twowheeler
two wheels are best
Wanting to do more rides like last year's Dig Tree, but without the broken bones and punctured organs bit , I decided it was time to learn a little bit about what the hell I'm doing.
It cost $500 to spend the Cup Day weekend at Shane Booth and Chris Urquhart's off-road school. I've yet to regret spending money on training; it's helping make up for a motorbike-free youth and the unconscious skill that brings.
It was based at Myrtleford's Motocross Track and in the hills behind it. What a great part of the world Myrtleford is - no wonder Tim (SF) you've moved there - I stayed in Bright just down the road with friends.
Escaped work early on Friday and rode up via Alexandra & well-policed roads (breathalyzed in Buxton then again in Taggerty) then onto the Whitfield Road.
With all this rain, how green is my valley, just before Broken River -
https://flic.kr/p/NQnPE3
https://flic.kr/p/N3NMGy
Bright and early Saturday morning. Heavy bikes, low skills and a motocross track. What could possibly go wrong ? -
https://flic.kr/p/NQnEkm
We were taught all sorts of basic type skills over the weekend. We didn't learn how to hang the back out in sand at 160kph like Toby Price, but we did learn how to lockup the rear at sane (read, low) speeds to rear-wheel steer which made me feel 10yo on my Malvern Star again, and other stuff like that.
This pickup technique looked crazy easy -
https://flic.kr/p/NPvshX
so I tried it and it was -
https://flic.kr/p/MRmXSF
We did lots of this sort of stuff, all about standing up and clutch/throttle control -
https://flic.kr/p/NLfF1G
Up into the hills -
https://flic.kr/p/MRo5xT
And the opposite hill -
https://flic.kr/p/MRAQ5E
That was after being taught hill recovery. Let it stall in 1st, keep engine off, dab the clutch to gradually ease around to 90 degrees, shake the bars to ease the front down the hill, off you go. I suspect it could be a wee bit harder on the side of a cliff with some slimy tree roots thrown in -
https://flic.kr/p/NLek1J
https://flic.kr/p/NFG9FM
Let loose onto the track -
https://flic.kr/p/NFGpzV
I learnt that listening is easier without earplugs -
https://flic.kr/p/NDbibA
The lap record was not in any danger whatsoever -
https://flic.kr/p/NLedSG
But it was brilliant fun -
https://flic.kr/p/MRmYfz
The track surface was gradually improved with the addition of mirrors, indicators, hand-guards and other sundry pieces, and obstacles added in the form of dropped and stalled bikes; glad to say my GS remained unscathed.
It was a top weekend. Shane Booth in particular is a bloody excellent teacher. He has very high bike skills as you'd expect; he's also articulate and can talk at many levels of understanding .
The ride home to come ....
It cost $500 to spend the Cup Day weekend at Shane Booth and Chris Urquhart's off-road school. I've yet to regret spending money on training; it's helping make up for a motorbike-free youth and the unconscious skill that brings.
It was based at Myrtleford's Motocross Track and in the hills behind it. What a great part of the world Myrtleford is - no wonder Tim (SF) you've moved there - I stayed in Bright just down the road with friends.
Escaped work early on Friday and rode up via Alexandra & well-policed roads (breathalyzed in Buxton then again in Taggerty) then onto the Whitfield Road.
With all this rain, how green is my valley, just before Broken River -
https://flic.kr/p/NQnPE3
https://flic.kr/p/N3NMGy
Bright and early Saturday morning. Heavy bikes, low skills and a motocross track. What could possibly go wrong ? -
https://flic.kr/p/NQnEkm
We were taught all sorts of basic type skills over the weekend. We didn't learn how to hang the back out in sand at 160kph like Toby Price, but we did learn how to lockup the rear at sane (read, low) speeds to rear-wheel steer which made me feel 10yo on my Malvern Star again, and other stuff like that.
This pickup technique looked crazy easy -
https://flic.kr/p/NPvshX
so I tried it and it was -
https://flic.kr/p/MRmXSF
We did lots of this sort of stuff, all about standing up and clutch/throttle control -
https://flic.kr/p/NLfF1G
Up into the hills -
https://flic.kr/p/MRo5xT
And the opposite hill -
https://flic.kr/p/MRAQ5E
That was after being taught hill recovery. Let it stall in 1st, keep engine off, dab the clutch to gradually ease around to 90 degrees, shake the bars to ease the front down the hill, off you go. I suspect it could be a wee bit harder on the side of a cliff with some slimy tree roots thrown in -
https://flic.kr/p/NLek1J
https://flic.kr/p/NFG9FM
Let loose onto the track -
https://flic.kr/p/NFGpzV
I learnt that listening is easier without earplugs -
https://flic.kr/p/NDbibA
The lap record was not in any danger whatsoever -
https://flic.kr/p/NLedSG
But it was brilliant fun -
https://flic.kr/p/MRmYfz
The track surface was gradually improved with the addition of mirrors, indicators, hand-guards and other sundry pieces, and obstacles added in the form of dropped and stalled bikes; glad to say my GS remained unscathed.
It was a top weekend. Shane Booth in particular is a bloody excellent teacher. He has very high bike skills as you'd expect; he's also articulate and can talk at many levels of understanding .
The ride home to come ....
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