Gain without the pain

A good rider knows it pays to stay a step ahead of the traffic around them. Exposed and alone, they can never afford to become complacent. Perhaps that's why, as a breed, bikers strive for self-improvement far more than their car counterparts: the smarter they ride, the longer they'll be around.

So it's about time. It's about speed too, but make no mistake - regardless of your current skill level - the advice you'll find here will not only accelerate your learning, it can literally save you years of painful trial and error. It's also been compiled for bikers, by bikers (a pool of veteran riders who have the road hours and gravel rash to prove it). Quite simply, they are putting their's on the line so you won't have to. Which brings us to our first suggestion...

Why take a riding course?

Whether at basic or advanced stages, riding courses enable you to develop skills you might otherwise never possess. Training improves hazard perception and makes you aware of potentially dangerous situations in a range of different traffic environs.

Look in the Yellow Pages to find a training course near you.

Only you can determine which methods work best for you. Keep in mind that effective learning is a matter of balancing instruction with practise: instruction draws your attention to new ways of doing things, but only practise will ensure those skills are automatic and readily available the instant you need them. While the information you're about to digest is a fast-track to better riding, nothing is a substitute for time on the bike. So. You better choose one.