I am 'BikeSafe'ing this weekend

Over the next two days, I will be spending a lot of time in the company of the West Midlands Police Force on their BikeSafe event.

• Your day will start at 8.30am with drinks and meeting your fellow riders. This is followed by initial registration and document checks.



• You will then meet your classroom instructors who are all police motorcycle instructors. They will take you through advanced riding techniques using powerpoint, 35mm slides, videos and good old dry wipe boards. These classroom sessions have provoked some interesting and humorous discussions in the past so don’t let us down this forthcoming year!



• We also have West Midlands Ambulance Service paramedic motorcyclists who cover your actions to help yourself and other motorcyclists should the worst scenario occur.



• Lunch is between 12.30 and 1.30 (included in the course fee). This gives you an opportunity to review and discuss the classroom sessions with the other course participants prior to the afternoon road sessions.



• After lunch you will meet your road assessors who will all be advanced grade police motorcyclists on marked patrol bikes. They will follow you during your time on the road and offer observations regarding the ride on your return. You will be on the road for approx. 3hrs in total with a ratio of no more than two riders to one police officer.



• The day ends with a debrief and review of the days experiences!



• Day two follows a similar format focusing more on the aspects of open road riding, bend assessment, overtaking etc. The afternoon is again spent on the road with the police motorcyclists.



• The course finishes at 5pm on the Sunday with presentation of certificates and review of the course plus a few nice surprises for some.



• You will at no stage be asked to do anything that you are not happy with and certainly will not be forced to ride quickly (a common misconception about advanced riding).



• You should take away from the course a greater understanding of the risks involved in riding motorcycles on today's roads, and be better equipped to combat them. You will have a lot of fun with other motorcyclists and should get more enjoyment from your machine more safely.