MIKE'S TOUR DIARY

1973 – 1979: Royal Navy Signalman
1980 – 2005: AT&T Telecoms. Head of Technical Skills & Development
2005 – 2008: Marr Solutions Group LLP. Telecoms training and consultancy
2014 – 2020: Ubi-Tech (3R) Ltd. Operations Director
2009 – Present RMT Motorcycle Training Instructor

When the bank crash happened in 2008, we decided to shut the LLP down and I decided on a complete change as I had been in telecoms since 1973. I knew I had the ability to train, and I enjoyed motorcycling, so I decided to combine the two and I went to Simon at RMT Motorcycle Training. He trained me and I became fully qualified in 2009. I did this full time for five years and then went part time as I was asked to become involved in the telecoms training industry once more.

I became a director and shareholder of Ubi-Tech; however, whilst helping to run Ubi-Tech I was still offering my services to RMT when needed. Like a pilot I wanted to keep my hand in as, I get huge satisfaction in helping people attain something that they really want.

I retired from Ubi-Tech (3R) Ltd at the end of 2020 with the intention of continuing with RMT as a part-time instructor when the lockdown was lifted on March 30th, 2021, but all hell broke loose, and we have had the busiest year ever! So much for retirement!

I first slung my leg over a motorbike when I was 14 and used to annoy the local farmer riding a James 125cc two stroke around his field in 1969. I then ventured into the Mod phase and had a Lambretta Li150 until I joined the Royal Navy.

After leaving the Royal Navy I spent 25 years in a training role and was Head of Learning and Development for technical skills for the European region. My love for bikes continued and I had owned various motorbikes over the years, it is not just a job when training but also a very enjoyable hobby.

My wife and I have toured extensively, we don’t do beach holidays, we get on the bike and travel, when you are on a bike the journey is the holiday not just the destination. We toured the Lake District and Scotland on the bike for our honeymoon and we have explored many countries in western Europe for twenty years and have also toured South Africa and Morocco.

We have a large circle of motorcycling friends, and I began organising trips away, sometimes for over 20 people. These included battlefield tours to Normandy (D-Day WWII), the Great War Somme region and the Ardennes Forest – scene of the Battle of the Bulge. It seems, for my sins, I had a natural ability to organise, manage and co-ordinate these trips and funnily enough I got volunteered for the job on a regular basis.