Nope 
Trail tips
- Thread starter TheJoker
- Start date
TheJoker
Registered user
Brilliant - although because I'll be having my girlfriend with me and I'll be sans-knobblies, we'll be turning around if it gets too gory.
Thanks!
TheJoker
Registered user
We're on road-biased tyres too (Scorpions and Battlewings) so we're just looking to have a go on something very easy, it'll be the first time CrazyCaz is on gravel with her own bike (we borrowed a GasGas 300 to play with once, but that's as far as it's been).
CrazyCaz
Registered user
Needs to be very nice and simple for me (to start with
) and definitely not too technical! Bit intimidated by the whole combination of riding such a tall bike off road 
Possu
Registered user
Plenty near Lambourn & Eastbury though.
You'll have to watch out for horseriders anywhere near Lambourn though, both on and off tarnac. If come across them & heading your way, park to one side & turn engine off untill well past you. If they're heading in same direction, let the rider know you're there, they'll quite often pull in to the nearest gate or field & wave you on. If I can, I normally coast past with the engine off.
Be wary as some of these gravel trails turn in to rutted trails quite quick....
There's a great gravel track for novices just east of Great Shefford, south of Wantage, take the road to Weston for 1 mile, the Byway's signposted on your right, takes you past the Sewage Works, trail bears left & uphill a bit further on. Not much at the end, return the way you came.
Thanks for that Possu. Very very very kind of you. I'm not at a stage yet where I've got knobblies and tools - I've owned the bike for a month now, but give me a bit of time. My girlfriend is even further away - but she's a quick learner. So right now, I'm looking to get the bike a bit dirty initially, and especially taking my girlfriend out for a taster. She's still very intimidated by the height of the F800GS, and her bike doesn't have a bash plate - yet.
Therefore it looks like I'll have to decline your very kind offer for now, but hope we can take a rain check on it once we've got knobblies and a dedicated toolkit and puncture repair kit.
And obviously, if we (not just me) get the bug then it's highly likely that we'll both join the TRF.
Once again, thanks!
No problem, out this Sunday with a small group. Could go out on Sunday 14th but you'll need knobblies though unless you just want a quick spin on gravel near Lambourn?
Learning to ride offroad on a large bike is doing it the hard way, I'd suggest you enrol at either the BMW Offroad Skills Course or one of Patsy Quick's KTM courses if you want to learn a lot & gain experience in a short time period. You'll learn more and learn it quicker on a smaller bike.
Good advice from Possu there, re, learning on smaller bikes. The Yamaha Off Road School in Llanidloes Wales is very good, http://www.yamaha-offroad-experience.co.uk/, run by Geraint Jones & family, very knowledgable and a good balance of training and riding (mainly in the Hafren Forest) Unfortunately their beginers schools have finished for the year but start in March next year. 
TheJoker
Registered user
I'll have to make a note of this one!
Possibly buy the OS Explorer map too (the collection is growing quite quickly?!)No knobblies yet - I think we'll have to wait for another salary for that to happen. And it's another topic that I need to read up on.
But an outing on the 14th could be very nice - let's see how today will fare first. We're just going out now... Nice that it's been raining all night. I think we'll be turning back on several occasions. Can't wait!
Offroad experience sounds good
I see they let people who have never ridden a bike come along, so assume therefore the terrain is extremely easy.
I think after the last few days rain it is unlikely I will get much done until next year as I really don't want to go knobbly, if I did really fancy proper off-roading I reckon it would be cheaper to get a proper trail bike than devalue the GS by bashing it around, and probably be more fun too than struggling / worrying with the GS.
Looks like plenty of unpaved roads await me in the Alps next year.
I see they let people who have never ridden a bike come along, so assume therefore the terrain is extremely easy.
I think after the last few days rain it is unlikely I will get much done until next year as I really don't want to go knobbly, if I did really fancy proper off-roading I reckon it would be cheaper to get a proper trail bike than devalue the GS by bashing it around, and probably be more fun too than struggling / worrying with the GS.
Looks like plenty of unpaved roads await me in the Alps next year.
Offroad experience sounds good
I see they let people who have never ridden a bike come along, so assume therefore the terrain is extremely easy.
They have all types of terrain, from extremely easy to what the feck did they take me up here for.
It all depends on what they think you can do.
It depends. They need to be BOATS (byways open to all traffic) or have a TRO which alows bikes not cars. However, they may have seasonal or other TRO's (traffic restriction orders) which would not be shown on the map.
It depends. Some UCR's (probably most) are still legal. However they may not be. ORPA's (which may be UCR's) may be legal to ride. New OS maps tend to show UCR's as ORPA's, but the only way to completely sure if they are legal is to check on the relevant Definitive Map.What does the UUCR (Unsurfaced Unclassified Country Roads) or ORPAs (Other Roads with Public Access) look like on the O/S Map? Is it legal to ride them?
Confusing, I know, the whole issue of rights of way has become a vexing and tedious bind since the invidious NERCA.
The TRF is your friend.
Possu
Registered user
Rode this track again today, what was an easy track with the odd slippery bit two weeks ago is now covered in about 3" of fallen leaves which the recent rains are turning in to slippery mulch - ride at your peril on road tyres.
The gravel tracks south of Lambourn seem to drain well & are the best place to practice. There's one section, about 100m long, that's on a slope & is a bit greasy as it's chalk that needs a bit of care but the rest is fine.
Venturing elsewhere in the area on road tyres will only introduce you to the term " cross rutted" and provide plenty of opportunity for bash plate inspections.
TheJoker
Registered user
Thanks guys! Had a great, albeit brief, time. The trail we chose started out well, even on our road tyres. The road got suddenly worse, and luckily I was able to tell CrazyCaz not to follow and then we turned around. Sadly CrazyCaz dropped her bike on the way back and after that we decided to call it a day.
Need knobblies!
Need knobblies!
TheJoker
Registered user
We went out for a bike ride on Saturday and decided to scout out some Byway entrances. Arrived at the "top" of the one I thought would be the best and longest one. Which you can find on Google Maps, even in Streetview.
And we're met by this:
No bikes, no cars.
And we're met by this:
No bikes, no cars.
I'd be checking with your local ROW Officer as to wether that Byway has a seasonal TRO on it and someone has removed the sign 
TheJoker
Registered user
Good point!
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