Had so much fun with Jason and Whitney! Those guys really know their stuff, and teaching an old horse new tricks can be a real disaster, but I had a great time. Ladies, these guys can teach women without all that macho stuff that makes us uncomfortable. If you're thinking of taking a class, my advice is: Don't Wait! Once you take their class, you can't look at a dirt trail and not think to yourself "I want to ride that!" Thanks again, guys, I'll be taking another class of yours when I want to better my skills. :)
-Vicky S. 55 / Tri-Cities, WA
I recently took the Level 2 class. Jason was our instructor for the day and he was great. He was patient, communicated the lessons very well and made sure everyone was taken care of. His enthusiasm for teaching is obvious. I liked the structure of the day - the lesson, demonstration and practice of what we learned was very helpful. The techniques he taught us were the solid basics I was looking for. And small adjustments made all the difference. I would highly recommend taking this class before you get out and ride. You will enjoy it much more!
-Ashlie M. 50 / Bellevue, WA
Jason worked with me and my work schedule to get me out for a private lesson. Upon arriving he took the time to find out where I was at with my riding and where I want to go in the in the near future with it. Not only did he coach me through techniques and drills but explained the body mechanics of how the bike should respond to me and I should respond to the bike. He left me with awesome things to practice and how I can add challenges to the drills as I progress.🕺 Thanks Jason!
-Chad C. 38 / Leavenworth
The class was awesome, but for me what changed my riding the most was Whitney's ability to make me UNDERSTAND the plank exercise (and stop thinking that it was there just to torture students!). Since then I have been able to use this particular way of counterbalancing in all challenging situations (like when it gets very rutty) and stay relaxed.
-Dionne H. / Pacific Northwest
I'm normally a rider in the middle of the pack, not the fastest, but I can handle pretty much any type of single track. Went into the level 2 class expecting to learn a few tricks, maybe a new way of doing something, at the least I'd have a fun day on two wheels, but what could I really learn, right? Boy was I wrong, way wrong, well I still had a great day on my bike, but I couldn't believe how many things I was doing wrong.
From the start it was obvious the instructors where excited to help, and fully vested in your learning and saftey. Every drill we ran was designed to build confidence, slowly adding things to make your riding base better. Can't wait to practice more and use what I've learned. I'll be taking the level 3 class later, can't wait to see what improvements that will bring!
-Cassidy S. 38 / Tulalip
Probably have 100K miles on BMW plus several K on other bikes. Proves that any on with some mechanical skills can ride mostly on pavement, in a straight line, and fast. Switch to dirt and the game changes. A little late in life maybe to learn off road but I chose well. Jason of DBST did a fine job of keeping me on track and my head AND body in the game. Great demeanor, patience and skills. Even picked up my bike on a trail ride when the vegetation pulled me off the track : >}. I learned a lot. especially to practice practice on a lighter bike before taking my R1200GS on single track. I intend to be back to glean more confidence and skills. Thanks Jason.
-Dave 71 / Puyallup WA
Hi Jason and Whitney! I took your level 2 class on 4/29, and wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed it. Though I had ridden on the street for 30 years, I had never been off-road. I was leaving for an 1,100-mile motorcycle tour in Morocco two days after the Dirt First class, and knew it would include about 10% off-road riding, so I hoped your course would at least give me the basics to be able to participate fully in the tour. Well, it did much more than that. I was not only able to do the entire trip confidently, I even was able to give a fellow novice off-road rider a few tips on how to navigate turns while seated or standing, side hills, and so on! I am so grateful for the expertise that you imparted, and I am 100% sure that it made the difference for me to be able to experience all of what the tour had to offer. In fact, there were several times where I simply could not have continued the tour, had I not had the skills that I acquired at Dirt First. I hope to be back soon for more practice with you, and thank you again for the great day! Best, Ben
-Ben M. 47 / Washington
Our 10 year old son begged us to let him ride a dirtbike for quite awhile. We were hesitant, especially since neither my wife nor I have any experience riding. Jason and Whitney are great. They are super knowledgeable and friendly!! They truly enjoy what they do and it shows! The lessons our son has taken with them have been terrific. We now have a dirtbike addict in our family. We would highly recommend Dirtbike Safety Training here in Washington!
-Josh C. 44 / Seattle
I have less than 200 miles on my first motorcycle and it was suggested that by a very experienced rider that I take Whitney's class at DBST.
I spent most of the day with Whitney yesterday, and I can say that Whitney is an unusually gifted instructor. We executed a series of drills, which were reinforced by a series of trail rides, which significantly scaled up my riding. I walked away with far better skills than those with which I walked in. I also walked away with legs that felt like jello and that continue to burn today.
I'm confident that whatever your level of riding experience the folks at DBST will be able to help you scale up. I look forward to returning with more questions after more real world experience and leveling up further.
We're very fortunate here in the general Western Washington area to have this great training resource so close by.
Gerry Z
-Gerry Z. 58 / Bellevue, WA
I had a great time learning a lot of new information to help transfer some of my "seasoned " street abilities over to off road. A very humbling experience ; ) but that is exactly why I decided to take the Level II class to gather more information and experience to become a better/safer rider while out on my adventure rides. Our groups instructor Jason was very hands on, informative, encouraging making sure everyone understood the principles that were being taught! I will definitely be looking forward to the next class that I will be able to take.
-Gary P. 58 / Tulalip
I have been riding various street (Harley's, BMW GS, etc.) for the past 10 years, watching the dirt bikes and dual sport scene from the sidelines. I finally made a goal this year to do WABDR, picked up a new bike and started hitting local fire roads. I quickly found that my pavement skills didn't translate to dirt/gravel/rocks, and I was incredibly uncomfortable. Even had a couple incidences that could have ended up really poor. I decided it was time to put the ego aside and get some proper instruction when I found dirt bike safety training.
Fast forward to today, and what I got was the best - and most personalized - instruction I've ever had. Jason and his team are amazing. I learned more in 6 hours than in the past 10 years of riding. I have no doubt this has put me 6 months ahead of where I'd be at learning on my own. The class has an excellent progression of skills, that all build off of the previous skill learned. Riding position on dirt is completely different, and I walked away from today much more confident on dirt than I had ever hoped. Can't wait to come back.
-Travis G. 37 / Snoqualmie, WA
WHAT AWESOME TRAINING!! (Yes, it is worth the shout out.) The trainers are patient and very knowledgeable, and their style of training bumped my skills up to the next level. I can now blip over logs!
I took a beginner to intermediate workshop that nailed down my basics. As a woman rider, the woman only workshop that I attended provided a very safe and fun learning environment. I recommend Dirt First to anyone from beginners to advanced.
-Jill O. /
I've been riding street for about 10 years and my wife for about 4. We didn't pretend to know anything about riding in dirt before this class and we learned a great deal! Focus on fundamentals and body positioning made all the difference in feeling confident and capable on a dirtbike. What a perfect way to celebrate my birthday and walk away with some very valuable skills - I'll be back! Thank you very much Jason!!!!
-Gabe A. 29 / Kent, WA
I recently purchased an adventure bike and was looking for an introduction to off-road riding, I participated in the level 2 class this past weekend in Marysville. I have ridden a road bike on and off for a handful of years but had never even sat on a dirt bike before this class.
The lead instructor was Jason and the second instructor was David, both exceptional riders and great teachers. Jason taught the level two class, made up of 7 or 8 students of all different shapes, sizes and abilities. The class and all of the lessons were useful to each and everyone of us. Each of us tested our abilities and I think we all felt greatly improved by the end of the class albeit each a little humbled.
Off road riding is difficult and this class showed me how little I knew of it. I hope to be able to practice riding over the next 6 months or a year and then take level two again to further improve and add to the skills I am building.
Jason as a teacher was extremely likeable and while demanding of the students, was always there to applaud and reinforce the students as they succeeded and/or improved.
I rented the bike from them, which I would highly recommend, they have a variety of sizes of bikes and made sure to have everyone on an appropriately sized machine. The bike they assigned me was in great shape and clearly well taken care of.
Overall, I am very satisfied with the class and thought both Jason and David were great instructors, I'd be happy and lucky to take another class with either of them and will definitely be returning to Dirt Bike Safety Training in the future for more lessons.
-Keith M. 40 / Seattle, WA
I took a private class with two friends. The instructor was super positive and helpful and the curriculum was top notch. There was plenty of opportunity to practice the skills in the practice area and then go put them to use on the single track at the facility. The instructor took a lot of extra steps to make sure our day was smooth, but the thing I appreciated to most was the attention to safety.
I highly recommend DBST.
-Seth W. 43 / Enumclaw, WA
I had a fantastic private class with Jason. Having barely ridden a motorcycle for many years, I was looking forward to the class but nervous, especially on a large 450 bike. However, even the most basic initial instruction from Jason was enough for me to feel comfortable and confident right away, setting me up to enjoy and learn from all of the training exercises. I think Jason might be one of the best teachers/instructors of anything that I have learned, setting a mood for enjoyment and being professional but approachable. As well as being encouraging and patient, his explanations were clear, he was happy to thoroughly answer questions with deep knowledge and skill, and his demonstrations were incredibly useful. More generally the bikes and riding gear were perfect, and the riding area was well suited to a relative novice. Very impressed, thank you for a great experience DBST!
-Ro 36 / Redmond WA
