Let’s be honest, if we’re going to learn a new skill, we may as well learn it from a Master of the craft, right? In this case, the craft was Flat Track and the Master was Gary Birtwistle. Jen, a fairly new Dirt Bike owner, was itching to have a go at Flat Track and despite being an absolute beginner, was made very welcome on Gary’s brand new training camp - DIRT CRAFT. Here she is to tell us all about it…
BOOKED UP!
After a rubbish Winter with MX practice tracks being shut and wondering when I’d get another chance to ride my Honda, up popped a timely post on Instagram by Gary Birtwistle about a brand new training camp - Dirt Craft - to be held at Rye House Speedway Track. Bingo! I booked my spot faster than it takes me to fasten up my Gaernes! Not only was it an opportunity to ride my bike for the first time in months, but experience Flat Track for the first time too!
Training day arrived and we got to the track in good time and parked up. A few riders were there already with the rest slowly but surely filtering into the car park. It was great to see the selection of bikes coming out of various vans, trucks and trailers. I dug out my kit, got my bike out the van (ok, Adam offloaded my bike!) and took it to the Pits to join the others…
In good company between Dee Hardwick’s and Erin Dyer’s bikes!
STEEL SHOE
I didn’t have one. It hadn’t even crossed my mind! But the Steel Shoe is one of the most important accessories for riding and racing Flat Track. That’s how the riders “slide” round the corner after all. My Steel Shoe “Angel” came in the form of experienced Flat Tracker Jon Dyer, otherwise known on Instagram as @BeezerGeezer101. He kindly dug one out of his box of tricks. I was all set!
HITTIN’ THE TRACK
We were split into two groups - Mini-Bikes/beginners/intermediates and then big bikes/everyone else - and got 15 mins or so on the track at a time. I don’t mind admitting I was pretty nervous at first, heading out onto the track with other riders who ALL had way more experience than me. I only rode a dirt bike for the first time last August (remember, I’m a Mountain Biker by trade) when I did an MX Experience Day with Days on the Dirt. Since then I’d only ridden my own bike TWICE and I really hadn’t got a hang of the gears, or moving off in 1st smoothly - that pesky clutch! Needless to say I spent the first few sessions bumbling around the outside of the track, at my own safe pace, and keeping out of harm’s (and everyone else’s) way! But the riders were all very generous and gave me plenty of space.
I’ve probably stalled already, before even getting on the track! ;-)
Psyching myself up for the gate to open
My happy place on the outside…
GETTING THE HANG OF IT…
With each session out on the track, I gradually got more confident, faster, smoother and nudged my way towards the centre of the track, closer to the other riders and away from the safety of the outside line. I’m not a risk taker, I was deliberately measured in my riding, so no crashes to report! I also appreciated some great advice from experienced rider Steph Bolam, the little nuggets of experience she shared with me really helped. (Steph also prepped some delicious lunch and snacks for us riders by the way, such a nice touch - fed riders are happy riders after all!)
Steady does it
Handy tips from Steph really helped my confidence
I really experienced the thrill of Flat Tracking once I got closer to the other riders - need to practice my sliding though!
PEP TALKS WITH THE MAIN MAN
After each session we’d all head back to the Pits for a drink and Mars Bar and a pep talk from Gary. His brother, Alan Birtwistle, a former Flat Track racer and now Stunt Rider, was also offering practical advice. They even brought the White Board out to illustrate!
Huddling in to hear tips from the Master
Gary started racing in 2015 and after an impressive list of titles, ended the 2019 season as the British and European Hooligan Flat Track Champion! So what inspired him to launch Dirt Craft?
“The main aim of Dirt Craft is to give people access to good quality Flat Track training in the South of England. We run group sessions, but focus on giving each rider specific guidance tailored to their ability.
In the future we aim to run regular training days throughout the year. The feed back from the first few events has been great and we would love to continue helping other riders improve their skills.”
DON’T JUST TAKE MY WORD FOR IT…
This is my personal account of the training camp, from an excited beginner’s point of view, but there were 19 other riders there on the day, all of varying experience - most were either refreshing or honing existing skills or learning some secrets from one of the fastest guys on the scene. Here’s what a couple of the other riders had to say…
First up WAG SCOTT - Wag is someone I really admire and I was so excited to be riding on the track with her. But I see her as someone with years of riding experience under her belt already, so I was keen to find out what she learned from the day…
Wag is a really stylish rider
SO excited to be riding with Wag for the first time
“Standing in the pits around Gary’s bike while he broke every manoeuvre into simple little steps was like learning a dance. Where to position yourself, what to do with your arms, where to place your feet and how to synchronise it, all so that you know exactly how the bike will react. We then stood on the inside of the track and watched Alan put these dance steps to (virtual) music on the bike, just brilliant.”
Next up young rider FELIX HEARN - Felix has been racing for 4 years but started on track bikes and then got the taste for Flat Track after an experience day at with George Pickering at Greenfield Dirt Track. What did he think of Dirt Craft…
“The Dirt Craft Camp was really helpful and I definitely learned a lot and improved as a rider. Gary and Alan were really good at helping me improve on everything and I have definitely refined my riding thanks to their guidance.”
THE THRILL & FUN OF FLAT TRACK
I really caught the bug that day. I loved it. I have no plans to race (seriously anyway) but I would like to ride Flat Track again and I’ll take any chance I can to do more training days like Dirt Craft. Everyone can soak up tips from riders like Gary and Alan, there’s always room to learn more. But after watching others riding and enjoying the thrill of Flat Tracking, it was brilliant to finally experience it for myself. Thanks to Gary, Alan, Steph, the Rye House Crew and Mr 250LONDON, Adam, for being my Pit Crew and taking most of the photos you’ll see at the end of the blog!
If you’ve never tried Flat Track or if you've been inspired by this blog, then give Gary and Dirt Craft a follow on Instagram here and keep your eyes peeled for the next dates, when the current Lockdown is over! I highly recommend it, it’s good fun, lots of friendly people and plenty of advice kicking around!
I’ll round off my blog with a video edit from Freddy Trot - this is from the 2nd Dirt Craft camp which Gary put on because of high demand, and you’ll find an album of photos, from our cracking day, right at the bottom.
Thanks for reading!
Jen
