Today, Knowledge Boys practice on mopeds rigged with maps

"Remembering the streets' names is the hard part," says Harper, who does about 50 runs each day on his moped. "I just have to go out and have a look around, then come back and look at my A-Z [map of London] and call out the street names. What's difficult is, if I stop, it's easy to forget. I have to constantly keep doing it. "

"There are no set rules, " says a 30-year-old student of The Knowledge who left his job as a trader in the financial markets. "I go out about two to six hours a day . . . and I have to admit I'm finding it relatively easy. The people who are having a harder time put in less work. It's like bad songs from the early '80's. It's just repetition until something just clicks and everything falls into place."

Not everyone finds it as easy as these two. Conventional wisdom holds that no one can fail The Knowledge, one can only give up on it. In fact, only three out of every ten people who begin The Knowledge finish and receive the coveted green badge. But Harper, who has about a year to go, thinks there are other rewards as well.

"My memory is far better," he says. "Plus, The Knowledge has improved me. I used to watch more television. Now, I'd rather pick up a book. It's like [my brain] wants to be fed more."

Many of the Knowledge Boys are life-long Londoners. They say becoming better acquainted with their hometown is another benefit of their studies.

"I was completely blind to how really diverse the city is," says the former market trader. "And learning the secret history of London also keeps me going.

""I have always wanted to do it from a young lad but had to follow another career," says a 55-year-old former engineer. "Now, I can just fit in this interesting job for the 15 years or so left of my working life. I have been on The Knowledge for two years and two months and just thoroughly enjoy all of it."

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