Big Adventure bikes skill improvement
Enduro trainings as adv riding skill improvement
My name is Nebojsha and I’m both, adv and enduro/hard enduro rider. Came to enduro from motocross, but adv rider I’ve been since ever. Now my garage fits for one GSA 1200, 2 husabergs, 2 KTMs 350 and one sixdays KTM 450.
After 20 years on bike and about 13 in adv, wanted to share some thoughts with like-minded mates.
They are about my noticeable adv riding skills improvement after I had started to ride enduro, especially hard part of it 🙂
Yes, I got a lot of knowledge and self confidence on big bikes from motocross, but my adv tracks and trips drastically changed and I saw a lot more in my adventures only because of enduro.
Crucial things you start to understand by riding enduro could be listed like this:
- Quick “ridebility” evaluation (can I pass this sh**t or looking for alternative) of the some trails, forest roads, details.. You had that kind of situation when you wasn’t shore – would you pass that problem or got stuck for hours.
- Bike weight and traction control on some steep downhills or slippery surfaces. Sometimes you have to go down with engine turned off and one leg on the surface, other on the footstep. Left or right, what’s the difference and how to keep the bike on the wheels 🙂
- Fast, on the run, terrain reading and analyzing for obstacles like rocks, logs, roots, trenches etc, helps to go fast over some of them even if stricken.
- Finding a balance (I gained due to enduro, not motocross) is thing you use all the time on the bike, slower you go – more work on the bike. Mostly, the Mr. Balance will save the bike from falling and you from picking it up in some distant places (what will you do on 10cm deep gravel road?).
- Moving on the bike – well known in adv riding theory but poor implemented on practice.. this is one of the most important skills if you want to go safe and far from home
The list looks like small, but I consider it as basic and crucial at the same time. Yes, there are a lot of other techniques and skills for hundreds of situations you will get in, but those will solve great part of them.
I had a chance to watch and ride with lot of riders, and I made some statistics of what are the most wanted surfaces, what are the most problematic but most wanted as well, and what do the riders undertake in problems.
All my experience now I’m sharing with riders from Europe, Israel and UAE. Some are coming to my enduro camp and find a new passion and lot of knowledge. Some, after years of riding, are fascinated how insufficient their riding skills have been 🙂
Probably I’ll make a few posts here about exercises you have to try.
Learning is always exciting. Especially if it’s about riding 😉
You could stop by on coffee when riding through Serbia, or have an useful and very, very super mega active bike vacation with me and my KTMs)