Desert Rose Adventure Riding Academy - Stage 1

[PippaB]

.....Wow what a days' training in the midst of Sussex countryside....me and 2 girlies and 6 lads met our mounts for the day after a brief talk and tea break...me being on a 350 freeride. Having had a little off road experience with you guys, a number of tumbles and one 'ouchy' rib injury.....had lost my downhill confidence, somewhat. The majority of people were road riders and some had never been off road properly..

Patsy Quick and 'Zippy' were our instructors for the day.

All kitted out in a combo of Desert Rose equipment and my own we set off into an open field on the mornings' dew wet grass, nice and slippery! No spills here except for my friend as she was so nervous, that Patsy took her to the side and gave here one to one for the rest of the day, Patsy was brilliant and my friend overcome her fear of gravel by the end of the day.

We went back to basics and having a four stroke made life a lot easier for engine braking and consistency (haven't had this as been on a 2 stroke).

All details of what the courses are all about are on their website http://adventureridingacademy.com/

It was tiring from more a mental point of view as so much information was being processed and putting words into practice. Re-positioning was my first change, my arms hadn't gone dead by the end of the day, yeah!
Second the combination of clutch control, front brakes and engine braking going up and yes down hill was an eye opener...no spills here!
Loved the halfway up the hill, stalling and turning the bike round technique....had to practice this quite a bit as I found out that not all the lowest part of paths were clear and bunnies had been busy!
Different terrain coughs...managed to find the muddiest puddle to drop the bike in and later came off in the same puddle...had to go back for a second try to convince myself I wasn't really muddy the first time round.

We got fed and watered by our hosts and had a real giggle, pretty much a newbie to off road riding, this was definitely worth attending and with enough practice hoping to go back and do Stage 2 with my boyfriend..

PS. I didn't know what topic to put this under, so I apologise if I've put this in the wrong place twice!

[stevent]

Great write up, thank you, look forward to seeing you on a run!


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