I am not sure if it was the teacher, the curriculum, or the lack of advanced notice but we had a small turn out to the Inaugural Dirt School!
@bblass and I arrived on campus just ahead of
@kylepeterson and setup the classroom! Once everyone was geared up and the bikes were warm we started into the first lesson of the day.
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Lesson #1 Standing Full Lock Turns
Getting comfortable on your bike is the key to feeling confident enough to tackle tough obstacles. We started off with some tight circles to practice balance and clutch control. This is an eye opening exercise because you realize how little skill you actually have. We struggle with completing 5 continuous loops while the likes of Graham Jarvis can do 100 on the rear wheel. Practice practice practice.....
Lesson #2 Standing Figure 8s
This should really be lesson 1A but we didn't have that many lessons so this is padding my numbers! Doing the 8s requires you to practice turning in both directions and also teaches you to plan ahead. If you come into the turn too tight or too fast it is going to mess up your next turn. THINK AHEAD!!
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Lesson #3 Practical Wheelies
When you are out on a trail there is a good chance you are going to come to an obstacle that would be much easier if you could just get your front wheel up over it. Enter the small, nonflashy, practical wheelie. You aren't going to be bringing in "mad ladies" or impressing all your riding buddies with these but you will improve your riding and conserve a little energy out on the trail!
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The goal (shown below) if you want to snatch up all the single ladies in your current zip code! Brad can ride these things up and over hills, logs and culverts. It is a really cool thing to watch and dream about! (The wheelies, not Brad!)
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Hold your horses ladies, I think he is taken!
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Lesson #4 Small Logs
This was not a very organized lesson and I feel like I let my pupils down. The Ridge has a couple logs dug into the ground a little and we rode around these and hopped them a couple times during other lessons. (Since most of us are all ADD and couldn't focus on 1 lesson at a time)
These logs are pretty small so I think the first lesson in Part 2 of Dirt School will be larger logs.
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Bonus Lesson
After the flat land work, everyone was ready to hit some trails and put our new found skills to the test. Brad quickly led us to a rock garden and things got technical!
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Alright, roll in your TV/VCR carts, lower the lights and try to stay awake during the video!!
It was a great day of riding with a little learning thrown in for good measure! Even with some setbacks like a broken clutch cable and busted radiator, I think we all had a good time, learned a little and enjoyed the camaraderie!
It's neither my style of riding (too much skill for me ;) ) nor my taste in music, and yet it's so much fun to watch and listen to! Nice job on the video.
You probably sold yourself short; it looks like a productive day.
We had a blast until the rain came in!! The rain wasn't really the issue, it was Kyle's glasses fogging up and he kept running into things or losing the trail!
One of these at Hollytree would be great. We had one a couple 3 or 4 years ago. now with the extra trails it would be a fun day.
There's level ground for some of the basic stuff. I can find a log or two to jump over. There's always the jeep trails, so of them aren't' too bad.
Casualties aside this was a great day. Thanks for putting it together!