Mystery Meat
February of 2024, I read a newsletter that Pat Jacques of ADVWoman sent out and at the bottom it read, “Mystery Meat…”. That got my attention of course, so I continued to read and thought to myself, “Spot on, as I too, am seeing an influx of the ADV world in training offerings.” The piece that Pat wrote read, “I saw an advertisement for women’s motorcycle training by a company I knew nothing about. I followed the link to their website. The class was listed, number of slots available, and price. I looked and looked but could not find details about who was teaching the class or what was being taught. Mystery meat!
“Ride your own ride” means being responsible for your experience. With the growth of ADV riding we have seen a big surge in businesses looking to cash in. Buyer beware. Know who and what you’re getting into.”
This hits very close to home as I recently have been trying to set up some training at an event, to then find out that anther training is being offered as well at a 1/3 of the price. Well, how am I going to compete with that? My prices are set to not only cover the travel to and from, the days of training, insurance that covers the students, but also the time that is spent months prior to the event/training with communications and coordinating of all that goes into the event/training. If I were to add it all up, I’m working for peanuts. Over the past several years I’ve made it work, but it hasn’t been easy and I have had to live extremely simple to make it all work, but with the current trend of all the businesses popping up and “instructors” coming out of the woodwork (not sure where they are getting their credentials), I just may have to hang the helmet up!
I do hope riders do their research on the school and instructors they may be taking a class with as I have had many students share with me of their horrible experiences. So much so, they almost gave up even pursuing this sport. It pains me to hear the stories. Unfortunately, I know all too well, the lack of instructor prep and continued education that “instructors” put into being a high quality professional instructor. Why would anyone put a ton of time and money to stay current in their certifications when no one seems to really care about the credentials in the first place??? I’m considering on canceling my recertification program for the Wilderness First Responder class because again, no one seems to consider my qualifications when it comes down to it. They are going to choose the instructor/tour guide that charges the least amount.
It may be time to look for a new adventure. As you may be able to tell, I’m having a bit of a hard time with continuing on in this profession; all because people don’t seem to mind ordering up Mystery Meat.