South London and Surrey TRF are pleased to announce two technical bike control training days, which will be head at Headley, near Epsom, Surrey, on Saturday 9 May (level 1) and Saturday 16 May (level 2) (10 places on each date).
The training is being provided by Surrey TRF member Carl Venter who is working closely with Robin Scarry who has previously hosted Surrey TRF at the track at Headley.
WHO LEVEL 1 IS FOR
Intended for newer riders, those who have been trail riding for years but had little or no formal training and those who want to focus on learning basic technical control skills. Including slower bike control, working on combinations of managing the clutch/throttle, brakes and body position together to navigate flat and off camber terrain. We’ll work on balance, confidence and bike control techniques stopping and starting again on hills, managing off camber terrain, dealing with smaller obstacles such as roots, smaller fallen trees, etc.
We will have a look at your bike setup, a brief look at suspension setup, good body position on the bike, using your hands and knees in the right way.
WHO LEVEL 2 IS FOR
Aimed more at those who gained confidence during LEVEL 1 and intermediate level riders who are reasonably confident trail riders, you may have even done an enduro or 2 at sportsmen or Clubman/Vet B level. You can ride with reasonable speed but you have a desire to gain confidence over more technical terrain, you might want to learn to lift and pivot the front wheel on a hill, overcome a larger log, ride over some tyres, tackle more difficult terrain, diagonal and/or wet logs, overcoming obstacles from a standing start.
At this level we’ll focus a bit more on finding good traction with the back wheel, appropriate weighting and unweighting of the wheels, wheel placement and awareness, working from the clutch bite point, etc.
WHAT TO EXPECT ON THE DAY
This is a rough breakdown of each day:
1. Detailed discussion on bike setup specific to technical enduro riding/events, suspension setup, handlebar/lever reach/brake setup, gearing, which tyres/mousse combinations work best, crash protection and other accessories.
2. Assessment of skills on flat and off camber terrain, clutch/brake/bike control assessment. Safe riding skills when approaching obstacles and steep terrain.
3. Developing advanced clutch and brake control, focus on balance.
4. Developing confidence, approach and commitment. Appropriate body and bike positioning. Wheel placement and awareness.
5. Obstacles; Logs (various sizes, combinations, uphill/downhill), drop offs and steps. Steep banks, hills/descents, walking the bike when needed, off-cambers.
6. Roots, rocks & rock gardens, concrete pipes/barriers. Learn pre-loading, learn pivot turns, etc.
Bonus if/as time allows:
1. During lunch we discuss event rider nutrition, hydration, fitness, recovery strategies.
2. Tips/tricks changing tyres with mousses.
3. Tyres and mousse choices for various events (hard enduro vs faster enduro), bike modifications, protection, tools, spares, etc. What should be in your backpack, what should be on the bike. Tools and spares.
08:30am - 9:30am Arrive, signing on, getting ready to ride
09:30am - 10:45am session 1
10:45am - 11:00am break
11:00am - 12:30pm session 2
12:30pm - 13:30pm Lunch (Provided)
13:30pm - 14:45pm session 3
14:45pm - 16:00pm break and 1hr of free riding practice
16:00pm - 16:45pm session 4
16:45pm End of day
ABOUT CARL VENTER
I grew up in SA racing road bikes and BMX up to age 16. Between 16-18 switched to racing downhill Mountain bikes. Got into riding trials pretty early on but didn’t really compete when I was young. Spent 4.5yrs in the SA Police force where as part of my duty taught firearms instruction. Moved to the UK in 1996. Initially focussed on racing mountain bikes during my first years in the UK.
Got involved in Motocross for a few years, then joined the Surrey TRF, did a few ride outs with the guys back then but soon got the bug again and moved back to trials, competed in a few trials events like the Reeth 3 Day trial. At the same time I also spent quite a few years riding big Adventure bikes (BMW 1150 adv, 1200 adv and 800GS) in Wales in technical terrain, trained with Simon Pavey at the BMW off road school. Started participating in UK based Enduro’s and won a few Clubman A events but was far more interested in the more technical side of riding so started focussing more on Extreme events.
I have competed in many recent and past events successfully and learnt a ton of lessons along the way:
Multiple WOR Extreme events Expert class
Corinium Enduro Expert class
BXDE 2019 Expert class
2013 + 2014 Romaniacs Bronze class finisher
2015 Roof of Africa Bronze class finisher
2016 IMPI Enduro Silver class finisher
2018 Bulgarian 6 Day Enduro Expert class finisher
2019 Bulgarian 6 Day Enduro PRO class finisher (3rd in Pro Teams with my 16yr old son)
TRAINING EXPERIENCE
I put my son on a motorbike aged 4 and have been working on developing his skill ever since then. He rode trials till 14 when he switched to Extreme Enduro. Jake has done a number of international events and in 2018 became the youngest ever Bulgarian 6 Day Enduro Expert class finisher. In 2019 Jake become the youngest ever Bulgarian 6 Day Enduro PRO class finisher, he got 3rd in Pro Class teams with me! 35hrs of racing time during the 4 off road days. At the same time myself and Jake became 2 of only 11 people to finish the PRO class race out of 200+ riders!
Over the last 10yrs I have run many training days in the UK and Romania with the likes of Paul Bolton (UK), an extremely successful privateer Extreme racer as well as Varga Zsolt (UK/Romania) and Paul Fratila (Romania) (both Romaniacs Gold class finishers).
TRAINING APPROACH
Focused on building confidence in a friendly and easy going environment, safe but challenging setting and to apply a structured approach to practicing/learning the skills safely. We will demonstrate and then break down each skill into easy to understand steps/sequences so that you not only learn the exact way to execute it but you understand all the constituent parts required to achieve the skill. This will help you build confidence and allow you to apply the skills while out riding or racing.
VENUE
The site is located near Headley Village, Epsom, Surrey. Exact location and directions will be provided to those who have booked on in advance. The following video provides some sense of the venue:
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REQUIREMENTS FROM PARTICIPANTS
Riders to supply their own motorcycle/fuel, ensure they have all the basic equipment (boots, helmet, riding trousers, gloves are all required. Knee guards/braces, body armour recommended). Bike in a safe condition. To save time please fuel your bike before the day. Make sure your throttle has a little bit of play and returns on it’s own. Wheel bearings in good condition. Normal expected noise level. Participants may be required to sign a further agreement prior to commencing training.
COST
Cost for group courses £100/pp, sandwiches and cold drinks provided, payment includes land use fees.
HOW TO BOOK
The selected dates have been reserved for TRF Members. If you are not a member of the TRF then first step is to join up: https://www.trf.org.uk/join/
STEP 1
To request a place, email Steven Taylor, South London & Surrey TRF Chair at [email protected]
Provide your
Your name
TRF membership number
Which date your wish to reserve: 9 May for Level 1, 16 May for Level 2.
Provide a few details about your riding experience and what you want out of the day.
STEP 2
Check your email. You will receive a response with 24 hours which will confirm a place is being held for you. Your place will be held for 72 hours after which it will go next in the queue.
STEP 3
Within 72 hours, make a bank transfer to the Surrey TRF account.
Please use the reference field to include the date and your name, so we can match up your payment to your reservation.
Account name: Surrey TRF
Sort code: 30-92-45
Account number: 29135360
Reference: [training date] [your name]
STEP 4
Check your email - once your payment is received you will receive confirmation of your place.
DISCLAIMERS
Refunds: If you wish to cancel, refunds will only be given if a replacement participant can be found. Refunds will not otherwise be given.
Liability: South London and Surrey TRF will make payment on your behalf to Carl Venter, in advance of the event. The TRF will not be liable for any claim associated with the event once payment has been made.
TRF exclusivity: A minimum of 3 participants are needed on each day for us to maintain TRF exclusive use. If any places remain unsold by end of April, Carl has reserved the right to advertise to and sign up participants from outside of the TRF.
FUTURE AND CUSTOM TRAINING
We hope these training events will be start of an ongoing collaboration. If dates book up, Carl intends to offer further dates. If you can’t make the dates but are interested, please register this interest on the Surrey TRF forum or by emailing Steven at [email protected]. Carl is offering opportunities to do 1-2-1 and small group custom sessions from very beginner all the way up to Expert level. For smaller groups Carl is available mid week. All ability levels are welcome.