This was one hell of a weekend!

… and by “hell,” I mean far more intense both physically and mentally than I expected, and worth every single penny of the admission. I think I expected an MSF-style course but for dirt. The difference – for me, at least – was that the Dirt Camp 101 made me think more.

… I want to do a BDR, and maybe a Pine Barrens Rally, and then some big epic ride, so I knew I needed to get experience off the road. What I didn’t expect was how valuable the time standing around and talking would be. Mike’s way of explaining things just clicked, and the care he took in explaining, demonstrating, and discussing in Q-and-A was a lesson in itself. I’m a teacher, and I learned a lot about how to talk to a group about complex, abstract things. But Mike’s humor and straight-forward explanations really stuck, and when we were riding, it was like his voice was in my head, telling me what to do. It’s weird how much philosophy is involved, and he made that clear…