Motocross Trainingsstrecke Bernhardzell

The Motocrosspiste Bernhardzell sits on the Gruenberg in the municipality of Waldkirch and is run by Hans Forrer. He built it himself in 1978 because he was missing a place to train nearby, and according to the St. Galler Tagblatt he still maintains it every week, at a loss. Riding is restricted to Saturday afternoons - an arrangement made with the municipality because of noise. The operator splits the afternoon into two blocks, 13.30 to 15.00 and 15.45 to 17.30, with an absolute engine-quiet break in between; the paddock opens at 12.30. You have to sign up for every single training session through the portal on the operator's site - email and phone are not accepted for it - and payment is cash at the entrance. Around 50 riders use the track on a Saturday, from five-year-olds on 50 cc machines to riders over eighty, with a marshal on site. The lap measures about 750 metres; what we hold on file is an altitude of roughly 641 metres. The track is defined by its jumps - the biggest one spans about 20 metres - and it is wide enough that you can go around a jump or be overtaken. Where that much jumping happens, the first thing that shows is how the rear works on the take-off face. Top of our cause list here is rebound that returns too fast: it launches the rear off the lip and throws you into the air crooked. Slow it down, a few clicks less out, and the bike stays calm in flight.