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Scott AFB hosts Motorcycle Mentorship Ride

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Nathaniel Hudson
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

The 375th Air Mobility Wing hosted a Motorcycle Mentorship Ride on Sept. 14 to give riders with varying levels of experience a chance to get a refresher in motorcycle safety.

The focus of the ride was safety and mentoring during a group situation and overall safety in the motorcycle community for riders on Scott Air Force Base.

“It’s important for everyone to practice the things that they’re supposed to be working on when they’re not riding alone or in a smaller group,” said Senior Master Sgt. John Roskom, 375th Air Mobility Wing Plans, Programs and Readiness superintendent. “The mentorship ride helps refresh everyone’s memory on safety aspects like proper rules of the road, hand and arm signals, communication, non-verbal communication, and audio signals like your horn.”  

One of these safety rules came into practice when the group briefly became separated and the ride leader had to be alerted to bring the group back together.

“We had one instance today where the group got separated and the signal for the ride leader is three short horn blasts so the ride leader can pull over in an area that’s safe and wait for everyone to catch up or go back and investigate if somebody had a mechanical failure or accident of some sort,” said Roskom.

The mentorship ride gave the group a chance to practice real world aspects of motorcycle safety, which can be crucial for newer riders.

“Some of the riders that I had along had less than a year of experience or zero group riding experience,” said Roskom. “They told me that they really learned a lot today and the experience really made them a lot more comfortable behind the bars in a group setting and in traffic.”

Altogether the ride consisted of four safety briefs over the span of the five hour journey with stops in Millstadt, Prairie Du Rocher, Chester, and Missouri. A route specifically chosen by Roskom.

“It was a route where I knew as the leader I was able to do some of the things, like go down to a single file formation, and go back into a staggered formation,” said Roskom. “I knew there was going to be lots of practicing the safety aspects of the center of today between roads itself and the environment.”   

The purpose of the event was to help newer riders gain more confidence on their bike, and according to Roskom these goals were met.

“I think they excelled,” said Roskom. “The individuals right behind me that were newer also did really well and were genuine when they said they learned a lot from today’s experience.”