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We did the 2 days Off-road BMW training course in Wales last weekend. We rode on Thursday evening and spent 3 days staying at a Monkey sanctuary, as they do B&B as well!

The Friday morning we woke up to a monsoon! It was lashing down! Well I suppose that's what Wales is famous for! After breakfast we rode to the BMW site, under the heavy rain.

After registering, and for most people, hiring proper off-road boots we went to the site. Now I must tell you, if you have a small size foot (under 6) make sure to tell them in advance so that they may have boots available for you! They had none for me so I did all the training using my Savannah 2 boots, but more on this later.

 At the site, we were divided in 3 groups. The beginners, the experienced road riders, and those who had off-road experience. I joined group 1 (beginners) while Alistair joined group 2. We were mainly riding 650GS/Dakars, with few guys riding 1200GS.

The  morning started easy enough, doing various exercises and being taught  useful tips in a flat field. I still managed to drop the bike and break the clutch lever without actually being riding the bike!

In the afternoon more exercises and then we rode off through various tracks, opportunity for more exercises. The harder bit was at the end. we stopped at the top of a hill and walked to have a look. Our instructors then explained to us that we would be riding down that hill. Surely you must be joking? Now I must say it was a very steep hill with lots of rocks and stones sticking out. Very impressive.

And off we went one by one. One confident lad went first without any problem, and we all followed, again and again and again, using various techniques to go down that hill as our instructors kept giving us precise details on how to engage the hill, using no controls, using front break... Now it may come across as an easy day. It was not easy. The exercises and track rides are designed in a very clever way to keep you constantly on the edge and beyond your comfort zone. I fell off many MANY times. We were high on adrenaline the whole day! The tracks were very muddy and filled with water which made it more difficult.

We went back to the B&B in the evening covered in mud.

The following day was more technical and more difficult, but also more fun as we went for long rides through very tricky tracks, up and down steep hills, water, mud, applying all we learnt the previous day. That's when it all made sense. I still kept falling off. I seemed unable to negotiate a tight turn in the tracks. Every tight turn I was off. Again and again and again! I was getting extremely frustrated with that. 

At lunch time, as we all regrouped by the caravan, we watched with Mel (the other girl in the group) as the guys started to get all over excited. Using the bikes and spinning the back wheel in the mud to spray their mates, they were having a go with the big 1200cc. Somehow they reminded me of the chimps back at the sanctuary. With the males all excited and showing off in front of their mates, trying to impress with big display of acrobatics and screams. Nature always amaze me....

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