Featured Riders
We believe there’s no better way to have a positive impact on our biking community than to celebrate those riders who contribute to it most greatly.
From club leaders, fundraisers to those with all-round biking spirit and road safety ambassadors, so many people in our county embody what it means to be an inspirational rider. It’s our ambition to hero the men and women that Kent’s biking community are proud of.
Our current featured riders are:
COLIN GRAY
As one of the most regular faces at our county’s charity runs, Colin also organises escorts for fallen riders and those being bullied. He’s celebrated for going the extra mile to bring fellow bikers and their families together.
ALAN WILLIS
Alan was nominated because of his incredible efforts for the Royal British Legion. He’s a fundraiser who gives back to the community regularly and without complaint.
Would you like to vote for a biker to be featured on our website? Nominate someone you believe contributes to Kent’s great biking culture via our [email protected]
RIDER BLOGS
Kent Police
Hi, what’s your name? PC Baker
How old are you? 46
How long have you been riding? 19 years
What do you ride? BMW RT1200
What was the best part of your training experience? Being able to still learn
What did you find the hardest part of your training experience? none
How often do you ride? Monthly at work
Have you had any scary moments whilst riding or what scares you the most about motorcycling? Other road users not seeing me
Do you ride with other riders? Yes at work
Do you ride differently when you are in a group than when you are alone? No I ride my own ride
If you could buy any bike at all what would it be and why? BMW r-nine t
What do you use your bike for most? Police work
What would be your favourite ride for pleasure? I ride at work only
What do you wear when you are riding? BKS Airtech jacket
Do you ride in any weather or just when its fine? All weather riding
Do you find other road users tolerant? On the whole yes
As a new rider do you think you will stay with motorcycling or move onto a car as soon as you can? Not a new rider
If you were to give one piece of advice to a new rider what would it be? Take it slowly at first to gain as much information as possible.
Hi, what’s your name? PC Mace
How old are you? 45
How long have you been riding? 29 years
What do you ride? A Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sport is my main ride but I also have a collection of 80’s two stroke bikes.
What was the best part of your training experience? Qualifying at Police Advanced level
What did you find the hardest part of your training experience? I found the whole advanced course difficult but very rewarding
How often do you ride? Most days
Have you had any scary moments whilst riding or what scares you the most about motorcycling? Yes, very recently whilst on a motorway I was beside a van when it began to move into my lane. The driver claimed he did not see me. What scares me most is how vulnerable motorcyclists are.
Do you ride with other riders? When I am at work I often ride with others but outside work only occasionally.
Do you ride differently when you are in a group than when you are alone? These days no but from previous experience I know some riders ride a bit nearer or beyond their abilities when riding in a group.
If you could buy any bike at all what would it be and why? Right now it would be a Yamaha RD350 which is the next bike I want to add to my collection.
What do you use your bike for most? Pleasure riding
What would be your favourite ride for pleasure? One of my classic two stroke bikes
What do you wear when you are riding? I always wear good quality PPE
Do you ride in any weather or just when its fine? I prefer riding when the weather is fine but as a police motorcyclist I will ride in any weather.
Do you find other road users tolerant? Mostly yes but I always ride defensively.
As a new rider do you think you will stay with motorcycling or move onto a car as soon as you can? n/a
If you were to give one piece of advice to a new rider what would it be? Don’t ride beyond your abilities.
Young Rider
Hi, what’s your name? My name is Maisie
How old are you? I’m 17
How long have you been riding? I’ve been riding less than a year; I passed the CBT in April 2020.
What do you ride? I currently have a LEXMOTO, which is a small step-through moped – so the engine is a 50cc. My dad rides a larger bike, which I often am a pillion on.
What was the best part of your training experience? The CBT experience I did was with Dexterity in Ashford – I was really nervous as I didn’t really know what to expect and when I turned up, I was the only girl, which just felt a bit awkward at first. Due to lockdown restrictions, there were two people per instructor, usually the groups would be bigger.
The day started with some knowledge of The Highway Code and talking about how to approach road layouts, like roundabouts and junctions. We then were given a bike to use and were told all of the different checks we needed to make – such as tyres, brakes and lights. Then we did some practical bike riding under instruction, this was on an area that looked a bit like a playground – with road markings on it, but no traffic! Later in the day, we went out onto the live roads, which meant we were dealing with the usual traffic that you get. Our instructor spoke to us through a microphone in the helmet which provided had that reassurance on that first ride out. I think the best part of the training was doing the scenarios without the traffic as this let me build up my confidence in my knowledge…which I then got to apply in the practical ride.
What did you find the hardest part of you training experience? Having never ridden a bike before, this was new to me and during the training there was a figure of eight type manoeuvre which required you to weave around the cones, but not put your foot on the floor. It was actually achievable, but because I’d never ridden – I built that up in my head to be something really hard!
The hardest part after completing CBT, was the first solo trip. Whilst you have the CBT pass and know that you can do it, the first time that you are combining it all together and going out alone is quite scary – no one else knows it’s your first time at a roundabout on your own, judging speed and so it is easy to become intimidated by other vehicles.
How often do you ride? In the nicer weather using the moped was my main means of getting about and meant I didn’t rely on public transport or my parents – so maybe 3-4 times a week. In colder weather I didn’t use my bike at all.
Have you had any scary moments whilst riding or what scares you the most about motorcycling? I had not long passed my CBT and was riding from Ashford on the A20 towards Maidstone – and basically an estate BMW was behind me. They were really close, they wanted to pass me and whilst I appreciated that the part of the road we were on was a national speed limit, my bike just doesn’t go 60mph… we were approaching a bend and so they couldn’t see the oncoming and it wasn’t a great place for them to be, I was positioned where I should be…but the driver just sat really close behind. It made me nervous as the driver was just impatient. As soon as the road opened up they overtook me – I think it’s just about how intimidating it is to have someone travelling too close to you, at the side as they pass …or behind you. I stayed calm and just focused on what I needed to be doing, but that might distract other people and losing concentration would not be good, for anyone.
Do you ride with other riders? I actually really enjoy this and it makes it really enjoyable being part of a group. I also never noticed how other riders acknowledge each other. It’s almost like an unwritten rule, if I broke down, I feel pretty confident that it would probably be another rider who would check on me before any other assistance arrived!
Do you ride differently when you are in a group than when you are alone? I think my confidence is increased when I am with a group, but that doesn’t change the way I ride as I still have all the same responsibilities as I do when I am riding independently.
If you could buy any bike at all what would it be and why? My ultimate bike would be a BMW R75/5 café racer. I think this looks quite retro and the bench seat looks stylish…however this is a much bigger engine than I would go anywhere near at the moment…there’s a few bikes and years of experience that I need to work through first!
What do you use your bike for most? Mostly this was used to get me to and from social and sport events, running errands and on nicer days…simply going for a ride.
What would be your favourite ride for pleasure? I like countryside and coastal routes – and as I cannot go on the motorway with my CBT training, this does make you plan the nicer routes to travel.
What do you wear when you are riding? I bought a new helmet, reinforced bike jack and reinforced leggings, bike boots and gloves. At night I do add a fluorescent bib over my jacket.
Do you ride in any weather or just when its fine? I only ride in fine weather as I want my visibility to be good and I know that I would be less confident on wet roads on the bike.
Do you find other road users tolerant? Generally, I think most people are tolerant – and if I am honest those that aren’t probably don’t realise that I am a young rider. I think also sometimes people look at road speeds and see that as a determined speed that they should be going. My bike was capped at 30mph, so even if the road suggested that 40,50 or national was the maximum…I couldn’t ride that, so perhaps patience and understanding could be developed with a small number of drivers.
As a new rider do you think you will stay with motorcycling or move onto a car as soon as you can? I would like to do both; I am learning to drive and would like to eventually buy my own car…but having experienced bikes and the belonging to a group that comes with that…I think riding will be my fine weather travel choice!
If you were to give one piece of advice to a new rider what would it be? Make sure that you wear the protection for riding, it might be tempting to go out in jeans or a t shirt, but you are going to get hurt if you come off the bike. Start good habits early and stick to them.
