GS TROPHY: SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE

I’ll admit that having woken up in my tent with the mother of all hangovers, sleep deprived and aching from a hard day’s riding, I questioned my decision to enter BMW’s annual GS Trophy qualifier… but such stupid thoughts soon vanished. As perverse as it might be, I was actually in my element, scratching an itch that seldom gets scratched and reflecting on the previous day’s brilliance that saw me in at the deep end among a field of 188 enduro-mad rivals, scrapping it out for just three spots in 2022’s GS Trophy international final. Or, to put it another way, the chance of an all-inclusive two-wheeled adventure in Albania, making mates and memories of the type that last a lifetime. As corny as it sounds, Isay so with experience, having been lucky enough to make the grade in a previous life, competing in the trophy final back in 2014, dodging bears and ravines over 10 mental days in Canada. I’ve done some things in my life, but that trip ranks among the best of them, equally brimmed with horror and hilarity. In truth, they are times I miss – and that’s probably why I jumped at the chance to ride in this year’s qualifier, to try and rekindle a little of the magic I’ve been left craving. The other appeal was the chance to try out BMW’s R 1250GS.

‘Back in my day’, we had the 1200 model to power us around and I thought it was pretty epic, combining image-defying handling and a torquey flat-twin motor that loved a good powerslide (…or even abad one). The newer 1250 is another league on, and it took a bit of time to warm to at