WORLD’S KEENEST LEARNER

When Asad Mirza decided he wanted to take his riding up a notch, he discovered a problem: despite his native India having a population of 1 billion people, not one of them is an advanced riding instructor. Unwilling to give up, Asad looked further afield and discovered Rapid Training.

“Eventually I found the Rapid Training website, which had the most detail about riding and the highest qualified coaches, so I rang up and booked myself on,” says Asad. “They asked what levels of their Roadmaster course I wanted to do, and I said ‘all of them!’. If I’m going to fly all the way from India, it needs to be worth my while.”

Asad, during his intensive six days of training.

And Asad did just that, spending six days getting one-on-one coaching, riding a hired Multistrada 1260S around England and Wales. “The course was fantastic,” says Asad, who also has a Fireblade back home in Mumbai. “In India 99% of motorcyclists haven’t learned how to ride in a school. Most of us just get a bike and go. But I wanted to ride like I saw people riding in Ducati or BMW adverts – these guys are professional riders. I wanted to enjoy the motorcycle, not die on it.”

One of the problems he faced was the Indian attitude to riding. “In India the mentality on the roads is completely different. Everyone has a very big ego when they are riding or driving, which causes a lot of accidents. I learned a lot about restraint,” says Asad. 

“When you first get on a bike as a kid you get a few tips from experienced riders, and that’s useful, but to have an expert teaching you for eight hours a day, for six days… that makes a lot of difference. You can imagine how much I have improved. I am sure my riding friends in India will be shocked.” 

The training has also made Asad think hard about the carnage on India’s roads. “In 2019 56,000 people died on bikes in India. It is completely shocking and the Indian government must act. We desperately need the standard of training I have just experienced.”