Recently Jeff and I tried this tricky little climb up a rut in this sandstone rockface.
Eventually we got up after a lot of swearing and using helicopters and mobile cranes.
We were keen to see how our gold class muppet, Benji, would tackle this.
He accepted the challenge.
The right side line is the easiest way up.
Scott comes up to have a look at the hardest part.
The left line in the final section.
Then it's Benji's turn. He keeps the front wheel low for the pivot turn.
Ben is much shorter than me, so it's impressive how little effort he needs through this section.
You can see he's right at the back of the motorbike
so he can get those stumpy little legs to the ground.
Another pivot turn with the front wheel nice and low.
As you get more experienced with pivot turns, you don't need to lift the front wheel so high.
Then the pivot turn is faster and takes less energy.
Okay.
Lets see another run from a different angle.
Oh no, he stalls the engine.
Normally you want to maximise your run up for rock faces.
But Ben likes to practice with minimum run up.
So he puts the front wheel on the rock face and aims to balance at standstill,
then use a 'static zap'.
This is impressive balancing.
I think he's been watching a lot of Tim Coleman videos.
Bad luck.
Second attempt.
You can see how just slight movements of the knees is enough to keep the motorbike balanced.
And great clutch slipping to keep the motorbike in place.
Great 'static zap'.
Again, you can see Ben is sitting on the rear fender so he can touch the ground.
This is a very awkward spot for a pivot turn, it's a long way to fall.
This final bit is great.
The rest of us just pivot turn and take the easier way out.
Ben lines up for a seriously difficult rock face.
Wow.
So far, Ben has been using the toughest lines for practice.
Now he does a competition-style run.
Using momentum and the best lines to get through fast and with the least effort.
Bummer, not enough speed for the final bit.
Again he uses the 'static zap' for the last rock face.
He is determined to nail it with one run.
Here he goes.
Awesome.
And just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, he has another try at the same line.
Interested in developing your hard enduro technique?
One of the most important things is to think your way through tough sections.
Sure, sometimes you will get through if you just use lots of throttle and hope for the best.
But almost all the best hard enduro riders have a trials background
where you focus on technique and huge amounts of practice.
Good luck!