By Shawn Chickowski, 6/30/11

With overcast skies clearing throughout the afternoon, the Budds’ BMW GS Rider Training day was a great success thanks to trainers John Parker, Robin Reimer and Andy Acott and the BMW technical staff of Todd Humber, Jamie Airth, Ryan Gill and his better half, Rebecca.

After making minor bike adjustments multi-time Canadian Flat Track Champion John Parker briefed the students on what to expect at the school. Robin Reimer then led the group on a leisurely ride around his beautiful 80 acre vineyard that included a flat-track practice area, grassy fields and wooded trails.

Parker explains BMW rear suspension adjustment for off-road use.

For many students this was the first time they’d ever ridden a motorcycle on anything other than pavement!

Follow the leader: Students took an leisurely ride through the fields before tackling more difficult challenges.

This was followed by slalom courses in rough terrain and sporadic logs, corduroy roads, mini jumps, the teeter-totter and deep mud/water holes all of which trained the riders to tackle these obstacles in a seated position as well as a standing position.

Reimer bombs through the whoops on his Beemer. The class stressed proper ‘attack position’ dirt posture.

Riding a mega dual sport bike, like BMW’s GS line, in the dirt takes practice!

Riders learned the value of body positioning, smooth clutch control and careful modulation of the brakes.

Easy does it! The teeter totter was intimidating but safe, thanks to having plenty of spotters around. It was a fun learning experience!

The log pyramid took the dual sport lessons to an even more difficult level.

If you want mud, you’ve got it!

Students learned to pick good lines and to be smooth with the throttle and clutch in the mud…

…or else!

A little tip-over here or there is part of the game. No worries, the ground was soft and there were always helpers around to lend a hand and get the students rolling again.

We couldn’t resist running this photo of Parker getting his immaculately clean motocross bike covered with mud!

The slippery and dusty flat track was another perfect training ground for the dual sport students.

Limbo! You never know when you’ll need to duck under a low hanging branch on the trail.

Parker ramps the school’s BMW800GS from a rock ledge.

Of course the day was broken up with a few breaks of beverages and a superior lunch packed with protein and carbs for added power and performance! The day finished with a fantastic ride through Niagara’s most beautiful farmland with Robin Reimer taking the role of tour guide.

As the event photographer, and being new to dual sport riding, I learned more than I could imagine and had the most enjoyable day! Thank you Dan Paris for inviting me to cover this event, and thank you John Parker, Robin Reimer, Andy Acott and the rest of the crew! For event pictures please visit www.ShawnGeorge.com and select the ‘Events’ category, then click on GS Rider Training . I look forward to attending a Budds’ BMW GS Rider Training School again in the near future. Keep your eyes peeled on Budd’s BMW Motorrad website event calendar for upcoming dates at http://www.buddsmotorrad.com as well as www.Offroadmotorcycles.ca . Happy trails!