Welcome to Survival Skills Rider Training

discover the very best in post-test improver and advanced rider training



open for on-road & online coaching
find out more
START HERE



knowledge... judgement... technique
and INSIGHT

Take a Survival Skills Ride4Fun course and CORNER with CONFIDENCE

Performance: BENDS one-day or Performance: SPORT two-day courses
- from £235 (watch for special offers and late booking deals!)

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“I have passed IAM and RoSPA tests, but the Survival Skills experience opens up another perspective on the whole ‘bike skill enhancement’ arena providing both practical help and ideas to reflect upon. Keep up the good work!” John Challis

COURSES FOR ALL from SURVIVAL SKILLS

Ride4Fun COURSES

one- or two-day course
The Ride4Fun courses are aimed at recreational riders. Opening up the enjoyment of the freedom that motorcycling brings, we'll develop your twisty road technique to new levels. The Performance: BENDS one-day course will open up a whole new perspective on corners - from hazard perception and how to 'set up' the brakes as part of a planned approach to bends, to using system of 'Reference Points', positive machine inputs and the 'Point & Squirt' approach to cornering - unique to Survival Skills. On day two the Performance: SPORT  two-day course adds a raft of extra techniques including braking into and mid-corner and body shifting to lift your riding to new heights. 


Survival: SKILLS two-day COURSE

the original course
Get two days of coaching to help you develop a go-anywhere, do-anything skillset to cope with any riding challenge. The Survival: SKILLS two-day course will enable you to deal with any roads from twisty country bends via motorways to city centre snarl-ups.

Survival: URBAN one-day COURSE
With many of us using two wheels to get to work, staying safe by avoiding public transport shouldn't mean taking risks on the roads, so . I've developed the Survival: URBAN one-day course to deliver the goods. You can draw on my many years as a courier to develop your own filtering, collision avoidance and slow riding skills you need in the cut and thrust of commuter traffic.

Confidence COURSES 


one- or two-day course
New or returning rider? Changing bike? New riding environment? Want a fix for a specific problem? Or just lost confidence? Then the Confidence: BUILDER one-day course is for you because this course is all about your needs. We'll get you up and running again, building skills where you knew you were weak, fixing problems you didn't know you had and helping you rebuild confidence where you need it. You name it - we'll fix it - and you can add an extra day too.
.
The
Riding: REFRESHER one-day course is a gentle reintroduction for riders who've had a lay-off. Tell us what kind of riding you expect to do, and we'll put together a ride round the perfect roads to regain your biking mojo.

ONLINE COACHING


60 min sessions
New times? New Methods! We've got used to working from home, so get used to learning from home. Your riding coach, Kevin Williams, is not just BTEC-qualified but is an NVQ-qualified e-tutor too. Kevin has offered online advance for years, either directly or via website articles. He's also a writer and author. He's written the safety column in 'The Road' for years, created a cartoon series called Lucky 13 for ACEM, researched the Science Of Being Seen for Biker Down and produced the 60 Second Safety video series. Now you can book inexpensive 60 minute online coaching sessions on a range of topics such cornering  or filtering. Tell us what you want and we'll set up a bespoke session ONLINE but offering the same Survival Skills.

Take a Survival Skills Ride2Work course and COMMUTE with CONFIDENCE

Survival Skills one-day Survival: URBAN and two-day Survival: SKILLS courses
from £235 (watch for special offers and late booking deals!)

   ONLINE COACHING SESSIONS

    All the same content - in the comfort of your own home!

  1. SAME GREAT CONTENT -  You'll get all the theory from Survival Skills ON-ROAD courses but delivered to you remotely. Alternatively, ONLINE COACHING sessions can be personalised to address YOUR riding issues. And we finish up with some easy-to-apply but carefully focused on-road exercises - they form the essential link between understanding the theory and putting it into practice out on the road.
  2. FLEXIBLE & SELF-PACED - schedule sessions as they suit you, allowing you to learn and master the material at your own pace, in your own time. You have complete flexibility to take an ONLINE COACHING session at a time that suits you, then head out on the road to work through the exercises as often as you like. Then when you're good and ready, you can move on to the next section.
  3. AT YOUR CONVENIENCE -  ONLINE sessions are available to anyone, anywhere in the world, and all in the comfort of your own home. And unlike a conventional on-road training session, you can access a recording of the session to watch whenever you want. It's not just a one-off experience - you can take a refresher at any time. 
  4. LEARNING ONLINE only changes the MEDIUM, not the CONTENT - unlike learning from a book or watching a video, training is INTERACTIVE. Work partly independently and in new ways, and you're more likely to succeed because you are SELF-MOTIVATED and better ENGAGED. The more you put your heart into it, the more you’ll learn. 
  5. INEXPENSIVE 60 MINUTE SESSIONS - learn at your own pace and keep your wallet happy at the same time. 

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What are Survival Skills about if not enjoying the PERFECT RIDE... every time
And there's a Survival Skills course for every rider!

Survival Skills one-day Confidence: BUILDER and Riding: REFRESHER courses
- from £235 (watch for special offers and late booking deals!)

TRAIN AT CONVENIENT LOCATIONS AROUND LONDON

Herts / NW London

M25 / M1

Watford / St Albans area

Essex / NE London

M25 J26 

Waltham Abbey / Epping area

Bucks / W London

M25 / M40

Beaconsfield area

City 

A406 N Circular Road

Brent Cross area

Surrey / SW London

M25 / A30

Egham area

Kent / SE London

A20 / A205 S Circular Road

Lee Green area

Oxfordshire

A40 / M40 

(May to mid-October)

Online Coaching

Join me from ANYWHERE via Zoom

BOOK HERE!

TIMETABLING

ALL YEAR

ONLINE COACHING sessions and ONLINE BRIEFINGS for practical on-road sessions can be held ANY TIME from 8 am to 12 midnight all year round.
ON-ROAD TRAINING available from NW London all year, weather permitting.

SEVEN DAYS A WEEK

ON-ROAD TRAINING and ONLINE COACHING available MONDAY TO SUNDAY.

MORNINGS

Morning ON-ROAD sessions start at 10am and finish early afternoon - so no setting-off at silly hours to ride to meet me.

AFTERNOONS

Afternoon ON-ROAD sessions start at 1 pm and finish early evening - so you'll be home before the worst of the rush hour.

SUMMER EVENINGS

Evening ON-ROAD sessions are available from early May to mid-September. Start times vary between 5:30 and 7:30 pm and finish before dark,

WINTER

From mid-October to mid-November then mid-February to mid-March: ON-ROAD sessions at ALL venues start at 12 noon to allow roads to dry and make the best use of daylight.
From mid-November to mid-February: ON-ROAD sessions start at 12 noon ONLY from NW London.

BESPOKE COURSES, OTHER LOCATIONS &
ADDITIONAL ON-ROAD SESSIONS

Need even more flexibility? Survival Skills will work with you to match training to YOUR needs. Let us know what you want and we'll do our best to fit around YOUR timetable. 

ADVENTURE TRAINING

'Adventure Training' courses are two or three day trips for a small group - max THREE bikes - based around a one- or two-night stay in a pub on the England-Wales border. Cover the content of the Performance: BENDS / Performance: SPORT one- and two-day courses on a mix of great roads around the borders and up into the Cambrian Mountains.
Returning in 2022!


Q - Are you qualified to deliver post-test training?
Qualified AND EXPERIENCED! I've been offering advanced coaching since 1997, and hold an independent BTEC in post-test rider training. The BTEC was moderated by EDEXCEL who are the UK's largest independent organisation offering academic, vocational and work-based learning qualifications. I also hold an NVQ in online education and distance learning techniques from Sheffield College.

Q - Does Survival Skills deliver the Enhanced Rider Scheme (ERS)?
The answer to that question is a straightforward 'no'. I investigated joining the Register of Post-test Motorcycle Trainers (RPTM) when the scheme was first announced. I was actually accepted but decided the cost of registering was too high and would have to be passed on in the cost of my courses. Secondly, the ERS is not a challenging standard and recent changes to the road riding element have not changed my opinion. I would still describe it as 'DAS-plus' and any Survival Skills course is a much higher standard, as well as being truly client-centred and delivered by an experienced rider coach. 

FREE RESOURCES

FREE on Ko-Fi

plus hundreds of archive articles - access them from just £3

FREE LUCKY 13 CARTOONS

13 comic strips featuring riding hazards

FREE YouTube CHANNEL

Watch Better Biking videos & my Elevenses webcast

REVIEWS

Excellent tuition from a highly skilled trainer and the best bit is it's great fun. You taught me a lot more than a couple of new skills, I learnt a whole new way of thinking. Thank you Kevin best money I ever spent.
- Terry Malka

Having just had a debrief via Zoom, I can safely say I was much more in a state of mind to take in information and comments than after the actual ride. Besides, during a debrief at home you can sit with a cup of coffee, no distractions (except cats ofc), take notes, go through video footage in minute detail on a larger screen etc. Also, as debriefs are scheduled to everyone's convenience, you can choose a time to suit. 
- Patricia Stiemke

Excellent training - I booked an online course to help gain confidence with a new bike following a crash. Although it was a new way of doing things, the online teaching was first class... that ultimately turned nerves into a big wide grin in a matter of hours. I look forward to booking more courses - highly recommended!
- Julie Hicken

Everyone - whether you’ve done Bikesafe, IAM’s or not done any extra training - you SHOULD DO THIS! 
- Mike Armstrong

Don't just take my word for it...

A very informative and worthwhile investment in my riding! Well pitched for my needs, sound explanations, very useful riding techniques and diagnostic assessment of my riding. It was also fun. Plus excellent support material available from the site. Only a single day but I would come back for more for sure.
- Dave Murray

I highly recommend Survival Skills to other motorcycle riders, regardless of their level of skill, years of experience, advanced rider credentials, and preferred style of riding. I did two days of Survival Skills training in July. I received excellent, responsive training with a lot of thought and years of detailed research behind it, delivered in a lovely and non-threatening manner. Kevin did not waste time teaching me stuff I already know well as an IAM Advanced Rider but instead built on that, working on honing my hazard perception skills and showing me an alternative approach to bends and braking not taught by IAM.
- Johann van Duyn

I thought with 18 years experience I would not achieve much but how wrong I was! Bloody good course and well worth doing, All you need is someone like Kevin to help you read between the signs.
- Steve King

read these reviews written by my trainees...

I took the 2-day Survival: SKILLS course and it was great. Kevin knows a lot and explained (and demonstrated) very well what and how to do things better. The course changed the way I look at things now and I would definitely recommend it!
- Rene Friedrichs

I had been working towards getting my advanced motorcycle license, but everything came to a grinding halt due to a long lay off due to major surgery and the Covid lockdown. When I resumed my motorcycle skills and confidence had taken a massive hit, I felt like I’d gone back to the beginning. I felt a sense of improvement during the ride and... overall I took a lot from this course and would recommend it for anyone who feels the need to iron out bad habits and regain confidence.
- Jim Knight

(Jim dropped me a line to tell me he had passed his IAM test with a First a few weeks after his two days' training. Well done!) 

“The observation stuff you do really made me think. I thought [well known police-run advanced school] covered it all but that was like a 5 on the scale where what you do is a 10. I never realised you could get so much information as you ride!“
- Jason Knight

to see what THEY thought of their courses!