My name is Steve Shannon, and I’m an enduro racer. I started racing eight years ago and I’ve had considerable success, racing in two International Six Days Enduros (ISDE) and winning the A class in the 2009 Canadian Enduro Championships.
For 2010 I’ve been selected to race on a club team at the ISDE in Mexico. For training, I use a combination of fitness exercises plus riding the bike. I’ve found a format that works well, but I’m always looking for ways to improve my riding and race results. Enter the Shane Watts Dirtwise Riding school. I first heard about these schools three years ago, but for one reason or another I’ve never been able to attend. Fortunately, the stars finally aligned and I was able to attend the school held at Apex Mountain Resort in conjunction with Rounds 3 and 4 of the Canadian Enduro Championship.
A living legend
For those of you unfamiliar with offroad racing, Shane Watts is a living legend. Watts is originally from Australia, but spent many years in Europe where he honed his skills on the ultra competitive World Enduro Championship circuit. Watts had considerable success, winning multiple WEC championships and placing first overall at the prestigious ISDE on a 125 before moving to America where he dominated the GNCC series and set the stage for guys like Juha Salminen and David Knight. His racing resumé is impressive to say the least.
The riding school started bright and early, with Shane Watts introducing himself. Then we headed down to the main practice area and went for a short warm-up ride. There were 20 bright-eyed students all eager to improve their riding, whether for competition or to just be safer and hit more trails. Watts started by going over bike setup and riding position, then we moved on to the riding techniques.
Getting started
The first technique was the slow ride. The objective was to ride in a straight line as slowly as possible without dabbing a foot. Sounds easy, but in practice it was much more difficult. Shane showed us the proper technique, then sent us loose in a contained area to practice while he watched and offered advice. After some practice, we had a slow race to determine who could ride the slowest.
After the slow ride, we moved on to more basic techniques including accelerating, braking, stoppies, hills and ruts. Watts has developed numerous drills that help improve basic bike control, and he combines the drills together to teach us how to properly ride a dirt bike. The majority of the first day was spent on very basic skills, but it made me realize how much work I need to do on the basics. By the end of the day I was blasting through acceleration tests and even tackling flat corners with increased tenacity.
Taking it up a notch
On day two, we moved on to more advanced techniques, including grinding (getting the back wheel to step out while going straight), rutted corners, wheelies, logs and hill climbs. Watts used the same formula to get even the most timid riders in the group to go from not even wanting to tackle a small log to trying teeter totters and two-foot concrete barriers. He showed me that to ride at the highest level, you need a combination of mastering the basic fundamentals of riding and learning how to link the skills together—then you have to apply them to each situation.
After two long days on the bike I was tired, yet satisfied with the school. While I noticed a small increase in my riding skill, more importantly Watts taught me the correct techniques and how to practice them. Immediately after the training I had the chance to test my new skills in the Canadian Enduro Championships. I entered the A class again this year with hopes of posting better special test times. From the start I immediately noticed an improvement in the tests and found myself thinking more about body position, what the bike was doing and how I was going to correct it. At the end of the weekend, my results weren’t what I was hoping for, but still better than they were prior to the school. I was very pleasantly surprised to post some better-than-average motocross test times, an area which is usually my weakness.
Overall I’m very happy with the Shane Watts Dirtwise School. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to improve their skills on a dirt bike, from the casual trail rider to a racer looking to the push through to the next level. Watts has given me the skills to push through to that next level, now it’s time for me to go practice.
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