Having M2 exit next week

[nfq]

i don't think it's completely irrelevant. if you know the route, you can become familiar with it. being familiar with the route is one less thing to have to worry about, imo.

If you're too familiar you could become lazy and complacent, since you know where everything is, you may not do as many shoulder checks, for example.

That's not what I said at all. You studied for tests in high school and college, why shouldn't this be treated in a similar fashion? After all, it is a test. What I said was it can't hurt to know the route.

Tests are supposed to test your knowledge of a topic or subject, not test your ability to answer or perform on specified questions or tasks. As per Mikbusa, if you can ride everywhere, you can ride the route. If you only prepare for the test and how to ride for the test, then re-evaluate your ability to ride when you're not being tested.