Naturale Bike Wash!

30 foot drop into fast flowing river. 30 foot out with a 90 degree left handed through trees. Easy

I got very wet.

The trick is to come down hill, wheelie so the front wheel does not hit the water with the rear driving you through. That will be for the next course then!

You want us to go where?

First off - spot the instructor. Yep that little figure top of the hill on the left of the track. Aim for there! Now spot the bike just over half way up. Now try and figure the gradient out. Lets put it this way, with the loose gravel you would have difficulty to walk up it as it was so steep!

Now how do i get from where i am sitting taking the picture to where the instructor is? Err, first avoid the deep water filled ruts, go downhill a bit, cross a deep rutted fire road that goes left to right, staggered junction, get the bike into second, floor it and aim for the top, whilst trying to stay on! Easy when you know how. Oh, and just where the bike is, remember there is a 10 foot flat bit, so roll off the throttle a bit, then back on to ensure you get to the top.

Great instruction, the right machinery and a bit of bravery gets you to the top. What did we all do when we got to the top - laughed so much it hurt and asked to do it again! Were all just a bunch of big kids with big toys.

Sorry officer the accidents always seem to be behind me!

Sorry for the delay in posting. Been traveling around like crazy with work (Paris, Zurich etc), but Friday and Saturday i got sometime to myself. Got off flight Thursday evening from Zurich and 3hrs later i find myself in mid-wales.

It's time for the advanced off road bike course. Luckily there were only 3 others on my course and we zipped through the theory and got out on the trails. This is the aftermath of riding too close together - i lost a bit of traction on a steep climb at the top, dean launches 240kg of BMW into the trees and Jeremy panics and drops it mid-way up! I did the decent thing and took a photo then went to help pick the bikes up! You will notice the the bike at the back of the photo 2 blokes are picking it up! More photos soon!

"Just nipping out on the bike for a pint of milk" !

Booked the BMW advanced off road motorbike course in the Brecon Beacons for July 08! Two days of advancing my knowledge and skill in riding off road.

So the wife had better be worried when she hears "just nipping out on the bike for a pint of milk" as it might mean slightly longer distances covered!

She did want yaks milk didn't she? :)

Big puddle

For some reason 50 foot long puddles seem to attract nutters like magnets!

We didn't just do it once!

More pictures from the course soon.

Step 4

Front brake on, back brake off, clutch in, start engine, let front brake off, stand up on pegs, release clutch, use engine braking to descend!

Oh, and look out for the big puddle at the bottom of the hill. I said - look out for the big puddle at the bottom of the hill

Step 3

Swing leg over bike, foot straight on rear brake! Front brake on. Ready to start engine and ride off!

Step 2

Balance bike and wiggle handlebars from lock-to-lock to turn bike downhill.

Remembering not to drop bike! If bike does start to fall downhill remember to let go of handlebars!

Step 1

Get off the bike whilst on a hill - easier said than done!

Make sure bike does not roll backwards! Clutch out, engine off!

Figure out where you want the bike to go. Feather clutch. Lean bike on leg!

Wrong order!

"Are you sure you ordered garlic bread with your pizza sir? Bugger, now i can't get up the hill"

So your stuck on a steep hill, got to get the guy's garlic bread, the bike's stalled, if you start it the bike cannot get up the hill...what do you do?

Well you have to go downhill, first though you have got to shift 198kg of bike and yourself. No one is going to help!

The instruction begins!

Structure of course is great. You get to learn how to feather clutch, use front brake going downhill (i know i know....but their right), slow speed control, balance etc...then you move onto topics such as "what to do when you stop part way up a hill". Watch out zippy....nutter on a bike coming!

Nice shiny bikes!

We used all bmw kit on the offroad course - F650GS, 1200 GS Adv and G 650 XChallenge. All nice, clean and mechanically sound when we started :)

Weekend away

Just spent 2 days in Brecon in South Wales on a motorbike offroad course! Boy am i knackered, but it was great fun, learnt alot and my body aches!

The folks run the course on behalf of BMW

http://www.offroadskills.com/

Instruction, location, food, equipment are all great.

For anyone who has ridden a bike for a while i recommend it. They even do a lady only course as well.

One guy even flew in from Canada for the 2 day intro course and today he is ridding 80 miles offroad through the national park before flying home.