Ah well, it came to a bit of an abrupt end. When I joined up towards the end of the season there was a risk that I’d miss the window of opportunity this year. As it was, the runs stopped at the beginning of November. As I’ve read elsewhere, the advanced biking training tends to run with BST. The weather gets unpredictable from October onwards and the risks to the Observers themselves tips the balance.

I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t get the test in this year, next year is a bit trickier to organise, but I’ve enjoyed what I’ve learned and plan to get on with it. All being well I’ll have it done before the summer, with enough of BST in 2007 to go.

In the meantime I’ve found myself watching my observations and what I notice when I travel in other cars and buses, so I’m still learning.