trail riding

is there anywhere actually to do this, other than private land?

Depends where you are. If you're anywhere near any moors, mountains and
generally wild stuff then mostly, yes. Best bet is to join a local club if

I'm in London ;-)

[snip useful stuff]

possible and the TRF. Trouble is, very few maps are available with green
lanes marked out, you have to do a lot of homework, hence joining a club is
good, someone's mostly already done 3/4's of the work ... ;)

Also, as I have. maybe join a local Landrover or 4x4 club .. most of them
have non-competitive members, but you can use their services to gain
knowledge of local trails, green lanes etc.

I mentioned to the SO that I was thinking of buying a dirt bike, and
she said "bit where would you ride it", and I sort of had to admit she
had a point.

I'm planning to do the same this winter. Of course, in my part of the
world, it shouldn't be so much of a problem. Especially as Krusty
lives relatively near me, and seems to be Someone Who Knows.

Any comments?

The Ridgeway?

The Kennet and Avon canal towpath (dunno if its allowed though...).

You could always buy my wife's KMX 200, I'll even throw in an OS
map.........

'ang on - that's mine!

Well, I thought I'd got first refusal, anyway. I'll give you a
definite answer in a couple of days, if that's ok.

Thats fine with me, I am off to Tuscany on Monday for 2 weeks, I think you
have my mobile number, if not drop me an email.

Good plan - you could go trailriding with Champ on his KMX 200 then.

In a public park or recreation area just the same as the bike thieves of
course. And if you don't wear yerrat nobody will try to stop you.

Mind you, doing it on your own bike and not torching it after might
raise some issues.

Although don't the various off road crowds do a "Run Wot You Brung Day"
and if not why not?

Green lanes.

Your local council should have a "definitive map", showing the BOATs
that you can use.

Aren't the Ramblers trying to exclude all vehicles and horses from these

these rights of way?

I suspect there's a sub-group that'd bar people who don't wear sensible
shoes too.

But the Trial Riders Fellowship could be your friend.

And if you're quick you should still be in time to pick up one of the last
of the pre-registered Yam TTR 250 enduros. Weedy on the road, but very
pleasantly non-vibey of it - unlike many other off roaders IMHO.

rights of way?

Yup. Seems like everyone is ...

Seen this?

not that actual page, but I was aware that that had happened.

A couple of weekends ago in North Yorkshire with our Landrover Discovery ...
We do use trial and trail bikes too though and met a couple that day. :)

Come and live here. For every road there's an adjacent track.
Apparently, I could go all the way from my house to nearly everywhere
without touching a public road. I think I shall shortly be buying a
crosser or something.

Anybody want to buy a spanish registered Blackbird?

Well, i've got all your other bikes ... ;-)

Ah, I'm glad you've popped up - this is your sort of thing, isn't it?

It is, along with a few others.

You can ride on BOATs (By-Way Open to All Traffic) & some UCRs
(Un-Classified Roads), but that's about it these days as far as public
land's concerned. Joining your local branch of the TRF is the best way
to find out where you can ride.

I'm not a big club-joiner.

Maybe not, but if you can stick it for a few weeks, you'll get to ride
trails that you wouldn't otherwise find, & get your maps marked up too.

You can of course ride on MX practice tracks, & there's a few farmers
with enduro tracks on their land you can use for not a lot of money Ł10

That's what we always did, most green lanes were pretty boring anyway

- Ł20 / day).

how tolerant are these places for total hopeless newbies?

Probably best to avoid the MX tracks, certainly at weekends. It's a
completely different discipline to greenlaning anyway so you might not
enjoy it unless you just want to go tearing around in circles.

Enduro tracks/trail parks will be more interesting & more novice
friendly, partly because they've got more space to spread out. For
example there's a 500 acre hill farm in mid Wales ('Tom's Farm') with

I think that's down the road from my mum's house. Rhayader, no?

Your mum lives in Rhayader? Blimey. She'll know Mary at the Lion Royal
& John Leach at the Crown then (I did/do their websites).

Yep Tom's place is just outside St Harmon, a few miles north of
Rhayader.

Yup, St. Harmon is where me mum lives. A few feet from the pub where the
sign says "bikers welcome" or somesuch.

Let me know if she ever wants to sell up...

an enduro track round the outside, several MX tracks in the middle, & a
'go anywhere' policy. It's a fantastic place, & only Ł10 / day. Bit far
for you to make a regular trip though.

Also, I was thinking of buying an XR650R - too much for a newbie,
perhaps?

Good grief yes, far too much, unless you live on Salisbury Plain. You'd

excellent - that's confirmed it as first choice ;-)

On the other hand there's a dealer near me that has a road-legal 2nd
hand CRF450 - that looks like a *lot* of fun, and I'm quite tempted.

Have you checked the component lifes on a CRF? Piston is about 20 hours
IIRC. If you *are* determined to go for maximum oomph, get a KTM 525.
Plenty around & parts are cheap.

I wasn't being entirely serious.

The ad says "2003 model. Used 3 times".

have far more fun on something like SteveH bought - honestly.