Trail riding

[RWR]

any trail riders on this forum?
been thinking about giving it a go for years but never realy done more than that.
And i am looking for a cheaper hobby to MC racing.
Any info would be appreciated

[busasean]

hi, i got into trail riding after doing the yamaha off road school with a mate about a year and a bit ago. it's brilliant fun!! :D i went and bought myself a TTR 600RE but after 2 and a half days in Wales and losing a stone in weight i sold it and got a new KTM 250 EXC Racing from Fowlers in Bristol. i'm absolutely hooked now! :lol: :lol: its a completely different kettle of fish than road riding and much harder than it looks. try the yamaha off road school 1st and then if you still fancy it go from there!!!! if you do get into it, make sure you A) buy decent body armour B) Join the TRF and/or only ride the legal trails. C) be prepared to ache like hell after! we're off to france or spain trail riding for a week in another 3 or 4 months!

[tigersaw]

I second everything Busasean recommends. Personally I pay £150 each time for a full day across Somerset. For that I get a Honda CRF230F for the day, fully insured and fueled - all insurance and a very good guide and mentor for the day. In the day we usually do 80-120 miles virtually all off road. Its by far my favourite day(s) of the year, much better than any holiday. Be prepared to get wet and hurt! I too have done the Yamaha off road experience - a great day out, you will be surprised how much you can learn from it, and how much you can use in your normal 'on road' riding.

[SVeeedy Gonzales]

http://www.tracksense.co.uk/

Has off road and trail riding schools/days. Going to the off road school in a few months.

[bobbydazzler]

what happened to just trail riding.. do u have to pay to do an organized thing?

[SVeeedy Gonzales]

No - you can still just go out and ride on your own... though they recently had a clampdown on a lot of places and it's not legal to ride on some trails/off road bits any more.

This is a good starting point... http://www.trf.org.uk/ or just do searches for trail riding in google...

[andy]

I trail ride as well - in Surrey.

At the moment there is a major issue going through parliament in the next few weeks called the NERC bill, and if passed (which is likely) it will remove about 50% of the legal trails that we currently have - leaving some counties with almost none.

The whole NERC bill is a bloody farce, forced by do-gooder ramblers who want the WHOLE countryside to themselves - they are unprepared to share anything.

If you want to start trail riding then a quick letter to your MP complaining about the NERC bill will do wonders.

Have a look at TRF website for "standard" letters.

[tigersaw]

If you want to start trail riding then a quick letter to your MP complaining about the NERC bill will do wonders.



Call me a seasoned cynic, but I doubt it. Last time I wrote to my MP, ( Mr Nick Soams )canvassing his opinion on a motorcycling bill, he did indeed reply, but only to tell me he was far too busy to be arsed spending time on something so trivial.

[RWR]

Thanks guys have had a look on the variuose sites think i am convinced and Like the idea of a DRz400
so shall have to do some penny saving

[busasean]

Thanks guys have had a look on the variuose sites think i am convinced and Like the idea of a DRz400
so shall have to do some penny saving

where abouts do you live?

[RWR]

Epsom Surrey

[busasean]

we go up to Dorking area quite abit to ride the trails there, thats nearish to you isnt it? if you get a bike give me a shout if you want to come out. :D

[RWR]

Will do Just replaced My stolen helmet today so at least i can get out on my SV have only ridden to work once this year did not even get the chance to ride it home

[andy]

I live in Epsom as well (Ewell actually), 3 of us (all on DRZ's) go to Ranmore etc pretty frequently. Give me a PM when you get your bike.

[northwind]

The whole NERC bill is a bloody farce, forced by do-gooder ramblers who want the WHOLE countryside to themselves - they are unprepared to share anything.

"Do-gooder" isn't the word... Most of them, from what I've seen, are doing it purely out of self interest. I used to do a fair bit of hill-riding on mountainbikes when I was at uni, and we used a lot of popular walker trails. Anyone cycling up there had to use punctureproof tyres because walkers used to spread nails and tacks by the handful on the trails they knew bikes used. No trail bikes up there either, just cycles. And a lot of those trails are open grazing land, or are used by horses- that's a great way to show your "love of the countryside" isn't it?

[Flamin_Squirrel]

The whole NERC bill is a bloody farce, forced by do-gooder ramblers who want the WHOLE countryside to themselves - they are unprepared to share anything.

"Do-gooder" isn't the word... Most of them, from what I've seen, are doing it purely out of self interest. I used to do a fair bit of hill-riding on mountainbikes when I was at uni, and we used a lot of popular walker trails. Anyone cycling up there had to use punctureproof tyres because walkers used to spread nails and tacks by the handful on the trails they knew bikes used. No trail bikes up there either, just cycles. And a lot of those trails are open grazing land, or are used by horses- that's a great way to show your "love of the countryside" isn't it?

Anti-personel mines. Get your own back. They deserve nothing less.

[drumwrecker]

I'd like to follow those do gooders like Janet Street Porter reving up a chain saw or something with a motor on it just annoy the sob's. Mind you if it was a chain saw I might get tempted.