Signed up with IAM

I've signed up with IAM for advanced training. I'll have my first ride with my Observer on Tuesday. I'm looking forward to it but I'm also a little nervous. What should I expect for the first ride?

Congrats on your choice!!!

On your first ride you should expect a long whip, cuffs and loads of leather...........

Damn wrong thread

On the subject. I usually take the associate for the run and get an idea of how they ride. At the first stop I will choose the easiest thing to "fix" and ask them to focus on that till the next stop. then take it from there.

REMEMBER!!! The observer is there to observe!!! he/she is not an instructor. You have a choice of listening or not

Enjoy the rideout and see if you find some new roads

Hiya

With me they did a little talk about what I wanted from the IAM and what I expected from them then they ran over a few bits on whether I knew parts of the bike (failed miserably but never mind!), talked about POWDERS and then we went on a ride out. They follow you and you just have to keep watching them in your mirrors as they'll indicate and show you where to go. Oh and make sure you've enough petrol - when I shared a bike with my sister she assured me it was full of petrol and then I had the petrol light blinking after about 200 yards into the rideout ! You'll be fine though, I enjoyed it.

Hiya

With me they did a little talk about what I wanted from the IAM and what I expected from them then they ran over a few bits on whether I knew parts of the bike (failed miserably but never mind!), talked about POWDERS and then we went on a ride out. They follow you and you just have to keep watching them in your mirrors as they'll indicate and show you where to go. Oh and make sure you've enough petrol - when I shared a bike with my sister she assured me it was full of petrol and then I had the petrol light blinking after about 200 yards into the rideout and the chap wasn't impressed after asking if I had a full tank! You'll be fine though, I enjoyed it.

Originally Posted by clodge

Hiya
...talked about POWDERS and then....

So that's what they keep in their pipe! Damn, I always knew the IAM were a front for Columbian cocaine smuggling gangs, now I have the proof

Beards, slippers, pipes, and a car park full of pan-euros / R1200GS'es

Good choice, my first run was very sedate, and tbh a bit of a relief. Mostly its about going out for a nice ride with a 'you may want to consider this' after you are done.

Don't get dispirited if they cite loads as being wrong with your riding. Even above average riders, even quite experienced ones will have quite an extensive inventory of things they do wrong (or if not 'wrong' at least not 'the IAM way' ). I know it's hard with a pan in your mirrors, but try to forget they're there. Being watched made me ride badly, I felt like I was on a test again and concentrating far too much on them rather than my riding. Get the IAM book and give it a thorough read, so at least you know what you're aiming for. I've found the best way I learn new things riding is to go for a ride, focusing on one new thing you've learnt and only once you've gotten so you do that all the time without thinking about it, try adding another thing. Good observers will teach in this manner and not overload you with too much new stuff at once. They usually focus on the easiest to change or most dangerous (if you're doing something particularly risky) aspect of your riding first. Towards the end of your training they'll be pulling you up on seemingly arbitary things that make 0.0001% difference in the real world, perhaps that you don't even agree with/adopt into your riding after you complete your test and teaching you advanced ways of making progress (overtaking when view is obscurred, etc.). The biggest changes in your riding and consequently best improvements safety-wise come early on.

As an aside, try and stick with the same observer if possible (provided you get on with them and they aren't talking ***te), I found having several very confusing as I'd be picked up for doing something that I'd only started doing at the request of the previous observer! If you don't get on with the observer you're allocated, speak to the other observers in the group. If you think they're rubbish, the group will generally know/recognise this and not put new riders with them, although if busy (eg on an intense course) they might not have any option.

Relax and try to enjoy it.

Enjoy the ride and try to relax, remember your licence and insurance document, you may be asked to do a brake check,just to make sure your bike is ok for the road. the ride will start with you leading and depending how well you are doing he/she may stop you after a while and av a quick chat. remember to ride for yourself and try to imagine he is not behind you,ignore his road position as observers often ride out of position to see what you are doing.hope this helps,have a fun day and remember the observer was once an associate himself and knows what it's like.


Daryl.

Originally Posted by LindaS

I've signed up with IAM for advanced training. I'll have my first ride with my Observer on Tuesday. I'm looking forward to it but I'm also a little nervous. What should I expect for the first ride?

A faint smell of stale wee, mothballs and dog biscuits in the air

Am I the only one finding the IAM bashing on here faintly tedious?