I thought I would give a quick positive review of this class. I just took the two day in depth course in Price Utah.
About me....
I'm 39 years old and have been trail riding for much of my life. A little dunes and desert mixed in, but mostly techy single track. I started at about 6 years old, but didn't really do any real riding till I was living in Washington state and was about 11 years old riding a YZ80. I didn't really ride in High school once my family dragged me to, what I thought was, a depressed ugly state. Utah. Once in college I really gained an appreciation for the desert and the rocky single track we have here. (Not having to ride in the mud is awesome)
Anyhow, since then it's been sand dunes and single track. I'm a pretty good rider, fast single track... I still seem to crash fairly often so I'd like to think I'm still pushing it and getting better all the time. I've never entered any races so I can't say how I compare but I think I'm going to do an enduro or two this year.
So, all that said, I think I got a lot out of the class and it really showed me that I have some bad habits I need to work on. Wattsy showed us how to conserve energy by riding smarter with better body position. It seems like the only published stuff on rider position and such is about motocross, so, the attack position. That's how I typically ride and it's very tiring.
Also, we practiced things in a controlled environment with a lot of feedback from Wattsy. Stuff I wouldn't typically spend a lot of time practicing. Like, stoppies, wheelies, drag starts, etc. over and over. It was actually quite tiring!
When it was time to go learn and practice downhill technique, I was stoked because I can slay some downhill! Nope. More class work. But it all focussed on control and riding smart. Something I probably haven't been practicing in the real world.
Coincidentally, after the first day of class, a few friends and I went for a ride and I looped my bike on a steep climb, (breaking my back fender and expensive under fender thingy). Of course the next day in class we covered proper hill climbing technique and how not to loop out the bike. (I had to tell my friends to keep there mouths shut!)
So, sorry for the length. I wanted to give a little background so you could see that I was kinda experienced as a rider but still found value in the course. At $390 it's not cheap, but since two wheels is such an important part of my life I felt it was worth a shot, and it it was.
PS. We had a wide range of skill levels in the class and everyone wound up looking like a novice at some point. We all picked up our bikes a handful of times.
About me....
I'm 39 years old and have been trail riding for much of my life. A little dunes and desert mixed in, but mostly techy single track. I started at about 6 years old, but didn't really do any real riding till I was living in Washington state and was about 11 years old riding a YZ80. I didn't really ride in High school once my family dragged me to, what I thought was, a depressed ugly state. Utah. Once in college I really gained an appreciation for the desert and the rocky single track we have here. (Not having to ride in the mud is awesome)
Anyhow, since then it's been sand dunes and single track. I'm a pretty good rider, fast single track... I still seem to crash fairly often so I'd like to think I'm still pushing it and getting better all the time. I've never entered any races so I can't say how I compare but I think I'm going to do an enduro or two this year.
So, all that said, I think I got a lot out of the class and it really showed me that I have some bad habits I need to work on. Wattsy showed us how to conserve energy by riding smarter with better body position. It seems like the only published stuff on rider position and such is about motocross, so, the attack position. That's how I typically ride and it's very tiring.
Also, we practiced things in a controlled environment with a lot of feedback from Wattsy. Stuff I wouldn't typically spend a lot of time practicing. Like, stoppies, wheelies, drag starts, etc. over and over. It was actually quite tiring!
When it was time to go learn and practice downhill technique, I was stoked because I can slay some downhill! Nope. More class work. But it all focussed on control and riding smart. Something I probably haven't been practicing in the real world.
Coincidentally, after the first day of class, a few friends and I went for a ride and I looped my bike on a steep climb, (breaking my back fender and expensive under fender thingy). Of course the next day in class we covered proper hill climbing technique and how not to loop out the bike. (I had to tell my friends to keep there mouths shut!)
So, sorry for the length. I wanted to give a little background so you could see that I was kinda experienced as a rider but still found value in the course. At $390 it's not cheap, but since two wheels is such an important part of my life I felt it was worth a shot, and it it was.
PS. We had a wide range of skill levels in the class and everyone wound up looking like a novice at some point. We all picked up our bikes a handful of times.
