If you put hundreds of motorcycles in the middle of Grantham on a warm summer evening, there’s a fairly good chance PECAM will turn up…
And so we did.
Thursday 6th August saw the return of Grantham Bike Night, with Grantham Market Place and the surrounding streets transformed into a celebration of pretty much everything on two (and occasionally three) wheels.
Grantham sits right on the edge of the PECAM area, so naturally we packed up the small gazebo, gathered the flags and promotional material and headed north to join the fun.
And what a position we had.
Our neighbours directly opposite were the Lincolnshire Emergency Blood Bikers – an organisation with which we have rather a lot in common. After all, before you can volunteer as a Blood Biker, you first need to achieve an advanced riding qualification.
So, between us, there was plenty of evidence that becoming a better rider can lead to rather more than simply collecting another certificate.
The event itself was absolutely buzzing. Bikes filled the Market Place and surrounding streets – sports bikes, adventure bikes, tourers, cruisers, classics, customs, scooters and more. If it had an engine and broadly qualified as a motorcycle, there seemed to be one there somewhere.
The previous Grantham Bike Night attracted around 800 motorcycles and more than 2,000 visitors, and although official figures for this year’s event haven’t yet been published, judging by the crowds it certainly wasn’t suffering from a shortage of enthusiasm.
For PECAM, though, the most interesting part of the evening wasn’t counting motorcycles. It was talking to the people who ride them.
And what became very clear was that there is no such thing as a typical rider interested in advanced training.
We spoke to newly qualified riders wanting to start their motorcycling journey by developing good skills and habits from the outset.
We met experienced riders returning to biking after years away while careers and families took priority.
Others were getting back onto motorcycles following illness and wanted to rebuild their skills and confidence.
And, of course, there were plenty of established riders who simply recognised something we firmly believe at PECAM:
However long you’ve been riding, there’s always something more to learn.
That’s really what advanced riding is about.
It isn’t about riding slowly everywhere, becoming obsessed with rules or trying to turn everyone into a police motorcyclist. It’s about developing observation, planning, positioning, machine control and decision-making so that your riding becomes safer, smoother, more confident – and usually considerably more enjoyable.
The conversations kept coming throughout the evening, with riders stopping for a chat, asking about observed rides, the IAM Advanced Rider course, our training activities and what joining PECAM actually involves.
Some came over knowing exactly what they wanted.
Others started with, “So, what exactly is advanced riding?”
Both are equally welcome.
A big thank you to the organisers of Grantham Bike Night for putting on such a superb event, to everyone who stopped at the PECAM gazebo for a chat, and to our neighbours at Lincolnshire Emergency Blood Bikes for the excellent company.
If you spoke to us at Grantham and you’re wondering whether advanced riding might be for you, come along and find out.
You don’t have to be a poor rider to want to become a better one.
And you certainly don’t have to stop enjoying yourself in the process.
