25/11/11 - Off Roading on the Piki

The Cones on very wet mud and grass!!

The Motley Crew in the Hills

25/11/11

First day of PikiPiki Training – The morning is spent on the theory test, highway codeetc etc. Then lunch and then finally we get on the bikes. We are take in the pick up to an area of scrub/field where the bikes are off-loaded. Mine is a Honda Bros NSR 125 trials bike and will be my bike in placement. We have a quick briefing and then Peter lets Rike and I potter about and get used to the machines (we have both ridden before but not off road. Chin is less than 5 foot and struggling to touch the ground. When riding she is great but struggles with confidence when it comes to stopping, not surprisingly. We try increasingly bumpy stuff and also cross a 100m paddy field before Peter sets up about 8 bollards on wet muddy grass for us to weave through. All Ok at first 6 steps apart. Then Peter reduces to 4 steps apart. A few wobbles but all OK. Emergency stop and then off to some off road. R and I follow the pick up through Machakos and out onto a dirt track. The pick up stops and off loads Chin’s bike and we all ride for around 5-6km Peter is behind Chin but nips ahead at the end and sees chin is struggling to stop and heading for a hill. He drops his bike and catches her just in time. We wind him up loads about dropping his bike and stopping safely etcetc!! A quick break by the reservoir and then riding back to the Hotel.

Meal out again – large volume of meat not much veg and chapattis. Back at the hotel later there is a band on down stairs so we pop down for a couple of beers but it is a bit quiet and we have a long day so we call it quits.