Trail Riding Wales - Highly Recommended

[Barker-CBR 600]

Hi,

Just come back from a 2-day trail riding weekend with

Trail Riding Wales

and i must said it was an absolute blast that was definitly worth the money and then some. I would certainly reccommend it for anyone who is either experianced and looking for a good place to go and test their skills to someone who has done very little or none before and want to give it a try.

Its a small club run experience weekend that ranges from bring your own kit to full bike/kit supply, very very friendly and helpful guides (I say guides rather than 'instructors' as thats what they do, guide and help you out rather than tell you exactly how they want you to ride) and an absolutly gorgeous scenic area of Wales to do it.

We spent the first day about 30 mins from Aberystwyth, meeting at a visitor centre where we all park up and meet the others in the group (we had 7 on our first day, 3 experienced club riders who were 'in charge' and then varying skills from never tried to pretty good). Get kitted up and talk and choose bikes depending on what you want and the advice they give then your on the way! Weather was perfect for it, blue skies all the way and we were offered chance for either jackets or armour/jerseys (which were much nicer for the warm weather!).

The trails range from gravel roads to dry streams, apparantly impassable drops and ascents, rutty paths, huge mud pits and puddles to anything you can imagine. Most of the time there are several routes of varying difficulty so people who stuggled could leave out the difficult sections. Although having 3 people covered in crap as they drag you out the 3 foot of slush is half the fun! Get about 50-60 miles done in a day with a break at a cafe thats filled with bikers of all kinds where you get a much needed half hour to relax before your out on the bikes again!

Second day was spent near Cadre Idris (sp?) with just myself, my dad and the guide Colin, absolutly top bloke and allowed us to go at our own pace and was patient when we were struggling but also helped out and urged us on to do a few things we probably wouldnt have otherwise! Again absolutly beautiful scenary and a smaller group meant we got most of our photos on the second day. Riding along mountain ridges, cliffs to one side mountain to the other at pretty high speeds on the grass paths its an absolute blast! Weather on this day was a bit more varied, cold spells and some wet but when your pounding along or trying to get yourself over those rocks you barely notice!

Armour and clothing is provided although we used a mix of our own and theirs for comfort/protection, everyone gets knocked about a little bit which is all part of the fun! I managed to get intimate with a stone wall at about 30 on a downhill, luckyily i didnt go over it or i would have been falling for some time before i hit the valley below!

Anyways, for anyone who is interested or has never thought much about it before i would throughly recommend giving it a try its alot of fun, a great workout and generally one of the most enjoyable things you can do on two wheels!

Put a few of our photos up below, obviously we couldnt stop at the most challenging or interesting/difficult bits to take photos so most dont really show the difficultly/variety in the trails but you get some idea of the terrain and can imagine it yourselves!

For anyone interested have a look at the link, tell them Chris and Chris recommended them (they'll know who ya mean!) cause we're bound to go back again one day and see them all again

(The lady who runs the business and rides with you is
marianne@trailrides-wales.com)
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Previous - Gilera DNA50 / XVS125 Dragstar/Honda CBR 600F/GSF 650 Bandit
Current - 2013 Suzuki VZ800 Intruder
'Is this a rhetorical question?'

[djr]

That looks like a lot of fun... another thing to add to the " to do when i get a job" list.

[pwntifex]

Definitely gonna do this.
I've never been to wales before, but I'm going to have to. It just looks beautiful.
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the warped one: This is a follow up from the thread 'my willy hurts'

[Dischord]

lisence required? hire bikes?

looks bloody good though!!
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2012 KTM EXC 250

Check out my vids - https://www.youtube.com/user/KTMSparky/videos

[djr]

[Barker-CBR 600]

Yeah techincally (and this is a big ol' technicality) ALL the trails are roads, that includes the dried up streams, the mud filled ruts and everything!

So for the real experience a license is needed, but yeah as was said there are private land area's where non-license events are held. Best to check etc.

As for hiring, yup bikes off-road kit as much or as little as you need.

We had great time with what we had, decent solid bikes that ranged from beginner to a bit more pokey depending on what we wanted. Damage isnt an issue they expect them to be dropped or knocked about a bit... i imagine anything stupid stupid would be an issue but they were top folk and i dont think you need worry.
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Previous - Gilera DNA50 / XVS125 Dragstar/Honda CBR 600F/GSF 650 Bandit
Current - 2013 Suzuki VZ800 Intruder
'Is this a rhetorical question?'

[dazco]

I was down in Wales myself the other week near Rhyadar(probably spelt wrong )
Fantastic trails even for big offroaders
https://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u31/andreacoates/BikestopendoffirstRes.jpg
https://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u31/andreacoates/Onthetrail.jpg
hopefully these pics will show, if not ill try again later.

[Jayd]

I like the idea of this, what selection of bikes do they have, and do they cover your insurance or do you have to arrange your own?

[instigator]

If anyone wants to organise a BCF outing for that, you could put my name down for sure.

[gs5pete]

looks fun. I'd a definite "maybe"
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past bikes: KX125, CG125 (first road bike, used to pass test on), GS500 (first proper bike).

[KTM Gordo]

Big trailies...? Hmm... Now there's an idea.

https://images.fotopic.net/ynxjl2_fe01d67a002dfa0f3ac084298142eccd.jpg

Although small ones would probably work too
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Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine.

KTM 990 Adventure | KTM EXC 250 Racing | Land Rover Freelander SE Td4

[dazco]

There were a couple of KTM 955's and a couple of 640's and they coped no problem as did my 1100GS.
Be best to fit some Knobblies aswell, especially if theres been some rain
Get yourself an Ordnance survey map and start looking for those trails

[KatieMsidecar]

Hi folks - it's Marianne here, of Trail Rides Wales, to answer a few of your questions.

Bikes available: 2 x Suzuki DRZ 400 E, 1 x DRZ S (will soon be 3 Es but one off the road for repairs at present), 1 x Yamaha TTR250 (will soon be 2 as just bought a new one and need to register it), 1 x Yam TTR600, 1 x Serow (great for shorter people and used on private land to teach beginners), 1 x Lanza DT230 (but a bit past its best, so not used regularly) and for experienced riders Colin will occasionally let his Husqvarna WR250 2 stroke enduro bike be used.

All protective clothing supplied. For more info see www.trailrides-wales.com

We also do guided trail riding for people with their own bikes, including big trailies. With our club, the Diamonds MCC, we held a Long Distance Trial last August only open to riders of bikes over 600cc, and I must speak to Andy Cadney of the Big Bike Challenge about doing it again this year.

I am the Rights of Way Officer for the Mid Wales TRF group, and am gradually visiting the council offices in the area we ride. I have been to Gwynedd Council a few times, and found some UCRs not on the OS maps which we need to find time to go and explore. I will be visiting Ceredigion next week, and Powys next month.

Some of the UCRs are very easy - and some of the minor tarmac lanes are very interesting - so I am putting together a route suitable for big trailie riders on road tyres.

If you don't want to pay Colin or I to guide you (fair enough - it's always surprised me that people are willing to pay for a guide when they could get the information off a map!), then I will mark maps for free as a courtesy. I will design a route and mark a map with detailed notes to help you find your way for £25, plus the cost of the OS map if you wish me to buy it for you. You tell me how far you want the route and what your fuel range is.

By the end of the summer, we should also have an enduro sidecar. I used to have KTM 620 enduro outfit (hence the user name!) but crashed during an event in 2005 and broke my leg badly. I sold the outfit to my passenger, who is now the driver with his 16 year old son passengering. However, I still own an old KX500 outfit which needs an engine rebuild, a new exhaust fabricating (standard exhausts don't fit sidecars) and new shocks all round.

I will be doing Weston Beach Race with my daughter in aid of Breast Cancer Research and Children In Need. The first time an all-female sidecar team has raced, I think. The pic is Nathan and I during the 2003 Weston.

[Jayd]

Hi,

Would I have to arrange my own insurance if I used your bike(s), or do you provide the cover?

[KTM Gordo]

[Barker-CBR 600]

Jayd,

I used their bikes and all the insurance etc is taken care of for you, just bring along your license.

And from what we talked about (marianne can explain better!) theres no charging for damage to bikes etc... as long as its reasonably unavoidable stuff.

I'm sure a dim view is taken on acting like a prat on someone elses bike, but i dropped mine a few times through normal use an no one complained!! (except me out of embarassment!)
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Previous - Gilera DNA50 / XVS125 Dragstar/Honda CBR 600F/GSF 650 Bandit
Current - 2013 Suzuki VZ800 Intruder
'Is this a rhetorical question?'

[Jayd]

Thanks Barker. What if you have a restricted license though? Just get given a smaller/restricted bike?

[KatieMsidecar]

Sorry about the double post above.

Trail riding is fine on lower power bikes as most of the time the trails are too technical for much speed. Indeed some of the tricky stuff is quite difficult on the DRZ400, as you have to be quite delicate on the throttle otherwise the rear wheel spins and dumps you!

As said, as long as a rider is trying to master the techniques, we don't have a problem with minor damage to the bike. We do get annoyed by prats who think they know it all, as invariably they insist on a DRZ and can do a lot of damage. All 3 of our DRZs have been flipped. That costs us £572 (ali rear sub-frame costing £400, rear mudguard £60 and numberplate £12). Obviously a loss for us, as the rider has only paid £170.

But most people are not prats. Just as well - else we wouldn't still be in business!

Marianne

[Barker-CBR 600]

Now theres someone i recognise
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Previous - Gilera DNA50 / XVS125 Dragstar/Honda CBR 600F/GSF 650 Bandit
Current - 2013 Suzuki VZ800 Intruder
'Is this a rhetorical question?'

[Finglonga]

[Jack_Cheese]

[garth]

[Jamie S]

[garth]

I'm guessing by the lack of vowels that's in Wales.

Nopes.
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You ain't a has been if you never was

[KatieMsidecar]

y and w are vowels in Welsh!
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www. trailrides-wales.com
www.midwalestrf.org.uk
www.endurosidecars.org.uk