Hi there,

Last weekend we had an ADAC training camp at Teutschenthal the well known German GP Circuit ("Talkessel"). It is the best track I have ever ridden on. It is a natural track with many hills and a few short tables where you have to whip to lineup the bike for the corner behind it.

The training camp was from Friday to Sunday. The training started every morning with a 30 – 45 min warm-up jogging and some stretching after it. Then we had breakfast and from here we went for a 20 minute practice to warm-up and for the lecturers to monitor each rider.

On Friday my group had the best part of the track. There were three groups each with a trainer. First we had to ride different lanes in the three different corners. Then he let each guy chose his own lane and we had to race these lanes three riders at a time. He then proved to us that most of us had not chosen the fastest lane and explained to us what to look for choosing a fast lane. This section took us more than two hours. Now we had a ten minute break. The next lesson was breaking and standing as long possible and standing through corners without and speed losses. After this we had to practice for 15 minutes on our own what we had learned the day. From here we had to do a cool-down jogging for another 15 min.

The following day we the same procedures applied except that I had quite a heavy crash on a very steep and fast downhill section. I put too much weight on the front wheel and these errors are not forgiving and thus I went over the handlebar and hurt my hand. After the medics had examined me I was not allowed to ride anymore because by now my hand was swollen and blue. I watched the other guys practicing long stretched corners stable and fast. After watching this for a while I sneaked back to my bike and joined them again. I had quite a bit of pain in my hand especially when breaking but I very soon forgot all the pain. (This shows that MX is the best medicine for pain) After this we were practicing tight corners with heavy ruts.

The third day we were practicing up and downhill corners and then we had to practice qualifying i.e. timed practice to see who could do fast lap times under pressure. Remember you are basically on your own. You have to monitor the other guys and then decide when to go out and hope not to be blocked so you can put down your fast lap. This is fun because when you see your buddy is faster than you, you go out again to try and better the time. Finally we had to empty our tanks before we had to do the cool-down jogging. My petrol lasted me for 55 minutes. After this I was dead. We packed hooked the caravan and drove back. For 2.5 hours I slept and hardly woke up when we arrived in Schlema.

Next weekend we are off to Aufenau for another DM (Deutsche Jugend MX Meistershaft 85ccm).

Björn

PS.: The Easter bunny in Germany is more generous than in Namibia!