Cycle trainers, what's spoiling your day?

That's not good.
Hope the course was though, and you managed to get a pleasant evening ride afterwards.

Lets see if they send the certificate or it's all for nothing.

Fingers crossed..

2 weeks from the training and no certificate or communication, persuing a refund. Just glad I didn't forward the cost to my employer with no certificate so it's less of a mess.

It generally takes 10 working days for us to get the certs from the company we use, so you should get it this week.

no certificate or communication

How am I to know? Was it in the booking confirmation that didn't get sent?

Certification was sent out 17 working days after training by standard post. A request and agreement made with @skydancer to have it sent via email made 10 working days after training was misplaced, I think that's just multiple people handling the same thing.

I should also say that the training was very well delivered, as all my own CPD I've done via that company has been(and that of a handful of referrals both at instructor level and under). Specific to that day, the group size was smaller than on previous first aid couses I had been on allowing for more interaction with the first aid trainers and better access to teaching resources with a first aid trainer present at all times during practical exercises. I feel the group size was optimum for the brainstorming/group elements of the training with neither too few participants giving ideas or so many participants that people in the group became disengaged. The group size also allowed the activities to take a shorter amount of time giving space for additional learning with 2+ techniques not usually present on 1 day first aid training added, it was very indicative of the trainee-led style the company has in contrast with others who would have dismissed the trainees early leaving them with less knowledge. I'm sure had I struggled and asked for additional help this would have been possible as again the training was focused around my learning rather than around ticking the boxes and going home. Handouts had been booklets of a high quality where on other courses I had been given grainy/bad photocopy reproductions or outdated publications with stickers across amended sections.

Unsure why you wanted me to post this @skydancer but I've included more so the negatives of paperwork/admin interactions aren't taken as all it is. I find some admin processes reminiscent of my old work and they bring out a tone I rarely if ever use as an instructor, I think more than anything it's unexpected as I rarely mention my old work and I'm young enough it's just assumed there wasn't much/anything before.

Unsure why you wanted me to post this

Thanks for posting @Clockwise . I suggested this just for balance.

.

Last two days on the road have been pretty moody. I'm only doing level 3, 2:1 teaching as the holiday courses are pure childcare. Level 3 kids want to be there and are actually riding to school. One student today was a girl I last taught in 2013 as a year 5. Great kid. God I'm old

Had 2 sessions today both understaffed a bit from what's normal. People not sharing resources spoiled my day.

The first one covering a manger who usually has 2 instructors and 4+ volunteers, they want more volunteers when they get back from holiday so I've only 2 instructors and 1 volunteer, it's a bit selfish and a bit of just not being bothered to plan. Session went well but I had to offer less range of bikes as if it got busy with more riding we just couldn't supervise it enough.

I then had a crazy session with every single thing being badly planned as a colleague did it in a huff(I refused to put in hours for free when they get the pay for planning), asking them to do any risk assessment was a total affront too which has caused people to look up her expected file of risk assessment and find it lacking(will be fallout from this for months).

2 instructors(me+co), 2 volunteers, 2 interpreters.
5 trikes, 1 side by side, 2 go karts.
25 syrian speaking participants with varied learning difficulties.

Session went well, spent the first 20min telling people via improvised sign language to stop trying to get on bikes and fill in registers then an hour of people riding which it seemed the 20min of asserting authority carried over well. Very strange having to plan what I'd say 30sec before so it had time to go via translation.

Had an NSIP colleague come to me today and say a provider offered to do an NSIQ assessment for them while they worked as a co-instructor for me at an all ability session that involves no teaching. A bit baffled really until I figured out the provider had opted to string them along to part them of money, that's rather low given the employment/money situation of most instructors. I'll have a better talk with them in the week as they may have given the impression they lead sessions but I can't see why they would.

Keep having instructors pass annoying messages via my bikeability age 2nd cousins.

The kids don't properly understand how working freelance works(why would they?) or that the instructors are asking via them are doing so to avoid a discussion about pay for what is essentially being a support instructor for them.

Ends up with the kids not understanding why I couldn't hang out and do bike stuff with them at school as that's the view they have of interaction with instructors.

Had to ask someone to leave a CPC today. Was being "challenging" from the beginning and refusing to sign the consent for because he didn't think it covered him sufficiently. It was explained that if he followed instructions and didn't do stunts etc he would be covered. Gets given a bike and promptly does a wheelie, is warned not to do that or any other similar stuff, immediately does a bunny hop and then given final warning. So he does another bunny hop and then not happy when he was asked to leave.

You get that when on SUD/CPC. It will have been someone who cycled earlier in life but then as they drive professionally developed a fear of cycling or fear of cycling in urban environments. You made a good choice imo, they would have only got worse as the day went on as that jokey mucking about is part of a defence. Hopefully the follow up isn't too harsh on them and they can still be reached, someone driving professionally with that fear and then learning what they can do to remove the causes of cycling fears for others is really what we want on the road.

tl:dr he was driving behind you as you cycled to the training

I've been booked for a bunch of work and most likely can't avoid bikes on trains, I'll end up buying a brompton at this rate and I hate that.

Could ask to borrow a company folder if they're sending you to work too far to reasonably cycle?

I just dislike folding bikes and bikes on trains and all the faff. I could most likely public transport all the way then use a bike at the training site but that's faff too.

My partner likes the idea, her folding bike was stolen when she lived in Chelsea and a brompton she can borrow is something she might ride since the mixte failed. Will also be able to ride with my neighbour as it's more unisex and will go short enough for her. Could help with my other work too, restaurants are forever wanting to know the experience of someone who turns up with something unusual bike/dog/luggage.

Get a Birdy
shit fold,
ace ride

Turns out I've had a person I work with steal a couple of shifts from me via contacting the office and saying I'd asked to swap days with them in a rather pot luck "x said I should cover him on x day" giving the days they want to work and then hope it's somewhere they want to work and that I had a shift that day. Not sure how they expected to get away with it as the days went off our system and stayed in my diary so I just contacted the office to ask what had happened and they got caught. I've got a handful of days booked to work with them so let them keep the days or they will just kick off and sulk making the other days near impossible to work.

My partner went for a cycle yesterday in wormwood scrubs with her work to take clients out, when she got home was saying her legs hurt a bit. When I talked with her about it she said instructors put her on a bike that didn't fit at all so her knees banged on a bar(it was an adapted bike), knowing more about the bike they could have adjusted it to put the seat back but didn't bother. Talking more she explained the gearing felt heavy so I looked up the bike and it has linked pedals(like a pedalo) and the resistance would have been her client pushing against the pedals, said an instructor cycled with her client after feeling the same resistance then took the bike out of action(possibly injuring the client in the process), asked her the clients mobility and needs and then it seemed the bike wasn't suitable for the client either.

Not sure how to get feedback to instructors without going via either my partners work who will just stop taking them cycling or head office of who will swap instructors so they don't learn from the experience just lose out on work replaced by someone who potentially will do the same.

Expectation by office staff who work a regular 9-5 mon-fri that I'm on call 24/7 as someone might book a £32 session and I should contact them the same day means I've been finding it really difficult to rest properly. Really feeling it today to the point I've blocked out next week in my diary.

https://iwgb.org.uk/en/post/stop-cycle-training-cuts/?link_id=1&can_id=16a86b2bf14782ebe3975df409f62937&source=email-newsletter-cycling-instructors-face-huge-budget-cuts-2&email_referrer=email_1487160&email_subject=newsletter-cycling-instructors-face-huge-budget-cuts-_

Fucking hell, 100% cuts? How serious is that proposal? That seems ridiculous given that the budgets involved are probably a tiny fraction of overall TfL finances.

Nobody seems to know how serious it is and nor does there appear to be a way to find out. In the meantime we are all just hanging around waiting to hear and, some of us, planning our exit.