Dual Sport/Offroad training courses in the area?

[bucho1999]

I took Brad’s class and it was GREAT!

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I heard Brad was directing people to Brian Reiswig to teach a dirt class. Does anyone have info on him or Brad’s replacement? I’m looking into a very intro dirt class for my girlfriend. I got her a TW200 and she rides it on the street a lot and wants to get on the dirt.

 

[bigdave-gs]

I took Brad’s class and it was GREAT!

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I heard Brad was directing people to Brian Reiswig to teach a dirt class. Does anyone have info on him or Brad’s replacement? I’m looking into a very intro dirt class for my girlfriend. I got her a TW200 and she rides it on the street a lot and wants to get on the dirt.

It would be nice to know the names of guys teaching those classes. Brad is a great guy. It was so sad to see him retire from teaching. He is a very gifted man. Maybe Ghost can find someone to come down to some of his get together camp out's and take up where Brad left ! ! !

 

[Dao]

I took Brad’s class and it was GREAT!

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I heard Brad was directing people to Brian Reiswig to teach a dirt class. Does anyone have info on him or Brad’s replacement? I’m looking into a very intro dirt class for my girlfriend. I got her a TW200 and she rides it on the street a lot and wants to get on the dirt.

I think Bryan's the head honcho at Hidden Falls
I'd call hidden falls.

 

[m-johnson]

I have taken a class with Brian at Hidden Falls. I recommend him. Class is small. He is very patient. I plan to take a refresher after the first of the year.
Good luck.

Mark

 

[Aspear]

This was the offroad king

 

[budzrex]

This was the offroad king

Yep any man that could dead lift an XR600 has my respect. I met him back when he was racing he could really
move on that big bike through the woods

I enjoy Red River, some serious trails out there

 

[Aspear]

Yep any man that could dead lift an XR600 has my respect. I met him back when he was racing he could really
move on that big bike through the woods

I enjoy Red River, some serious trails out there

Where abouts is that?

Here's a dead lift photo for those who haven't seen

 

[StromXTc]

Bill Dragoo in Norman OK is supposedly good.

I almost went this year but it's very sand focused and I don't ride a lot of sand.

Riding with TWT regulars like Macdaddy, Uncle Buck, Simmons1, 2Wheelnut, Birdman44 and Bad Rex has helped me quite a bit. Those guys offered lots of off pavement riding tips that have helped me get fairly comfortable off pavement.

Another deal is Adventure Tejas in Kerrville. It's a tour service, but if you connect your headset to theirs, they offer real time tips while riding the best off pavement roads in the Hill Country. That helped me a lot as well

I still haven't figured out sand with my 500lb dirt bike. :hmm:

 

[Aspear]

I still haven't figured out sand with my 500lb dirt bike. :hmm:

Come ride my ranch, you will learn sand.
I've got a tractor to stand the bike up with once we get tired

 

[StromXTc]

Come ride my ranch, you will learn sand.
I've got a tractor to stand the bike up with once we get tired

You know, your 100 percent right. It is always repetition in this business. I have done some amazing terrain on this bike that I probably shouldn't have tried but seem to now have figured out a lot of it after a years worth of trial and error.

 

[Aspear]

You know, your 100 percent right. It is always repetition in this business. I have done some amazing terrain on this bike that I probably shouldn't have tried but seem to now have figured out a lot of it after a years worth of trial and error.

I try to ride the xr like it's a dirtbike. My plan is to get very good on it so when I can afford a dirtbike I'll be good on something light

 

[Drunk_Uncle]

ASPR where is this ranch? Headed down to Corpus to ride Park Road 22 over a Sun / Mon. Also a Knobby on the front makes a huge difference.

 

[Aspear]

ASPR where is this ranch? Headed down to Corpus to ride Park Road 22 over a Sun / Mon. Also a Knobby on the front makes a huge difference.

20* minutes south of seguin. On fm1681, between highway 123 and Nixon

 

[budzrex]

Aspar Red River is up on the Texas/ OK border area.

 

[Aspear]

Aspar Red River is up on the Texas/ OK border area.

That's far

 

[2WheelNut]

Ocho... will you be riding the Versys 300X in your signature line as your ADV bike?

I ask because some of the places being discussed would really be hard on that bike for a rider that is learning. I'm not saying you couldn't ride there at all, just that it would be really easy to get overwhelmed and over your head pretty quick at a place like Red River on a Versys 300X.

Assuming you are riding the Versys and it looks like you are in the Austin area. I'd try and join up with the monthly Adventure Riders Breakfast series down around Kerrville. My bet is that you'll find a few riders there that can help you quite a bit.

As far as courses to take, I think several have been mentioned and I assume they are good. I've never been to one, I've just learned when I was younger and could fall a lot without getting hurt. If I was starting to learn now, I'd probably find a good class and take it as falls hurt way more than they used to.

 

[2WheelNut]

That's far

I used to ride there with some friends that lived in Austin. They'd come up on Friday night, ride Saturday, camp Saturday night, ride Sunday, drive home.

It's about 5 hours from Austin so not a trivial drive....but it's got some of the best riding in Tx. Most other places just don't have the terrain that Red River has.

Anyway...it's definitely far for a day trip....but for a weekend...it's not too bad.

 

[Jarrett]

I'm not saying you couldn't ride there at all, just that it would be really easy to get overwhelmed and over your head pretty quick at a place like Red River on a Versys 300X.

What sort of bike would a newbie need to enjoy riding there?

Are there sections of it that are big bike friendly?

 

[JQ1.0]

There are some places to ride a big bike but not much. If you want to practice your sand riding skill Red River is about as good as it gets along the creek for just about any size bike.

 

[Jarrett]

If you want to practice your sand riding skill

I always wonder about this one. I don't know that I want to ride in sand that much.

I encountered some on the dirt roads in the Texas Hill Country and it was fine, but I don't know that I want to go seek out deep sand riding anywhere.

I say that, but I'm not sure where I would even go to encounter deep sand riding other than say Big Bend or on the coast.

 

[StromXTc]

I always wonder about this one. I don't know that I want to ride in sand that much.

I encountered some on the dirt roads in the Texas Hill Country and it was fine, but I don't know that I want to go seek out deep sand riding anywhere.

I say that, but I'm not sure where I would even go to encounter deep sand riding other than say Big Bend or on the coast.

Other than that you (like me) hate that helpless feeling going into the occasional sand trap (found anywhere) and not having much control over the situation and wanting to get better at controlling the bike.

 

[Ocho]

Ocho... will you be riding the Versys 300X in your signature line as your ADV bike?

I ask because some of the places being discussed would really be hard on that bike for a rider that is learning. I'm not saying you couldn't ride there at all, just that it would be really easy to get overwhelmed and over your head pretty quick at a place like Red River on a Versys 300X.

Assuming you are riding the Versys and it looks like you are in the Austin area. I'd try and join up with the monthly Adventure Riders Breakfast series down around Kerrville. My bet is that you'll find a few riders there that can help you quite a bit.

As far as courses to take, I think several have been mentioned and I assume they are good. I've never been to one, I've just learned when I was younger and could fall a lot without getting hurt. If I was starting to learn now, I'd probably find a good class and take it as falls hurt way more than they used to.

Thanks for the info. Yeah, for now, I’ve only got the Versys as my ADV machine so I only try what the big adventure bikes ride. I’ve been to an Austin’s TARA monthly meetup and joined RTB this year, so I’ve got a little experience on dirt. Hoping to do all monthly rides in 2019.

I rode some sandy patches in the Hill Country but not sure if that really counts. I’ve yet to try rocks or mud.

 

[Aspear]

I always wonder about this one. I don't know that I want to ride in sand that much.

I encountered some on the dirt roads in the Texas Hill Country and it was fine, but I don't know that I want to go seek out deep sand riding anywhere.

I say that, but I'm not sure where I would even go to encounter deep sand riding other than say Big Bend or on the coast.

Sand on big bikes sucks, I had trouble on southtex's klr in the light sand on my ranch.
On a dirtbike it can be a blast.

 

[Drunk_Uncle]

Ocho, you should check out GSL Ranch. Had a great time out there on the 15th and 10 bucks a day and free camping.

 

[2WheelNut]

What sort of bike would a newbie need to enjoy riding there?

Are there sections of it that are big bike friendly?

LOL... I"d recommend something like a CRF250L.

Seriously...it's a pure off-road riding area with sand, rocks, roots, water crossings and lots of elevation changes where all of the aforementioned items may also be present. It's a challenging place to ride which makes it really fun on dirt bikes under 300 pounds with 10+ inches of suspension travel and a 21" front wheel. Anything bigger than that and it's going to be a real challenge. As such, it's more dual sport (as long as it leans more to the dirt side) bike friendly than ADV big bike friendly.

There are parts that you could ride with a big bike. Even they would be challenging for a beginner but they could be done. As someone mentioned before, you could probably follow the creek to the river and ride in the sand and water on a big bike to get the feel of it. Additionally, you could manage some of the bigger, more wide open trails there on a big bike, but you wouldn't want to do any of the singletrack trails on a big bike as a beginner. Just a guess, but I'd estimate that maybe 20% of it could be ridden by a newbie on a big bike.