REVIEWS

Net terug van een weekje Enduro in Spanje, adrenaline nog in het lijf. Ik deel hierbij graag de geweldige ervaring die ik heb met Adventure Rider Centre van Baz & Kaz.

Ik (een beginner) samen met een vriend met meer ervaring zijn drie dagen op pad geweest met Baz in het ruige landschap van Mijas en omgeving. Bij toeval hier terechtgekomen aangezien we ons aanvankelijk bij een Nederlandse partij hadden aangemeld die ons wegens een ongeval heeft overgeboekt naar Adventure Rider Centre dat wordt gerund door een Engels stel. Ik zal nooit weten hoe het ons bij deze Nederlandse partij was bevallen, maar bij Baz & Kaz hebben ons drie geweldige dagen bezorgd.

Mijn ervaring met buitensport/ adventure organisaties is dat het vaak zeer relaxte en enthousiaste mensen zijn, maar dat de uitrusting vaak wat verouderd is en dat de organisatie hier en daar wat rammelt. Nou, zo niet in dit geval. Enthousiast 100%, maar ook al het materiaal is op en top verzorgd door Kaz (de vrouw van tour guide Baz). Perfecte rijkleding, schoon en heel en de motoren werden iedere avond door hun eigen monteur nagekeken. Ook organisatie, planning en communicatie vooraf en tijdens het verblijf was prima geregeld door de uitermate vriendelijke Kaz, die overigens zelf ook de nodige prijzen heeft binnengesleept in de motorcross in Engeland.

Maar goed, dan het rijden zelf. Het landschap is zeer gevarieerd, zand, gravel droge rivierbeddingen met flinke keien, steile heuvels etc. etc. Kaz nam alle tijd om ons middels oefeningen vertrouwd te maken met de motorfietsen en om onze rijvaardigheid in te schatten. Het programma werd daar op aangepast, maar wij werden continue gepusht om steeds en level verder te gaan (op een uiterst prettige manier overigens). Dit houdt in dat het niet alleen maar achter de gids aanrijden is, maar ook zeer nuttige up en downhill trainingen waarbij je echt leert hoe je je motor moet beheersen (letterlijk met vallen en opstaan). In de drie dagen dat wij met Kaz hebben gereden hebben we een ongeloofelijke progressie doorgemaakt dankzij zijn persoonlijke aandacht en geduld! Spectaculair voor beginners, maar zeker ook gevorderden want deze Engelsman ‘woont’ zijn hele leven al op een motorfiets en kan daardoor menigeen wat bijbrengen.

Tussen de ritten door een stop voor koffie of lunch in pittoreske plaatsjes tussen de lokale bevolking, heerlijk gegeten. En ook niet onbelangrijk, Kaz is een zeer goede verhalenverteller met typisch Engelse humor.

Kortom, wij hebben een geweldige week gehad en gaan zeker terug!

Thanks Baz & Kaz for giving us this great Enduro experience!

Stefan

Just back from my first time at Adventure Rider Centre.Brilliant setup up picked up at airport supplied with clean and top of the range gear.The riding tuition is great as a first time off roader the instructors are really relaxed and get you doing things on a bike you never thought you would.
Thanks Baz and Kaz for a grat couple of days.

Ufattelig profesjonelt opplegg. Fra man lander i Malaga blir man tatt hånd om av Karen, Barry og deres team. Fantastisk hotell i nydelige Mijas. Her blir man plukket opp når det måtte passe for en dag i fjellene. Kostnadene kan ikke sammenlignes opplevelsen man står igjen med. Her får man kjøre så lenge man ønsker, på hvilken sykkel man måtte ville. Barry sørger for å skreddersy turene etter evner og man blir utfordret daglig. Med topp utstyr fra topp til tå føler man seg godt ivaretatt. Vi var en kompisgjeng på 4, med sprikende erfaring. Allikevel er vi alle enige om at dette blir en årlig event.

Kan ikke få skrytt nok, vi kommer tilbake.

Had 5 exceptional days riding with Baz and Andreas. The entire experience was catered to my ability and preferences and Kaz made sure every detail was taken care of from the moment she arrived at the airport.

If you value organisation, attention to detail, professionalism, great hospitality and not to mention a genuinely friendly environment then look no further than the Adventure Rider Centre. Whether you're an experienced off-roader or a novice (like me) then you can't fail to be impressed with the set up and the opportunity to ride seemingly endless great trails of all levels of difficulty. If you think a particular section is too tough for your skill level then there's no pressure whatsoever to take it on. On the other hand if you want to push yourself to the limit (and beyond) you'll be offered all the help, advice and encouragement to have a go and succeed. You won't believe what you can learn and achieve in a day or two. Massive thanks to Kaz, Baz, Andres (spelling?)the mechanics, drivers et al. SUPERB.

Believe all the good things you hear. Kaz and Baz make you so welcome it is unreal, but they are 100% genuine. They love what they do and they love their customers, or should I say friends? Yes, friends. Baz has a unique way of moving on your riding skills without scaring you. He gently persuades and you do really move on with his well thought out explanations. You barely recognise that he is training you, but he is. I'll be back.

Anyone who is signing up for a rider center would probably want to know what kind of instruction you can expect during the ride. Let me tell you that you can expect to learn from a phenomenal technical rider who won’t make you feel guilty about any of your short comings as a rider. From the first turn Baz will be able to judge your body position and create a progressive program that will have you challenging your limits. He’ll show you the techniques you need to reach a new level as a rider and reinforce good habits that will provide your control when you enter challenging gullies, ascents, descents, off-camber paths, ruts, or rock gardens.

What I liked most about riding with Baz is that you’re not riding in a competitive environment and trying to keep up with a pack of riders. You ride together, you learn, and whatever didn’t work for you the first time can be tried again. To paraphrase Baz:

“There are no medals to be won riding in Mijas, it’s more about riding with your friends, getting your heart racing, and you laugh about all the good stuff at the end of the day.”

I've been fortunate enough to have the chance to ride road and dirt bikes in several countries. When you sign up for a tour, sometimes it's difficult to know exactly what you've signed up for. Some companies make you feel guilty about adding a scratch to the bike, sometimes the bikes aren't well maintained, and sometimes the company can be difficult to deal with. I had no such problems with the Adventure Rider Center. The Adventure Rider Center was an entirely new experience for me and they really nail all the criteria that you need for a good ride. Not only were the bikes in great condition but administration of the business is fantastic. Kaz was so helpful making sure that our tour was setup correctly and that we enjoyed our experience. You can feel that Baz and Kaz really enjoy what they do and it makes for a great ride.

Just got back from a 4 day ride with Baz and Kaz; do yourself a favour and book a couple days here. There is no way you'll regret it. Everything was absolutely perfect, the bikes, the interaction, the vibe of the place. Absolutely perfect. Thanks so much guys!

Back for the second time to Baz & Kaz....really enjoyed the experience all over again...it just makes me want to plan the next trip!
Learnt lots more, particularly as some of the terrain was more challenging...most importantly enjoyed every minute! Thanks guys!!

We choose the Adventure Rider Centre (ARC) based in Malaga, Spain for our annual training exercise. ARC came high up on the lists of recommends from other teams who had used them.

Having landed in Spain we were met by one of our hosts Kaz how provided us with a quick brief and some good chuckles on the way to the hotel. The Hotel was nice and it was located in the heart of a town called Mijas in southern Spain. First thing was first it’s always nice to be riding someone bike with no worry of damaging it and the follow up costs, so it was to ARC’s HQ where we could pick from a brand new range of top spec Husqvarna motorcycles. With all of us riding different size bikes in the UK this was an ideal opportunity for us to try different sizes on what we were used to, which was a real challenge in itself.

On the first day riding Baz our instructor asked us what we would like to do, choices were take it easy, find some challenging stuff or go full out extreme! As it was our first day and with a varying degree of abilities among us we decided to go for the middle option of the three hard but not so hard we would not enjoy the first day. We covered around 50 miles on the first day with the weather being kind to us and not soaking us in sun all day but with warm overcast conditions I kin to the UK. With 10+ hours riding as we got back to ARC’s HQ we were a little fatigued to say the least, With the bikes cleaned and serviced by the staff we had very little to do which was unusual and hard to get use to over the three days. So back to the hotel for some dinner and a good nights sleep.

Day 2 started with the weather being the same as day one and us upping the technical ability needed to keep yourself upright and on two wheels. The bikes were performing brilliantly, however there was one drawback. Because the bikes were covering such a vast amount of miles per day ARC could not put normal off road tires on there bikes as they just would not last. So the rear tires fitted to our hire bikes was more suited to an on the road bike that sometimes goes off road, not at all what we are used to fitting to our bikes back home. As we upped the tempo throughout day it became increasingly frustrating when the back tire would not give you the grip we were used to on our bikes back home, we found ourselves looking at hills we would fly up normally but forgetting the tire we had on the back was not that good we often struggled. With the end of day two upon us this was no picnic/sightseeing tour, with battered bodies and minds the conversation over dinner was dramatically less then the night before.

Our final day was met with both joy and anticipation as Baz was taking us to some Extreme hills and terrain some of which other riders had failed to get up or complete, this was our bragging right the next time we met them. I just remember standing at the bottom of some hills thinking how on Gods green earth I was getting the bike and myself to the top. In the end we just stopped looking at the hill for any length of time and hit it flat out hoping for the best, such were the size and complexity of some of the hills presented before us. After a long hard day we were all in agreement this day would rule them all, so back to ARC HQ where awaiting us was a cold beer and a well done from our instructor on a well fought hard day.

In summary - Well worth a visit, you'll have a blast whatever your riding skill