Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

I got a dirtbike to 'play' on, in order to improve my adventure bike riding skills.  I really wanted to learn how to wheelie, and practising on Mr. Badger was getting expensive.

Once I had the bike, I needed to learn how to ride it properly, and put my name down for the Country Trax Dirtbike Fundamentals Course, even before there was one scheduled for the Western Cape.

Long before the course arrived, I was practising the skills in this video:

and thanks heavens I did, as you will see.

Day 1 - Fri 23rd July 2010

Ready and Excited

The course check-in was from 12, with a light lunch at 1pm and start at 2pm.  Starting from the deep South I had a good 2 and a half hour drive.

Our lodgings

The course accommodation had an option for staying in the 'eco-cottages' or the main house.  I chose the main house despite the higher cost, because I like to be near the action.  I discovered it was a good choice for winter, as the eco cottages are made of reeds and are cold.  We joked about offering to swap places with people in the eco cottages at 1am for a considerable fee.

Registration and Indemnities

I was thrilled to find some faces I 'knew' from various other bike encounters:

1. Justin, who did the Dune Course with me and had an unfortunate collision with the back of Mr.Badger,
2. Francois, who was on the KTM Social Enduro weekend and witnessed the numerous incidents I had there on the 230F, and
3. Lindsay, who did the Country Trax intermediate course with me (and possibly a few others),
4. Johan from Wild@Heart,
5. Marchant from Country Trax in George,
6. Riaan Kroucamp, Leon's son

The instructors

• Gerber Strydom:  son of Gerhardt the Advanced Course instructor that I met in 2008 when I did the first Advanced Offroad Course at Klipbokkop.  He is also competing in the GS Trophy qualifying event that I am taking part in.  Knowing Gerber's skills, I figured we are all competing for 2nd place, but according to Gerber he himself only has an outside chance at 4th place (maybe that is just modesty speaking - here's hoping).
• William Gillit: ex trial's rider and senior national enduro champion and a trainer of youngsters at his offroad camps in Natal, William is new to the Country Trax stable and brings a mountain of dirtbike and enduro experience and knowledge.  My having done all the courses offered by Country Trax, it was great to experience training from someone new and not in the Adventure Bike frame.

After some introductions, some delicious soup and coffee, and general chatting, we went out to the bikes to start the training.

Riding position

Gerber and William showed us the basic riding position, and made us practise some 'moves' while standing on the ground.  It turns out that riding a dirtbike is a lot like the Wild West.  First, you need to have your finger on the trigger all the time, like a gunslinger.  To quote William: "If a gunslinger doesn't have his fingers on his triggers ready to shoot, he will be shot down.  On the bike, if your fingers are not ready on your clutch and brake levers, the obstacles will shoot you down."

Then, when you corner on a dirtbike, it is like a red indian pulling a bow and arrow:  one arm extended, the other under your chin with elbow up.  And if you are cornering left, your left leg out along the bike tank (no, not down to stop you falling, up to stay clear of bushes and the ground).

We practised these moves a few times and fell over laughing at how silly it looks when standing on the ground.

Then we split into two groups:  more experienced riders with William, and the rest with Gerber.  I always hate this choice, because ending up in the wrong group can quite spoil your experience.  I figured I belonged with William, since I can hardly claim to not be experienced after having done the Country Trax advanced course.

William Gillitt does cones: in 3rd gear

When we get to our first exercise, I see my old friend cones.  But these are at least 6 paces apart, and I start thinking this will be easy peasy.  No:  we do it at speed and it is very easy to lose the rhythm and start taking the poor things out rather than miss them.

The fun begins

Luckily the farm children come to watch and are more than eager to replace the fallen cones in-between the riders.  Then we do figure-eights between cones - these are quite easy on the dirtbike after having done them on Mr.Badger for several years.

Francois doing figures of eight: it's all about balance

Francois gets the bike really low and even leans so far over that he has to take his inside foot off the peg and rest it on the seat.  It is impressive.

Pivot Turns

The next lesson is sharp u-turns.  We are shown 3 techniques, of which one is the donut, one involves bouncing the front wheel, and the third is the 'pivot turn' that involves wheeling the front and swinging the bike around on the back wheel.  It is very tiring, and when the exercise was over I was glad - little knowing we would be using it in anger a bit later.

Logs

We ride to where the other group was practising logs.  This was something I had heard about and was afraid of.

Gerber shows Toni how to ride in a rut

Toni was the only woman on the course, and she rode a small two-stroke KTM that turned out to be one of the more difficult bikes to ride.  William recommended she get a bike like mine (the 230 four-stroke from Honda or Yamaha).  In fact, William recommends that bike for almost everybody who did not play in the front-row of the Springboks.

To ride a rut (and this we did a lot of on the outrides), you look at the midpoint of it when entering, then at the exit, and when you are halfway through you look up into the distance.

As with all Country Trax courses, the logs are taught progressively.  We start with a gum-pole and progress to a log that is up to mid-thigh.  The technique involves wheelying, so first we had to learn and practise getting the front wheel up on the dirt road nearby.  This is where the 230F and my weeks of practise paid off - I can loft that front wheel at will and put it where I need it.

Some of the others struggled (especially some of the 450s), but others are able to ride long distances on the back wheel.

William demonstrates log technique: his trial-riding experience shows

The techniques William taught us are used to climb rocks and ledges also.

Pivot turn over a log

Then we did pivot turns over a log!  No really.  The premise is that sometimes you end up sideways to the log and need to get over it.  We were taught how to wheelie the front up and pivot it over the the log, then ride off the log with the back wheel.

Overcoming my fears

Attie clears the log

By now it was well after 6 and it was getting dark.  We rode back to the house for a shower and to dress for supper.  I got to know my group a bit better:

• Willie, my room mate, and his friends
• Andrew, and
• Dale,
• Tobie from Upington on a BMW 450
• Francois on a KTM,
• Justin, and
• Attie, a former motoX racer who led our group

Dinner was delicious - and never underestimate the restorative power of two lamb chops after a day's hard riding!

Day 2 - Saturday 24th July 2010

I did not take my camera with in the morning, as I was sure my luck would not hold and I would end up falling on it.  We started with some warmup laps around the oval track, then went to do hill recovery and steep ascents and descents.  We had to stop in the middle of the steep descent, then pop a little wheelie over an imaginary ditch at the bottom of the hill.

On the first ascent I stalled and fell.  So much for recovery.  As we all got comfortable with stalling on a hill, we practised uphill take-offs - especially riding off sideways maintaining traction and managing the back wheel.

On the road, we did emergency braking.  Especially interesting was the exercise where you lock the front wheel - on a dirtbike you can ride quite far while balancing with the front wheel locked.

Then we did a barrel race, doing braking turns.  We split into Japanese vs European bikes.  The Japs won.  For once I won my races - my rival was Willie, my room mate.

After Lunch

A barrel race against the other team would precede an outride.  While we waited for the other team to arrive, we raced around the oval, then gradually stopped to watch Attie and some of the faster riders racing.

Cornering in style: leg out, bike leaning, bow and arrow position

Attie racing

Part of the oval had a muddy patch, that soon developed into a hole.  We learnt and practised riding through it.

Finally, the others arrive for the 'Showdown at OK Corral':

Ready for a showdown

My opponent this time was Toni.  A far cry from my experience on the Advanced Course where I lost in the very early rounds to the eventual final winner.  I know that my first race was spoilt by the fact that it was too short for me to learn anything from, so I made a point of scoring donuts instead of ending the race, just so Toni could also have a ride.  She nearly caught me the one time, but I did win eventually.

Tobie in full cry

Hurray for our side - we won again (not surprising since we were meant to be the more experienced riders).

The Outride

Deon, the farm owner, and Japie, his riding buddy, took us out on an outride that would split into an easy and a difficult section.

The outride

Before we got to the point where the ride split, I was thinking that the route so far was quite difficult enough, thanks.  To avoid erosion, Deon's routes wound around the mountain in an elaborate zig-zag pattern, with a narrow curved rut that we rode in.

Johan descending to a ditch

That 200R can go: Lindsay standing up, looking up and opening up

Justin in the spoor

The scenery and the routes were totally stunning.  We were privileged to be able to participate in this.

Johan taking a breather

At one point we came to a moderate but rocky ascent.  I could see it was a bit tricky (but nothing like klippekou) - mostly because there were others stuck there.  When my turn came I hit a rock and ended up off-piste and had to do a hill recovery.  This happened again on my next attempt.

Then I paused at the bottom and took this shot of William helping Lindsay (who eventually made it on his third try).

The climb

I contemplated following some of the others who went around the obstacle, but when Lindsay made it I had to follow, and somehow it was easy the third time.

A handful of us had lost the main group and also the spoor, so were bundu-bashing a bit.  Eventually we picked up the trail again and soon were in sight of the main group on the next hill.

There they are

By this stage I was quite tired and not really in a frame of mind for appreciating the scenery as much as I should have.  I really just wanted the ride to be over.  Little did I know.

Fynbos appreciation

Where else can you ride in scenery as spectacular as this.

The view from the top

William and Japie, and the fossil rock in between.  The valley below is beautiful and mostly part of the Eselfontein farm.

Sea shell fossils

We were amazed by the presence of sea shell fossils right at the top of the mountain.  These rocks were obviously under the sea at some time.

Back to base

I was dreading the trip back to the farm along those narrow paths.  But blow me down, just over the rise is a tweespoor bakkie track and we have a fairly easy ride down.

But then we turn onto a mountian-bike singletrack called "Shapiro's Drop".  I am not stupid enough to think that something that gets a name like this would be an ordinary drop.  But the singletrack is weavey and fun and although I really want to get back, I do not mind.

Finally, I come across a rider walking his bike down what must be the drop.  If he had not been there I might have ridden down, but once I have lost momentum and had time to get scared, I prefer to walk the bike down.

During the Cape Epic mountainbike race, this is the spot where the medics and photographer set up shop...

Eventually the singletrack enters a forest and weaves and winds its tortuous way via the longest possible path back to the farmhouse.

When we get there we are all more than slightly exhausted.  I go for a shower, but the water is cold.  Shower anyway, because it is colder in the morning and sleeping while dirty is uncomfortable and cold also.

Supper is steak, done to a 't' (medium rare to rare).  We get to bed well after 11 and well satisfied.

Day 3 - Sunday 25th July

The morning is crisp and clear.  Ice on the bikes.

Ice

The bikes must have huddled to stay warm, because it looks like they had a young one...

When I grow up...

We had breakfast before the ride, on account of the cold and a tight schedule.  The last day of a course is always a bit stressful for me - on the one hand you have finished the crux of the course and are practically graduated;  on the other there is an outride that might be designed to test your newly acquired (and not yet mastered) skills.

Nippy Sunday Breakfast: Riaan, JP and William

Self portrait: Willie and me ready to ride

Now, Willie and his riding buddies Andrew and Dale, had come across a sale of offroad over-pants.  The price was so good they each bought the pants.  They were somewhat un-flattering, but at that price what the hell.

Andrew: pants bandage

Turns out the pants melt agains the bike exhaust...

After breakfast we were still all a bit stiff and sore and cold from yesterday, so Gerber led us in some warmup exercises.  The theme was riding a dirtbike (turn around to see if your buddy is coming, bend down to check the petrol is on, bend the other side to see if the kickstart is tucked away...)

Here we are doing kickstarts.  Those with electric starters worked their thumbs...

Kick-starting a Husaberg

Final Lessons

The first thing Willam wanted to demonstrate to both groups was the consequences of putting your foot out on the downhill side of a slope.

You know how it goes:  you are riding along an off-camber, with a big drop to your left.  You are so scared of falling over down the hill, that you put your foot out on the left.  But of course, the ground drops away on that side so you have little hope of reaching the ground.

To quote William: falling down the hill like that is one of the most aweful feelings in the world.  So keep the downhill foot on the footpeg so it doesn't pull you over.  If you do want to experience falling down the hill, just lie down on the ground and William will throw your bike on top of you.

Here follows a demonstration of what happens if you don't keep your foot on the downhill peg:

Wrong foot 1: Putting the downhill foot out actually pulls you over

Wrong foot 2: William demonstrates

Wrong foot 3: the consequences can be ugly

After the entertaining demo, we learnt to jump over ditches when there is little traction.  The key is to start the jump early.

William demonstrates the bunny hop: he does it more like a springbokkie

Then we moved on to jumping over the ditch like this, and riding around in the longbow position along the dam wall berm.

Jumping the ditch: The grass is wet and slippery, and the bank is muddy

Willie had a fairly big 'autumn' here, but no harm done other than ending up a bit muddy.  Then we moved onto the road to do elephant turns.  These are useful for when you are pulling in to your buddie's wife on your bike, and notice that he is coming out the house with his gun...

Elephant turns

We also learned to do a braking slide turn followed by a wheelie over a log.  This was followed by braking turns at a t-junction, and then motocross starts and high-speed flat turns.

Attie shows the motocross start

Farm children: spectate and cheer and dream

High speed turns

For me the penny finally dropped with high-speed turns.  On the dune course I could let the back wheel slide out during a turn.  The instructors kept saying "weight the outside footpeg to control the slide", but actually, it seems to me more a question of "push the sliding side of the bike back into line with your outside foot and control the angle of the slide that way".  I think it has also to do with forming a rigid link between the steering and the bike with your body.

The last outride

The outride this time was a lot nicer than Saturday's.  It was not too challenging, and very beautiful.  We still rode along a narrow single-track, in a loop that allowed the faster riders to do a few loops while the slower riders could take their time.

The ride had some progressively more interesting ascents and descents, culminating with a beauty that had me stumped along with a few others.

Andrew goes wide: and has to start again (twice)

This ascent needed momentum, which is hard to maintain through a sharp turn at the bottom.  It doesn't help when you slow down for the crowd at the bottom thinking this is a stop.

I made it three-quarters of the way up before I stopped.  I tried the trick that Toren Wing taught me to ride up a low-traction rocky incline, but got no traction.  I really did not feel like starting from the bottom again.  William came to offer his assistance, and I said that what I would really like is if he could ride my bike out for me.

This he did, in second gear, as easy as pie.  Have a look:

William flies up the hill

Just watching that was an education for me, and when I got to my bike it was in second gear (I had been trying in first and was obviously doing the wrong thing).

The rest of the loop involved a deep ditch with a steep lip on the exit that provided a few heart-stopping moments.

Riding back to lunch

When I got to the rendezvous point at the start of the loop, I was alone, so stopped and waited.  Soon the main bunch caught up to me after their third loop.  They elected to ride back via a longer route.  I wanted to go straight back.  William decided to ride the loop once more to pick up any back-markers.

Eventually only William and I were on our way home - we took a different route.  At one point William jumped a ditch and waited to see if I would apply my new skills.  But of course I did, I hooked it big time.  We ended up intercepting the main bunch and followed them a bit before turning around.  On one of those corners I had a brief moment of being one with the bike. 

Soon, we were at lunch, doing prize giving, having a cold shower and loading the bike onto the bakkie for the trip home.

Thoughts about the course and dirt biking

By Friday evening the course had already met all my expectations.  After that it was all just a bonus - and being instructed by William Gillitt was the cherry on top.

Now I have done every one of the Country Trax courses.  I think it is perhaps a good idea to attend such a course once every year or two, just for the fun of it, and the benefits of refreshing your skills, meeting new people, having an adventure, and having something to train and practise for.

Of all the courses, this would be one I would repeat, along with the Dune or Advanced Sand course.

Dirt biking

I cannot believe how much fun this is.  My experience is on big adventure bikes, which are not fun in the way these smaller bikes are. 

Learning to wheelie was one of the better decisions I have made and has more than paid off in terms of improving my riding ability.

The Honda 230F is a brilliant bike.  William has done the 'roof' on it and repeatedly told us how the bike is unfairly billed a 'Ladies bike' and that too many people get caught in the ego trap of buying a bigger bike that they then cannot enjoy because it is hard to ride.  That is the same thing Toren Wing told me during the KTM social enduro weekend.

The BMW 450 is probably the most difficult dirtbike to ride.

I also believed that dirtbikes were bad for the environment - but the outrides on this trip were all ecological with much less impact on the fynbos than adventure bikes.  It all comes down to the design of the tracks, and if the owner is a biker and has to live with his mistakes (like Deon), he quickly learns how to do it right.

In conclusion

Thanks to Country Trax, the instructors and the attendees for a brilliant and memorable weekend.

Let me leave you with yet another Wild West Theme word of wisdom from William:  If you are the one who paid for the bike and washes it, it means you are in charge.  Don't let it get away from you, rein it in.  Just as a horse has reins, a bike has a clutch.