Imagine you've got a faithful little dog. A little floppy-eared, stubby-tailed, cockeyed little puppy who is your friend. Always happy to see you, always there to welcome you, jumps up on your bed and keeps you warm on the cold nights. Barks at burglars, good with the kids. An obedient and loving wee soul.

Yet, despite how much you love him, you are moving house to somewhere that doesn't allow pets. The wee man has to go. You need to make this move to get you to where you yourself want to be and, unfortunately, it's "No Pets".

You already know what I'm talking about don't you? I'm not talking about the crap dog - she is so crap that she'd not even register on the Pet-o-meter so she wouldn't be a problem. No, I'm talking about Goldilocks - my floppy-eared, stubby-tailed faithful little PR3.

Hold on a minute. I've been raving about this bike and how wonderful she is. How her little 89kg is perfect for me chucking round an enduro track. All of this holds true - she is a fantastic little bike. We've done Son of Dawn to Dusk, I've dug her out of two-feet of cowshit with my own hands. She's been nothing but loyal and faithful and now I am sending her to the big enduro track in the sky? What a cruel, heartless, bastard. I know, I know.

There's a logic to this. There is a strategy, and I need you to bear with me for a second. You've had shock number 1 - trading in little Goldilocks - now I need you to be sitting down for shock number 2.

Two is a magic number. My next bike is a 2-stroke. Oh my God, that's it. John has totally flipped and turned to the Dark Side. Quick, run to the Jedi temple and fetch Obi-Wan.

Hold on, bear with me.

I'm not talking about some hooligan big-bore 2-stroke such as a 250 or a 300. Whilst those are the weapons of choice for the experts, they are also the weapons of choice for people who are actually a bit crap but compensate for this by riding a really really fast bike.

I recall blogging about a year ago now about Lee Trevino, and the way he learned to play golf by using clubs which he had found in the dustbin - gaffa-taping them together if needs be. He perfected his technique by using equipment that made him perfect his technique. I recall blogging about competing in running wearing trainers, and the difference it made when my Ma bought me a pair of spikes. I recall blogging about learning to play the guitar on a 5-quid piece of junk I found in a Mates wardrobe, and how my playing got a lot better when I graduated to a proper electric guitar.

So the plan is to get a small-bore 2-stroke - like a 125cc. The powerband on these is so narrow (less than 1,000 rpm) that you better get pretty good at clutch control and momentum if you ever hope to make it round an enduro track.

The little AJP and I have taken the knocks and the falls and the cowshit, and she's carried me through all of it. Now we're at the stage where her forgiving obedience and docile nature is starting to limit what I can do. Learning to ride on a small-bore 4-stroke has taught me to have a pretty good technique, but now it's time to take the next step.

I could jump on a big-bore 2-stroke, or even a big-bore 4-stroke, like a 250 or higher but all it would do is mask the parts of my technique that are still crap. If I can learn to keep a 125cc 2-stroke in the power band by clever use of the clutch then - when I do jump on a big bore - I will be unstoppable.

I was out today with Julian - a graphic designer from London who is doing Enduro Africa. We had a great day, just the two of us. He had a declared intention to be able to do MX-style cornering and by the end of the day he was doing exactly this. He also learned how to turn a bike round in a space 6 feet wide, and he leraned how to use momentum to get up slippery and nasty hills.

At one point in the day, I asked him "when you woke up this morning, what did you wish you were coming here to learn?". He declared that it was MX-style cornering. I told him that "your wish is my command", and his face went white and his eyes went wide.

In that instant, he knew who he was with today. He knew he was with me. He knew that, on paper, he was completely alone in the middle of nowhere with a lunatic as his guide. Imagine you were coming for a day's trail riding at AJP. You do a quick google search on "AJP". Would you click on the 2009Dakar.com links? I would. Julian knew who he was out with today, I saw it in his face in that millisecond. I wonder how that must feel, I really don't know what I'd do in that situation.

Anyway, hill climbs. One nasty hill was a bit much for both of us. It was so steep that the front wheel kept on wanting to dance in the air and chuck you off. I got up it on the second attempt, Julian ended up zig-zagging his way up. As I crested the brow of the hill, that was the moment I realised that I had outgrown the little 4-stroke. I could never even have attempted that hill a year ago.

Coming back down, using the engine braking, I realised that the 4-stroke is making me a little lazy. Getting up a hill is a simple matter of pinning the throttle and leaning back. Coming down is a simple matter of closing the throttle and staying off the brakes. But there is no engine braking on a 2-stroke, and opening the throttle doesn't necessarily increase the power to the back wheel.

It takes finesse, and technique, to get a 2-stroke round an enduro track. A 2-stroke ridden with good technique is a devastating weapon. Mr Wheeler will be afraid when he sees me on the start line. Cyril Despres will be terrified.

I stepped up a gear at Tea Till Dusk and, unless I do something to push myself, I am danger of hitting a plateau. I have to work on my technique, and a small-bore 2-stroke is the way to do this. Either my technique will improve - drastically - or I might as well change my name by deed poll to "DNF".

Six months of riding a small-bore 2-stroke - in all of the shitty winter weather - and I will be an absolute demon when I jump on my proper bike. This "proper" bike I am referring to will either be a KTM 250 4-stroke or the new BMW 450x. The jury is still out.

I may well be giving myself another mountain to climb, and doing so needlessly, but I think that I have to push myself to get to the next level otherwise I'll never get there.

The little AJP is still a tremendous enduro bike, and I'd totally recommend it to anybody who wants to get round an enduro track with the least amount of effort. But "least amount of effort" is not what Dakar finishes are all about. Dakar is all about "No Pets".

Goldilocks, fantastic little bike, just like the little floppy-eared dog is a fantastic dog - probably not ideal for moving into a house that says "No Pets". Time to move on.

Or, as my ITM would put it, onwards and upwards.

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