I have been considering doing some sort of advanced riding course for probably 10 years now and have looked at IAM & Rospa over the years but never got so far as to approach either organisation.
Over the years I have done my research and didn't like the references to 'progress' as I thought that it might mean me being pushed to ride faster than I wanted, to clarify this point I mean pushed by myself rather than an observer or mentor.
To give a bit of perspective, I have been riding bikes since before my teens, I won scrambles at 500 senior level, competed in the Weston beach race twice, had road bikes on and off since I was 16 and solidly since 2000 and consider myself a safe rider who can keep up with most on the road given the right conditions.
Anyway, I finally went to Solent Advanced Motorcyclist group 'solent Sunday' at the beginning of June for a chat and a short observed ride, I then decided to spend my money and work toward an IAM pass.
It turned out I was doing lots of it anyway, the polishing involved a number of observed rides with Colin, we had a brief/debrief at either end of the ride where we discussed my ride and how I could modify my style, between rides I practiced and tried to implement improvements.
I had an assessment (like a mock test) with Lee and after positive feedback applied for my test which I took and passed on Monday.
What about the progressive bit I hear you say, well you are probably already doing it, it really means riding to the conditions but not exceeding the speed limit. A real example on my test was a very small country road that probably wasn't wide enough for a car and my bike to pass without slowing to an almost stop, it was a national speed limit with overgrown bushes on the bends. I probably didn't exceed 35mph over a mile or so - my original misconception was that I would be criticised for this as I was riding at half of the limit, I was mistaken.
The reason for my ramblings here is really to try to convince anyone sat on the fence that they should go for it as I have enjoyed my time, learnt a lot and got a confirmation of how good a rider I knew I was (the last bit is a joke) - I might also see a discount on my insurance next year.
Obviously these things are about people rather than the badge on your certificate and whilst I chose IAM over Rospa this was simply about logistics for me rather than a preference based on quality or anything else.
Over the years I have done my research and didn't like the references to 'progress' as I thought that it might mean me being pushed to ride faster than I wanted, to clarify this point I mean pushed by myself rather than an observer or mentor.
To give a bit of perspective, I have been riding bikes since before my teens, I won scrambles at 500 senior level, competed in the Weston beach race twice, had road bikes on and off since I was 16 and solidly since 2000 and consider myself a safe rider who can keep up with most on the road given the right conditions.
Anyway, I finally went to Solent Advanced Motorcyclist group 'solent Sunday' at the beginning of June for a chat and a short observed ride, I then decided to spend my money and work toward an IAM pass.
It turned out I was doing lots of it anyway, the polishing involved a number of observed rides with Colin, we had a brief/debrief at either end of the ride where we discussed my ride and how I could modify my style, between rides I practiced and tried to implement improvements.
I had an assessment (like a mock test) with Lee and after positive feedback applied for my test which I took and passed on Monday.
What about the progressive bit I hear you say, well you are probably already doing it, it really means riding to the conditions but not exceeding the speed limit. A real example on my test was a very small country road that probably wasn't wide enough for a car and my bike to pass without slowing to an almost stop, it was a national speed limit with overgrown bushes on the bends. I probably didn't exceed 35mph over a mile or so - my original misconception was that I would be criticised for this as I was riding at half of the limit, I was mistaken.
The reason for my ramblings here is really to try to convince anyone sat on the fence that they should go for it as I have enjoyed my time, learnt a lot and got a confirmation of how good a rider I knew I was (the last bit is a joke) - I might also see a discount on my insurance next year.
Obviously these things are about people rather than the badge on your certificate and whilst I chose IAM over Rospa this was simply about logistics for me rather than a preference based on quality or anything else.