After 11 months of training I finally got the opportunity to test my skills in the formal exam. I had to ride out to south Cheshire somewhere (I wouldn’t reveal a test route ) and met the ASDM Dave Cox. The day was a mixture of seasons. I arrived in full water proofs after having ridden through a car wash most of the way. The test itself was mainly dry and I made the decision to remove my water proofs at the start and trust the emerging blue sky. Thank goodness I did as it turned quite warm.
Under “tyre” the roads were wet with wash out, muddy and completely dry. A perfect test for the Masters level and a challenge I particularly enjoyed. Position for view was sacrificed for stability and safety many times, I can assure you. Often people pray for perfect weather for a test, but actually having inclement weather or a mixture can really help to highlight your riding toolbox.
The route was easier than the practice roads I had been on with my mentor Dave Murphy from Manchester 500 IAM. Clearly he has the approach of “Train hard : test easy”, and I thank him for that. By easier, I just really mean there was no ambiguity. Turns were clearly signed and there were no hard turns off bends where signals could be missed. What I loved was being able to ride the ride.
When we finished, after a good hour and a half of non stop riding, I had a smile on my face that is revisiting me now as I type this. Thankfully so did Dave. We sat and had a brew and debrief. The conversation started towards my next steps and aspirations of perhaps one day being an examiner ……….
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