Chapter W
Educators
Ron and Rosa
Devier
rosaron@daltontel.net
Greetings Cornhuskers
Happy New Year! We've
just begun 2009 and there is lots to think about doing and seeing.
Hopefully our duly elected and appointed
representatives in our Nation's
capital, all the State houses, including our own Unicameral, and the cities
and towns all over will buckle down and solve
our economic woes and lead us
out of this recession. But, hey, that's why we elected them. We have more
important things to do like riding our Gold
Wings, once the ice melts of
course. It's January and the Wing is tucked away safely in the garage for
most. For some hearty souls, thanks to Widder
and Gerbing and others riding
is a year round affair; but for most, it's time to be patient and wait for
spring. Being patient doesn't have to mean
taking a long winter's nap
though. Now is the time we can brush up on our safety reading; reread a
good book such as Proficient Motorcycling or the
Soft Science of
Motorcycling Riding or peruse the Wing World cover to cover and again and
again looking for that little imp "Wingy". There are a lot of
things we can
be doing during the "off season". Just because snow and ice cover our roads
doesn't mean we should stop thinking about riding. After
all, that's what
we are waiting for. Right?
Training Wheels
"Old News"
One of the questions I get from my Chapter Educators
with some regularity is "What should I talk about at the monthly
gatherings?" Everybody is tired of
listening to me say the same things over
and over again. Reading this, you're all saying "Right On Brother", and I
would submit, "Not so fast, Kemo Sabe!"
The things we talk about may be old
hat, you may have heard them many times before but they are as important
today as the first time you heard them. We
tend to let knowledge rust, if
you will, if we don't use it all the time. If it's rusty, it doesn't want to
work when it's needed, so we, your Chapter
and District Educators, are the
proverbial oilcans. We try hard to tell the story differently each time;
but, the underlying meaning we are attempting
to convey, the need to
practice and pay attention to safety and all its trappings, continues to be
as important and needed as ever. Once you let
your guard down, you become
vulnerable to all sorts of evil things on the roadways so we can't and must
not let that happen. So, please listen to
your Educators and tell them what
you need and want. They are working as hard as they can to keep you safe,
healthy, and having fun as long as
possible. So, how can we make it more
interesting? Maybe we can add some more personal stories. Let's see. I've
told this story before. Trusty
Sidekick and I were visiting friends in
Colorado Springs several years ago. We had our beloved Valkyrie (yes Suzie,
there are other Hondas besides the
Gold Wing) and were getting ready to
depart the driveway. We were saying our goodbyes and engaging in last
minute chatting. I had mounted and
started the bike and was chatting with
Dave. Charlotte was talking to Connie and asked me if I was ready for her
to climb aboard. I thought she
was still talking to Connie. What a
surprise I had when the bike started to get pulled over to the left as
Trusty Sidekick stepped on the foot peg. I
recovered but the embarrassing
act was engrained forever. Was it funny to have the bike almost topple over
in our friend's driveway? The answer of
course is a resounding no; but we
learned from that episode. We learned to pay greater attention to our
coordination when mounting and dismounting the
motorcycle. Ok, cute story,
but where am I going with this. Well, believe it or not we just discussed
an element addressed in Co-Rider Seminar and it
didn't seem like the same
old stuff. There are many ways to approach learning. We just need to keep
it fun, interesting and moving even though
the same topics are on the
agenda. Please tell your Educator what you are interested in; what you need
practice with; or if there is something you
want to know more about. I
guarantee they will be eager to help. Ready to get on?
Survey, Survey, We don't Need No Stinkin Survey!
Well, how about
the results from the questionnaire I distributed earlier last fall. I
promised to share the results so here they are. I've reduced the answers
and tabulated responses following the questionnaire's format. Here is that
information question by question.
What does Rider Education mean
to you? (15 responses)
The majority of responses cited riding safely,
being a better rider and acquiring the skills to become a better
rider.
Highlights:
Become a better motorcyclist
Increase
knowledge
Ride safer
Attain/learn new skills
Increase
riding knowledge
What do you want it to do for you? (15
responses)
Improving personal riding ability was the prominent
response.
Highlights:
Make me a safer more relaxed
rider
Build confidence
Improve riding skills and
knowledge
Better Rider
Better Co-Rider
Emergency response
skills
Hazard awareness
What types of activities would you
like to see accomplished in the future? (13 responses)
Riding skill
improvement was the predominant response.
Highlights:
More
seminars about riding skills and the riding environment
Parking Lot
Practices
Riding courses
Group riding
Slow
riding
Riding in adverse weather
How often, should Rider
Education activities be scheduled? (14 Responses)
The answers to this
question were all over the map from every two years to every
month.
Highlights:
As often as possible, desired, we can
attend
At CTW every other year
Twice a year
Once a
year
Twice a month
Every three months
Every
month
During winter months
Seminars
The
seminar questions were geared toward which seminars you would like to take
and also which you would like to have at your Chapter. The responses are
listed next to the seminar title, while the differences are in
parenthesis.
Which of these seminars would you like to
take?
GWRRA
Co-Rider Seminar - 10
Team Riding -
8
Road Captain Course - 7
Motorcycle Crash Scene Response -
11
Motorcycling for the Mature Rider - 7
Trailering -
9
Slow Speed Riding - 7
Touring and Braking -
6
MSF/Other
Group Riding - 7
Seasoned Rider -
6
Riding Straight - 4
Motorcycle Maintenance Module -
6
Which of these seminars would you like to see offered/conducted
for your Chapter (would require level of attendance commitment from your
Chapter)?
GWRRA
Co-Rider Seminar - 10 ()
Team Riding - 5
(-3)
Road Captain Course - 8 (+1)
Motorcycle Crash Scene Response
- 10 (-1)
Motorcycling for the Mature Rider - 7 ()
Trailering - 6
(-3)
Slow Speed Riding - 7 ()
Touring and Braking - 5
(-1)
MSF/Other
Group Riding - 10 (+3)
Seasoned Rider - 4
(-2)
Riding Straight - 4 ()
Motorcycle Maintenance Module - 5
(-1)
What other topics or areas would you like to see addressed
or be developed as a seminar offering? (7 Responses)
We ran the
gamut in these few responses from control at slow speeds to riding the super
slab.
Highlights:
Slow speed riding, U and tight turns
New
rider introduction
Choosing your first motorcycle
Riding
attire
GWRRA organization and how it works
Interstate
riding
Riding Courses
Riding course were the
opposite of the seminar responses. More folks would like to have a course
offered to their chapter.
Which of these riding courses would you
like to take?
GWRRA
Trike Rider Course (TRC) - 7
Trailering
Course (TC) - 7
Advanced Rider Course (ARC) - 8
Sidecar Rider
Course (SRC) - 0
MSF/Other
Basic Rider Course (BRC) -
2
Experienced Rider Course (ERC) - 8
Which of these riding
courses would you like to see offered/conducted for your chapter (would
require level of attendance commitment)?
GWRRA
Trike Rider Course
(TRC) - 6 (-1)
Trailering Course (TC) - 6 (-1)
Advanced Rider
Course (ARC) - 9 (+1)
Sidecar Rider Course (SRC) - 1
(+1)
MSF/Other
Basic Rider Course (BRC) - 5
(+3)
Experienced Rider Course (ERC) - 11 (+3)
Are there
any other riding courses you would like to see developed or offered if in
existence? (1 response)
High speed
riding
Medic First Aid (MFA)
MFA is part
of Rider Education. It consists of two lifesaving courses. There appears to
be a desire to have these courses presented at a Chapter
function.
Which of these courses would you like to
take?
Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) - 8
First Aid -
11
Which of these courses would you like to see offered/conducted
for your chapter (would require level of attendance
commitment)?
Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) -11 (+3)
First
Aid -15 (+4)
Motorist Awareness Division (MAD)
MAD
is also part of the Rider Education Program.
What types of MAD
activities would you like to see accomplished in the future? (5
responses)
Advertising: newspaper ads, flyers, mall
shows
How often should MAD activities be scheduled? (5
responses)
Monthly
Once per year
Twice per
year
Activities and Events
Would you like to have
Rider Education Seminars conducted at the annual District Rally? (15
responses)
Most members want to see the seminars continue.
Yes -
13
No - 2
Would you like to have Rider Education Riding
Course(s) conducted at the annual District Rally? (11
responses)
Again most riders would like to see a riding course offered.
When a course has been offered it is usually only half full at best or we
pick up participants at the last minute.
Yes - 10
No -
1
Do you attend or have you attended the Combined Training
Weekend (CTW)? (17 responses)
Yes - 7
No -
10
Do you feel the CTW is worthwhile and should be
continued? (16 responses)
The responses unanimously supported CTW yet
attendance figures were just the
opposite.
Yes - 16
No -
0
Every Rider Education Seminar and/or Riding Course is offered
at Wing Ding plus some. Do you feel that this is sufficient or should we
continue to offer Rider Education activities at our District events? (13
responses)
Wing Ding is sufficient - 0
Both Wing Ding and District
Events - 13
GWRRA Rider Education Levels
Program
Are you a member of the Rider Education Levels Program?
(16 responses)
Yes - 13
No - 3
If not, why not? (3
responses)
Our Educators are tasked with keeping the Rider Education
program out in
front of the members as much as possible. This will
continue.
Highlights:
Not sure what it
is
Time
Are there any other changes you would like to make
to the Rider Education program? (1
response)
No
Questionnaire Statistics:
The
Rider Education Questionnaire was distributed to all Chapters electronically
and we asked that Chapter Educators/Chapter Directors pass it along to
everyone in their respective Chapters. Six (6) questionnaires were e-mailed
to us. In addition, one hundred (100) copies of questionnaires were printed
and distributed to our five Chapters (20 each). Of the hardcopy versions we
received 13 completed questionnaires.
Responses by Chapter: 19
total responses (C - 6; NE - 0; O - 7; SE - 2; W-
4)
I did
hear from NE-NE that three responses are on their way, so NE will eventually
have a "3" in their column.
According to our Newsletter records
we send out 275 newsletters to individual NE GWRRA members every month.
Assuming that everyone was sent a questionnaire, we had a 7% response rate.
The return percentage doesn't really provide a representative sampling of
our NE GWRRA population, unfortunately. However, we will take this data and
try and tweak our program to provide the most benefit to our members.
Things like traveling road shows where Seminar Instructors and Rider Course
instructors could
travel to Chapters and offer a mini-training weekend are
possible as long as we have the cooperation of the Chapter to help put it
on. There will be more to come on the subject. Thanks to everyone who
responded in order to make our program better.
Practice
The next exercises extracted from the Cornering Practice Guide
are attached to this newsletter.
Rally Schedule and Training
Events
This year's District Rally will include some Rider
Education Seminars but will not have a Rider Course. Other Districts are
scheduling their training weekends now so there will be plenty of
opportunities.
Training and Safety Goals
The
English Language and Safety!
English is filled with lots of tools
and unique adaptations. This is one of the reasons it is considered to be
one of the most difficult to learn. Yes that's correct, difficult. Many of
the words have multiple meanings and can perform as different parts of
speech. Think of someone who's first language is French or Spanish or
Russian, even proper English. They come across a word that can be used as a
noun or a verb or an adjective etc. and can get very confused. English also
has unique tools in the form of phrases. These can be adages (a short maxim
or proverb), axioms (a self evident or universally recognized truth or
maxim), idioms (a speech form that is
peculiar to itself in the usage of a
given language) or as we've seem by the definitions a maxim (a succinct
formulation of some fundamental principle or rule of conduct. Where and how
do theses things, these language components, figure into riding and rider
safety? The answer can be had in a couple of trite and often used
phrases:
"Practice Makes Perfect"
"The More You Know the
Better It Gets" and finally
"Friends for Fun Safety and
Knowledge"
Have you heard these before? Sure you have. Take
these apart and you may recall your mom saying the first as you practiced
your clarinet or tried to keep from stepping on your partner's toes during
dance class or even multiplication tables. You thought the teacher was
being mean; but she really was helping with a skill you would be thankful
for the rest of your life. What about the second phrase? This is a saying
that, although it can be applied to many things, has been adopted by the
Motorcycle Safety Foundation. You'll find it in all their printed materials
and also throughout their videos. Is it true? You betcha! Combine the two
and you find that the more you know and the more you practice the safer
you'll be. The better it will get and so will you. So it certainly wasn't
by mistake that our GWRRA motto contains references to safety and
knowledge. We Rider Educators hear, quite frequently the words "I don't
want to take the ----- ----- Seminar or ----- Rider's Course because it
hasn't changed and I took it five years ago". That may be true, but you
have changed. You've gotten a little bit older and maybe just a little
rustier. Do you remember everything that was taught way back when? I bet
not, which is why, like your elementary school teacher that insisted that
you practice your ciphers over and over again, we as Educators want to make
sure that when you need that riding or safety skill it will be fresh and
ready just like 5 x 5 = 25. Please listen to your Chapter Educators. They
are only trying to help you stay safe. You may even look up at their faces
and see Mrs. McGillicuddy or Miss Crabtree and those multiplication problems
that you now use everyday.
Prime Directive: If we can help one
Rider or Co-Rider ride more safely we have achieved our
purpose!
Bob and Charlotte
CORNERING
PRACTICE GUIDE
Left Click Below
