off road riding

[Merrie1]

My boryfriend and I are preparing to take our first long range trip. We are going to ride through Mexico, Central America and South America. My first question is if there are any decent off rode courses - we live in Rhode Island. My second question is, would this type of itinerary be possible to do in 5-6 months?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[Grant Johnson]

Welcome to Horizons Unlimited Merrie!?

There's lots of off-road courses available, though not many oriented toward big bikes and loaded-for-travel bikes.

Ask your local dealer if they know of something.

Depending on your timing and route, we've organised a great deal with RawHyde Adventures. US$100 off for HU people!

http://www.rawhyde-offroad.com/

RawHyde is based in California, but will be doing a course just for us at the Copper Canyon Mexico Travellers Meeting in September. Two day course.

Jim will also be at our Colorado Meeting.

As for your planned itinerary - that's a lot of ground to cover in only 6 months. The number one mistake everyone - and I mean everyone - makes, is grossly overestimating the distance you can cover in x time.

You CAN do it - but I strongly recommend cutting the distance down. Do just Mexico and Central America, or just South America.

As an example, the RECORD fastest time from Alaska to Ushuaia is 35 days, done by the couple that also hold the fastest around the world record - at 19 days. Think about the difference in time there, and you'll start to understand what I'm saying.

Your speed and distance travelled in a day will be far lower than you think. We spent 9 months in Mexico and Central America, and it was about right.

Spend a lot of time browsing the travellers stories on the site, and you'll get a good idea of what there is out there, and how long it takes to see them.

And do try to get to an HU Travellers Meeting - you'll learn a LOT! North Carolina is a short ride away - see you there!

[Merrie1]

Hi Grant,

Thanks so much for your advice. John and I will be meeting you in the flesh in North Carolina this summer. We are sooo looking forward to it.

Regards,
Merrie

[Douglas Hackney]

Merrie,

For full up / large bike / adventure travel riding training you can also try Jimmy Lewis' school:

http://www.jimmylewisoffroad.com/

Jimmy does amazing things on a GS1150, including racing one in last year's Baja 1000.

Also try Scott Harden's school. Scott is the team manager and lead rider for the U.S. KTM Paris Dakar team.

http://www.harden-offroad.com/

Another great offroad school that includes instruction for women by women is Gary LaPlante's Motoventures:

http://www.motoventures.com/


Any of these guys would be a good choice. I've also heard good reports regarding the BMW offroad training course in Germany from my friends who have attended.

Offroad training and riding will make you a much better and safer street rider. Both are highly recommended before you set off to ride in developing ecomonies.


Doug




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www.hackneys.com/travel

[fireboomer]

Any contacts / adresses in Europe? Pref. on the continent.

Pieter.

[beddhist]

For German speakers:

http://www.hessler-motorsport.de/index1.html

www.adac.de

www.prolog-endurotraining.de

www.motorradfrau.de (women only)

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Salut from Southern France, the bikers' paradise,

Peter.