BMW Off Road Skills Level One Training
After almost 10 weeks away on The Go Trek I was excited to get back to my other favourite form of two wheel transport and this one has an engine, my motorbike!
This year I’ve bee riding an F 800 GS. It’s BMW’s unstoppable Enduro bike, great on road and great off road.
In 2009 I rode a G 650 GS from the UK to Mont Blanc, when I became the first British woman to paraglide from the summit, the 600 is a very good bike and smaller than the 800. Being a woman I was always slightly nervous of the bigger bikes, so when I went to Baja California eighteen months ago to present a programme, Rodando X Mexico, I was a bit worried about doing the 4000km ride on an 800. To my surprise and delight it was fine. In fact it was better than fine, the extra power was an advantage and the extra weight of the bike didn’t cause me any issues.
I don’t have a huge amount of off road experience on motorbikes (in Baja California there was some off road but the main highway running North/South allows you to do as much or as little as you like). Always keen to improve my bike skills I’d been wanting to do an off road course for some time. Charley Boorman and Ewan Mc Gregor famously began their round the world exploits by doing the Off Road Skills (ORS) course in South Wales with Si Pavey. Simon is probably best known for his numerous finishes in the Dakar rally – arguable one the most gruelling off road bike races in the world.
Ahead of a presentation that I will be doing at BMW Bahnstormer in Hampshire in a couple of weeks I was invited to join the dealerships group trip to South Wales for the two day off road course at ORS. And that’s where I was last weekend.
Simon wasn’t around but another chief instructor, his wife, Linley Pavey was.
Out of a group of 35 there were two women, myself and another girl, Skyler. Despite the balance being heavily tipped Linley has ensured that the course is as female friendly as it is male friendly. (Should women chose it there is an option to do an all women’s course alongside the men, joining them towards the end of the course to become a mixed group).
Happy in the mixed group Day One kicked off with something I wasn’t expecting. The instructor dropped his bike and demonstrated how to pick it up. Then it was our turn. The GS 1200 Adventure weighs around 230kgs, previously I hadn’t thought I could pick my 800 up and that weighs less! Picking up the 1200 was the first of many exercises that gave me confidence in manoeuvring the bike. Slow speed clutch control and emergency stops were next and after the mornings session I already felt more in control of a motorbike than I think I ever have.
ORS use a 4000 acre site with limitless miles of trail to ride in South Wales. The location is perfect! It was great to get onto the trails in the afternoon and I was amazed not only at how the bikes perform but also how quickly I was getting to grips with riding off road. The course is brilliantly structured so that you gradually build up your skills and very importantly your confidence. By the end of Day One I was happily descending hills that I wouldn’t have considered going down ever before.
We all had a meal together that evening. It was a great atmosphere, everyone was buzzing from the thrill of the day and also our individual success – every single one of us had learnt something. It was also a great opportunity to chat to our instructors. The Off Road Skills team are a lovely bunch. They are very approachable and all completely passionate about the bikes and what they do. They have no desire to rush you into anything and the course allows you to progress at your own speed and there’s never any pressure to do anything you don’t feel 100% comfortable with.
Day two began with a quick recap and I felt very at home on the trails. Next we would be ascending hills, steep hills. Firstly though, logically, we learnt how we would turn the bike around on a steep bank should we not make the top. Sounds simple, but it is intimidating to do a u turn with a heavy bike on a steep bank. As with all the lessons over the two day course, once we knew how, it wasn’t so difficult after all.
I was using a G 650 GS for the course, the School have an extensive fleet of new BMW bikes (G 650 GS, G 650 GS Sertao, F 800 GS and R 1200 GS) and on day two we all got to spend time swapping bikes so we could try out all models. I’ve never ridden a 1200 before, honestly I was intimidated by the size, but I needn’t have been. It was a pleasure to ride, so nimble for it’s size, excellent delivery of power and beautifully balanced.
The final exercise of the day was a momentum exercise. We had to go up a short steep bank, turn immediately at the top to go back down the same bank and then another sharp turn at the bottom to go back up again. At the start of the course I probably wouldn’t have dared even to try doing it, I also wouldn’t have had the skill. It was a highlight of the course when I did it… under control.
Back at the ORS head quarters we collected our certificates! I was sad to say goodbye to the group and the instructors, these kind of courses are very bonding and we’d all experienced mental and physical challenges and more importantly overcome them.
Back on the road on my F 800 GS the skills have definitely transferred. It’s so valuable to be able to manoeuvre the bike at slow speeds and also understand more about what I and the bike can do. I’d recommend the course to any rider – with or without off road experience. Without doubt you will improve.
Big thanks to the team at BMW Bahnstormer and the wonderful team at Off Road Skills. Looking forward to coming back for more!
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