Off Road was a whole different story for me.  It had rained all night and was still raining off and on in the morning.  I was on a 650GS and Galen was on a brand new 2015 1200GSA both complete with knobby tires.

For the off road class Ross was our instructor.  Today it was just Galen and I in the class.  I was relieved because I never want to be the person holding up the rest of the group.  No classroom instruction today.  We got on the bikes and headed to the gravel.  Galen was a little tall for the factory handlebars.  Ross radioed up to Robert who installed Rox risers.  The day started off similar to the on-road class.  We started building a foundation with balance exercises including full stops, and trial stops.  We then moved onto steering technique through slalom cones.  Everything was going smooth up to this point.  I was having a really hard time getting through the slalom cones.  How could this come so easy to me on pavement but be so difficult on gravel?  I was getting very frustrated.  Just when I thought I was getting it I dumped the bike and got my leg caught underneath the 650.  I heard my ankle pop and was overwhelmed with pain.  Ross was able to get the bike up and I decided I needed to take a break.  We headed over to the tent where I sat and had some water.  I hadn’t broke anything but at this point I decided there was no need to get injured so close to Christmas.

Next exercise was washboards and ruts.  Ross demonstrated what we were to do and then it was our turn.  I appreciated Ross’s optimism but I really didn’t have the confidence to continue.  I just wasn’t at a level where I felt comfortable on a 650 doing these exercises.  In the back of my mind I was wishing I was back on my aunt’s Honda 100XR.  From this point forward I would ride my bike to each exercise where I would listen and watch Ross and Galen go through them.  It only took Galen two passes before he had proven he could do the exercise and we would move on to the next station.  With me out of the picture we moved through the rest of the day smoothly and quickly.  What typically is taught in a two day class, Ross was able to cover in one day.  Galen started with small camel humps and moved on to conquer the loose gravel and sand pit.

Trial Stops On Camel Humps

Gravel Pit

Sand Pit

 We took a short break for lunch which again was fantastic.  After lunch we headed back out.  Ross taught Galen the proper way to descend down a steep hill, and recover from a stopped position on an incline.  He also was taught the proper way to pick the bike up when you drop it on a steep hill.

They practiced trial stops going up and down larger blind hills where you can’t see what is over the next one. 
He moved to the tabletop and had no problem doing everything that Ross demonstrated.

Working On Emergency Stopping

Tight Turns

Trial Stops On Gravel Humps

Near the end of the day Ross lead Galen through Enduro laps were Galen followed Ross through a series of single track filled with obstacles that reinforced techniques covered earlier in the day.  I was very content to watch the guys have a great afternoon.  I think they both were having a fun.

Galen Getting Some Air!

Since Ross had covered all the material we needed to cover he invited Galen back the next day to just ride and learn some more advanced riding techniques.  I saw no reason to suit up on the next day.  I stayed at the main building and addressed our Christmas cards while the guys headed out to have some more fun.

Ross started by showing Galen how to do 90 degree power slides and then graduated into 180 degree drifts where you lock up the rear tire skidding into the turn and then exit under full power.  This technique was then practiced and reinforced by doing a barrel race.  A couple of times Galen didn’t get the bike upright fast enough and one of the times the bike came down on his ankle.  He heard it pop but was having so much fun he kept going.  Thank goodness it wasn’t broke.

Galen had the chance to explore the entire facility with Ross.  This included numerous obstacles and a very diverse array of single track of various soil conditions from very rocky to muddy slick ditches.

Ross coming off the hill

Galen is no stranger to mud.

At the end of the day Galen’s ankle looked like mine.

We both wish we would have brought our dirt bike boots for the off road portion of the class.  More ankle protection would have been key to have gotten through the weekend with less pain.

Overall this was a fantastic experience.  Galen and I are both grateful for the opportunity.  All the instructors and the staff were so down to earth and fun to hang out with.  I would highly recommended this experience to anyone who wants to further their riding skills, and for the more seasoned riders a chance to fine tune some techniques and put to bed some bad habits that you might not be aware you have.

Limited time offer: Book a class now and a friend attends half off!