OF ADVANCED MOTORISTS
It is possible to raise your riding standard to a much higher level than that required for the ordinary riding test - to an "advanced" level. Advanced riding takes the basic skills learnt for the ordinary test and refines them. Perhaps more importantly, advanced riding covers skills hardly touched upon in basic training, such as cornering, overtaking and motorway riding.
Advanced training develops your ability to concentrate on your riding while on the bike, to observe accurately what is going on around you and to anticipate what is going to happen next. This gives you time to deal with any hazard in a systematic way so that you keep out of trouble however badly other road-users behave. Advanced training will also improve your skill in controlling the bike so that it is always precisely in the right position on the road, at the right speed and in the right gear, and you feel comfortable making brisk progress where circumstances permit. The hallmarks of an advanced ride are that it is safe, legal – no exceeding the speed limit because you missed a sign or were travelling faster than you thought -, smooth, and makes the most of opportunities to make good progress.
Advanced riding is about riding on ordinary roads but doing it supremely well. It is not about off-road riding or racing. Top bike racers have excellent bike control and do not have to cope with pedestrians, cyclists, animals and cars coming the other way. They nevertheless have frequent crashes, because they take risks to win. Advanced riding techniques enable you to enjoy riding and to make good progress without taking risks.