Ady Smith Training Day 2013
Ady Smith off road school.
Just a few words on a training day held in East Lothian on Saturday 2nd March. In much need of a few pointers I contacted Ady Smith after finding his site on the old interweb. A quick call and his arm was easily twisted to come up to Scotland.
Barry from EEC, very quickly put the word out and a budding team was pulled together.
Ady has riding rights on a 40 acre holding a few miles south of Pathhead, just off the A68. The venue is a cracking site, good facilities, a good shed to meet and prepare. A very hospitable landlord, and generally a cracking piece of ground with a selection of different terrain. The team of ten riders, most of us fairly in experienced in winning enduro events pulled together for what turned out to be a fantastic day.
Ady had called in a very able assistant in Murray Thompson who explained technics, as Ady demonstrated. He was also pretty a good translator for us north of the border lads and lass.
The day covered a wide range of topics, from simple suspension set up, to how to tackle fairly difficult log crossings.
First a quick lesson in clutch, brake and balance control, how to corner on the flat, using brake and body position, with a few stoppies and wheelies to keep us entertained.
Second section was onto the rougher ground, steep descents and hill climbing, it all looked very effortless with the bike under the seasoned pro.
Third loop saw us tackle berms, logs and a fairly impressive hill, which I am still having nightmares about, even with all Murray's advise, it was just a case of mind over matter for me.
The last part of the day was set aside for us to tie the loops together into a lap, and practice a few new moves.
The weekend for me, was first class with the hard working Bon Accord lads setting up a Practice loop, west of Banchory for Sunday. Also a great site, with a variation of terrain to test the skill levels. Tied in with the Ady Smith day, it was a great opportunity to practice the technics pointed out by Ady and Murray the day before.
So a big thanks to all, if anyone is interested in an Ady training today, you all find him on the Internet. At £80 for a full and very informative day I will happily organise another. I am sure Barry it EEC will give you my contact detail.
A few photos of the Saturday