Redtread off-road School - Andalucia

[DavidJames]

So having read so much about the BMW off-road school and all of the reports about taking the GS into the mud, I really wanted to try it for myself and after a few attempts at green laning, wanted to get some more experience. My wife offered to buy me the BMW course for Chrismas but when I looked at RedTread they seemed better value and I also hatched a plan for my wife to get a holiday too. I spoke to my friend from Germany and got him interested in doing some more training and we decided to make it into a week away for all of us. We narrowed down some dates with Redtread and a nice looking villa (much to the annoyance of Greg Masters - more on this later) and got everything booked.

The owner of the villa arrange to meet us at a specific junction to take us up to the villa, which seemed like a nice gesture at the time but turned out to be a neccessity due to its location. The villa is inside the national park and was on a track that was not marked on my GPS. The track was pretty rough becuase they had had some very heavy rain the week before, the first drive up there was quite 'interesting'!! Once we got to the villa though.........wow - was it worth it!!!! We were greeted by the owners with a jug of Sangria and a quick tour of the house and then left ot relax in the amazing views.

 

[DavidJames]

One of the best things about the villa was the effort the owners put into making you feel at home and tryign to provide everything you might need. We arrived on a Sunday, therefore nothing was open - not a problem, a welcome pack is included in the price with basics like bread, ham cheese, eggs, sausages, juice, beer and wine - then if that is not enough there is another fridge and freezer full of more beer, wine and frozen food which you can use like a mini-bar........which we did

Germans like to start their kids young on beer and bikes (notice the KTM baby grow!!):

 

[DavidJames]

The next day we rose late and had a big breakfast before heading down to the large supermarket to stock up for the rest of the week. That night we barbequed fresh prawns from the fish mongers and steaks we had brought from England, all washed down with beer, wine and some green stuff that Heiner had picked up becuase it said 'traditional' on the label We got very drunk and completely ignored that fact we would be riding off-road the next morning

The next morning came and we felt like shite - big mistake!!!! We needed to get to the the Redtread house to meet the others and get kitted up, again the journey was 'interesting' as the sat nav was set to shortest and it wanted to take us down some very dodgy looking tracks

We got there in the end and met the others, signed our life away and chatted about what lay ahead. Basically they used the drop off system whilst out on the trails so you could go a fast or slow as you liked. I was given the CRF450 (probably due to my tosser shape) and others had the same or smaller depending on their size/experience. We would head off to an open track to learn the basics of riding at speed on the dirt - motocross style

 

[DavidJames]

It took about an hour to get to the track and then we had an other couple of hours there before heading off for lunch (at a local restaurant, paid for by Redtread). Over the course of the morning we discovered that Heiner and I were the only ones never to have been on the course before, everyone else was returning - good sign!! I also discovered how incredbily unfit I really was - riding hard around the track was exhausting!!! I drank 2 litres of water in the first morning and it was not even that hot - god knows what it would be like in July/August
The afternoon was spent on the trails before heading back to Retread for a couple of beers with the other riders and then heading home to the villa............and more beer

 

[DavidJames]

The second day began with very sore legs and arse - did I mention how unfit I was? This was soon forgotted when we hit the trails. The day started with a fantastic track which was a steady climb up the mountians on a mixture of hard mud, loose gravel and fairly large rocks - i really enjoyed this track, probably becuase i was still fresh and keen so I even managed to over take some of the other riders. We then carried on into more forested tracks until we hit the final challenge of a very steep and rocky hill. This was great fun and there were a few fallers but everyone made it in the end before heading to the summit for more amazing views.

 

[DavidJames]

Our final afternoon was riding into the gorge of hell (or lovelyness if you are Ian the leader) and then back out again via the river crossing. It was all great fun and a tremendous experience.

 

[Greg Masters]

You only rode down that one - that's the fecker that we rode UP and DOWN - and it's the one that persuaded both Phil Reynolds and me to chop our respective DR-Zs for a more full-on off-roader!



Greg

 

[DavidJames]

You only rode down that one - that's the fecker that we rode UP and DOWN - and it's the one that persuaded both Phil Reynolds and me to chop our respective DR-Zs for a more full-on off-roader!



Greg

Going up I can handle..............coming down frightens the crap out of me

 

[Timolgra]

You only rode down that one - that's the fecker that we rode UP and DOWN - and it's the one that persuaded both Phil Reynolds and me to chop our respective DR-Zs for a more full-on off-roader!



Greg

Flippin old southern softy, that was a doddle

 

[russ996duke]

so, why was greg annoyed about the villa?????? do tell

 

[Greg Masters]

so, why was greg annoyed about the villa?????? do tell

Because that James tosser stole that very villa from under my nose just as I was about to make a booking!



Actually it was a massive coincidence - I was looking for a villa for our recent Spanish off-road trip and identified this villa as one suitable to rent. When I sent an enquiry, the owner said that he'd just offered it elsewhere.

David and I were PM'ing each other on an unrelated issued and the subject of off-roading in Spain came up. When I enquired where they were staying, I almost fell off my perch when he sent a link to the website of the same villa I had wanted for the same week. It could have been rented by anyone in the world - I certainly didn't expect it to be a fellow tosser!



Greg

 

[DavidJames]

I have to say that the villa was superb as well, it had everything we needed, it was perfect.
Redtread offer lots of flexibility in what they do. Heiner and I just did 2 days with them and spent the rest of the time with our wives at the villa and surrounding area, but the rest of the group were there for 3 days and staying at the Redtread house. If you stay at the house there is are self catering rooms a pool, a bar and I think that breakfast was included as well as transfers to and from the airport.

It is also worth pointing out that Redtread are now offering courses or guided tours of the trails using your own bike and the villa is on one of trials we did. So if anyone is thinking about going down to this area I would highly recommend this combination - the owners of the villa can even offer evening meals so you don't have to worry about a thing. The villa did not have a garage but it did have a large driveway and locking gates to keep everything secure - although security never felt like an issue up in the mountains.



Cheers

David