Cheap Off-roading Day! £25

[Moo.]

2 hours off-road training with the 5 big companies for £25

Seems a decent shout, me and a few friends have signed up for sunday.

Best sign up quick as theres only 400 spaces!


https://www.rideoffroad.co.uk/index.php
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A2 Passed 18/6/10

[Moo.]

Apparently most of its booked up already.. registration has only been up 20 minutes.. Sunday and saturday are full already..
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A2 Passed 18/6/10

[Ripp3rCrust]

Looks interesting, thanks for the heads up. Booked onto the Friday afternoon session
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Current: '05 CBR600F - Previous: '01 GSF600S Bandit, '06 XR125

[JP7]

I took part in this last year, it was absolutely brilliant. I was surprised how intensive it was, I was expecting them to put me on the bike and let me ride round in circles on a little dirt track (bearing in mind I'd never ridden off-road before). That was just the start, within 20 minutes we were on the full course. Action-packed, I couldn't recommend it enough!

[suburban myth]

Only Friday and Monday left. Can't do either because of lack of car and work. Gutted.

[daverave999]

I did this last year too, and me and the lady made a weekend of it. Agree with JP7 totally; if you're on here it's a no-brainer that you'll love it.
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2007 Versys 650 2001 Yamaha XJ600S Diversion
HT: Imagine a bike......A bike designed by way of crude polls, assembled by cretins using the finest hammers that Lidl had on offer.

[-Matt-]

Very tempted but a bit too far for me

[weasley]

I am also a last year veteran, from the Suzuki group on the Friday. Great day out, long enough to get a feel for it without getting totally exhausted. In fact, here's a write-up I did for it on another forum...

Motorcycle Offroad Experience

On Friday I went to Brigstock in Northamptonshire to attend the second annual MCIA event designed to encourage people to try and hopefully take up offroad motorcycling. I signed up for this the day it opened and got a place on Friday afternoon.

I have done a motocross experience day before and absolutely loved it.  I also bought an enduro bike a couple of years ago with the intention of doing some green-laning but sadly this bike has sat broken for over a year after the engine seized and circumstances conspired against me in terms of time to fix it.

On the day the forecast had threatened rain (which was no bad thing) but it turned out to be warm and mostly sunny.  On arrival people were allocated to a manufacturer based on filling a group size, so it was pretty much pot luck as to what bike you got.  I arrived as they were starting to make a Kawasaki group but as I was about to go and join them one of the Suzuki group decided they were too small for the bike, so they were transferred to the Kawasaki group, meaning I was the last to join the Suzuki group.

I was directed to an awning attached to a support truck and handed a load of kit – helmet, gloves, goggles, boots, shinpads, trousers, body armour and an over-shirt.  No modesty here – just strip and dress and suck that gut in.  In the corner of the awning stood a refreshments table with an urn of tea, some cakes and biscuits and, food of the biker, cream teas!

Once dressed we were introduced to the bike.  We were going to be riding Suzuki RM-Z 250s (there were also a couple of 400s) and they wanted to show us how to start them, and for us to show them we could start them.  These are proper motocross bikes, with no side-stand and only a kick-start so require ‘the knack’.  Some of the group had never ridden an off-road bike before and a couple had never ridden a geared bike before – kudos to them!  Anyway we all had a go and I managed to kick it to life on the first prod.  Must be a natural.  Or, more truthfully, I have spent many a futile hour swearing at my KDX 125 trying to kick the bastard to life.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7347/9056616148_9b7873d0a4.jpg

Anyway, after that it’s off for a rider briefing (be careful, have fun and make sure to take up the sport afterwards).  They explained that we would stay with the group we were allocated but if, at the end of the session, there was some spare time you could ask to try one of the other bikes.  Then we went off and found our steeds.

Firstly we rode around a small circuit on the side of a grassy hill to demonstrate that we could start, stop and corner without falling off.  On only my second lap I very nearly binned it as I realised that the throttle was VERY sensitive and a tiny movement I made accidentally as I reached for the front brake sent me off into the long grass and almost onto my arse.  Stability and dignity recovered I carried on with no more incidents.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7380/9056617388_0e10f43bdc.jpg

Now it was time to tackle the off-road ‘trail’ they had made.  It was a track around a wooded area with various jumps carved into it as well as some steep up and down-slopes and plenty of nadgery corners.  It was all dry and dusty and the surface was a mix of polished mud and loose gravel.  Once I had acclimatised to the bike moving about underneath me, with both the front and back wheels sliding, I started to up the pace and overtake some people.  A lap took around 2 minutes and we were supposed to get 3 laps.  As a consequence of getting a move on I got 5 laps in before being directed back to the ‘pits’.

Time for a short break to refuel and rehydrate, as well as calm down a bit, and then back out for another 3 laps.  One of our group opted for a go on the 400 and I considered it, but decided that rather than just have a go on different bikes, I wanted to ride the bike I had well, so I stayed on the 250.  I went out behind the instructor and the guy on the 400 and started to get gapped but once I’d found my mojo I caught them again.  As we crested one jump I was still in the air as the 400 in front of me landed and crashed.  With no wheels on the ground there wasn’t a lot I could do but wait to land and then avoid him – luck and physics were with me as the rider fell left and I dodged right, coming to a stop on the side of the course.  The bloke signalled he was OK so I set off again.  I chased down the instructor again and we did a total of 5 laps again before calling it a day.  On arrival back at the pits he told us we were by far the fastest group out there and we’d got quite a move on.  At this point I realised I had also been lucky with my group allocation, because many of the other bikes there were enduro bikes whereas we were on full-on motocrossers.  The manufacturers present were Suzuki, Honda, KTM, Yamaha and Kawasaki and whilst I would probably have chosen another group if I had been asked, I am glad I ended up where I did.

By now the session was basically out of time, so it was another undignified (and much sweatier) strip and dress in the awning, some time to calm down and re-energise before getting in the car for the drive home.

It was an awesome experience for only £15 and it has had the desired effect on my – my eBay search history is now mostly full of offroad bikes, and I have even found a track very close to me that does open sessions and runs competitions.  Must fix that KDX!

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3703/9054385937_7429f0e2e0.jpg
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Yamaha XJ600 | Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat | KTM 990 SMT | BMW F900XR TE

[JP7]

Great review Weasley, oddly enough I was in the Suzuki group on the Friday morning session. I agree with you, I think the Suzukis were probably the best bike to try as they were race spec bikes. Although I did find myself craving the KTM just for the electric start. Could I get the knack of the kick start on the RM-Z250? Could I hell...

[G]

Looks like very decent value for money .

There's not a massive amount in it between say a KTM 450 SX (motocross) and 450 EXC (enduro).

However, if it was more a trail bike like a CRF250M vs a CRF250F, there's a massive difference.

[Nope.]

Only session available is the "Ladies only session". How fucking sexist is that!
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Former: Derbi GP1 50, Sachs XTC 125, Suzuki GSXR 400 GK73A, Kawasaki ZX7R, Suzuki DR250, Yamaha RD350
Current: 2011 Yamaha XT660Z Ténéré, 2003 Yamaha YZR-R1 5PW (In Build), 2009 Kawasaki ZZR1400

[-Matt-]

There was a few afternoon ones on the monday still available this morning when I checked, must of gone quick

[Jay89]

I'm booked in for the Saturday afternoon session. Can't wait, tried last year but missed out.
Been debating off road riding for ages now and will be brilliant to have a taster!

[Ripp3rCrust]

Cheers for the write-up Weasley, very informative! Is it a matter of once being allocated to a bike, you stick with it all day or is there opportunity to try others?

I will be heading down on the bike, does anybody know if there will be facilities available to store gear?
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Current: '05 CBR600F - Previous: '01 GSF600S Bandit, '06 XR125

[daverave999]

[JP7]

[Ripp3rCrust]

I will see if I can drop my gear off with some of the staff then, thanks for the info. It will be interesting getting used to off-roading. Did you find it a massive leap from road riding or was it relatively easy to get used to?

Looking forward to this, is anybody heading down for the Friday afternoon session?
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Current: '05 CBR600F - Previous: '01 GSF600S Bandit, '06 XR125

[JP7]

Experience in road riding assists with balance, and operating the controls. That's about it. I've been riding for a fair few years, but I was stalling the bike, finding the wrong gear, all sorts. It was like being 17 on a CBT all over again! It's very different, and in actual fact I took far more back to my road riding from the off-road experience, than the other way around.

For example, an off-road course makes the bike squirm and skid about a lot, and you learn how to keep it stable and keep on going. If the back of my road bike ever started to slide on a bit of gravel I would panic, but I now have a lot more confidence in the bike's ability (and mine) to recover and keep going.

You'll get a lot from it.

[-Monty-]

Damn, wish I saw this earlier.

Woman's only Friday does seem a little sexist but getting more woman into biking can't be a bad thing. Necessary evils and all that.
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Present: [Kawasaki ZX7r][Suzuki DRZ 400s]
Past: [Honda PCX 125] [Yamaha RXS 100] [Honda CB 500] [Triumph Speed Four] [Honda ST1100 Pan European - Po-Po Edition]

[Shinigami]

wish i'd seen this too, never done off road riding, looks a decent event for £25
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Current: Honda City Fly CLR125 2003 Honda CB600F Hornet 2008 Yamaha FZ6 S2 + 1991 Kawasaki GPZ500
"Once you realize what a joke everything is, being the Comedian is the only thing that makes sense.

[Cyclingbiker]

Looks very good value to me as well. I've always fancied trying off-roading but never bothered. I missed the initial sign up but I am now on the waiting list so here's hoping...
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Honda CB500s (1999) - Honda CG 125 BR-J (1991)

Mod 1 - Passed - 12/11/12 --- Mod 2 - Passed - 26/11/12

[Moo.]

Its on every year
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A2 Passed 18/6/10

[fozzym]

I thought I'd missed out but they just phoned me to say a place has come up so I'm booked in!

[suburban myth]

There's a chance people will cancel so I've stuck meself on the waiting list. See what happens.

[Cyclingbiker]

I got a call this morning to say a place had opened up for me, the chap on the other end rolled off a list of available times and I picked the Saturday 21st June afternoon slot as it is the most convenient time for me being over 2 hours away by road.

Fucking result, all booked up and can't wait. All safety gear is provided so no need to risk damaging my textiles or helmet in any off-road escapades

Dis gonna be gud.....
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Honda CB500s (1999) - Honda CG 125 BR-J (1991)

Mod 1 - Passed - 12/11/12 --- Mod 2 - Passed - 26/11/12