory test).
Motorcycle SkillShare, a ‘try it before you buy it’ event, is being coordinated as I write although we’d appreciate it if a motorcycle member could volunteer to staff the first two events in April and May (the start of the so-called riding season). If interested then please call me.
We’ve now run two group motorcycle rides and, although it was a tad cold on the last one, both were well attended.
The refurbished website, revamped over many long hours by our tenacious, expert and very hard-working WebMaster Phil Wesley, has proved a particular success with over a thousand visitors in January alone. The new online application form is being used to great effect and is significantly improving our engagement with potential members. If you’d like to suggest any additions or improvements then please let me know.
Thank you to all the volunteers, in particular Tony Dix, Dave Venman (Wilts Car Training Officer), Adam Slaughter and Mark Sealey who have been running all the events we’ve been able to schedule so far. We couldn’t do it without you.
Less good news is that the current level of Covid infections is higher than during any previous wave. That means that group social events and technical talks are unlikely to take place for at least another 2 or 3 months. This is so we can ensure the safety of members and their families. Thank you all for your understanding and patience.
If you have a talk that you are happy to deliver online then please let me know. We have access to licensed copies of both Zoom and Microsoft Teams and it’d be good to have some contact with other members even if it’s not face-to-face at present.
Rob Newman is now Co-Editor of the newsletter and has introduced himself below. Welcome to the fold Rob.
Stay safe all.
Stephen
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As
this is my first newsletter as Editor I thought that I would take this
opportunity to introduce myself and tell you a little about my
background and motivation to take on this role. In doing so I hope that I
can explain why I have taken on the role of Editor of the newsletter
and how I hope that we can make this a resource which all members
equally feel that they can contribute to.
In
regard to my RoSPA training I am relatively new compared to some of the
members that I have had the pleasure of meeting so far and I must say
that it has turned out to be everything that I hoped that it would be.
At first, it seemed like a huge learning curve to pick up the skills
required but under Stephen Wilkinson-Carr's tutelage I quickly began to develop and
improve. I could see the benefit to me, as a rider, and potentially to
others who may wish to follow a similar route. As time progressed I felt
that I wanted to be more involved and offer some of my time in a
productive way. Having recently semi retired from the NHS I felt that I
would have more time to offer, however with the pandemic I was quickly
pulled back to support delivery of the vaccination programme. Thankfully
the situation is now improving and I hope that we can all start to see
light at the end of the tunnel, as far as the pandemic is concerned at
least.
This
brings me to now and my offer to assist with the editing of the
newsletter. I strongly believe that this should be something that is
informative, fun and relevant to all. Stephen will co create this with
me and will continue to contribute to its creation and content. However,
this means that content is guided largely by both Stephen and I and, as
I have previously stated, I would like this to be as much about what
you find interesting and would wish to see in a newsletter. With this in
mind both Stephen and I shall continue to provide sections which
include information that you as members need to know but we would also
like to recieve information and articles from yourselves to include on a
monthly basis. It could be anything ranging from your experience of the
training that you have recieved to newly emerging information that
other members may find useful. Have you recently taken up the role of
tutor? Have you any top tips as an experienced tutor? I am sure all of
this would be useful and interesting for others to see.
If you have
anything that you would like to contribute then please send this to
either Stephen or I and we can look to include it potentiall in future
newsletters. I doesn't have to be lengthy or akin to a Dickens novel and
in fact some of the shorter articles are much more engaging and useful
at times. Also dont worry about grammar, spelling or formatting because I
can change it to be right proper grammar like what I speak!!
If
you want to talk it through first or want to initially share an idea
then please by all means get in touch with me at coeditor@glos-roadar.org.uk
Take care, stay safe and hopefully we shall catch up soon.
Rob
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Tutor training for existing and new car and motorcycle Approved Tutors has now started to take place beginning with the theory day which occured on a very wet and windy Sunday on 20 February 2022. It was very well attended and as one who has been exposed to training for most of my professional life, in one form or another, I must say that it was delivered in a very professional and engaging way which made it all the more enjoyable. Thanks to all involved for providing your time in organising this enjoyable day.
Looking forward and, as stated in the previous newsletter, the practical session for Motorcycle Tutors will be all day on Saturday 19 March 2022. Tony has recently sent out an e;mail asking all members, who expressed an interest, to confirm that they will be able to attend and I can see that he has had a very good number of people confirm that they can attend. I understand that it will be a hands on opportunity to learn the skills required to support an Associate on their RoSPA journey and I for one will be very much looking forward to it.
Again, as communicated in the last newsletter the practical sessions for Car Tutors will be arranged between the individual and one of the four Advanced Tutor Trainers from Wilts RoADAR who are helping us to accredit existing and new Car Tutors.
The training will be headed up by Chief Instructor: Motorycle – Tony Dix with assistance from Geoff Brown, Paul Smith and Dave Venman (Wilts RoADAR's Car Training Officer).
We need more Tutors!
If you would like to train as an Approved Tutor, especially if you're a Car Advanced Driver with a Gold or Silver pass, then please contact Tony Dix at chiefinstructormc@glos-roadar.org.uk
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The longest and probably worst traffic jam
Is there anything worse than being stuck in a traffic jam? I am sure that the answer to that question is No! Being sat
on a road, surrounded by other vehicles, waiting to move can be
incredibly stressful, especially when you are desperate to get to
wherever it is you are going.
The UK has seen some incredible
traffic jams, from roadblocks caused by farm animals on the lose to
horror crashes leading to a road being closed for hours, there have been
some truly terrible traffic jams in the UK, many of which have made it
into the world record books.
According to the Guinness World Book
Of Records, the worst ever traffic jam to date was on the 5th of April
in 1985 (I had not long learned to drive by then) when there was a 40-mile hold up on the M1, which snaked all the
way from junction 16 to 18, leaving hundreds of motorists trapped in
their cars for hours.
40 miles!! And I though waiting 5 minutes in the queue at the local greasy spoon cafe for a coffee and a bacon buttie was bad!!
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Prescott Bike Festival 2022
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The Prescot Bike Festival is back on this year and will be held on 26th June 2022. There is something for everyone interested in motorcycling. Click on the Prescott Bike Fest image to take you to the website to buy tickets for the event or just indeed to see what it is all about. As I am sure, many of you know that this is a huge opportunity to top up Blood Bike funding and previously this has been as much as £220K. If you can support the event and help to raise some much needed funding to ensure the continued delivery of this much needed service, it would be hugely appreciated. Rollover tickets for the last two years will remain valid and the organisers shall be in touch in due course.
For more information I have include a link to Severn
Freewheelers website below. As some of you may be aware, we are a feeder organisation for
Blood Bikers who need to have a minimum RoSPA Silver / IAM equivalent pass
to be eligible as a volunteer. I hope this some background info for you in case
you didn't know what they're about. As before just click on the link and it will take you to their website.
I have also attached a video of the blood bikes completing the hill climb below. I don't think that you could possibly mistake the fact that they are doing the climb by the sound of it!!
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The Highway Code was ratified and published online on 29 January 2022. It is unlikely to be available in print until April 2022 at the earliest. With this in mind I thought that I would leave this section in the March newsletter to ensure that everyone has had an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the changes that have been made.
The updated online version is available here.
The differences between the current and new Highway Code are highlighted here.
One interesting addition, the hierarchy of road users, has recently been shown on various social media sites and seems to be attracting much attention in the media:
The five new rules most likely to catch people out:
(click on picture below for more details).
- Drivers no longer have priority at junctions
- All traffic must stop for pedestrians waiting at crossings
- Cyclists can ride wherever they feel most visible
- Drivers to treat cyclists like they are another vehicle
- Use of handheld mobiles and devices is banned, except in an emergency
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Recommended Books (Clickable)
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Chair - Stephen Wilkinson-Carr
chair@glos-roadar.org.uk
Secretary - Rebekah Yarranton
secretary@glos-roadar.corg.uk
Treasurer - Geoff Brown
treasurer@glos-roadar.org.uk
Membership Secretary - Mike Ibbitson
membership@glos-roadar.org.uk
Acting Car Coordinator - Stephen Wilkinson-Carr
cars@glos-roadar.org.uk
Motorcycle Coordinator - Paul Smith
motorcycles@glos-roadar.org.uk
WebMaster - Phil Wesley
webmaster@glos-roadar.org.uk
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