I was searching for a police class one instructor in the Dorset area and had considered people such as Mike Waite and KMS (New Forest). I then came across Prides' web site and was attracted by the approach Gordon was using. The fact that he was a class one police motorcycle instructor was sufficient (rather than "just" a class one rider) but his interest in motorcycle training through his BA and MA in Education (focussing on motorcycle training) made him somewhat unique. 

 

The training I have received has been excellent. I am a qualified trainer, assessor and internal verifier and am involved in training both trainers and assessors. I therefore feel confident in my appraisal.

 

Prior to his training I had swotted up on road craft, had received IAM observer feedback; watched the usual motorcycle training videos etc. He started the training by finding out what I wanted to cover which he recorded on a white board. One of the objectives was to cover wet weather riding. He discussed "The system" which he has revised in the light of his research and and then he went on to find out how I would prioritise and deal with certain hazards, he linked this back to the system.

I was impressed with his student centred approach, rather than tell me what I already knew he established my starting point and built on that. He was keen to find out my thought processes and get me to reflect on these by providing the required underpinning knowledge. He clearly demonstrated the need to use the system flexibly based on the uniqueness of the situation. He is very keen to make riders "reflective practitioners" who are capable of evaluating situations rather than just going "by the book".

Surprisingly, he doesn't view the Police system as the ultimate as is so often the case and is knowledgeable enough to present reasoned arguments why this is the case. Some areas may be regarded as controversial such as the way he trains riders to "engineer out" the need for frequent life savers where some instructors might insist on as a rigid approach (his emphasis is on the need to consider life savers true to the advice in Roadcraft). Again the key to his approach is to consider the reason why you do something. By engineering out life savers he teaches you to eliminate potential dangers. His demonstration of this provides a watertight argument.

 

I found the on the road session just as useful. Gordon started by assessing my bike. He made suggestions as to how it could be adapted to improve my safety and riding position. He then carried out an assessment ride followed by a debrief. I learned more through the debrief than I hoped. This was done through clear feedback from Gordon supported by video footage of the actual ride. It is one thing for someone to explain what you are doing it is another to have the explanation exemplified through video! The rest of the day was spent on the road receiving feedback as we rode followed by a second debrief at the end of the day.

 

The video was invaluable as a follow up to the training. Gordon asked me to reflect on what I had learned and feedback my observation to him. I was able to review the tape and pick up additional pointers from his video commentary. I then wrote out a list of developmental areas which I subsequently worked on.

 

For my second days training I asked Gordon to start the day with another assessment. I was interested to see if I had improved. He switched his autocom radio to another channel so that his commentary was recorded to tape but I couldn't hear it. When we had the debrief I was really pleased that I was doing things during my ride which he was suggesting I should do on his taped commentary. He was also able to pick up positive features of my ride which I could later evaluate.  I was pleased to see that I had overcome many of the areas that I had set myself for development.  Needless to say new areas were identified for me to work on!

 

I can recommend his style of "educating riders". Through his commentaries he becomes your inner voice when riding solo. Passing an advanced test becomes less important that becoming a proficient advanced rider. It starts to become quite addictive - I have booked in for a third days training.

 

Finally, the thing that impressed me most is how he managed to meet my objective of improving wet weather riding. He somehow turned a freezing November morning into an afternoon of torrential rain! How did he do that?