I had a days 1-1 training with Craig Bounds on Monday. I met up with him and Tamsin Jones at their home near Cardiff at 9.30 a.m.

He is a bit of a hero of mine, and was a very down-to-earth character, along with Tamsin (who is a bit of a cracker! ), and upon arrival was offered a B&E sarni and tea/coffee etc..a very nice welcome!


Craig was not very familiar with the "R" version of the XT, but he was very keen and interested in it, which showed throughout the day. He said one of them would be perfect for him, with Tamsin riding pillion, for their reccies on the Coast to Coast that they are working on at the moment. Craig had a WR450 for the day, and we set off to the hills....


We had a brief beforehand of what I wanted out of the day (basically, go easy on me!!, plus what skills I thought I would like polishing-up), so he said he would just follow me to start, to assess my ability.

Unfortunately, after only 10 minutes or so, I got like a stomach cramp/locked up stomach muscle, (ouch!) so we stopped until it went (which took a good 45 minutes), but he still didn't waste any time, talking about and showing me position and control on a bike, while I was waiting for the cramp to go. So, no time wasted then.....and after 45 mins I was fine, and it didn't come back fortunately.

So, after some encouraging words about that I was better at it than I made out to him, and some advice about how to steer more with your feet than your handlebars, we went to one of his "special tests"...the "S" rut.

After a demo and a talk, I had a few attempts at this very gently curving rut, on flat ground, which I "cleaned", (after a few attempts and more coaching.) Already my confidence was being boosted by this success. So we went for a bit of a blast/trail ride on towards our next "special test".

So, we went on to do "uphill and downhill ruts", gently cambering, with yet another talk on steering with your feet...I got on pretty well with that, a really enjoyable section which I didn't find too difficult. We stopped to admire the fantastic view (one of many that day) on the top of the hill, and did some more fantastic trail riding.




Now Craig spotted a problem with my braking, so we did quite alot of work on that. (On the loose stuff, say, going downhill on very loose/largish "Welsh Pebbles"- where it was too fast to go down with the clutch out in first gear)

So, we worked on that braking, during a very memorable trail ride though the stunning Welsh hills....


By now , the wind was really gusting (blowing a gale!), so much so that I found it difficult going in a straight line, let alone going downhill, braking on the loose stuff, so I chickened out of this little downhill test, which wasn't a problem with Craig, but he did it anyway on my bike (I had to remind him to give me my bike back!!!!)



We then decided to head for the cover of the next hill in the distance, a more tree-covered hill, so a great long trail ride ensued, with a little road-work to the next hill.

On this new hill, there were some fantastic fire-roads, and we did a tricky rut section too...



We went on to do some more ruts in long grass (hidden), and some "clumps", and went through a petrified bit of forest too
i.e. bumpy ground in long grass,



before the last "special test" of the day.....

What I said to Craig on my brief at the start of the day was something along the lines of " ...but I'm not happy going along a loose goat track at the side of a hill, with a big drop off over the edge"..........

Guess what?.....well my confidence levels had been bubbling upwards (read "sky high") gradually throughout the day...and we arrived at a loose climb, bending, about the width of a narrow car, with a loose surface , with a rut all the way up it, with a bit of a drop-off over the edge. Well he hadn't told me we were going here, and he just said, after a brief chat, "follow me". He stopped halway up it, and signalled me to get on with it. I was having second thoughts about this, so signalled to him that I would continue on the forest road, and not follow him. Craig was having none of this nonsense, and signalled that the forest track was going in the wrong direction! Oh.....

A big deep breath, think of all the things I had learned that day, and off I went, palms sweating! I stayed in the rut, over the loose stones, round the corner and up, up up, steady throttle, don't look down, look up and to the distance, using my bodyweight and position on the footpegs to keep things upright! ..... I made it!, it was easier than I was thinking, and of course my confidence level, over conquering this obstacle, soared to new heights! I would never have attempted it, probably with anyone else, but although he didn't actually force me to do it, I had built up a trust with him, and I knew that if he didn't think I could do it, he wouldn't be signalling me up. I just had to get it round my head to do it!

That was the perfect end to a days out, glorious scenery, great training, great trail-riding between "specials"...and one hell of a great guy.

It cost me �185 for the day....here's a linky to his website
http://www.blackdeserttraining.com/

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2008 XTR Mods : DNA Stage 3 Airbox, PC111, Carbon Cans Ovals, Steve Ruth built XTR734cc Big Bore with - High Desert Dyno (HDD)/ Cuervo Racing Gas Flowed / Ported Head fitted with +1mm Valves & uprated Springs, HDD 5050 Camshaft, HDD +3mm Throttle Body, CP 105.5mm 11:1 Piston, Custom Mapping, Piasini ECU, Renthal 613-01, Barkbusters VPS, Pivot Pegz, Touratech Bashplate, Foam Grips, Kev's O2 Sensor Mod, Kev's Extra Coolant Cooler, Wilbers Progressive Fork Springs and Rear Shock

Nice writeup Rich. Sounds like a good day out.

You'll need your new-found confidence with goat tracks and big drops for the HUMM



Don't do what I did in 2009 and try to ride off one of them

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I spent a lot of money on travel and racing motorcycles - the rest I just squandered.

XT660Z - Commuter, Adventurer...Racer?

www.dashmoto.net

Other bikes >> MT-03 / CG125BR-J / ER-6F
Departed >> ZXR400L3 / EC300 / DR-Z400E / DR800S / GPZ500S / GS400

whoops!

I am now really looking forward to the HUMM, Old Git Ray and Pockey (from the Super tenere forum),Rooster and myself.......a proper team now, and the ferry is booked,

OGR is coming to stay the night before we leave Plymouth, as he is riding down from Scotland! Should be a fun holiday!

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2008 XTR Mods : DNA Stage 3 Airbox, PC111, Carbon Cans Ovals, Steve Ruth built XTR734cc Big Bore with - High Desert Dyno (HDD)/ Cuervo Racing Gas Flowed / Ported Head fitted with +1mm Valves & uprated Springs, HDD 5050 Camshaft, HDD +3mm Throttle Body, CP 105.5mm 11:1 Piston, Custom Mapping, Piasini ECU, Renthal 613-01, Barkbusters VPS, Pivot Pegz, Touratech Bashplate, Foam Grips, Kev's O2 Sensor Mod, Kev's Extra Coolant Cooler, Wilbers Progressive Fork Springs and Rear Shock

Well done mate ,Craig is a very good rider and teacher ,Tamsin is no slouch either ,looks like another sunny day in Wales again

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OFFICIAL CRASH TEST DUMMY

Richard, nice report and the XTR showed itself to be a great tool for the day.

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nice one richard, great report and photo's!. every time i ride in wales it seems to rain you did well
your preparation will stead you well on the humm cos it's an off-road heaven there are some of the best tracks i have ever ridden around there

my mate on his gs80 pd, the trail follows the hills to the left. magic



abandoned village of claramunt, surreal


ps. dont forget to try the white water rafting