PS can we have a report on your visit to the Honda Adventure Centre please."
well I did think about it for a couple of years because it is not a cheap weekend, but then I loved every minute of it. The course takes place in the Exmore National Park over two days. Instructors were brilliant (the likes of Pat Jackson and Dave Thorpe, great character and really nice fellas) and kept us all smiling (and bruised) for the two days. I ended up with about four offs one of which straight onto a massive log
couple of bruises but nothing serious. Most of us came off at one stage or another …...
There were about 18 of us and we were divided into three groups (needless to say I was in Group 3....the useless fatsos). You start on day one with lots of gravel and slow maneuvering bike control. (choice of bike is excellent as you can pick AT's, AT's Adventure, Rallies 250 and so on, DCT and manual). I went for the standard manual AT and loved it. Also had a chance to have a go on the Adventure model and liked it even more. One of the guys in our group opted for a DCT one but struggled a bit to get used to the riding style and the twitchy throttle.
Some steep hill ascent and descent, lots of mud but step by step, so basically you practice one skill and then take it into the next module. you also get to play with the different settings of TC and feel the difference it makes. Was a first for me ……..
Day two gets more serious with some REALLY deep ruts and water crossing......and deep slippery mud ...lots of it! Rocky ascents and descents, hairpins etc.
To round it all off they took us to a different location (all in all you ride in three different locations so you get to ride around 50 miles of tarmac to go from one location to the other over the two days) where there is loop with all sorts of terrain from rocky hills, to mud, fords and so on and you are let lose for a couple of hours to go and have fun. I also enjoyed the tarmac bit as it gave a chance of having a good test ride on the new AT both on and off road.
All in all I really enjoyed it (also benefitted from a 15% discount voucher picked up at the Excel bike show. It is a lot of money but you get bike, petrol, kit, super qualified instructors, two lunches and one dinner thrown in for good measure.....and you get to spend two days riding a bike off road in a fantastic part oft he UK, truly amazing area.
I am useless at uploading photos but if you look at their FaceBook page, they have all the photos of the 18/19 April course...…..I am easily spotted....my Africa Twin looks smaller than all the others
