I became interested in learning to dirt bike in August and enrolled in the Into to Dirt class with Garrahan Off-Road Training.
The two-day class takes place in Hollister, CA, and Brian Garrahan provides all the dirt bikes.
Day 1 - Saturday, October 24
I got up early, around 6:30am, to prepare for the drive to Hollister. My iPhone showed relatively cold weather - 48F - so I brought a pullover, which was never needed.
I arrived at around 8:40am at the Hollister Hills SRVA (it was a one-hour drive with almost no traffic). Brian was setting up all of the dirt bikes and unloading all of the protective gear.
As a street rider, I was surprised by the amount of gear used. I put on knee pads, elbow pads, shoulder pads, body armor, and motocross boots in addition to my helmet.
Brian selected a Honda CRF150 for me. It was not too small, not too big, and very light (compared to my previous street bikes).
After putting on all the gear, Brian explained the techniques we needed to use on dirt bikes. Unlike street bikes, dirt bikes require a lot more body movement, and he showed us how to move our bodies forward during acceleration and backward during braking.
We rode a few rounds on the nearby Vintage track to warm up. I dropped the bike on the first loop (a very sandy track) but got used to it after a while.
We proceeded with more dirt bike drills, learning to smoothly break, accelerate, slide the rear wheel, and turn the bike.
After all the drills, we did a loop around the Adobe trail - a very gently rolling trail in Hollister. We returned to get lunch and drink some water. Inna packed me a delicious soup, and I enjoyed eating it. By this time, the temperature at Hollister had become a balmy 84F, and I was sweating like a pig.
After lunch, we did a few more drills and rode through a more challenging track. I dropped the bike once (again on a sandy surface when I lost traction).
I had a fun day, but it was a bit tiring. I am looking forward to the next day.
The two-day class takes place in Hollister, CA, and Brian Garrahan provides all the dirt bikes.
Day 1 - Saturday, October 24
I got up early, around 6:30am, to prepare for the drive to Hollister. My iPhone showed relatively cold weather - 48F - so I brought a pullover, which was never needed.
I arrived at around 8:40am at the Hollister Hills SRVA (it was a one-hour drive with almost no traffic). Brian was setting up all of the dirt bikes and unloading all of the protective gear.
As a street rider, I was surprised by the amount of gear used. I put on knee pads, elbow pads, shoulder pads, body armor, and motocross boots in addition to my helmet.
Brian selected a Honda CRF150 for me. It was not too small, not too big, and very light (compared to my previous street bikes).
After putting on all the gear, Brian explained the techniques we needed to use on dirt bikes. Unlike street bikes, dirt bikes require a lot more body movement, and he showed us how to move our bodies forward during acceleration and backward during braking.
We rode a few rounds on the nearby Vintage track to warm up. I dropped the bike on the first loop (a very sandy track) but got used to it after a while.
We proceeded with more dirt bike drills, learning to smoothly break, accelerate, slide the rear wheel, and turn the bike.
After all the drills, we did a loop around the Adobe trail - a very gently rolling trail in Hollister. We returned to get lunch and drink some water. Inna packed me a delicious soup, and I enjoyed eating it. By this time, the temperature at Hollister had become a balmy 84F, and I was sweating like a pig.
After lunch, we did a few more drills and rode through a more challenging track. I dropped the bike once (again on a sandy surface when I lost traction).
I had a fun day, but it was a bit tiring. I am looking forward to the next day.
Day 2 - Sunday, October 24
I arrived at around 8:40am at the Hollister Hills SRVA (it was a one-hour drive with almost no traffic). I dressed quickly since I had all my protective gear from Saturday's ride.
We got going right around 9:00am, and we were off to a warm-up on the nearby track, followed by a short trail ride and more drills.
I felt much more confident on this second day of dirt biking, but I crashed more often. I may have become too sure.
I shot a video of our first morning ride with my GoPro Hero 4 Silver mounted on the handlebars. We started our ride on the accessible "Harmony Gate Road" trail.
I shot another GoPro Hero4 video of riding the "Middle Field," "Tank," and "Adobe" trails.
What I found most challenging was riding the bike in the stand-up position. It's much harder to shift gears this way, and I had a hard time with the rear brake. I shot another video of my training ride.
I had much fun in this class and hope to do it again to develop more confidence.
