Offroad Riders training options

Could somebody explain to me how Rawhyde is worth twice the cost of similar off road classes?
The east coast school is a little less and everybody else is half as much.
What do you get for the extra $500-700?

I agree Rawhyde seems pricey, but here's what you get:

- 3 nights, 2 days room and board
- a staff of about 5-6 expert riding instructors (wait till you see what they can do on a big old GSA)
- food is prepared by a gourmet chef
- open bar (as in free beer)
- all day training (and evening access to the over 100 acres), and the instructors are there with you if you want to ride or practice in the evening
- bike rental or help with setting up your bike appropriately for dirt
- small groups of riders, varies, but I'd say 2-3 instructors per 8-10 rider group
- just a really nice, friendly, helpful environment

I'm not trying to be a marketing guy for Rawhyde, and I'm sure the other programs and instructors mentioned in this thread are great also, but its the one I went to and I'm a believer after going there. Just MHO.

Castaic is less than 2 hours from Tehachapi(sp?) and probably about 2 hours from Fresno.

Hope that helps, maybe some other Rawhyde attendees can think of other things.

Curt

Geez, just realized this thread was started 10 YEARS AGO. Oh well, stil a good topic to kick around on this forum.

40. WHERE CAN I GO TO IMPROVE MY RIDING SKILLS?
http://www.rawhyde-offroad.com/
http://www.bmwoffroadacademy.com/

as well as...

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Cont...ontent/Explore/Experience/PDS.aspx#motorcycle

Sigh.....Everything is West Coast........

TEN YEARS AGO!?!?!
Dakrider needs some kind of "award" for rekindling this old-ass thread.

You can rent there training video for $1.99 instead.

So who's the killer coach in LA preferably without an insurance policy that's going to give me the real low down on a private multi day training ride(s) with camping, bike setup, navigation, control techniques. I'll put my money on his students any day...especially if I'm one of em .

Rawhide and the like = pamper group-ass for an entire weekend. Just shoot me in the head please. There's something just too 'midlife crisis" about a bunch of 50 year old noobs on BMW's trying to discover adventure that kinda reminds me of high school PE class - valuable knowledge imparted surely but equally sure there's a ton of bullshit related to lawyer and insurance company concerns. Hate that shit. I like the school that's more "shut up and ride" in style and less about pomp and babysitting. My driving coach would tell me in 10 seconds what I've heard in 100 words from group coaching.

6 years ago I started into car racing (Lotus Cup) by just getting a car and putting in the miles on trackdays. I fell in love, spent a truckload of cash, developed a few bad habits and got pretty fast. Then I took some private coaching and I kept putting in the miles. Three years later I won the class championship. Same thing the next year. All the while learning a little something and assimilating more every time I drove. Bottom line for me, it's private coaching at proper intervals and putting in the seat time. Some of the best tips I got from Skip Barber's book though, so nothing against the establishment. And there's definitely a lot of reading required. And then there are the videos - those helped too - very visual. And it's not like group lessons can hurt if you have the time and patience to cater to the lowest denominator at times (not that that wouldn't be me of course.)

Thanks for the tips!

Yes, I know where you are coming from. I race my 911 as well as instruct and track days/racing coaching is much better than the offerings for riding. I would recommend doing a Chris Haines Baja ride if you want hardcore riding. While it won't cover the camping/adventure aspect it will include 10-17hrs of riding a day ( read lots of seat time!) in some pretty inhospitable places. I did the full 6 day Cabo trip twice and really learned a lot. Just make sure you tell them you want to be in a more hardcore group. My first group was a bit fluffy but they made really good accommodations for me.

Cheers, James

BMW Performance Academy in South Carolina.

I have been to RawHyde...Great fun, great people, great training and a wonderful time! You can get the same training in SC if you are tight on time or want to spent less money. I was at the BMW center in SC for the GS Trophy a few months ago and I am going back in May for more off-road training. It's a nice place with very skilled instructors. The appeal of RawHyde is the location, the elevation changes, the views, the trip to the Mojave Desert on Monday and the excitement of going to ride somewhere I had never been. Riding at the PC felt like everthing is manmade and artificial where at RawHyde, you are riding on hundreds of beautiful acres in the mountains with breathtaking views, steep climbs and decents and natural obstacles.
RawHyde costs more because it includes room and board with open bar (beer/wine/hard liquor) and gourmet meals! At the BMW PC, you have to get a hotel room and pay for your own meals in the cafeteria. After all expenses are paid, they are actually about the same cost!
They are all money well spent.

Everybody likes these big expensive training courses involving BMW and the like.

I suggest getting a 250 and learning to ride dirt before tackling it on a 500+ pound monster. Build that confidence up with a smaller bike and its a lot less exhausting. Then when you hit those technical sections with the big bike you've seen it before..

Also suggest riding with some people who are experienced dirt riders with some racing background, the only way you get better at riding street, dirt, or track is riding with some people that are a lot better than you. It does wonders.

A GS is a fine street ride with some off road capability but it stands to be repeated that it is far from a beginners bike and people who have a hard time with it are usually the type with more money than experience. No reflection upon the OP at all, just sayin'.

Which Skip Barber book...he seems to be a race car driver...?

The book he is referring to is "Going Faster" by Carl Lopez who is a Skip Barber Racing school instructor. I know him personally since I was the lead engineer at Skip barber Racing School for a while.

Cheers, James

I'll put in an east coast plug for the Pine Barrens Adventure Camp. http://www.pinebarrensadventures.com/

I'm not affiliated but have taken 2 of their classes. I also think they were recently renamed.


They are the same guys who organize the Pine Barrens 300. They are extremely skilled and can cater to all levels of skill. Just be prepared for lots of sand. It really improved my big and small bike skills.

Gotta be Jimmy Lewis then.

You know that the Pacific Northwest [Oregon, Washington and Idaho/Montana/Northern Nevada] has some of the best off road riding in the US; period.....but to my knowledge [which is often limited...] we do not have any real off road riding schools...

Las Vegas and Newhall.Castaic is a damn far distance away; too far and besides one is too close to LV and the other too close to LA....let alone "back east" being an option.

Obviously I'm a few years late here... But there are some awesome points of view on this thread and I wanted to chime in.

In my Adventure Instruction experience, group training sessions tend to have a smoother progression in many ways over 1 on 1. In individual trainings, I find the student will often ask a lot of lengthy questions, and retain only small amounts of the answer (requiring re-explanation down the line). On the other hand, riders in groups usually keep their questions concise, lest they hold up others from getting on their bikes. They hear questions from others that they might not have thought to ask, and seem to retain explanations more effecively.

There are, of course, exceptions. And there are most certainly people that benefit from one over the other. At the end of the day, though, it's mostly about attitude. If we can hang our ego’s at the door and try and better ourselves, everyone wins.

I went to a 4 day session 3 weeks ago. I raced dirt bikes when I was younger and still play around on my KTM 250. I wanted to learn how to ride a GS off road, in preparation for a trip to South America next fall.
I recommend the course highly. Great instructors,terrain, food, and camaraderie with neat people from all over North America. I learned a ton, as did all of the 40 people that attended the two classes - one was novice, the other intermediate. I took the two day intermediate, and then rode out to the Mojave desert. Sand no longer concerns me, even in a GS!!

New ADV MSF Training 2014 https://www.facebook.com/xplorint


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That's odd. I'm a MSF RiderCoach in CA and I just checked RETSORG (the source for all MSF curricula) and find no mention of a MSF indorsed or approved "Introduction to Adventure Trail Riding" course.

There is an "Introduction to Trail Riding" course, but it is not geared specifically toward any particular size/type of bike.

Maybe you should touch base with Rob Gladden to get retsorg.org updated...