Finbarr
Guest
So, I've got this really huge and heavy bike which is supposedly quite capable off-road.
Only problem is, I'm not!
I decided that now I had a GS, it was time I learned at least some basic skills in off-road riding - so thus determined I went to David Halsell at Sawbridgeworth BMW as I knew he was pretty heavily into off-road and he'd be able to point me in the right direction for getting some instruction.
It turns out that David is pretty good at his "hobby", and that he, not so very long ago, was the South-African National Motocross champion! It also turns out that he's about to start his own off-road school, so he invited me and one other to join him for the day to do an intensive but dead-basic off-road course, on our GS's. This would give him the chance to try the basic course out for timing and content and give us the chance to provide David with some 'punter' feedback. David's also going to provide an intermediate and advanced course in the not-to-distant future.
The day dawned bright and clear and after a coffee in Dave’s kitchen, we headed off to the training area via a short little off-road route (called a green lane) which had me gingerly riding along quite nervously. I didn't like the idea of riding on loose ground, with gravel and lots of bumps and took it very carefully to the big open grassed paddock a few minutes away where we learned the basic skill-set that we'd use throughout the day - and for the rest of our off-road riding.
"Okay", says David, "You've just fallen off - now how are you going to pick this huge thing up off the deck by yourself?" as he gently lowers my bike to the ground on a piece of foam to protect the engine cover.
This, like everything else we learned that day, is all in the simple tricks of the trade and we soon had the bike back on two wheels single-handed (that is, by ourselves, not just using one arm!) with a minimum of effort.
The remainder of the morning was filled with a lots of exercises aimed squarely at building bike handling confidence. Learning how to stand on the bike, where to put your hands and feet, where your balance should be, your riding posture during different obstacles, braking exercises and lots and lots of cone work! We also learned how to set-up the GS for off-road use, tyre pressures, suspension settings, foot peg and handle-bar adjustments and so on.
It was tough.
By lunch, I was physically and mentally tired and I began most of the exercises a little nervously - in a couple of cases I was absolutely bricking myself! The cool thing was, that David has this relaxed southern hemisphere delivery that inspires confidence and enables you to achieve amazing things in no time flat. And all of this is based on technical skills that you absorb throughout the day. David's course is highly structured and uses a building block approach, where each exercise requires and builds upon the skills you learned in the previous one. Even though I was quite nervous, I completed each and every obstacle, and after the initial hesitation, found it was actually pretty easy. The last five or six repetitions of each exercise were heaps of fun and quite relaxed - which improves your riding.
During lunch we chatted about trail etiquette and picked up on some tips and tricks.
I won't bore you with a blow by blow account of the whole day - but suffice to say the green-laneing we did in the late afternoon as a practical application of what we learned, I could not have done the day before. I wouldn't have even attempted it as I'm sure I would have quickly made a mess of me, my bike and the scenery!
oh, and the short little lane we used to get into the field was now a trivial and fun little jaunt, not the intimidating obstacle it had been at the beginning of the day. I was truly gob-smacked at the dramatic change in my abilities and confidence level at the end of a single fun filled day.
Disclaimer thingy...
I'm not in any way connected with David's new venture - I did do the course for free as a beta tester, but my write-up here was to help convince other road-bound GS riders with a hankering for off-road to do something about it. David's course is GS oriented, and as a complete and utter novice I can recommend it as being suitable for any competent and confident road biker with no off-road skills. I'm sure you could also turn up on any non-GS off-road bike too, if you wished.
David Halsell's new school is based in Hertfordshire and called "Dirty Trix". You can contact him on 07932-602-372.
Kind regards,
Finbarr.
Owner of a dirty Twin-Spark!
Only problem is, I'm not!
I decided that now I had a GS, it was time I learned at least some basic skills in off-road riding - so thus determined I went to David Halsell at Sawbridgeworth BMW as I knew he was pretty heavily into off-road and he'd be able to point me in the right direction for getting some instruction.
It turns out that David is pretty good at his "hobby", and that he, not so very long ago, was the South-African National Motocross champion! It also turns out that he's about to start his own off-road school, so he invited me and one other to join him for the day to do an intensive but dead-basic off-road course, on our GS's. This would give him the chance to try the basic course out for timing and content and give us the chance to provide David with some 'punter' feedback. David's also going to provide an intermediate and advanced course in the not-to-distant future.
The day dawned bright and clear and after a coffee in Dave’s kitchen, we headed off to the training area via a short little off-road route (called a green lane) which had me gingerly riding along quite nervously. I didn't like the idea of riding on loose ground, with gravel and lots of bumps and took it very carefully to the big open grassed paddock a few minutes away where we learned the basic skill-set that we'd use throughout the day - and for the rest of our off-road riding.
"Okay", says David, "You've just fallen off - now how are you going to pick this huge thing up off the deck by yourself?" as he gently lowers my bike to the ground on a piece of foam to protect the engine cover.
This, like everything else we learned that day, is all in the simple tricks of the trade and we soon had the bike back on two wheels single-handed (that is, by ourselves, not just using one arm!) with a minimum of effort.
The remainder of the morning was filled with a lots of exercises aimed squarely at building bike handling confidence. Learning how to stand on the bike, where to put your hands and feet, where your balance should be, your riding posture during different obstacles, braking exercises and lots and lots of cone work! We also learned how to set-up the GS for off-road use, tyre pressures, suspension settings, foot peg and handle-bar adjustments and so on.
It was tough.
By lunch, I was physically and mentally tired and I began most of the exercises a little nervously - in a couple of cases I was absolutely bricking myself! The cool thing was, that David has this relaxed southern hemisphere delivery that inspires confidence and enables you to achieve amazing things in no time flat. And all of this is based on technical skills that you absorb throughout the day. David's course is highly structured and uses a building block approach, where each exercise requires and builds upon the skills you learned in the previous one. Even though I was quite nervous, I completed each and every obstacle, and after the initial hesitation, found it was actually pretty easy. The last five or six repetitions of each exercise were heaps of fun and quite relaxed - which improves your riding.
During lunch we chatted about trail etiquette and picked up on some tips and tricks.
I won't bore you with a blow by blow account of the whole day - but suffice to say the green-laneing we did in the late afternoon as a practical application of what we learned, I could not have done the day before. I wouldn't have even attempted it as I'm sure I would have quickly made a mess of me, my bike and the scenery!
oh, and the short little lane we used to get into the field was now a trivial and fun little jaunt, not the intimidating obstacle it had been at the beginning of the day. I was truly gob-smacked at the dramatic change in my abilities and confidence level at the end of a single fun filled day.
Disclaimer thingy...
I'm not in any way connected with David's new venture - I did do the course for free as a beta tester, but my write-up here was to help convince other road-bound GS riders with a hankering for off-road to do something about it. David's course is GS oriented, and as a complete and utter novice I can recommend it as being suitable for any competent and confident road biker with no off-road skills. I'm sure you could also turn up on any non-GS off-road bike too, if you wished.
David Halsell's new school is based in Hertfordshire and called "Dirty Trix". You can contact him on 07932-602-372.
Kind regards,
Finbarr.
Owner of a dirty Twin-Spark!
