Aliz Varga: Freedom on two wheels

 Aliz, who grew up in Romania, prefers two wheels to four: "I love the freedom to explore the county of Hertfordshire or take a weekend-long tour in the Alps. I love the adrenaline and excitement I get every time I get to ride my bike.”  Aliz passed her Advanced Rider Test just over two years ago after being introduced to IAM Roadsmart by her partner.    

Recommending IAM RoadSmart  

 Aliz says she would recommend the IAM  RoadSmart Advanced Rider Course to anyone at any age. For people who passed their driving/riding test recently and would like to learn extra safety, better riding skills and to be more confident on the road. To know how to be seen by other road users and how to use the road to its maximum capacity. Also, people who passed their test a while ago or a long time ago just to refresh their knowledge, get rid of potential bad habits while riding. It’s an amazing place to meet new, likeminded people, where age doesn’t matter”

Tell us about an occasion where the advanced riding course helped in a potentially dangerous situation:

“During a rainy evening commute, not long after I passed my advanced rider training course a car suddenly started swerving into my lane. Thanks to the training I instinctively applied counter-steering technique to maintain control of my bike. I remembered the importance of keeping a safe following distance which allowed me to break smoothly and avoid colliding with the car. The training helps me to stay calm and to apply the learned knowledge instinctively. Remember, advanced rider training can equip motorcyclists with valuable skills and knowledge to handle challenging road conditions and potential hazards.” 

“Getting my full A license in Romania at the age of 18 by only ever riding a bike in a carpark and never going on the road with an instructor before, I was lacking some serious riding skills such as how to do cornering properly, how to position myself on the road correctly for maximum safety, smoothness, and progress, and just general road awareness skills. I had the most amazing observer, whose endless patience and knowledge helped me be a much better, safer, and quicker (not exceeding the speed limit) rider. It made me so much more confident on the road and opened my horizons to keeping myself as safe as possible from other road users. I am positioning myself so others can see me better and I do not cause confusion. Anticipating other road users' actions and directions to see more and be more visible. Being part of HBAM, my local ground helps me keep to the learned standard by going out riding with members and constantly improving myself by going on courses such as Look, Lean Roll, or Slow Riding.”