It was organised by Goodwind Moto Tours & House of Nomads and there was a wide mix of motorcycles like KTM 390 Adventure, Royal Enfield Himalayan, Triumph Tiger etc.
BHPian Axe77 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
- What: Basic offroad riding training (L1 and maybe a bit of L2)
- Where: Hotel Prospect Panchgani (at a few off road locations near the hotel called Survey 46)
- By whom: Goodwind Moto Tours in collaboration with House of Nomads.
Need to bring: Own ADV motorcycle (rentals not possible).
Gear requirements: Safety is paramount, with detailed directives for suitable riding gear. In fact, there’s a rule – if anyone is seen sitting on a bike without his helmet, it’s 10 push-ups or 10 squats. I didn’t see anyone trip up on this one this year at least. Paraphrasing and quoting from their related directive:
- Riding boots with toe, ankle and shin protection.
- Knee guards/braces
- Back protector
- Elbow and shoulder protector
- Riding gloves
- Full face helmet
I would like to reiterate the importance of safety gear without which one will not be permitted to participate.
Goodwind Moto Tours is essentially a premium touring set up (they take organised rides within India as well as overseas) and they annually organise an offroad training weekend in Panchgani in conjunction with House of Nomads – that’s the trio comprising Adib, Kamran and Vishaal.
Relevant details in the flyer below, which is mostly self-explanatory together with their accompanying message.
Join us for an unforgettable ADV training experience in Panchgani, led by expert instructors with years of experience. Learn essential off-road techniques, master challenging terrain, and elevate your riding skills to new heights.
- Dates: 13th-15th December, 2024
- Pricing: ₹24,999 (Twin Sharing Room)
Inclusions:
- Training Fees
- Accommodation for 2 nights
- All meals
- Refreshments during the training
- Medical assistance in case of minor injuries
Exclusions:
- ADV Motorcycle & fuel
- Alcohol
- Tips
- Any other medical expenses
- 5% GST
*ADV motorcycle mandatory
I absolutely love Prospect and it’s my “go to” place whenever we holiday at Panchgani even as a family. So an off-roading plan at Panchgani always has my vote. I’ve already done this twice before and even covered a previous edition of this in detail (link here – post no. 55) in my long-term review of the Tiger. I was keen to give it another go since I’ve now bought the 1300, to get to know and understand my GS better in the controlled off-roady environment of Survey 46 and the Panchgani helipad.
We had a wide mix of bikes in this session across a range of size and ability – some Scrambler 400Xs, KTM 390As, Himalayan 411, three V Stroms, a Versys 300, Tigers and GS 850 / 1250s / 1300s etc – about 20 odd bikes in total, with riders mostly from Mumbai and Pune, plus a small group that had ridden down from Hyderabad as well as a couple of folks from Panchgani.
The itinerary
You arrive in Panchgani on a Friday by about noon or sooner and after an early lunch and a quick rest and short briefing from Adib, leave for the training ground at the helipad by about 3:00 pm.
Return to the hotel by about 6.15 or so with a short break and an evening catch up with the group over a bonfire, followed by some dinner.
Day 2 (Saturday) involves an early start from the hotel at about 7 am. This time we went to another site called Survey 46, with a morning session from 7 am till about 11.45 am. Packed breakfast was at the course during the course of this session. Come back to the hotel for lunch and a short break and back out to the site for the afternoon session, between 3 – 6.30 pm.
The day ends with another catch up around the bonfire with the participation plaques being handed out.
Sunday is breakfast at Prospect followed by departure from the hotel. I had to be back home before 9.30 am so left Propsect on Sunday as early as 6 am to make it home in time.
Day one: 3.15 pm to 6 pm
The first day is all about some of the basics to set you up for the main drills on Saturday. We start off with Adib spending some time with you on the basics of off-road riding – this starts with some information on basic ergonomics, body positioning aspects of standing and riding which included feet and knee position, role of upper body and vision, all contextualised with aspects such as mass centralisation, balance and centre of gravity on the bike.
We were also taken through a brief demo of the best way to pick up an adventure bike. This was followed by two drills for the day.
The first was going through a straight slalom like set up to cement in aspects of vision and body positioning while turning the bike from one side to the other.
The second was again reinforcing the concept of vision mostly (as well as body position and smooth throttle while at it). The drill involved taking a tight U turn with cones set for markers, with the practice taking you through left as well as right-handed turns.
The overall idea was just to get the basics in place so you’re set up for the following (main) day of training.
Day two:
Started the day early leaving the hotel at about 7 am towards a second venue, a lovely site prepared for various obstacles where Adib has three new villas stationed.
Short trail ride:
We started out with a short ride around the property where Vishaal had curated a small trail, think of it as a warm up of sorts. Fairly simple for the most part other than one slightly gnarly sharp U turn with a small incline and really soft mud. A helpfully suitably humbling experience right at the start of the day to remind us we’ve still got plenty to learn.
Riding on a banked surface:
Came back to be taken through our first drill of the day – riding along an angled bank like a large curve. Focus once again is on vision and posture (in that order I reckon). It certainly looks much more daunting than it actually is when you attempt it. They’d made the banks on two opposite sides with a sort of underpass tunnel and an overbridge structured as an X. Once we’d had a few trial attempts, we were sent 5 – 6 riders at a time to ride along the entire path like a figure of 8 for repeat practice.
Simulating riding in a rut:
The next drill of the day was simulating riding in a rut. It started out with the theoretical aspects of how you might use a rut in a real life trail situation. Two iron pipes were laid side by side and you had to ride between the pipes. Again, vision is key, with the first focus point being the entry into the “rut” and the second being a point further away to ensure you ride through it cleanly.
Stalling on a steep incline:
A huge table top was created and we were shown how to handle ourselves if we stall the bike or get stuck mid way on a steep incline. Basically demonstrated a technique to leave the bike stalled in first and use light dabs on the clutch to slide slowly backwards with the aim to resume the climb once settled with a suitable run up.
Understanding your brakes, ABS and traction control:
The next drill, which was post a longish lunch and rest break, was to use emergency braking with and without ABS in three combinations – only front, only rear and both front and rear – so basically 6 rounds.
Table top:
Next session, understanding riding up and down an incline with the right body position. This time, the table top was used to climb up as well as descend down with a focus on body position being forward or leaned back during ascend and descend respectively.
Gravel pit:
A special gravel pit was created through which you had to ride. I find these tough to get across but managed to get through in both attempts, cleanly through the centre the second time but veered left and into their banner on the first one.
The day ended with a surprise contest, involving some control riding by picking off a cone while riding and placing it at an identified mark (without putting your feet down) followed by a slow riding contest across a 20 mtr lane.
Winners got some Axor goodies like helmet, boots and everyone else got some jerseys regardless. I was just really pleased by the fact that unlike my previous two outings here, I didn’t have a single fall over the entire weekend, despite having one of the heavier machines in the group.
That’s a wrap on the training. A little more on the overall weekend etc directly via the photolog in the following two posts.
Note:
Most of the pics are courtesy of the awesome photography duo of Kartik and Harshad [@likartikii and @marcothephoenix]. Thank you for letting me use these pics for this Photolog.
Photolog | Day One
From Mumbai to Pune. Chai halt at Irani Cafe at Baner, Pune. Rode with some of the participants from Pune to Panchgani.
Arriving at the lovely Prospect Hotel, Panchgani.
Our rooms were spread across the property. My room was in the poolside section – the one on the far left.
Riders trickling in by lunch time.
More bikes …. (note the beautiful vintage Beetle in the background).
There were three V Stroms during this training, one of them was of fellow BHP’ian mohansrides, who’s doing this the second time around this time.
The rooms are scattered across various different parts of the property …
… with lovely landscaping all around with those beautiful tall trees lending it a foresty vibe overall.
They say its bad luck to refuse strawberries and cream / ice cream when in Panchgani …
… so I had two (never take safety lightly while riding ).
Afternoon catnap done, and we kick start with a quick briefing from Adib.
Riding out to the helipad, our venue for Day One (Friday).
A quick snap of the Helipad – PC: Rayban Meta.
Vishaal demo’ing the right way to pick up a fallen bike.
Adib displaying posture while standing up and riding. Feet locked, toes pointing inwards, knees locking the tank …
While Vishaal checks on another rider.
Kamran checking posture with yet another rider. Those are our three instructors for the weekend.
Adib demo’ing the short slalom course to show the importance of vision and body position.
Riders taking on the same routine …
… under the watchful eyes of the trainers, who’re constantly correcting body position and guiding each rider through what they’re doing right and what needs to be fixed.
Adib’s gorgeous 1200 GS. It looks absolutely dope with those graphics.
Next up: tight U turns. Again emphasis on body position and vision. Adib doing a demo here …
… and explaining the theory between his demos.
A piece of modern Italian art created in the shape of a motorcycle.
Kamran being Kamran with the 900GS and the Desert X. Any of us could take a shot at the 900 GS if we wanted to give it a try. It had been sent over by Pune BMW Motorrad for the weekend.
Thanks to the house photography team for this capture.
I love this setting and couldn’t resist setting the bike up for this click once the sun was setting and our session had ended. I have a photograph in a similar setting, facing towards the sun from when I came on my Tiger a few years ago.
A fellow rider obliged with this click with me on the bike.
The group at the end of the day’s session.
Evening bonfire being set up for Friday night.
Adib took us through some technical and theoretical aspects, took some questions and we had the chance to get to know each other.
Continue reading about Axe77’s off-road training experience for BHPian comments, insights and more information.
