Motorcycle adventure – American Supercamp

Motorcycles, dirt, mud, gravel (and Trump?!) Needless to say that my weekend at American Supercamp was very enriching, surprising, and lots of fun. I’m so glad I did it, conquered my fears, got out of my comfort zone, and had a great weekend with some awesome gals!

I booked my spot for the American Supercamp riding school, a flat track 2-day riding class taught by professional racer Danny Walker, about 4 months in advance. I didn’t really consider doing it until my DC Motorbabe friend, Kim mentioned it and said that a bunch of ladies were going to take the class together. As intimidating as the class was, I knew it would be a lot less intimidating with some friendly faces. When I put in my reservation it seemed so far away and by the time I was headed to the class, I was terrified! What did I sign myself up for?!

The class was in Harrington, Delaware and the hubby was traveling for work so I was car-less. They strongly recommended NOT to ride there as the class was very intense and you might be too sore to ride back! I ended up catching a ride with Lisa, a fellow DC Motorbabe that I had never met before, but a three-hour drive was the perfect opportunity to get to know one another! Lisa is super sweet and we clicked immediately – it was like we had known each other for years. We got to Delaware the afternoon before the class. Lisa had scopped out a BMX track near the hotel where she went and did a few laps. We met Kim and Jacqui (our other roommates) later that night for dinner.

The next day started off with a bit of a surprise. Trump (yes, the Donald) kicked us out of the building we had planned to ride in. Due to the impending weather, the Donald took over the arena for his campaign rally that day and we were forced out onto the hippodrome. Thankfully it didn’t rain but guess what our makeshift track was made of? Gravel. Yes, gravel! I was already pretty nervous and that made my stomach turn into a knot.
After the registration and some instructions, we all got geared up (they lend you ALL the equipment!) and assigned into groups. All of us ladies were in the same group and I was relieved. We watched the first 2 groups go around the track and they all made it look really easy. They were flying, sliding, and definitely looked like they knew what they were doing. Meanwhile, I, with my 7 months riding experience, was getting paler and paler. Lisa was just as nervous as I was and trying to reassure her made me feel a little better. The other ladies had done other dirt bike classes and knew a little of what to expect.

Our turn came and I had to get out of my head, stop overthinking everything, and just go. We started going around as the instructors shouted  “elbow up” “move your butt” “look where you’re going”- they even had sticks to tap us with if our elbows weren’t high enough 😉 The position was totally different than street riding. You sit forward on the seat, slouch and keep your elbows up at all times. After a few rounds, I started to relax a bit. A few people fell, a lot of people were faster than me – but I was just trying to get a feel for things, and gain some sort of confidence. When the other groups were going, we got to practice our body position on a rocking motorcycle. It was a really helpful tool. Danny and his instructors didn’t hesitate to hop on the back of the bikes to help us understand what we were supposed to do.

Round after round we were given more exercises – one of the most challenging was to ride with only one hand, the other one on the gas cap. It really taught us to use our whole body and not just our arms.
I fell once but hopped right back on and kept going. I didn’t get hurt and almost felt better to have gotten it out of the way! They fed us a good hearty lunch (much needed!) and we jumped back on the bikes to do a multitude of drills all day long. My confidence was growing! Sometime during the afternoon, we watched Trump land his eponymous helicopter in the grass area of the hippodrome. He probably thought we were a bunch of morons for going around in circles, but we held a similar opinion of him.
The day ended and we were BEAT! I was totally excited that I made it through and had a great time!

The next morning came way too fast and I was SORE! When we got to the track we were relieved to find out that we were going to be inside the arena and on dirt, not gravel. The track they had laid out was way longer and wider.

I sure thought I was going a lot faster than the day before. One of the most helpful thing about the camp, besides the advice and feedback from Danny and his team, was the fact that they filmed us, and then let us watch the video right after our round. Let me tell you, you might think that you are going fast, and sliding through the turns but you are NOT! At least I was not. I honestly thought the video was in slow motion. I was going sooooo slow! I even wondered how my bike didn’t just fall over in the turns since I was basically stopped. Regardless, it was great and I was able to learn a lot. And I might even have picked up some speed and slid the bike (woohoo!)

The camp was coming to an end and I was having a lot of fun by the end of it! The last few laps were a free for all – no drills or exercises – just ride and implement all the things we had learned over the past 2 days. The instructors were out riding with us and it was awesome trying to follow them, keep up the pace and trail their path. Once we were all done riding, the instructors gave out a “most improved” award to one person. And I won, I WON!! I was thrilled!! I mean, since I was starting from nothing I could only go up and improve (I hoped) but I didn’t expect to win an award!

I learned SO much over this weekend and had a great time with my moto-ladies and the instructors at American Supercamp. It was worth every sore muscle in my body and I can’t wait to ride some more dirt!