If you have never had any advanced rider training you will find that it inspires confidence, allowing you to enjoy your riding even more than you do already. For those of you who have already achieved an IAM pass, RoSPAs Gold Advanced Riding award is the highest civilian riding award. RoSPA Advanced riding training will hone your skills to the next level.

The aim of RoADAR training is to develop a union between you, your bike and your surroundings. From this you will gain the ability to anticipate hazards, and plan how to deal with them, the ability to ride more smoothly and cover distances more quickly and easily. This ability is known as Roadcraft.

The Advanced Riding Course

The training course consists of six weekly sessions held on Saturday mornings.
These run from 9.00am to approximately 2pm. Each week concentrates on a different topic, such as "Urban Riding" or "Corners & Bends", and the final week brings together all the new skills. In the final session the tutors will assess each rider, and hopefully they will have absorbed the new skills & be ready to go forward to take the Advanced test.

Week 1 - Starts with some quick paperwork, checking of licences and insurance. At the same time the training team will make a visual check of the bikes. Any problems will be highlighted, and, if possible, the problem will be rectified at the time or should be corrected for the following week.  Following this will be a short classroom session; This covers the system of riding that forms the basis of the course. Don't panic, it is quite informal, but provides a framework for the course..  There is an assessment ride with the course tutors to establish existing skill and ability of machine control.  On returin from the assessment ride there will be a buffet lunch provided after which there will be a short session in the carpark, to cover low speed handling and braking techniques.

The next 5 weeks follow a simlar format i.e. a short presentation and then out on the bike, putting into practice the principles of smoother, safer riding relative to that days topic. There will be a maximun of two candidates per tutor to ensure plenty of direct observation and input:-

Week 2 - IPSGA & Hazard Awareness, this uses the theory of the riding system to show position and observation to aid planning, which is the basis of all advanced riding.

Week 3 - Corners, Bends and Overtaking, the use of position, observation and planning to manage progress and speed out on the more interesting of roads.

Week 4 - Town Riding and Filtering, the extra hazards and situations that require quick and desicive planning to ride smoothly and still maintain momentum in a busy town or city.

Week 5 - Motorways and Dual Carriageways, and the particular hazards, such as speed and weather conditions, and the situations these can produce.

Week 6 - Provides an opportunity for any problems or queries that have not have been resolved to be addressed. The tutors will also carry out an assessment of the student's progress and highlighting any issues that may prevent having a successful test outcome.

All of the training, with the exception of the 1st weeks classroom/carpark input, is done on the roads of Lancashire, Merseyside, Manchester and Cheshire, so please arrive with enough fuel for 50-100 miles of riding, to save having to make fuel stops. The tutors will follow and observe the candidate, and at regular intervals stop for a short debrief, to give feedback on the preceeding ride. There will usually be a quick cafe stop, for riders to refuel. At the end of the session, there will be a more in depth debrief, including a summary of the positive and negative areas of the day's ride, and the tutor will also advise on which areas the candidate should try to work on before the next session.

All of the tutors bring a wealth of experience to the training course.

Above all, although RoSPA Advanced Training is a fairly challenging undertaking, we always endeavour to keep a sense of humour and to enjoy the riding; After all we are all bikers, and ride for pleasure and relaxation, not just to get from A to B, although of course we aim to do this as smoothly and safely as possible.

How to find the Training Centre:

Moorgate Point
Business Park
Moorside Road North
Knowsley
Liverpool
L33 7XW