“On our way to Picton a small group of us were travelling through Blenheim on SH1 with myself leading at an indicated 46kmh in position 4. If you know you know. If you don’t know then go get trained.

On my approach to Lansdowne Street, I saw a young boy on the left side pavement with a push scooter waiting to cross about 5 metres south of the junction. Having sighted him, my attention then moved to the car waiting to exit Lansdowne St onto SH1 south. At that moment the boy ran out in front of me, approximately 5 metres away. I braked hard, clutch in, and down-shifted in what seemed a micro second. The boy stopped dead in his tracks and lurched backwards. Luck was on his side today. My Ride Forever training was on my side today. What would you have done? What would you have been able to do? Could you have stopped? I, like many of you, have been riding many years but I’m not of the view that because of that I don’t need any training. You do and, if you think you don’t, then you really do.
These courses are free and your only costs are gas and commitment.”

“I had a great day and enjoyed all aspects but in particular the sociability and comradery amongst the group. The passion Tasman Motorcycle training have for their work is really obvious and I learnt quite a bit throughout the day from the instructor’s shared experiences and knowledge, and I’m a better rider for it.”

“An excellent day, and just what I needed as a beginning rider. I learned a lot and now have a lot more confidence to get out there and practice these basic skills on my new bike. Nice to meet such a friendly bunch of fellow riders and the positive, supportive, and very organised trio of Kevin, Jason and Mitch. Highly recommended, and I look forward to coming back for the next course in a few months.”

“I just completed my beginners course and how cool was that! Kevin certainly makes you feel at home straight away and I would recommend anyone thinking of getting into motorcycling to give it a go. Bring on the ‘Bronze’ course as soon as I can get it booked. Thank you Kevin.”

“I’ve done a number of the Gold and Silver courses over the years (at least one annually) and have found that they are an ideal way to keep my riding sharp and to keep up-skilling. Kevin and Jason are great at imparting knowledge in a positive and usually humorous way and its always amazing the things that you forget!! The big plus for me is the chance to spend a day riding my bike with a group of interesting and like minded people, fully subsidized whilst learning stuff…and my insurance company gives me a $50 rebate off my policy…highly recommended for ALL levels of rider, no matter how experienced you are.”

“Yeah it was awesome! So good to be given pointers on what to practice - stuff you can’t figure out on your own. Cool too to meet other beginning riders, always there’ll be someone you gel with.”

“My wife (Caroline) and I both did the Gold Certificate course in Nelson on Sunday 18 April 2021. Jason and Kevin are an especially knowledgeable and encouraging pair and the day-long course was excellent. Both the theory and the practical sessions refreshed the memory and brought back into clear focus aspects of motorcycling that increase safety on two wheels. We only wish that all motorists were compelled to attend such courses – the roads would be much safer for everyone and the attempt to reduce road carnage by reducing speed limits would be shown to be the red herring it really is.”

“The ride to live courses are a huge game changer for me. Improvements on my riding safety are important and I have found numerous of these on each course I have attended.
Would recommend to all motorcyclists, at least once a year, attend one of these courses.
”

“A group of 8 of us from the Nelson Classic & Vintage Motorcycle Club recently attended a club-only Gold Course run by Kevin and Jason, with superb administration by Kevin’s partner, Mitch - she took care of all the essential paperwork which previously had to be done by course candidates, who merely had personal details to submit this time.

Several of us had attended Gold Courses previously, but all thought something new was absorbed each time - no one “knows it all”, despite what they may claim! I wrote an article, complete with photo’s, on the event for our club newsletter, so maybe this will spark more interest. It was the third course I’d organised for the club.

This time the fairly foul weather made it really interesting, especially for the braking exercises on the wet and somewhat slimy surface, and proved how efficient ABS systems really are. Kevin and Jason run a superb course!
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“I have now done three courses with Kevin and Jason and there is no doubt in my mind they are some of the best trainers I have worked with. They are knowledgeable, experienced and have a presentation style and approach which is perfect for the audience they deal with.”

“The day was suddenly upon me to do the Silver Ride Forever up skill course. 8:30am start at Maacas for the theory session ,nervous ? Heck yes ,I am a born again rider been off the bike for a very long time ,I was in with three other riders with much more experience than me. In no time at all I was at ease just one of them, about two hrs plus theory then on the bikes to girls collage car park for slow riding circuits then figure of eights ,tight and slow this I found hard but with patient coaching from our trainer Duncan I came right, funny one was easy opposite not. Then emergency braking at 60kms, exciting yes I was to discover my bike didn’t have abs, oops. Off to Picton staggered riding for lunch then we hit the grove track me in front Duncan behind full on instruction through head sets, was very shy to start but got hang of in and out, got to Havelock great I thought all done, Naa turn around back we go to Ngakuta Bay this was repeated until we all had a go, right head home I thought, naa off to what was Mcvicars Mill Kaituna Back road. More emergency stops this time 70 ,80 ,90 then 100 kms very exciting, then back to the Road House Renwick for coffee and debrief oh and then a certificate and a silver badge, proud, heck yes, I could have given you all the short version and said Blinken awesome but wouldn’t have done it justice, even a bike vet who was with us got good take aways, I would encourage all members to do this silver and the gold course, so important and sadly we don’t know it all, many thanks to the people who encouraged me!”

“I attended a Gold Ride Forever course with Duncan Seed as the trainer. He certainly knows his stuff on getting the message through and keeping it interesting. The audio visual content at the start certainly reminded you of the wee important things you may have forgotten. The riding and braking was great and was a real confidence builder. Loved every minute of it and will sign up for another course.”

“It was with some trepidation I did put my name down to take part in this course after a friend suggested I would really enjoy it. I have been riding seriously since 1995. I thought I am now 80 and do have health issues and just maybe I should do it.
I’m pleased to say it was a great decision for me. I absolutely loved it. I learned so much more today that I cannot but stress how so many of our riding buddies in our Ulysses Club could benefit from doing either a Silver of a Gold course to sharpen their riding skills.
Yes I was worried that I would get too tired given my health issues but our instructor broke the day up to allow us to relax more and so I enjoyed all aspects of his teaching.
I consider myself a safe rider but I knew there would be things I would learn.
I believe just about all our returned riders would learn heaps from it.
I did have concerns mainly with speed braking having a small bike with no ABS was my main concern. But with the coaching and confidence I gained from trainer Duncan and my fellow riders there was no problem at all and no locked up rear brake.”

“I found the course very helpful and when I next got out on a bike every thing they said come flooding back. I am looking forward the next course as motorcycling is a big part of my life and has been for 46 years.”

“Thanks for the opportunity to attend Ride to Live course. I found it very worthwhile as I have improved my positioning on the road during cornering and more in control when riding at slow speed and picked up some useful tips about braking. All of these are essential and the personal input of Kevin and Jason regarding skills was pitched at a level which made understanding and practicing improvements possible .I have recommended the course to riders I know and will attend others in the future.”

“Aside from the fact that you do or do not know stuff. These courses are enjoyable.
There is such a lot to this biz of riding a motorcycle it’s not easy to put it all into words, and have it understood by all. Suffice to say the courses are helping a lot of people in a great way. We are better with them than without.
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“I thoroughly enjoyed that last Gold course: Kevin and Jason are great guys, work well together and offer some truly invaluable instruction, so I’m really looking forward to the next training session with them.”

“I found the subsidy was amazing and I would recommend the ride2live course to all ages and levels of riders. I gained great skills that will always provide me a safer ride. ”

“Many thanks, really found the course useful. What appears so basic, with a little knowledge and training shows such an easier and safer way to do it - from cornering, to emergency braking.... Really worth while course.”

“On the first Sunday of May I did go for an extended bike ride, but not with my usual cohorts.
The Ride Forever (Silver course) day was excellent! Even someone my age (63) can still pick up a few new things it appeared.
Apart from the ‘theory’ start which we did indoors with some movies & chat to wait for the sun to come out, I did probably more riding than on a normal classic riders trip.
After doing a bike check (tires / lights / breaks / oil / chain ) we set off.
First an exercise in slow speed control (riding with the rear brake on, while balancing clutch & throttle) & some figure 8 riding, then emergency stops at 50 km/h, and when we had all survived that we rode to Picton, had lunch at a subway, then we did the Queen Charlotte drive to Havelock twice, while each participant got individual reviews and tips from the co-ordinator via the intercoms we all had in our helmets, with advice mostly on our cornering techniques.
Just after 5 pm we made it back to the classroom to get a nice goody bag, some recapping & a nice certificate to frame (haha).
Seeing the total cost was paid for by ACC & the Marlb District Council, and the promise of a $100 discount on your future rego’s when you do 2 courses in 12 calendar months, it’s impossible to get better value for money, and I’ll definitely do the gold course later on!”

“Really worth the time, good experienced instructors with a wealth of knowledge.”

“I took my bike test in Englad when I was 17. I would just like to say I completed the Bronze last Sunday, Kevin and Jason did a surperb job. I am in my 60’s and learnt a lot, who said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”