Quad Ventures
As the church bells chimed 12 to herald the commencement of my Birthday, my wife handed me a present. It was soft. Maybe it was the new socks I was hankering after (when you get to my age you actually WANT socks). No, it was a t-shirt with “Quad Ventures” written on it. I was aware of Quad Ventures after reading a previous article in the Grapevine. I was at the same time, excited – I really fancy getting a quad bike – and nervous. I am after all the man that won the Best Crash award at a corporate Jonathan Palmer Race Day. For those of you that are interested I span a Lotus Elise backwards into a field!
The next morning I drove to Benamargosa, the starting point of the ride, with my friend Steve and my Brother-in-law Chris. We met Keith the owner of quad ventures. Keith is very friendly and clearly explained the controls of the bikes. He asked us to put on our crash helmets, which is a requirement of his insurance and, I thought, a requirement for my safety!
The initial part of the ride is in a relatively straight line and is perfect for familiarising yourself with the controls. The bikes are semi-automatic, so basically you just put it into gear and away you go. As well as brakes on the handlebars, that operate the front and back brakes, there is a foot brake that spreads the braking 70/30 between the back and the front. Once we were off it was very apparent to me that the Kymco bikes used are very powerful with their 300cc engines. Some bikers amongst are probably scoffing at that statement; but to a shandy-drinking southern novice like me, it felt like more than enough power!
The thing that I liked most about our ride was the fact that it was not just an hour and a half (longer rides are available) of blasting around mindlessly. Of course there was some that, but I found the mixture of stopping to enjoy the scenery and history of the local area spot-on.
We continued our ride around Lake Viñuela. At one stage, Keith pointed out a newly built house that is rumoured to have been built by Robbie Williams for his mother – an exclusive for the Grapevine there!
Along the way there are a number of dips that have to be taken slowly at first and then quickly accelerated out of. These were great fun. We all emerged unscathed, but I must confess that one took me two attempts to get out of.
One long, sandy, uphill stretch was a blast to ride up as fast as you could. Turning round to go back down, it suddenly looked very steep. Once again, Kevin told us how to best handle the track and we all got to the bottom a little dusty but with big smiles on our faces.
As we made our way back after stopping at the edge of the Lake, our quad venture was over. Would I do it again? Definitely, but next time for longer and I am trying to persuade my wife to do it too.
If you are looking for a fun-filled morning or afternoon, give Quad Ventures a call. I promise you, you will have a great time.
