Today was another good day. It was the finale for our MSF RiderCoach Prep Course (RCPC) in Hutchinson, MN. It was also the final day of student teaching the BRC. Finale
The weather cooperated again today with the temps ranging from high 50s to mid 60s and overcast skies. I think the conditions were nearly perfect teaching conditions – not too hot, not too cold, and not wet.
It was amazing again to watch the 11 novices progress throughout the day. I can’t think of another example where you can see someone progress from never riding a motorcycles to passing their skills test in two days.
My highlight on the range was when one novices, who had been rather tentative all day, finally experienced what a good roll on of the throttle feels like in a 135° corner. Her giant smile made my day.
Above: our two very patient RCPC instructors.
Above: getting the cards ready for the under 18 novices, and then stamping permits. Everyone who needed to pass the motorcycle endorsement test did. Very cool.
Above: All of the candidates in my RCPC program (including me).
Above: my MSF Certificate!
Above: some of the goodies from the MMSC for passing the RCPC – a patch, a sticker, another patch, and hat. We also received the hi-viz ANSI2 shirts.
During our graduation ceremony. The instructors had the class vote anonymously on the following:
- best classroom coach
- best demo rider
- Ms. congeniality
- Mr. congeniality
- leadership
I was surprised that my peers picked me for #2 and #5 – best demo rider and leadership (thanks guys!). I received an extra MSF shirt for the honor. I’ve proud and honored to be part of the cohort of new Rider Coaches in Minnesota. It was a great time and an experience I will remember fondly.
Many hugs, handshakes, and smiles later, we all started parting ways. A number of us commented how this experience was one of the most stressful and difficult thing we’ve done (I agree). One coach commented how this was the most stressful, tough thing she’s done second only to giving birth to her two kids.
My head is still swimming in MSF “stuff”. Thoughts of this weekend were the last thing in my head when I went to sleep and first thing when I woke up. It is amazing to me how the RCPC experience has consumed and muted everything else for May 2011. There is a backlog of chores, cleaning, bike maintenance, emails, regular mail, and phone calls to return. It feels like coming back from a month long trip and trying to re-adjust to “regular” life.
Next steps are to spend a bit more time prepping for teaching an entire course. I hope to mentor a BRC this coming weekend too. Then the following weekend I will be teaching my first BRC with the second (and likely final for 2011) course three weeks after that.
Thanks for following along on my RiderCoach journey! The positive thoughts, comments, and emails helped.
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Double yay!! and congratulations. Way to go, Chris.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking us along on your journey on becoming a Riding Coach.
Good share.
~k
Hearty congratulations Chris and job well done....now get out there and train some safe riders!
ReplyDeletedom
Redleg's Rides
Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner
Yes, thank you for showing the process of getting certified to teach the BRC. It is much more involved than I thought.
ReplyDeleteKeith: Thanks Keith! Lots of work, but worth it.
ReplyDeleteDom: Thank you! My first mentoring course is a week from tomorrow on the 8th and then again the week after.
RichardM: It is a lot more work than I expected too. It has been a big eye-opener on how much time the ridercoaches and just teachers in general have to spend to do a good job.
Chris,
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a family of teachers (HS math and piano) and did my damnedest to avoid that career path for 50 years, knowing how much work it is and how, often, how unrewarding it can be. Local politicians might be the only people who are less respected for their efforts relative to their contribution to society. My father used to put in 18 hour days teaching and grading papers, coach sports, and throw more than 1,000 newspapers every day to make ends meet. He learned to get by with 2-4 hours of sleep a day and did that for 30 years.
I'm never going to be up to his standard, but I teach both MSF and college classes in my old age and it is often the exact career I feared it might be. My advantage is I don't need it. That takes a lot of the sting out of the stresses, failures, good intentions gone wrong, and general disregard the profession receives.
Good luck and remember only sweat the big stuff.
Tom
Tom: Great advice! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThe RiderCoach stuff is just for fun. My day job pays all the bills.
PS: I don't think I'll live up to your father's standard either. He sounds like a very dedicated and driven man.
Congratulations. I really look forward to being in that spot in about six days. Till then I feel like there's a huge weight on my shoulders.
ReplyDeleteKen: Thanks. I also felt the huge weight. It was nice to finish the RCPC, but then the terror of actually teaching the first class... hehe :) good luck!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I found this and thanks for the inside scoop of becoming an MSF rider coach. After taking my class last year I was wondering how and what it takes to become a coach. As for taking my class I had such a good time with it. I have been riding since a very early age both off road and street and was surprised that I would learn new tools during the course. We had a good group of different age ranges and skill levels. Some had never ridden before and everyone gave encouragement to each of them and each other. Our coaches were very professional and even though busy took the extra time to mentor the newest riders
ReplyDeleteOne thing the coaches took from me, for future classes that I spoke of in class, was tucking in boot laces to avoid the probabilities of a double knotted lace catching on some bit of the bike when coming to a stop preventing you from putting your foot down. And the full face helmet picture changed me back to a full face from an open face helmet after many years. Seeing some of the accident victim pictures was a real eye opener and I said in class "I guess they call them open face helmets for a reason, just look at those accident survivors who wore that type of helmet."
Good job on getting your certification..
thanks. just re-certified for another two years. it's been a fun ride. I'm glad you found the class useful too!
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