As I reached the summit of the 3m high table top, the front wheel hit a rut and I was pitched over the handlebars, my vision filled with the precipitous drop off the side, I was starting to doubt I was going to become a future Motocross star. A second or two later, landing on my head at the bottom of the bank, this feeling was solidifying into a belief that Motocross really wasn't for me at all.

The day had started in a much more promising fashion. Arriving at the TonyMoto Motocross track just outside Winchester, the Yamaha Schools truck was surrounded by a number of slightly nervous looking participants awaiting their fate. Having met former top British Motocross rider Barry Johnson and his assistants, we were quickly signed in and given full protective equipment before wandering down to the grass oval in the centre of the track where we were to get our first taste of the Yamaha WR250 enduro bikes we were to be using for the day. Told to sit up at the front of the bike and to put out our inside leg as support if the bike slips, we were off. I could have sauntered around quicker than my first couple of laps with the sheer panic of the entirely alien feeling of the bike sliding at both ends refusing to allow my wrist to twist the throttle more than a fraction of the available travel.

With a few more laps under my belt, I was getting more bold in throttle application. A dab of the foot, or an increase in throttle settled the front; keeping the power rolled on as the back slid through the corner started becoming quite addictive.

After a couple of five minute stints on the oval turning left and one turning right, we were out onto the motocross track proper. One of the Yamaha team disappeared off around the track to demonstrate the route and the realisation of what lay ahead became apparent. The first set of 4 riders took to the track and one or two got their first taste of dirt, at least removing the worry of taking the honours of first faller from those of us waiting our turn.

Before I knew it, I was climbing onto a bike and ready to set off on my first lap. Somehow, quite how is a mystery to me, I managed to stay aboard for half a lap until the track dropped away in front of me to descend from a table top. At the bottom of the hill I saw one of my fellow riders on the floor beside his bike and moments later I was in a similar predicament. One of the benefits of a little 250 became evident as I found it fairly light to pick back up onto its wheels, remount and head off to continue the lap. No more than a few hundred metres further, the front wheel hit a rut and I was off again, somewhat less amused. Guided back to the start of the track by one of the instructors to avoid some of the trickier terrain I started the second lap considerably less bullish about my chances of staying vertical. My sense of humour was starting to fail by the third fall and I was quite glad to hand the bike to the next group of riders for their first try.

It was during the second session that I undertook my spectacular dismount. The lower my confidence fell, the more I dropped my vision and hence speed and the less control I had over my course. This vicious circle resulted in me cresting the table top far too close to the edge and too slowly to have sufficient momentum to remain stable over the bumps at the top.

Somewhat shaken I returned to the truck to hand the bike over and to compose myself. Realising all limbs were in their correct respective locations, I considered my options. I seriously contemplated calling it a day there and then and heading home. Knowing full well that this would be the the actions of a spoilt brat ejecting his toys from the pram, I opted to sit out the final morning session whilst trying to steel myself to get back on the horse that threw me, so to speak.

Over lunch, Barry talked through some of the finer aspects of motocross riding; just how far forward you need to sit and why, keeping your elbows high above the bars, looking further ahead and picking a course to avoid the ruts which we were told would have even the more experienced riders off. This theory helped me to start to piece together where I was going wrong and to see a way I might actually progress. Further help came from a number of shortcuts being highlighted where we could avoid the trickiest obstacles which had the dual benefits of helping to preserve energy and in my case help me gain a little more confidence by being able to complete a whole session without parting company with the bike.

With a better position on the bike, my elbows high and focusing further down the track, one technique common to road, track and apparently motocross riding, some of the feelings from the grass oval of the morning began to return. Rather than wobbling from one disaster to the next, the track dictating where I went with my will having apparently no say; I was able to pick a route to avoid the worst of the ruts and obstacles. Increased speed somewhat counter-intuitively made things easier as the momentum steamrollered over the wobbles and things started to feel right. Powering out of the corners with the back wheel sliding and hearing the flare of revs as the bike left the ground over the bumps felt fantastic and the final few sessions ended with a massive grin on my face and a great sense of achievement at persevering and not letting the track and fear beat me.

Dwarfing my accomplishment was that of the young lady who turned up having never ridden a motorcycle in her life. Throughout the day, she went from nowhere to happily riding around the grass oval, to completing a couple of laps of the full course to a round of applause from all other attendees. A quite remarkable feat.