Spain - Three days at the Adventure Rider Centre

In between the longer pseudo-enduro adventures, Biker Dom is taking the opportunity get some proper training in riding a bike off-road. A bit late you might think, but it's never to late to improve one's skills. Young Mark has arranged a three-day trip to the Adventure Rider Centre in Mijas, Spain, run by Baz and Kaz, and ably assisted by Andreas and Ian. Together they will run Mark, Steve, Chris, Martin and I through your paces to touch up our off-road skills, and make us do things we never thought you could do; on two wheels that is.

Ready for the off, literally!

Our three days started by getting kitted out in suitable clothing and protective gear and the ARC is well equipped with the best kit from Klim, Forcefield and Alpinestars. Needless to say, Biker Dom was nicely colour coordinated in grey with a hint of yellow and red.

In parallel, we take our pick of the bikes, a good mix of Husaberg 250 and 450 four-strokes, and 250 and 300 two strokes. The hooligans choose two strokes and we see Baz and Martin elect to be stinkers. Once in our gear, we set off down the lanes of Mijas and before we know it Baz, the leader, shows us his playground. Or rather an area of his playground, because in reality the whole of the Mijas surrounds and beyond is his playground!

The first few kms or so, we're all familiarising ourselves with the bikes, the clutch bite points, the feel of the brakes and gears, the traction and the suspension. I don't mind telling you Biker Dom was full of trepidation for the morning, I'd say he was a right wuss.

In the beginners playground we're taught how to climb hills and more importantly, how to descend them in full control. It's all in the hips, pushing them forwards for uphill sections legs almost straight, forcing our weight into the pegs to find traction, and on the downhill sections moving the hips back. And counter to almost everything we've experienced over the last few years, we're taught to use the front brake for descents. It's amazing how much grip there is from a well weighted and dug-in knobbly tyre and even on 45 degree slopes, you can almost stop mid-slope.

You're joking, right?

After Baz is confident we have the basics we spend the day on a variety of other tracks, trails and hills, up and down, in and out, all over the area. We stop for snacks and lunch a couple of times, but otherwise it's pretty much full on all day: just how we like it!

At this altitude, it must be the Himalayas?

By the afternoon, Biker Dom is in the swing of things and we all end the day drained but exhilarated. Today we've riden through Cambodia, Bolivia, the Himalayas, parts of Patagonia as well as swanky golf course is Southern California.... at least that's the way it feels; the beauty of this area is the variety of terrains and environments in a relatively small area and I'm continually surprised by what awaits us around every corner.

Somewhere in Cambodia?  Feels like it

We file into the ARC compound and feast on snacks and cools drinks as we unwind and exchange stories of our exploits during the day. We managed to stay unscathed with no offs, which is always a good thing.... maybe we weren't trying hard enough?  Even Mark manage not to kill his bike.... now there's a first!

Turns out Biker Dom was riding with a broken shoulder! Two weeks earlier two successive falls onto the same arm resulted in a nasty shoulder injury on the ski slopes. Four weeks later and after a few more days on snow, he finally decides to visit the doctor and an X-ray shows the damage.  Fracture of the upper tuberosity; healing well, but the doctor says BD must rest.....  No riding, no skiing and no lifting.   Right.


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