BMW Enduro Course 2005 in Hechlingen am See, Germany

To view more Germany Pictures 2005, Germany Pictures 2006, Germany Pictures 2007 and Germany Pictures 2008.

What an incredible time.  This course was worth every penny.  We spend 3-days (June 10, 11 and 12, 2005) at the BMW Enduro Park in Hechlingen am See, Germany.  We would have never believed that the BMW R1200GS was capable of actually handling almost like a dirt bike.  Albert, our instructor, showed us how to master the most difficult obstacles, which we thought not possible by a 450lb motorcycle.  It took a few crashes and sometimes a bit of trial and error, but in the end it paid off.  Maybe it was also the awesome company we were in.  Our team was made up of a couple of Brits, couple of Belgians, four Italians and a couple of Turks.  Thanks Albert for pushing us to our limits and showing us how to have fun at the Beer tent.  Thanks to Marc, David, Michel and Rudi for making us laugh and enjoying the course as much as we did :)

Here are our pictures.  Every picture has a special memory which brings smiles to our faces.  More description on the course at the end of this page.

We actually made it.	Map of the BMW Park.	Meeting Place on the Grounds.	Our Instructors. (from left) Peter, Albert, Winfried & Michael.	Refueling Break.	Marc and Ruby
BMW Store in case you needed anything.	View of the BMW Glass Pavilion.	View of Trial Course	Maintenance Shops & Motorcycles.	View of Trail Course.	Promoting the BMWR1200GS
Picture taken from the Franken View.	Paddy-Field, Helipad w/Commander's Hill & Meadow Cuddle Corner.	Hill climbs and descends in the Trial Course Area.	Carousel.	Trail Course	BMW Glass Pavilion.
Tank training grounds. Mike starting the water crossing.	He almost makes it.	Good save.	Rodeo style getting out of the mud.	Excellent Job.	Rudi shows us how it is done.
David tries to show us how it is done.	But....	...the adventure & David disappear in the mud.	That's it for the adventure.	Boy's like playing in the mud.	Mike after the crossing.
Mike's hill climb in the Trial Course.	Descending is much scarier.	David's hill climb on the Adventure.	David's Descend.	Michel's hill climb.	Ruby's hill climb in Death Valley.
Mike's hill climb in Death Valley.	The Carousel.	Mike in deep sand.	Ruby in deep sand.	Marc loved this excerise.	Michel on his R80 looked like a pro.
Ruby went where ever the bike wanted to go.	David of course had the most spectacular attempts.	That poor adventure.	Yes, you can get out of this situation.	Mike almost made it.	The Italian is down.
The instructors demo of getting unstuck.	And here goes Mike.	Mike in the woods.	Ruby trying to find a trail.	Can't believe Ruby made it through it without going down.	More trails.
David's hill climb. Don't know how is balls made out here.	Don't know what Marc is up to here.	Hey the trail is to the left.	Ruby is getting the hang of it.	David stuck in the mud.	Marc on the Adventure.
Mike crossing the Mara River.	Deep in the mud.	Ruby's water crossing.	That was fun.	Rudy's water crossing.	Marc's showing how it's done.
Michel borrowed the Adventure for this excercise.	Mike stalled on a steep hill.	Learning how to safely get the bike down a steep hill.	Ruby's hill stall.	Need longer legs.	Yeah I made it.
Marc's hill stall.	David's hill stall.	Rudy's hill stall.	And here comes Michel.	How to pick up your own bike.	Mike got it figured out.
Whereas Ruby needs a bit of help.	Maybe it is the girly arms.	Ruby's crash landing in the bushes after tumbling down the steep hill.	Mike's Bike Day 2.	Crashing at 70km/hr. New Cylinder cover required.	Remember not to use the front brake on gravel.
Poor Mike.	Slow Speed Practicing.	Cornering Dirt Bike Style, pushing the bike inside the corner.	Cornering hanging off the bike.	Practicing slow speed skills.	Not as easy as it looks.
Marc's attempt.	Mike's attempt.	Ruby's attempt.	Emergency Braking. Locking the rear wheel.	Riding to Hechlingen for Lunch.	34 BMW's.
BMW takes over Hechlingen.	Hanging out.	Breakfast at the Landgasthof Die goldene Sonne in Lehmingen.	Lunch at the Forellenhof.	Buffet Lunch.	Emergency Braking in the Gravel. Locking the rear wheel.
Ruby getting through the washboard.	Marc on the washboard.	Mike across the washboard.	Ruby riding through different terrain.	Mike showing how it is done.	Ruby wanna be instructor. Still needs lots of practice.
Mike graduation.	Ruby's graduation. A proud moment with Albert.	Mike's Certificate	Ruby's Certificate	David & Mike enjoying a beer or two.	More beer.
The gang.	Drinking to a successful BMW course completion.	Hechlingen Girls.	German Band.	A lot of drinking & singing.	Dancing on the benches.
The BMW team.	After a bunch of beer it is on the benches for some more fun.	Helmut the BMW Park caretaker and our BMW mechanic.	Way too happy.	David & Mike out of control.	Traditional flags of each surrounding town.
Traditional Flag.	Hold on it is getting out of control.	Looks like we are having way too much fun.	Carrying out the Flag.	Ruby & Brad Pitt. He took the course in July 2004.	Michel & Brad Pitt.
Top Secret.	Testing the new shock for the Adventure 1200.

There were a total of 30 attending the course and four (4) instructors. Upon our arrival we were broken into beginner, intermediate and advanced groups.   Which ended up being one (1) beginner group and three (3) intermediate groups.  Since we were the foreigners our intermediate group was instructed in English.

Pretty much all the bikes ridden were BMWR1200GS’ and Adventures, with one BMW650GS.  All bikes were parked outside the maintenance shop colour coordinated and labeled with the attendees name (German precision).  Within 5 minutes of the course we were doing Gymnastics on the bikes.  Standing on the seat, both legs on one side of the bike, learning how to balance the bike on an uneven surface riding in circles.  Then it was off into the woods already, up the steep climbs and we all wondered what we had gotten into. 

First Day Itinerary: All day at the Off-Road BMW Enduro Park
We learnt how to balance the bike with your body weight, riding around obstacles, tied circles and locking the steering.  Another exercise was stalling the bike on a steep hill, climbing and descending steep hills and emergency braking by locking the rear wheel (with ABS off and on).  We were all physically and mentally drained after spending all day overcoming one obstacle after another. 

Second Day Itinerary:  Approx. 6 hrs on Military Grounds, 2 hrs in the Off Road BMW Enduro Park
The morning was spend on actual asphalt at the near by Military Grounds, we rode the bikes about 20km to the grounds, and learnt the limits of the BMW on pavement during slow maneuvering. David actually got to track his knees and boots on his Adventure.  Again emergency braking by locking up the rear wheel and using the front brake for control. In the afternoon we spend 2 hrs in the  BMW Enduro Park practicing and doing water crossings. And then we were of into the training grounds of the military tanks.  Finally it all came together.  We ended up single tracking through the forest and sometimes there were no tracks just trees and stumps.  Only a handful attempted the water crossing, which made for some great entertainment and pictures.

Third Day Itinerary:  All day at the Off-Road BMW Enduro Park
The day was spent practicing everything we learnt and improving on the weak points.  Using the front brake while descending a steep rocky hill.  We also tried to master riding in deep sand, where a lot of crashing occurred.

Included in the cost of the course which was 725 Euro per person was the motorcycle, Lunch and Supper at the hotel in Hechlingen, Snacks during the day, a T-shirt and Certificate.

CRASHES: Yes, everyone had a few crashes.  Some were more spectacular then other.  I had a huge crash the first day going down (tumbling down) a steep downhill.  Luckily I was wearing the Dirt Bike Chest Protectors and only ended up with a very bruised collarbone and angle.  Sylvester out did my crash by using the front brake full force going 70km/hr on gravel.  The BMW protection bars and cylinder cover did not withstand that force.  There were a few cylinder covers replaced during the course.

What we learnt was to always look ahead to where you are going and stand up on the pegs.  It is all about balancing the bike with your body weight.  Don't worry about the big rocks and let the bike move under you. AND IT IS OKAY TO USE THE FRONT BRAKE GOING DOWN A STEEP HILL.  That was a tough one for me to overcome.

In addition, BMW reserved a table at the Beer Tent in Hechlingen, which celebrated its 125 years Volunteer Fire Department.

Germany Pictures 2005, Germany Pictures 2006, Germany Pictures 2007 and Germany Pictures 2008