Stage 2 - Desert Rose Adventure Riding Academy

[PippaB]

On a very wet and windy day, Andy and I set off to the soggy Sussex countryside to do Stage 2.

Arriving, meeting the others, quick cup of tea, kitting ourselves up with our gear and yes Andy wore armour too!
We met our 'mounts' for the day - we both had enduro bikes, mine was a KTM 250 and Andy had the 350 (naughty bike)!

A combination of Stage 2's and 1's we set off around the field, after a quick natter and riding a serpentine for slower riding, I was told to up a gear and use 'clutch control' and yay the 'bunny hopping' ceased.

No Patsy today. Our instructors were 'Zippy' and 'Harry'. We split up into our groups and followed our instructors.
'Zippy' showing us what do and explaining what, when and how about 'our obstacles' that we met along the way.

Today I learnt a whole lot more and because of the ground conditions I was becoming quite 'nifty' at picking up the 250 out of the wet clay, clambering on and arriving last at a destination with a smile on my face.
Puddles weren't the problem today, it was the ground, if I could hold the record of the times I 'toppled off' that bike, I think I must've broken the record!
I was also told if the bike landed on top you that was 'falling off' and I was 'toppling off'.

Dabbing front brakes to slow down, with engine braking and clutch control was becoming more natural as the day wore on. We combined hill climbs with certain 'back brake manoeuvres', turning into 'power slides' great fun after you got the initial shock of feeling spat out and still in one place afterwards. Powering up steeper climbs with a puddle at the start that soon turned into 'quagmire' by the time we finished.

Riding cambers slightly down and up hill was another eye opener' shifting one's body weight away from the side of the hill, to dig the tyres into the ground more for better traction in slippery conditions was definitely a smiley face. Andy however took it to another level with the naughty bike as it stalled in mid flow, causing an un-seated rider in a 'roly poly' action going downhill backwards with 'naughty bike' in hot pursuit.....both were intact and somewhat bruised after this and that wasn't a 'topple off'!
Down hills were 'touch and go' for me, the other 2 were fine so I opted to miss out on a few sections. However, having complete faith in 'Zippy' I did as I was told and did feel a huge wave of relief when I got to the bottom, ( my emoji was kind of feeling queasy at this time)....this area still needs a lot of work and it will come....

All in all, it was yet another brilliant day out of close observation riding instruction picking up so many tips and suggestions to keep practicing on and some new techniques for me and other areas that require some more attention....
Whatever level you are at, this is a brilliant way of learning and especially for those who've just joined TRF this year or want to introduce a member of your family or friends, it suits all levels and one can check it out at www.adventureridingacademy.com

[kris]

great write up ... great to hear you are having fun and showing other options out there

[Dominic]

Good job with the write up and lucky Andy was wearing armour this time.

(I seem to remember someone suggesting you ride in a higher gear.... who was that.... oh yeah! It was me! )

[PippaB]

Thank you very much guys and yes I do remember Dominic though at the time, we were definitely in a higher gear as weren't practicing much slow riding skills and it was very nice to have some flat surfaces to practice on Saturday. I haven't quite found the happy plod along button yet or the steady as she goes throttle thing though it will come with practice.
Yes, Andy did comment on his lookalike 'star trooper' outfit with matching full face crash hat and said it felt like having his rucksack on and was quite comfy...

Anyways I was going to do a PS. and say 2 guys that were on Stage 1 on Saturday, had literally joined the TRF in the Hertfordshire area recently, with new bikes arriving soon and found the course was exactly what they were looking for