Chantal Corbett bought a Yamaha TT-R230 and started dirt biking after a co-worker took her for a ride on the back of his bike.
Now, Corbett owns a Honda CRF 250X and she is entering her third season of dirt biking. Corbett is enthusiastic about the sport and she shared with RidersWest some riding tips that she has learned along the way.
Where do you usually ride? We spend pretty much every long weekend out in Waiparous, Alberta, and most other weekends out at McLean Creek during the season.
Have you been on any big trips? I did a course down in California. It was put on by MotoVentures and it was a three-day course, basically figuring out the ins and outs of dirt biking and the different trails. I learned a lot of the riding that I’ve done by keeping up with everybody else, so this was more of a chance to get down to the basics and learn how to use counterbalance, and how to handle different terrain—doing more of stand-up riding versus sit-down riding, and how to make the bike more a part of you than just sitting on it.
Is it difficult for women to get into dirt biking? I don’t think it’s difficult to get into it. It’s just finding the right person that is going to work with you instead of just showing you where the trails lead.
Who has helped you? There’s about four or five guys that I ride with pretty regularly, and they are the type who have helped their girlfriends and wives learn how to ride so they know about waiting and giving little tricks here and there. The guy that I bought my 250 from is a good friend of mine, so he is probably the one that I’ve done the most riding with.
What riding tips have you learned? How to approach hillclimbs and what to do when things get rocky, or how to feather your clutch and control your bike with the clutch instead of the throttle, and how to get through trees and tight areas like that—basically, learning how to ride using your clutch instead of your throttle. It’s only through practice that you get comfortable with it.
Why are you hooked on dirt biking? I think it’s just the ability that you can go out there and push yourself as hard as you want or hold back as much as you want. You can see how quickly you progress, or when you progress. It’s just about getting over your fears, and trying a little bit more and pushing yourself a little harder every time, and it’s just down to you and your bike—figuring out your bike and seeing what your personal limits are. You just see so many different areas of the province and of the countryside that you can only get to on two wheels. It has been great that way. And your circle of friends expands so much more. You get different perspectives on things. There are people that are into the technical side of it and there are just so many different personality types, but at the end of the day, you are all there for the same reason.
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