Motorcycle Group

The bike group was established in 2003 alongside the car group aiming to provide the very best in Advanced Rider Training within the voluntary sector in the South of England. Building excellent riding skills is our No.1 objective - our passion for this exceeds all of our group's other objectives. We do not aim to be the biggest - we aim to be the best. Our ethos remains "quality not quantity" and to this date we have never had a test failure.
A select and highly skilled group of Tutors is the essential ingredient for our approach. After candidates pass their advanced riding test with gold and if they have the requisite people skills to join our group of Tutors, the "real world" training begins.
Whilst we appreciate the benefits of classroom based rider courses followed by a number of "silent" runs as used by many other RoSPA Groups, we believe the only way to produce highly trained candidates is lots of miles on the road. Our system is based on 1-to-1 practical sessions using radios allowing for "real time" training as well as later discussions, relating to Roadcraft, the Highway Code and bike handling skills.
We are the only RoSPA Group that train exclusively with bike-to-bike radio and our Associates are provided with a FREE loan of listen-only radios for the practical road sessions.
It takes 6-9 months and a minimum of 10 full-day practical role-play sessions for our Tutors to reach the level of competence we require from them. After our Tutors qualify their on-going training continues and they are required to attend two one-day refresher courses each year in order to maintain their skills at the highest level.
We actively discourage training where there may be pressure to push Associates towards the test after a set number of sessions, and realise the limitations with running classroom-based rider courses with a fixed number of lectures. Our Tutors are free to develop their bespoke training programmes structured to their Associates' individual needs.
We do not operate fixed training schedules, and subject to Tutor availability we welcome new Associates at any time during the year. This allows rider training to start promptly and efficiently.
Join us soon as an Associate member and get the most from your biking.

To become a full member of the Motorcycle group you must first pass the RoSPA Advanced Motorcycle Test. There are also regular social ride-outs on the first Sunday of every month throughout the year. These serve as an informal method of practising advanced riding, and provide an opportunity to meet similar enthusiasts and form an ongoing support and social group. Here are some tips and advice on attending a Ride Out.

Next Ride-out:

August 2008: Wiltshire Pillion Run

Ride-out reports:

July 2008: The Naked Controller Run
June 2008: Wicked Breakfast Revisited
May 2008: Cotswolds Crusade
April 2008: The Trolley Shelter Run
March 2008: Chris's Magic Roundabout Run
February 2008: The “Make Mine A Salad” Run
January 2008: The No Mince Pies Run
December 2007: The Christmas Cotswolds Trundle
November 2007: Bradford on Avon
October 2007: The Pink Corset Run
September 2007: South Downs Jolly
August 2007: The Dry Map Run
July 2007: The Damp Map Run
June 2007: The Zumo-free Run
May 2007: The Oast House Run
April 2007: Exmoor Funday
March 2007: Yellow Submarine - Dorset Run
February 2007: The 3 Counties Run-Around
January 2007: The Fish & Chip Run

Ride-out Report Archive

Reports of earlier Ride-outs can be read in the Archive

Contact Panos aka "Captain Sensible" or "Slim" if you prefer, for more information.

If you are interested in joining the group, please contact Captain Sensible, or write to:
TVG Motorcycle Section,
RoADAR Thames Valley Group, 7 Angel Mead, Woolhampton, Reading, RG7 5SJ.