I’m telling you IPSGA is fascinating!
BikeSafe, run by police forces around the country, has now been standardised so that it’s the same wherever you are.
Before I begin let me just apologise as I forgot to take pics as it was classroom stuff and then I was concentrating hard on riding on a wet and cold day. Therefore all the pics here are of me enjoying an actual day of sunshine this week when I decided to ride to Bourton-on-the-water for a pasty and a cup of tea. As you may have noticed – almost all my bike rides are centred on food😊
I attended BikeSafe many moons ago, at London’s Ace Cafe, first on my GPZ500 and then on my FZ6s. Both were a one day event by the Met Police with some theory work based on Roadcraft followed by mainly a day of riding.
I learnt a lot but it’s some time ago, so I felt it would be a good way of re-learning about the road system and reading hazards better, as well as assessing how far I’d come since I got my mojo back last year.
I chose to do mine with Bedfordshire Police as I’m now more countryside based. To begin with there are now e-learning modules you need to complete before you attend. These prepare you for a day of theory before you return the following week for an hour and a half of riding assessment.
This way of doing things greatly appeals to me as I do love a bit of theory – I like to know why I’m doing something and what its purpose is. The IPSGA system (Information, Position, Speed, Gears, Acceleration) is something I thought I was doing anyway. But after the e-learning and classroom theory I realised just how little, or rather how short-sighted my vision was. This really does open up your world, raise your vision and really makes you think about hazards and just how much information is really out there to help you be seen and stay safe.
My theory was run by PC Mark Fairclough at Bedfordshire Police HQ in Kempston. A guy who was a biker before he was ever a copper, he’s retained his sense of fun, and acknowledgement of the joy of biking. He was succinct, informative, and answered all questions as honestly as he could. I know he’s never had anyone tell him the IPSGA system makes for fascinating reading – but I stand by it😁, especially when it’s properly brought to life by people like him.
My riding assessment day dawned dark and wet yet I wasn’t put off asI rode over to Shefford Fire Station for the meet. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that anyone can ride in the dry, but can they keep it together for a bit of the wet stuff?
I used to be fearful of wet conditions until the day I did Bikesafe on my FZ6s and whilst dry in the morning, it hurled it down in the afternoon – to the point where the closed pockets of my waterproof jacket collected water! I was on Bridgestones back then and the officer taught me just how much I could still “lean” and move with a lot of flexibility in my ride in the wet.
Since then I’ve moved onto bigger and more capable bikes – and better tyres. My weapon, or should I say armour, of choice is Michelin Roads (used to be called Michelin Road Pilots) and am currently running 5s on my boy. I LOVE these tyres. They hold to the road like glue, come rain or shine and they STOP when you need them to so the wet stuff holds no fear for me – although I have a healthy respect for it.
My observer was PC Emily Ingle from Cambridgeshire’s Force. (This BikeSafe covers three areas: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Constabularies, who come together to support each force and run it jointly.)
I’m a modern woman and fully accept equality for all regardless of gender/non-gender, or a preference for non-disclosure. But to have a female biking cop, – well that’s a high five right there and I won’t let anyone tell me different👌
I was pretty chuffed to see a fellow female biker in such a position. There’s nowhere near as many women on bikes as men and certainly a female police motorcyclist isn’t an everyday sight so it was great to meet her.
Emily was precise, gave a briefing and we headed out. I was pretty nervous to start with, as she expected, but was able to relax into it – and thoroughly enjoyed the ride. I rode as I ride normally, albeit since the theory classes I’ve been putting IPSGA into practice in much greater detail – and I promise I did try to keep an eye on my speeds😉
So I was really pleased with the very positive feedback I got regarding my riding. Emily said I “gave a systematic ride, progressive where safe with good anticipation and planning.” And that I “plan overtakes well and showed good discipline for when the overtake was not on.” (I think she meant I used my common sense and didn’t try an overtake, in the rain, on painted lines, just as the road speed signs were changing too😂).
Best of all, she commented: “Prendy was comfortable on her motorcycle in all road, and traffic situations, the weather was wet and overcast but this did not affect the application of the ride.”
As you may know from my previous posts, I’ve had a break from biking as I’d lost my mojo and when I came back to it, it was as if I was a newbie. Feeling unsure, wobbly and insecure meant as a consequence I was extremely unhappy. Thanks to some one to one training with the legend that is Paul Mostyn and then practice, practice, practice, I had reclaimed my joy of two wheels and felt much more confident, so it felt great to get this extra input from Emily that I’d returned to my happy place, in command of my machine.
Emily also gave me some pointers to develop such as mirror checks for speed limits, tips for consistent smoothness in the bends, and polishing my ride to make it the best that it could be. We spoke about advanced rider training of both RoSPA and IAM. This was a useful addition to the short talk Elise Allen, a motorcycle observer with HBAM gave at the theory day.
So all in all a grand course, and one I was very glad that I had taken part in. BikeSafe has a set fee of £65 no matter where you are in the country and I think it’s great value for money.
My thanks to both Mark and Emily for their commitment to making the course informative, interactive and full of good tips and pointers for improved riding.
As they say in BikeSafe “Be skilful, be safe, be seen”.
Prendy
A bird's eye view to biking! 