Laning Introduction; A Serow and a friend!

Well for awhile now, I've been advocating to two friends, Jo & Richard, that laning is the way forward... improves your bike skills and is just bloody good fun...

So today Richard decided to try it out, so out came the trusty Yamaha Serow that lives in their little bike stable and some very shiny kit that didn't look quite so shiny after the ride and practice session... oops, sorry Richard!

As it was such a beautiful & warm day, I asked our local farmer if we could use some of his waste land that he has, we often get to go play on this, it's always muddy and has some easy little banks and woodland to play in... bonus... I thought this would be ideal for Richard to spend a little time on those skills needed before I threw him into the joys of river crossings, mud and ruts...

First session was all about weighting the pegs, leaning into the turn and having the relaxed body position, a few figure 8's then a tight-ish tyre square saw Richard getting the hang of things pretty swiftly, so next up was riding up and down slopes using the clutch in, back brake methods and of course getting stuck into some deep mud puddles!

Once Richard seemed happy, off we set for some of the local lanes to us, the river crossing and the old Jurassic Park were steady away, the water levels low, but for a new rider, intimidating as its a drop into the river bed and steep pull out into the rest of the lane. The local farmer in that area has cut down all the wild growth under the railway bridge which kinda made that lane good fun... hey ho, he also fixed the gates though so they open easily now, bonus! Thankyou...

We managed about an hour of riding before the heat and the physicality of the riding got the better of Richard, so we headed back home for some tea and biscuits...

Another big grin on somebodies face who have just experienced the pleasure of riding on lanes not covered in tarmac!

Happy days, where next??

Motorcycle Explorer Magazine

Lucy is famous now!! She's in a report on the Haggs Bank weekend we did earlier in the summer...

Nice write up and some good pics of the event, with scary one of Mr 'Chuckles', ie Dave Lomax!

Read the mag here

Cumbria TRF Rideout: August 2015

I received an email from Steve Pighills at the Cumbria TRF about 2 weeks ago saying there was a Rideout planned Saturday 8th August, great stuff, I was free but Lucy was working so with a meet up planned just north of Kendal at 9am, the day arrived... Bike sorted and 9 of us turned up to the car park. Great stuff.

There was a very eclectic range of bikes in the group, from the posh 2014 KTM Freeride 350 and the 2015 AJP 200 through to the old Honda steve rode and the DT175 two stroke, on the whole the majority of the bikes were older and had been well used. My good old battered DR attracted some positive comments which was nice to hear.

Dry Lane was our first lane, nice and steady before launching up Breast High Pass with the required struggling and grunting as various people found the lane pretty stiff, the crossing was easy as the water was low, but there were more cobbles on both the uphill and the downhill, which required a lot of concentration and effort!

Mike, a lad from Brampton on an 02 or 03 KTM 250 EXCF, was new to the whole trail riding thing and found both Breast High and the next lane pretty tough, he had a fair ole sweat on by the time we got back to Tarmac!! But was still smiling and ready for the next bit...

We headed over towards Kirkby Stephen in a roundabout loop, taking in loads of little lanes, some with some really good river crossings, (which apparently get very high in winter, that should be good fun to do then)... Most of the lanes were very little used and took us over fells and across moorland, none of it difficult, but given the perfect weather and views it was an ideal day out for a group of people who for the most part had not met before.

Very slippy river crossing

Plenty of chat throughout the day saw history lessons about what the lanes were used for in the past, what the current issues are with access etc and also lots of banter about personal riding skills, which is one of the great things about riding with a few people at a time.

I really enjoyed the day, the company was relaxed and pleasant, the weather and lanes superb and I got to ride a whole bunch of lanes I'd not ridden before. Great stuff...

Fish n chips from the Coast to Coast chippy... fab!

The Eden Valley rock, or the 'coffee bean' as I call it!

Cumbria TRF have just sorted email addresses into a list so that rides can organised and communicated more easily, so I'm hoping to see more of these and hopefully to lead a ride or two in the North Lakes area or across into Northumberland etc. 

Whatever your thoughts on clubs, groups, types of riders etc, there is no doubt that increasing the levels of communication between local riders is a good thing, it's also a key way to getting the knowledge of the lanes passed on and a very important way to both monitor and help to maintain the very good relations that trail riders have with the Lake District National Park currently in Cumbria. If you ride the lanes in any part of the country you are an ambassador for all of us so pass on that love and enthusiasm to all around you, it's aMazing what comes back...

Another Lakes ride coming up next week, then the trip to Wales, ace stuff, can't wait!!!

Adventure Spec - Lyndon Poskitt films

I've been mooching around on You Tube for a few bits of information about a possible trip to either Ladakh or Kyrgyzstan for 2016 and I've come across a few films which caught my attention, so here are the links...

Adventure Spec TV

Races to Places - These are Lyndon Poskitt films about riding around the world and entering into multi day races whilst en route, they are a good insight into the skills needed but also there is some superb footage of the landscape and the story of Lyndon's travels...

Season 1 -  Set up of the KTM 690 for the trip and the intro stuff

Season 2 -  Mongolia

Season 3 -  Mongolia & Siberia

The VINCE and a few thoughts about life on a bike.....

It's only just over a week since Steve and I returned home, having spent a fantastic two weeks riding in the Pyrenees and taking part in The VINCE. Although Steve has already done a great write up already, I thought I would share some of my thoughts and put up some more pics:

The turtle and the Chicken prepare for the ferry journey

When we arrived in Berga, on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees - it was hot - very hot. But it didn't take too long to acclimatise and the next two weeks were spent in either shorts or bike gear and as normal I had packed way too much stuff! The other bonus to it being hot was being outside - pretty much all of the time apart from sleeping in the tent - and even then it was with the fly open to let in some air.

The first few days were spent riding in the sunshine in the foothills and higher passes of the Pyrenees. It was just me and Steve exploring - no pressure - no time limits... the only thoughts being where is the next fuel and water stop. The scenery was stunning, the riding was brilliant and the tiny villages and towns were passed through were lovely. Many a house and ruin was passed with us agreeing afterwards that we could live there!

Taking a break 

Our route took us past some of the amazing aqua blue lakes found around the Berga area. They are truly sensational and look very inviting for a dip! As Dave Lomax from Adventure Spec kept telling us - plan your day around lunch and a swim....

Steve and I also decided before the VINCE started to get up into the mountains so we followed a mountain road towards Pobla. It was was more exciting and beautful than I can have imagined. The road starts on gravel and seems fairly boring as it winds its way up into the hills. However, boring is certainly not a word I would use to describe some of the drop offs into the valley below! The higher you climb, the more stunning the views.

High mountain view point looking down on the forest - not for the faint hearted

Beautiful mountains with great roads and passes

After some atrocious navigation by myself but some lovely steady riding on miles and endless miles of forest tracks we headed to Rock de Luna. Another jaw dropping viewpoint that looks down into another valley below. I just couldn't believe how high you could get in the mountains by bike - we did pass a couple of cars but I guess its something that the locals do as part of their every day lives but looked a bit hairy to me!

Rock de Luna

Other beautiful areas we seemed to stumble across were river beds and areas where the limestone had been carved away by years and years of water erosion.

Steve walking the river bed

River erosion - not possible to pass in high water!

Finally the day came of the VINCE and Steve and I were riding with two friends from home Geoff and Lee. We had a brilliant time. We got lost a lot, we rode through more stunning scenery, we met other friendly riders out on the trail and we picked up a few checkpoints on the way. Our route on both days took us back up into the mountains and we were subjected to more jaw dropping views! 

Amazing backdrop of rugged mountains

Steve and Lee having enjoying the view

I also got to ride Lee's AJP PR5 and like it - a lot. It just seems to suit my personality - if that's the right word - as I am much more a pootler than a racing snake. It was much smoother and gentler than my KTM but also a lot more punch than say a Serrow.

As we rode over more high mountain passes, we passed through flurries of butterflies, meadows of grazing cows with their cows bells tinkling in the background.The natural world and wildlife that we saw was stunning. I wanted to keep stopping to identify a butterfly or flower!

Friendly mountain cows

Dragonfly by the river

One of the many butterflies fluttering around

Trout

The VINCE was a great event that got you out exploring in the mountains by bike and a great way to meet like minded people. I would highly recommend it to anyone as you can ride as little or as much as you like. It is great way to meet fellow travellers and you really do get to some amazing places you may not otherwise visit. 

After the VINCE Steve and headed back up through France and I managed to spend a couple of days relaxing and looking at wildlife. What was great about our journey back through France was that we found some awesome campsites. One in particular was only 12 euros a night for both of us compared to around 40 euros a night on the  Berga resort. I love camping...when it's hot and sunny :-) It was just nice to be outside, to eat outside, to swim in the river and read a book. 

Camping at its best

On our journey back up France, we also had a road ride around the Gorges du Tarn area. Trail biking is not allowed in the forests there and a lot of it is protected, so fair enough. The roads are quiet and you can stiil find some remote areas and peaceful little villages to explore.

Most amazing wood carving

Lunch stop

The whole trip It made me think a lot about life on the road. You can get to some amazing places on a trail bike and I love just the simplicity of life. On a bike your main worries of the day are where is the next fuel and water stop....and if you ride a KTM...what is going to fall off next!! I had total admiration for the guys like Stuart Doigt who rode his trusty dominator from Scotland to Berga and back. I would love to do this, but I think my KTM 250 is the wrong bike for this. Its fairly uncomfortable for a start! 

We took the van and of course when you have more space you fill it. Half way through the trip I stowed two bags of "stuff' that I really didn't need (until the ferry ride home when I really needed my jeans to cover my freezing legs!!). It got me thinking...a lot....I love journeying either on foot or by bike but on a bike you can get so much further. I am now looking for a bike that I can set up properly and live on for a while. It really is the simple life at it's best.