trail riding feedback . . .

Tony

This is just a quick email to say that the day was a big success.

Thanks to your two men who ran the day (Ian and Andy) - they were brilliant and everything went very smoothly. More importantly, the clients I took really enjoyed it and are already talking about setting up a reciprocal track day in Spain.

Once again, thanks very much, it is a brilliant format and I really enjoyed.

Best regards.

EMLYN HUDSON

Dear Tony,

Very many thanks for sending my thermal top back to me which arrived in the post today - and cleaned as well!

Your assistance is much appreciated and it is nice to know that there are still some companies who take customer service seriously both on the day and afterwards- even though this particular customer drowned their bike!

Our off road day was so much fun that we are likely to want to get another group together later in the year and will be in touch.

Many thanks again for taking the time, trouble and expense of returning the top.

Best regards,

Robert.

Hi
> Just a short message to say how much we enjoyed our off road day.
> Gary is a great instructor and certainly helped Gill to enjoy a day that
> she had been quite worried about and her riding skills have certainly
> improved as a result.
> As for me, my face still aches from grinning so much!!
> Will definitely come again.
> Cheers
> Ken & Gill

Just wanted to say a big thank you, had a fantastic day on Thursday 24th on your off road lesson. Never done any off road stuff before and I did it with a view to helping my confidence riding my road bike and it certainly did that and more, so much so that I am going to come back and have another day lesson.
So thanks again and see you soon.
Best wishes,
Carolyn Woods

Hi,
> just wanted to say thanks again to Andy and Gary for a great day on
> Monday. Fantastic balance of technical work and messing about, just the
> way it should be.
> Just one critisism though, you didn't state on the letter that
> participants should bring spare pants aswell as t-shirt, I had a fairly
> damp and sweaty trip home that evening.
> Seriously though, I had a great time and have the bruises and aches to
> help the memory linger. I might even have a go at stage 2.
>
> Jonathan

Hi Tony,

Just a brief note to say that we all thoroughly enjoyed the day - still aching!

Gary (the instructor) was excellent, and the balance between tuition and 'free' riding was spot on.

Regards,

Steve Fitch

HI,

I RECENTLY COMPLETED THE OFF ROAD DAY IN THE HILLS OF SURREY (11/06/05).

WHAT A GREAT DAY, IT HAD NUMEROUS TERRAINS FOR US TO CONQUEOR; SAND, CHALK, BOULDERS (OKAY LARGE STONES), TREEROOTS (NOT MY FAVORITE) AND A LITTLE MUD. UPHILL & DOWNHILL WE WENT WITH SOME TERRIFIC VIEWS.

THE INITIAL INSTRUCTION WAS EXCELLENT AND VERY TRUE FOR THE REST OF THE DAY. MY EXPERIENCE OFF ROADING IS NOT THAT GREAT BUT I FELT IN GOOD HANDS AND HAVE LEARN’T A LOT.

THE BIKE (A YAMAHA TTR250) WAS JUST THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB AND THE CLOTHING HIRED OF VERY GOOD QUALITY AND COMFORTABLE.

A DAY WORTH DOING AGAIN IN THE FUTURE.

REGARDS WILLIE

Hi Tony

Just a short note to say thank you to you and your staff for their help and professionalism on 21st and 22nd.
Tom, David and I really enjoyed our two days and we all feel that we have gained valuable experience through Gary's superb instruction.
Andy also had his work cut out keeping us going but he coped admirably.
I have spoken to my boss David Livingstone and he has agreeded in principle on a revisit next year to take in some trail riding.
Please pass on our thanks to all.
Hoping to see you next year.


John Erwin
Motorcycle Training
Traffic & Driver Training Unit
Police Service Northern Ireland

Tony,

Many thanks for the off road school yesterday - everyone was very impressed with the kit, tuition and organisation.
I'm trying to get another beginner's group together, and everyone is keen for a trail ride in 4-6 weeks time.
Please thank your team for me.

Regards
Chris

Some feedback re our trail ride on 10th July...

Briefing session was quick, clear and comprehensive - a few well heeded pieces of advice - stand up, legs straight, arms bent, keep head forward over the yoke, and if in doubt gas it!

We all get togged up in full enduro kit provided - all necessary to protect from the enevitable bumps and scrapes to come. Knox safety armour takes the form of a safety shirt with back protector, shoulder, elbow & arm protectors and padding for chest protection. All proved very comfy barring knee protectors which were too long for my stumpy legs already shrouded in hefty motorcross boots (a minor gripe really as the kit is to serve many different shapes and sizes of customer - eh hem...!). The Motorcross lid provided was light and equipped with a handy "Quick Strap" gadget which made frequent removal and fitting of goggles on the trail soooo much easier.

Licence's checked, and we're off.

The bikes are very straight forward with the all important "'leccy boot" and plenty enough power for short on road stints linking up the mucky stuff.

Trails started with very straight forward unmade roads, probably quite passable in a family saloon, and just what was required to get us "rookies" to feel confident. Before too long we were onto trails where our course was governed by which rut you were in, and that for us meant into knee deep muddy water.

Trails taken in then included some fast open trails with a few threatening pot holes and tree roots.

Despite our best efforts, our guides Tony and "Skip" got us to a very understanding (you needed to see us!) pub for lunch where all were entertained with some hilarious on bike footage of the morning's capers.

I have to admit that after lunch I chickened out of the rest off the afternoons ride because I had a trailer to load and preparations to make for a track day on the following day, but I can conclude that the 3 or 4 hours experience in the morning, and just after lunch, were a great introduction to green laning.

Cheers!

Paul Deba.

Hi Tony

The guy’s and I would just like to thank you and your instructors for a wonderful few days of off roading. We found the whole package from beginning to end superb. The protective clothing provided was of high quality and the tuition for beginners on safety and handling was excellent. Not to forget top bikes for the job in hand.

Day 1 (Off road school) - Not knowing what to expect, not even knowing how to put the gear on, we set about getting ready for what lay ahead. Kit on, bikes started and down into the basin of the off road circuit. After an hour or two of tuition and demonstrations we were let go into the woods mainly on our own but under the watchful eye of Tony and Gary. In the literature you send out with confirmation of the booking you mention to bring high energy bars and lots of drinks. This has got to be the under statement of the year. After the first half hour my tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth. If I had walked into a river of water I could not have been any wetter than I was with sweat. Hard work comes in the shape of great fun in this instance. At the end of the day we received a debriefing and a fancy certificate just to let us all know how well we all had done.

Just a note to say a big THANK YOU for a fantastic day in Dartford learning to ride off road. As the token girlie in the team and a total novice to off road biking, I was really impressed.
The tuition by the instructor was superb, right down to the basics of safety (i.e. picking the bike up if you fall off in awkard terrain etc.) all accompanied by his cheery smile and constant encouragement.
All the morning exercises, whilst strenuous at the time, proved to be vital during the afternoon sessions when we really got stuck in! There was a lot of sweat, perhaps the odd tear of frustration, but some really big smiles at the end when it all came together. (I reckon I lost about 5lbs in weight through all the sweating!)
Would suggest you carry extra water for those who come ill prepared - I must have drunk half a lake by myself!!!
Excellent course for novices, superb equipment, bloody hard work with great rewards! Fantastic fun and thanks for making girlies so welcome!

Best Regards,
Ulrika Barclay

Tony

Just a note to say what an enjoyable experience I had doing your off road school followed by the trail riding the day after.

Your recommendation that I should attend the school first as I had no previous off road experience was spot on. I have 20+ years road riding experience, but I think I would have been well out of my depth had I gone straight into the trail riding without the skills learned at the school the day before. My ineptitude quickly became apparent to me (and others!) as I first rode the bike from the car park to the training area and found that on the loose stuff, my fear of crashing overrode my intention to turn right and I ended up taking a bit of a detour.

A few hours later, I was really chuffed at the progress I had made. The course is well structured and (quite rightly) assumes the students need to start from the very basics. We quickly moved on to riding proper though and the exercises built confidence, and demonstrated how much grip and control there is available on loose surfaces with the right kit, technique and mental attitude. Your instructor Gary was excellent, patient and good at communicating the message he was trying to get across. All the students were soon tackling hills that we’d earlier said ‘no effing way!’ to, and whilst it wasn’t always a pretty sight, tackling them successfully.

I thought the group size was about right, the time spent practicing the exercises was enough without overkill, and there was also plenty of time for us to take off and practice our new found skills on our own.

I found the bike to be pretty user friendly, and the kit you provided was in top condition. In spite of several tumbles, the bike was undamaged. The only minor criticism would be that I had to drink several times more fluids than the 1 litre you recommend we bring!

As I said, the school was excellent preparation for the following day out on the trails. Without it, my first ‘off’ of the day would have been much earlier than it was, and the instructors would have been waiting much longer for me to catch up. 20 years riding experience – pah! More like 1 year's experience 20 times. I learnt a lot, many thanks.

I shall be back for more when the aches and pains have subsided!

Best regards

Steve

Just a quick note to say how fantastic the off roading day I did with you guys was - I'd never done it before and was a tad anxious about keeping up, but the support was amazing. And the fact that you patiently explained what I was doing well and what needed attention helped me get the hang of the terrain we covered, and resulted in an experience that left me exhilarated and gagging for another day.

The riding was fantastic and the countryside and remoteness of the green lanes we explored was amazing - I know the Herts back lanes well from other country pursuits, but Im still amazed at the land we covered and the remoteness and peacefulness of the lanes we rode.

The bikes were like new, perfect size and easy to ride. The gear was comfortable and effective (I had three good offs, but didn't even suffer a bruise!).