I Trained with an Adventure Bike Champion

Adventure riding is the pinnacle of riding into the unknown. And no one pushes themselves further past these limits than BMW GS Trophy competitors. With a new adventure bike and a new hunger for the roads less traveled, I wanted to be prepared for any adventure. So, I rode across America to find one of these insane riders and learn from her in her own arena. I am at the Jocelyn Snow Ranch, here to do the class again one year later on my bike. This time I will be joined by another YouTuber, Amanda Zitto. Thank you so much to Jocelyn and the sponsors for helping me make this video possible. Hi, I'm Jocelyn Snow. I'm an adventure rider. I am a certified BMW International Off-Road Instructor. I've competed in the BMW GS Trophy, but I've been riding motorcycles for well over 35 years anyway. My bike today just got these off-road tires installed for this class specifically yesterday. And I'm hopeful and a little worried because my crash guards buckled after a drop this week. I'm a little worried that this bike cannot survive another drop. But you know what? I figured I came all the way over here to do this class. I'd rather take the class, and if I have to trailer my bike home a mangled mess, then so be it. My name is Amanda Zitto. I've been riding motorcycles since 2012. I've crossed the USA four times now. Most of my experience is long-distance motorcycle touring, a lot of camping. I think the thing that I'm most excited about is getting genuine feedback from Jocelyn Snow. I'm super stoked to be kicked in the butt by somebody shorter than me. First was balance. Learning how to not be so awkward with our bikes. These bikes were made with large tanks so they could handle long stretches of desolate roads with no gas stations. And tall enough so they could ride over the unpredictable obstacles you may find off-road. Which leads to a tall, heavy bike that can be difficult to handle without practice. I don't believe you need to have two feet on the ground. I believe you need to have one foot down. So whether it's your right foot or your left foot, it doesn't really matter how tall that seat is. And finally, all those balance exercises we were working on, we'd apply it on the bike while riding. How do you feel about bike dropping? I'm okay with that. So in the process of learning how to manage these larger motorcycles, taller, bigger bikes, heavy bikes, I've dropped them a lot. Ladies, ladies, you're supposed to copy me. I didn't do that. If you're dropping your bike, you're learning. And I told you, you gotta weight the outside peg when turning, right? So that's hard when my feet are all over here. The last time I did the bowl, all those lines were not there. You could just go in wherever you ended up. But now it's like you go up the hill and then all of a sudden there's this tight turn right after the hill. My biggest fear before coming to the class was probably that my bike was going to be a mingled mess. And I'd have to trailer it back home across the country. That's a legitimate fear. It was a beautiful stop. And then you were like, now what? And you went like this. I had a couple of concerns. I can't bring Doodle and Amanda out here and then hurt them or something. And then they are hurt at Jocelyn's. They gotta ride their bikes home. They rode their bikes here. So I need to make sure, number one, they don't get hurt. Number two, their bikes don't get hurt. Some of the obstacles on Jocelyn's challenge course, I swear she comes up with by thinking, what's something you might see in a cartoon or movie, but no one would ever be insane enough to try in real life? You're up on it and then it doesn't go down for a second. So it looks like you're about to ride off a cliff. How are you feeling about the teeter totter? Uh, how about I'll let you know after. My heart is still racing. That was a brain, I'm trying to say a PG. A brain, I don't know how to say it without swearing. A brain twister. I'm just gonna take a breather and then do it again. What was the scariest thing today that we did? Yeah, definitely teeter totter, even though I didn't end up doing it because I had an anxiety attack. You didn't end up doing it? No, I didn't. You totally could have done it though. You did the bridge just fine. I did the bridge okay, but every time I thought about doing the teeter totter, my brain shut down. It's so mental. But I fell on the bridge, you didn't fall on the bridge. And because someone always asks me, what the heck is that light on the back of my helmet? 98% of my riding is on the street, so it makes more sense there. One of the most common reasons for motorcycle accidents is for failure to see a rider. So any added visibility I can get, I want. That's where I wear bright gear and a bright helmet. That light flashes whenever I stop or slow down. Wire-free. This mounting bracket makes it easy to move across different helmets. I have a discount code for you below. And after using this for two years, when I reached out to them and asked them if they were willing to sponsor this trip, they agreed. So thanks, Break Free, because crossing America ain't cheap. I knew that Doodle and Amanda were going to be capable and able to do everything I threw at them. I did, however, clearly see doubts in their minds. What we had to overcome, it was more so in their head. You're doing tight circles, like a doubled-up U-turn. One of the hardest things to do on a bike. And you're doing it with one hand. And you lose rope as you go. So it only gets tighter and harder. Here we go. More weight to the outside. See how in control I am? See how balanced I am? Look at that, guys. Look at that. Look at that! And so I ride my bike up when I get ready, and all of a sudden, boom, they put this black sweatshirt over my head, over my helmet, and tied it around my neck. And I couldn't see. I don't know, maybe it's a big windstorm. Or, I don't know, you get something in your eyes, or what happens. You've got to use all your other senses. So I'm going to give you these special goggles. Turn the bike off. Breathe. Woo! Doodle! This is something I really struggle with. When conditions are perfect, sometimes I can pick up this 501-pound beast. But sometimes, I can't. If I learned anything from martial arts, it's that technique can beat strength, even with the smallest person against the largest. I thought maybe this idea applies to bikes, too. Start walking back. Now I'm a little short here. I don't have any more leg to give. So in order to get the bike the rest of the way up, I'm going to let go with my right hand, and I'm going to grab something lower. Here we go. Ready? Boom. So have you picked this thing up before? Yes. Okay. In my driveway and at the gas station. That's it. Breathe out. You know what I mean? You got it. Here we go. Go, go, go, go. Push back. It's not the same as the driveway. Looking up at the sky. Go, go, go, go. Don't give up. Don't you dare give up. I was close. Damn it. I can do this. Go, go. Just go, just go, just go. Push, push. Foot, foot, foot, foot, foot, foot. One more. Foot, foot, foot. Take a breath. Now lock it in. You're holding tight. Grab low. Push her over. Woo! So much easier than the driveway. As you practice more, you'll find what works best for you and your bike so that you can get the most leverage so that it becomes easier. Now that you've done that, how would you like to pick up my bike? Did I mention that Jocelyn's bike is about 50 pounds heavier than mine? Because I think last time you were here, you did it, but I might have helped you. You helped me. A tiny, tiny bit. I didn't know it until I saw it editing it. I was like, wait a second. Time to redeem yourself. What do you say? Okay, let me just catch my breath. All right, you catch your breath. I don't have any marks on these crash guards. They haven't been over yet. This is not the one I dropped? Well, after you came to the class, I put new crash guards on. You did? And I don't think it's been on the ground since. No wonder you didn't offer up your bike again. Pick up my bike. Here we go. I believe in her. I just need her to believe in her. Believe in yourself. Go. Push back into the seat. Go, go, go, go, go. Don't you give up. Don't you give up. Nope, nope. There it goes. Okay, down she goes. No problem. Here we go. Here we go. Back, back, back, back. Breathe, breathe, breathe. Feet back. Just push back. Straighten it. Yep, that's it. Use your feet. Keep walking. Keep walking. Keep walking. Yeah. I'm going to hold it. Let's get the kickstand down. It's on this side, actually. Uh-oh. Okay. There it is. That was doodle-rific. No, you can check the footage after. Do you feel like I helped you? We'll put it right back down and do it again. No, it's okay. It is what it is for now. Maybe I'll gain four pounds of muscle next year. And then, the car. Jocelyn said this was really just a hill, but it was metal with holes where windows once were. After a student took her bike over this car, they crashed it and totaled it. We would practice for the car by going over some of the other similar obstacles right before it. By the end of the training, Jocelyn surprised us with a real adventure ride, a spontaneous visit to a neighbor's 600 acres of farmland and trails. Some of the ride was incredibly gnarly, and since my bike isn't actually the off-road model in this series, I just switched to off-road tires for this class. My tires kept spinning out on the hills, stalling the bike, and I'd lose Jocelyn and Amanda. But I figured, well, Jocelyn took us here, and she's not turning around, so I just kept going and didn't worry about it. Your mental state literally affects your body position. I hadn't been there in quite some time to pre-ride it. It was kind of a spontaneous thing. There was one point in my helmet leading these ladies behind me. I was going, Oh, Jocelyn, what have you done? I don't know if we're going to be able to get up. Got these ladies into this is really challenging. Every time I would look back in my mirror, because I'm having a hard time making sure I'm staying up on two wheels, I would look back, and here those two headlights are following me. It was amazing. Nice job! Woo! Dang, nice job! You too! Yeah, thanks! And you're, like, zipping through. Holy cow. I have been doing it a little bit longer than that. Ranch girl. There was one point where I thought, Ooh, this might be tricky, getting everybody out of here. And they surprised me, and I think they surprised themselves. I loved our night ride. Our night trail ride. I was a little anxious once it actually got to night. There were some gnarly spots. We got you, we got you. Don't try it by yourself in the mud. What happened? You're so dirty! Oh, do a spin for me real quick. Spin around in the headlights. Oh, yeah! Now I'm kind of matching Amanda. It was so fun. It was a good time. What was your favorite part of the weekend? All of it! Very proud of both of them. I hope they come back. I hope we have an episode three, because I have unfinished business with these two. How much your confidence affects you, and affects how you do things. If you think you can't do something, you can't, because you're not going to do your best job. Whatever it is. Perseverance. If you do something wrong, you do it again. Don't ask me how, but somehow, the crash guards survived. They seemed to fix themselves. They're no longer uneven. They kind of evened out. And I'm recording this voiceover eight weeks after this video. Crossing back home to America, and a lot more drops. Shout out to SW Motec for some tried and tested crash protection. In case you're wondering, you can train here too. All you have to do is email Jocelyn, and she'll set it up with you. Thank you so much to Jocelyn for letting me train at Snow Ranch. Thank you so much to my sponsors for helping make this cross-country trip possible, so I could do this training on my bike. Shout out to my cameraman, Josh from G-Force. And, of course, Jocelyn's trusty assistant, Steve. Last Extreme Training, you saw me train with professional racers. Comment below who you want to see me train with next. That was not for the internet. No, it's not!