Maybe you’ve seen them at an MOA rally, covering the basics of riding gear construction and selection, emceeing an off-road riding rodeo, or demonstrating such skills as how to pick up a giant ADV bike even if you’re only (almost) 5’4” tall. Perhaps you’ve seen them explain the latest tech on a just-released BMW model during a presentation at your dealership or in an online video. Or you might have already been a student at one of their many rider training events, held all over the country. No matter the context, the truly dynamic duo of Shawn Thomas and Louise Powers never fails to inform, inspire and entertain.
Shawn is a towering 6’4” BMW Brand Ambassador and internationally certified off-road riding instructor who looks perfectly proportioned for a big flagship GS. Louise is a BMW Brand Expert of more diminutive stature who nevertheless rides the same behemoths with extraordinary skill and grace. The pair travel globally, testing BMW bikes and equipment, providing feedback during the development process and producing instructional and marketing media for the parent company. They’re also a point of interaction between BMW Motorrad and the dealership network, the riding public in general and BMW owners in particular, fostering a sense of community and working to ensure the dissemination of accurate information about BMW’s complete motorcycle product line—along with how to enjoy it all more safely and adeptly. In addition to providing a wealth of knowledge in highly polished presentations, they’re relentlessly cheerful, warm, enthusiastic and funny, while taking very seriously the necessity of proper riding technique if motorcyclists are to maximize the longevity and rewards of their time on two wheels. These are seasoned professionals with decades of experience who’ve coached over 10,000 students world-wide and personally logged countless miles of adventure riding on multiple continents.
I was excited to see them in a new (to me) mode at a dealer-hosted seminar on off-road riding basics. As noted in several of my recent columns, my skills in this domain had atrophied to an alarming degree as a result of spending virtually all my saddle time in recent years on the street. My first return to single-track after this lengthy hiatus was a disaster and I knew I needed both a lot more practice and a refresher course on the basics to make sure I’d be practicing the right things. This four-hour hands-on class (four such sessions were offered over a weekend) would be a good start, covering the core elements of balance, braking, clutch and throttle control, along with some cornering fundamentals, all with careful attention to body position. Designed to serve as an introduction to off-road riding technique for those wanting to take their dual-sport or ADV bikes into the rough for the first time, or as a tune-up for riders who already have some experience in the dirt, this short round of instruction had enough flexibility to meet a wide variety of student aspirations, even with its focus on foundational skills. (It is not for first-time riders with no prior motorcycling experience, but no dirt experience is required.)
This same course can take somewhat different forms depending on the setting and dealership arrangements. My local BMW dealership, Alcoa Good Times in Alcoa, Tennessee, provided it free of charge to their customers as a goodwill gesture. In other cases, students might pay a small fee but get food included and/or longer sessions. My dealership had no appropriate training grounds onsite and coordinated with a nearby municipality to make a large field available. Ironically, after a week of spectacularly gorgeous weather, the forecast for my Saturday afternoon session featured severe thunderstorms. At the (optional) meet-and-greet with Shawn and Louise Friday evening, some scheduling modifications were made to avoid the worst of the anticipated storm, but the plan was to proceed, rain or shine, with the dealer keeping everyone who’d signed up apprised via email. The forecast turned out to be overly pessimistic, and the occasional sprinkle we got actually felt refreshing amidst a warm, humid day of significant physical exertion. (Mandated gear was quite minimal, but everyone still showed up in some sort of protective apparel that added weight and reduced airflow in the muggy conditions.)
My class contained a dozen students, all on their own dual-sport and ADV motorcycles. Numerous brands and bike types were represented, including the expectable contingent of big GS machinery. We didn’t exchange personal information as part of the course, but I’d guess participants ranged in age from mid-30s to mid-70s, with most in their 50s or early-60s. Oddly enough, it wasn’t so easy to gauge the range of skill levels present. I credit Shawn and Louise for this in that everyone was always well-prepared for each and every exercise, making success the rule instead of the exception, and the atmosphere was thoroughly supportive and completely non-competitive.
The format repeatedly cycled from conceptual explanation (with plenty of allowance for Q&A), through demonstrations on their own bikes (an R 1300 GS and GSA), to closely monitored, tightly focused drills with Shawn and Louise stationed strategically on a cone-defined course, providing individualized feedback as the group filed by in a slow, motorized conga line, practicing whatever technique had just been discussed and illustrated. And I do mean slow. Given the fact we were riding on freshly mown wet grass, speed would have been ill-advised no matter what, but the primary concern of this class was low-speed control, anyway. Serendipitously, we were on one version of extremely low-traction terrain, which was also central to the curriculum, as the decreased traction available off-road compared to the street was the main contrast to be understood and addressed. Each drill built on the previous one seamlessly, and everyone seemed pleased with their respective advances in skill and confidence.
As someone with extensive off-road experience, I found the exercises familiar, but my flawed execution gave Shawn and Louise lots of room for pointers, which they provided in concisely targeted phrases (alongside copious reinforcements for anything I did correctly). Their helpful input led to immediately noticeable improvements, which left me feeling this had been a very worthwhile way to spend an afternoon—not to mention it was simply great fun! I can definitely recommend this clinic to anyone looking to join—or re-join—the fray of off-road riders. Ask your BMW dealer whether such a visit by Shawn and Louise might be in the works already, and if it isn’t, you’d do well to make your interest known. Otherwise, be sure to catch them whenever and wherever you get the chance. You can follow them on Instagram at @ShawnThomasRockOn and @AGirlOnAMotorbike.
