Motorcycle Explorer October 2014 Issue 2 | Page 91

I
returned a few weeks later to do some one-
on-one maintenance training with John Begley.
John is a former Army mechanic who served 22
years in Royal Electrical and Mechanical
Engineers and now looks after the fleet of
bikes. I am by no means mechanically minded,
so John took me through all the basic
maintenance and repairs skills I’d need on the
road. Similarly to the off-road training, it has
turned out to be just enough to get me going -
armed with the basic skills, I’ve been able to
learn on the job (with a PDF of the service
manual on my iPad) as the trip has gone on.
cater for all skill levels from complete novice,
with several instructors shepherding the riders
along the fire roads, rocky climbs, muddy forest
trails and gnarly single track. With a choice of
250s or 450s, I opted for the smaller bike. The
day is very much about riding rather than
running through a series of skills and exercises.
The periods of formal tuition are kept to a
minimum, but with a good ratio of instructors
to riders it is easy to stop at any time and seek
coaching on the finer points of dirt riding.
A
fter so long riding a 240kg loaded Tenere, it
was nothing short of a revelation to be gunning
a 100kg dirt bike up steep gravel inclines,
am a great believer in the philosophy of
getting air over whoops and snaking along tight
‘continuous training’. Whist my off-road skills - single track. Not only was it the most fun I’ve
on the heavy Tenere, at least - have developed probably ever had on a moto, it was also
significantly during my time riding through the invaluable in helping me develop my off-road
Andes, I know there is much more to learn: a
skills, notably in cornering. A day wasn’t
few heavy falls, losing the back end in corners, enough for me, despite spending half of it in
have taught me that. So when I returned to UK
the pouring Welsh rain. I returned a week later
this summer for a visit, the Off Road Experience to do the more advanced ‘Plus’ day. This time
course - the flagship one-day course conducted there were only four of us with Dylan at the
on the 250s and 450s - was on top of my hit
helm. On this course, more time is given to
list.
technical training, spending much of the
morning working on a series of circuits
incorporating various terrain and skills such as
cornering, descending twisting single track and
his course, along with the Off Road
riding deep ruts.
Experience Plus which I also did a week later, is
where you really get down to the business of
dirt riding. This time Geraint was in charge of
the motley crew of riders - twelve in all - who
had made the long drive to Llanidloes. They
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