Autumn 2020 TRF Trail Magazine

The Members’ Magazine of the Trail Riders Fellowship Autumn 2020

British Library Reference: 007244108

Need a skills refresher course? Desert Rose Racing can help

Sur-Ron Light Bee Is this little electric moped a serious proposition?

A Family Affair

AJP SPR 250 First impressions of this 2021 Portugese Protagonist

A good time doesn’t have to be all about blokes and bikes

Directors’ Reports: Possible changes at Board level Events: Somerset Ride Day and Hafren Hunt Lockdown Specials: A Dominator Scrambler Raffle: Last chance to win a Fantic Casa Key Workers: Being a volunteer courier

Hands. Face. Space. www.trf.org.uk/COVID

EDITORIAL

W

ithout being too morbid, I hope we’ve all managed to dodge the dreaded Covid-19 which looks like remaining a fact of life for the foreseeable future. I suspect that, like me, getting out on the trails is one of the few routes to sanity for many members. Here in the South East a few groups have made the trip to ride in Wales and coincidentally there’s something of a Welsh theme in this issue, there’s an account of the Hafren Hunt, the Covid courier with the Royal Volunteer Service in Wales in ‘Drugs, Alcohol and Coleslaw’ plus ‘Forest Retreat’ back at the Bunkhouse.

Some events have gone ahead under very prescriptive conditions see Lockdown Ride Day, Oh and there’s a couple of bike reviews.

In the Summer issue I mentioned my Michelin Medium high-mileage report for this issue but it wasn’t to be so next time.

Now on to clothing. It was during the heatwave and I had to get out of the house, a serious attack of cabin fever.

But what to wear? Comfortable, Another fine mesh… practical clothing is a must for me riding on or off road. If there’s something not quite right it’s going to start bugging me after an hour, after three it’ll be driving me nuts. I started with the Knox Urbane Pro armoured shirt we’ve featured previously. It’s mesh construction is high-airflow cool and comfortable, the shoulder and elbow protectors are always in the right place and are not at all intrusive (any chance you could do matching pants?). Fine on the road but for any distance off-road you need more pockets. With the ambient

temperature in the mid-30s Centigrade any form of conventional jacket seemed pointless.

Time to look in my extensive motorcycling wardrobe the contents of which have been collected over decades of acquiring corporate clobber in the interests of professional consumer research.

The choice soon became obvious, the Acerbis Ottano MOLLE vest complete with ‘dead man’s handle’ between the shoulder blades. This is what you get when you commission a top Italian frock designer to turn his attentions to motorcycle wear.

Anyway, its mesh construction with attached pockets was perfect for the job: tools, a bottle of water (another one in the full-width back pocket of the Knox shirt) energy bars, mobile and bank card all safely stowed.

On the tarmac lanes the combination provided an exceptional through draft at 30-50mph. Going slower and working harder on the green lanes in those conditions did produce some body leakage but not for long.

As soon as you left a byway, the increased air flow reduced and stabilised the body temperature in time for the next byway’s exertions. Obviously neither of these garments provides any water proofing but you could pack a lightweight rain jacket.

The overall impression might be a tad ‘butch’ but look on the bright side, you could use this apparel to get an evening security job at your local nightclub – when they reopen.

Hope you enjoy this issue.

Happy Trails.

Rick Kemp rick@trf.org.uk

Trail is published quarterly and is designed and produced by Rick Kemp Media Services, for the Trail Riders Fellowship.

The TRF is registered in England & Wales No.05884933Registered Office, 218 The Strand, London WC2R 1AT. British Library Reference:007244108 All advertising enquiries should be sent to charlie@trf.org.uk The views expressed by individual members in Trail are not necessarily those of the Trail Riders Fellowship.

Trail Autumn 2020 01

CONTENTS British Library Ref No: 007244108 Contacts: Trail Magazine Editor: Rick Kemp Editor@trf.org.uk TRF Membership Team: Membership@TRF.org.uk T: 07958 316295 TRF Membership: Allen House Wetmore Road Burton upon Trent DE14 1TR Submit a Rights of Road notice: ROR@TRF.org.uk Submit an event: calendar@TRF.org.uk Published by: The TRF Board of Directors Directors@trf.org.uk TRF contacts can be found at: https://trail.trf.org.uk/contact-the-trf/

04 DIRECTORS’ REPORTS TRF Chair, Mario Costa-Sa, explains leadership changes within the Fellowship and the CoMOrg riding guidance

06

THE COMBER COLUMN

In the first of a new series, Sean Comber, Emeritus Chair of Devon TRF and current Professor of Environmental Chemistry at the University of Plymouth, explains why he loves his corner of the country

08 TRF RAffle Another chance to win either a 125 or 250 Fantic Casa and all in a good cause

12 NEW TRICKS Old Dog Blez makes his way to Sussex and the Desert Rose Racing Acacdemy to verify the idiom

22 02 Trail Autumn 2020

06

AUTUMN 2020 / Issue #13

22 aoverquicka...leg

FOREST 42 ARETREAT

there 60 let bee light

Rick Kemp has a brief encounter with the 2021 fuel-injected AJP SPR 250

Steve Coward spends an enjoyable weekend at the Hafren Forest Bunk House

Blez buzzes around the Wiltshire lanes on the featherweight electric Sur-Ron Light Bee

32 the searchers

48 LOCKDOWN RIDE DAY

66 DOMINATOR SCRAMBLER

Marianne Walford of Trail Rides Wales reports on this year’s reduced entry Hafren Hunt

Somerset TRF Chair Martin Keswick tells the story of the latest Somerset TRF ‘Ride Day’

Al Ranger, MD of Enduro Tyres, decided to use his time in lockdown wisely.

38

56

72

DRUGS, ALCOHOL AND COLESLAW

Ceri Charlton recalls being a volunteer courier in the time of COVID

a FAMILY affair

Dominic Flitchett discovers if trail riding really does “bring economic benefit to rural areas”

friends of the trf

Companies offering exclusive discounts to members

Trail Autumn 2020 03

Directors’REPORTS

TRF Chair, Mario Costa-Sa, mario@trf.org.uk, explains leadership changes within the Fellowship and the CoMOrg riding guidance

I

n January this year, I expressed a concern to the Board that it was not healthy for the TRF to become overly dependent on any one individual.

I declared my intention to step back, but not necessarily down from the Chair’s current activities, to allow others to progress the TRF in some of the areas I have covered.

In addition, there are areas that require further work and attention.

Until recently, four key roles have been covered by the Chair: Leadership, strategy and direction Management of Board meetings Daily contact with individual Directors and help with their areas Acquiring talent – new members to the Board On occasion, we could add representing the TRF at the highest levels, such as the House of Lords enquiry.

From the TRF’s involvement with other Chairs of motorcycle organisations through Comorg, we have seen how other volunteer-run clubs structure themselves and share the management responsibility in a more equitable manner.

A discussion paper was presented to the Board in June and circulated to TRF Group Officers in August. Restructured roles are being discussed within the Board. The outcome of the Board’s deliberations is expected to be concluded over the next month or so.

Meanwhile please feel free to get in touch if you are looking to become a TRF Board Director and participate in the exciting plans we have for the next few years as we continue to move forward.

CoMMorg riding guidance trf.org.uk/covid The Coalition of Motorcycling Organisations, or CoMOrg, has issued a revised version of its COVID-19 Riding Guidelines. This third iteration, based on the latest changes to Government guidelines, includes advice on group riding and first responder incident management. The Coalition is delighted that the guidance has now received an official seal of approval from Nick Adderley, the National

04 Trail Summer 2020

Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) lead for motorcycling.

The new guidelines remind riders to plan carefully and to check Government websites, including those for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and any local lockdowns.

They remind everyone not to ride if they are suffering symptoms of COVID-19 or have been in contact in the last 14 days with someone who has had symptoms or tested positive. Other points of emphasis include: checking COVID-19 security arrangements at indoor venues (but ideally not to meet indoors); keeping riding groups to no more than six; and observing distancing, hand hygiene and mask requirements at all times.

Commenting on the guidelines and the work of the Coalition members, Nick Adderley said: “I have been asked to review this guidance on behalf of the Coalition of Motorcycle Organisations in my capacity as NPCC lead for police motorcycling and motorcycle related crime. Policing the pandemic has been a challenging and often confusing time for all including motorcyclists. We are keen to ensure the public can enjoy social activities and meet up within the parameters of the guidance set by the Government.

I am reassured by the work that has gone into the production of these motorcycle specific guidelines. I would particularly like to commend the lead authors, Roger Bibbings of the VMCC and Richard Gladman of IAM RoadSmart, for their tireless work on this project. I would encourage all riders, whether they are riding alone or in groups, to consult the guidance and to follow the rules at rest stops and whilst visiting public places. Please act and ride responsibly.”

The revised guidelines can be found online at www.trf.org.uk/covid The member groups of the Coalition of Motorcycling Organisations encourage their members and all other riders to read the guidelines and apply the advice to their own efforts to fight the spread of the virus.

Pic: J Bentman

Start of Group Runs & COVID-19 updates When TRF members go out on a ride they have an expectation that they and the rest of their group will come back safely.

Most in the TRF would agree that we contribute a tremendous amount towards a safety culture and secure environment in which to ride. To push ourselves further we will be working on our policies and procedures in the following areas: Definition of a TRF event TRF event approvals Event risk assessment Insurance scope and requirements Ride leaders’ checklist Cambs TRF Chair, Ian Willetts, is a NEBOSH (National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health) qualified safety professional who has undertaken the complex task of issuing the first TRF Risk Assessment Manual.

Following a review by the TRF Board, it is now available for your comments via your local Group officer.

Road-book Enduro Tours in France DATES FOR 2020 23/24/25 Sept 21/22/23 Oct 4/5/6 Nov 18/19/20 Nov

Pyrenees Massif du Morvan Dordogne Normandie

For up-to-date information about tours and availability call or e-mail the numbers below.

All trips are priced at £560 (payable to ABTA bonded and ATOL protected UK travel agency S&N Pickford).

Price includes 3 days riding, 2 nights half-board accommodation, loan of road book and road book reader, support vehicle and driver, an opener and sweeper and a classy T-shirt. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like any further information.

Trail Summer 2020 05

Chris Evans, Sport Adventure Tel: 0033 662 487190 chris.evans@sport-adventure.com www.sport-adventure.com

THEComberCOLUMN

In the first of a new series, Sean Comber, Emeritus Chair of Devon TRF and current Professor of Environmental Chemistry at the University of Plymouth, explains why he loves his corner of the country

“I

’m a born again dirt bike rider. An erstwhile schoolboy scrambler, based in North Devon in the late 1970s and early 80s and riding twin-shock, air-cooled and drum-braked Suzuki TM/RMs, a 25-year hiatus followed before the spark was re-ignited during a stag do arranged at Wheeldon Farm, near Totnes, where I realised that the owner Andrew Savory and I used to race in the same group – small world.

I went home and bought a Honda XL125, passed my test in a month or so, bought a Yamaha Serow and joined Loddon Vale TRF, which rapidly identified my super power (aka gullibility) and I was rapidly promoted from Secretary to Chair.

Since moving back to Devon in 2012, I’ve been active member of Devon TRF as Secretary and Chair over the past 8 years,

before taking a bit of a break to write for the newsletter over the past year. The Serow and the Suzuki DR350, which joined it in the garage, have now gone, replaced by the current stable of Honda CRM250 (best two-stroke trail bike ever), Yamaha TTR big bore 325 (best four-stroke trail bike ever), 1980 Honda XR200 (best bike ever) and Honda Transalp 700 (still too terrified to take it off-tarmac beyond gravel farm tracks).

When not on one of these bikes, leading out newbies, friends and TRF members all over Devon, Somerset and Dorset, I am a Professor of Environmental Chemistry at the University of Plymouth.

Rick kindly asked if I’d provide a regular column. Given that I tick the ‘vaguely literate’ and ‘live in a stunning trail-riding county’ boxes, then I hope I can entertain you.

LODDON VALE TRF RAPIDLY DISCOVERED MY SUPER POWER (AKA GULLIBILITY) AND I WAS RAPIDLY PROMOTED FROM SECRETARY TO CHAIR

06 Trail Autumn 2020

I’ll kick off with a whistle-stop tour of my beloved county. It’s a big county (2,600 sq. miles), so I’m going coast to coast, in two parts, providing a flavour of what you might find if you’ve never been here before or perhaps a bit of nostalgia for those itching to return. Just leave your Covid at home…

I cadged an early morning lift to Plymouth in the van, unloaded the Yamaha TTR325 into the cool early morning air and rode down to the Barbican to photograph the bike on the Mayflower steps. Four hundred years ago ‘the Pilgrims’ set sail for America to escape a small-minded bullying leadership. So how did that work out for you? Sadly, the extensive celebrations planned in Plymouth to mark the anniversary have been shelved for the time being.

I set off through a mostly asleep, furloughing Plymouth along the A379 to Ashcombe Hill green road, a lovely rocky climb up the ancient sunken lane. I knew it must still be early as a tawny owl flew out in front of me, landed in the tree and watched me ride by; it didn’t give two hoots… Like many of the lanes in Devon, it eventually opens out on the top of the hill with grassy ruts, offset by far ranging views across river valleys. Tracking east I paused frequently to photograph the sun, slowly burning off the mist rising out of the valleys of the Yealm and Erme, and illuminating the golden corn, not far from being harvested. A favourite lane of mine is ‘Runaway Lane’ at Modbury, where 23 years after the Pilgrims left Plymouth, Royalist troops legged it down this beautiful hollow path pursued by Roundheads. Modbury itself is very pretty, with narrow streets and thatched houses that you might find featured in Escape to the Country episodes; it sums up everything that is quintessentially Devon.

Picking off similar stony climbs bordered by verdant Hart’s Tongue fern and bracken, bathing in the sun of the now clear sky which pierced the tree canopy and provided an attractive dappled light, I meandered down the Avon valley and into Kingsbridge for a splash of fuel and to purchase some chocolate-based sustenance. The lanes into and out of Kingsbridge are long and slate-

based, with stunning views down into the drowned river valley. Popping out of Tunnel Lane, with its stunted hawthorns and stunted oaks forming a natural arch, into the blinding light reminded me I was overdressed. I was pleasantly bumbling along as a mechanised rambler when I was almost overtaken by two Lycra-clad cyclists, but managed to shake them off up the hill to a couple of Chillington lanes before the fabulous climb towards Stokenham. A sunken hollow way is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. I was now at the coast at Torcross. From here to Dartmouth there is nothing but stunning, glassy cobalt-blue sea and golden beaches, backed by stately and aromatic cedars providing a truly Mediterranean vibe. Everything that is good about Devon is encapsulated in the UCR above Blackpool Sands. To tear yourself away from that view takes real commitment.

Dartmouth is bustling as lockdown continues to ease and I relaxed on the ferry to Kingswear, enjoying the views down past the castle to the sparkling open sea. Heading along the north side of the River Dart, past Stoke Gabriel, I ride another classic narrow stony two-mile lane from Aish, past Fleet Mill on a creek of the estuary and up to the edge of hippy central – Totnes. Passing a few hummous-munching locals up Bourton Lane, I reached the start of a short but sweet series of very narrow, overgrown lanes. The Scalextric-style slot of a rut brought me past the Wilboroughs, Coffinswell and Rocombe lanes, the latter indelibly etched in my memory as the home of the Patchquick scrambles trophy in the 1970s. The straightforward Teign valley lanes around Stokeinteignhead provided far reaching views towards Dartmoor and an ice-cream overlooking Labrador Bay at Maidencombe bolstered my energy levels.

Crossing the Teign at Shaldon, always a pleasing view, brought me home to Mid Devon via Long Lane at the back of Dawlish, Starcross and the green lanes from Exeter, one hundred miles and 7 hours later – it is easy to lose yourself in Devon. Ride these lanes and, as Russell Crowe said in Gladiator, ‘Are you not entertained?’

”

Trail Autumn 2020 07

T R F RAFFLE

There is still time to buy tickets to win a brand new Fantic 125 or 250 Casa. Go to www.trf.org.uk/raffle to buy your ticket securely

W

ith the postponement of the AGM at the ABR Festival, we will be making new arrangements for the draw of the TRF Raffle. The plan is to have the draw at a later TRF event this Summer and in the event that this is not possible it will be held virtually, for example by videoconference.

Thank you for your understanding at this challenging time. Tickets remain on sale at www.trf.org.uk/raffle which is the best way to buy your ticket securely Each electronic purchase will have a ticket printed to ensure full traceability of the winner to the purchaser. Also there are no multiple ticket stubs that need filling out or worries about handwriting being illegible. We do get around 5% of entries completed in the old print-and-post way that have errors for instance: Sending the ticket and not the stub, Sending both the ticket and its stub, and

08 Trail Autumn 2020

forgetting to include the payment. All of these are avoided by buying online. Finally, it is currently not easy for TRF volunteers to go to the bank with cheques. All of this can be avoided by entering electronically.

If you are using the paper tickets sent in Winter Trail, the cheque payee is the Trail Riders Fellowship (although the bank seems to accept TRF) and the membership postal address is TRF, Allen House, Wetmore Rd, Burton upon Trent DE14 1TR Run by volunteers and with minimal administration costs, the TRF believes it has amongst the highest prize to pay-out ratio of any comparable raffle. Whichever way you choose to enter, one of the tickets will win the star prize of the brand new Fantic Casa with a choice of 250 or 125 engines. See the website for full Terms and Conditions

For the latest details go to: trail.trf.org.uk/groups/ Stay Alert. Control the Virus. Save Lives: www.trf.org.uk/COVID

26 40 38

5 29 19

10

43 22

25

15

6 28 9

20 24

30 45 42

23 13 34 33

2

12

1

4

21 35

8 7

27

44 39

31

3

41

16

14 32 37

36 11 18

17

TRF Groups LIST

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Bristol Bristol (Central) Cambridge Cornwall Cumbria & Craven Derbyshire & South Yorkshire Devon Dorset East Midlands East Yorkshire Essex Gloucestershire Herefordshire Hertfordshire High Peak & Potteries Isle of Wight Kent (East Kent) Kent (West Kent & South East London) Lancashire Lincolnshire Loddon Vale Manchester

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45

Mid-Wales Norfolk North Wales Northumbria Oxford Peak District Ribble Valley Shropshire Somerset South London & Surrey South Wales South West Wales Southern Suolk Sussex Teeside & North Yorkshire TRF Enduro Club Tynewear Teeside West Anglia West Midlands West Yorkshire Wiltshire Worcestershire

Harry gives a demonstration of how it should be done

The past meets the present out on the trail! A lot has happened in the past 60 years

12 Trail Autumn 2020

New

TRICKS Old Dog Blez makes his way to Sussex and the Desert Rose Racing Academy to verify the idiom

I

Patsy gives the Zero a tryout

challenge of any of us by using his 1958 B33 BSA 500 single, which he’s actually owned since 1975! He wisely trailered it to the venue, a wonderful piece of private woodland just outside Heathfield.

Back in the day, I was a pretty competent dirt rider and occasional racer with experience of riding bikes of all sizes in rallies and enduros from Le Touquet to Libya and Crete to Morocco. But in January 2017 I had a big road bike accident which I was very lucky to hobble away from without breaking any

’ve done quite a few training courses down the decades, on road, track and dirt, and I’ve learnt something from all of them, so I was delighted when my good friend and TRF Director Carla McKenzie invited me to join her on a training day down in Sussex with Patsy Quick’s Desert Rose Academy.

Apart from Carla and me, our motley crew included her partner Mark, her work colleague Dean and Mark’s old friend Bill. Carla’s the youngest but won’t see 50 again and the rest of us old ‘uns had various degrees of decrepitude and self-handicapping in the bike or body department.

Dean used to be a serious sports bike rider, but also had a DRZ400 on which he did some trail riding in the Noughties. You would never know it to meet him, because he doesn’t even walk with a limp, but in 2007 he lost his lower left leg in a road bike accident. He has a couple of prosthetic left limbs to choose from and was actually using his more basic one for the training day, but he did incredibly well with it.

He borrowed Carla’s Zero for the twenty-mile ride from Hastings to the training venue, but sensibly hired a much lighter Desert Rose KTM 250 four stroke for the training itself, changing gear with his prosthetic heel.

Bill is a farmer by trade and has been riding bikes since he was eight. He used the same trusty Yamaha WR450 that he rode when he accompanied Carla and me on our dual-Zero electric trail ride to Paris and back in 2018, (for which Mark was our support driver).

Mark is uncommonly slim and fit for a man of his age and penchant for roll-ups and red wine, but he gave himself the biggest bike

Trail Autumn 2020 13

NEW TRICKS

Harry gives Bill a few tips on riding posture

Harry gives the crew a demonstration of the correct technique for changing direction at slow speed

bones. However, I did seriously tweak both my right ankle and my already dodgy and arthritic left knee and since then both my hips have also developed a serious dose of arthritis which has made it impossible to get my leg over most trail bikes without standing on the left footpeg first, rather in the manner of mounting a horse (and for that, you need firm ground to put the stand on….). For added challenge I used my trusty old 1998 Honda Dominator NX650, complete with well-worn TKC Twinduro front tyre, and rode it down to Sussex from my home in South West London.

It was good to see Patsy Quick again for the first time in years – we first met when I was writing regularly for Trail Bike Magazine (TBM) and she was still attempting to become the first British woman to complete the Dakar rally – a feat she finally achieved several years later.

Our instructor for the day was a young man called Harry, who, at 23, wasn’t even born when Carla started riding, but he soon showed that in his short life he’s acquired a lot of skills, in both riding and instructing. The

14 Trail Autumn 2020

object of the day was to go right back to basics, a Stage One Training as it’s called.

It was a very warm summer’s day. After a briefing in the paddock Harry led us through the woods uphill to a large open field for the first exercise – simply riding around in wide circles, standing on the pegs, while he observed us. He then briefed us both as a group, and individually, and got us to think about the basics of our riding positions; two fingers covering the levers, standing rather than sitting, letting the bike move under you, both back and forth and side-to-side; twisting our hips when turning and using the balls of our feet on the pegs rather than the arches.

The next exercise was to practise smooth changes of direction on S-shaped tracks in the grass, while weighting the outside peg and twisting our hips. Harry pointed out that we were fortunate to be blessed with dry weather and firm ground – the importance of peg-weighting becomes much more obvious when the ground is wet and slippery. He was using a KTM 300 two-stroke, a featherweight

Practising slow-speed balance and clutch control

missile compared to my old Domi, but when I challenged him to have a go on my lastcentury steed he quickly showed that he didn’t need the latest lightweight machinery to show us how it was done. The KTM did feel a lot more forgiving than the Domi on the lumpy and bumpy stuff in the woods though, as you would expect!

Slow-speed balance and clutch control was the next thing, with Harry walking backwards, slowly, just in front of us. – and starting with a ride up a steep little incline, to add to the challenge. We moved on to a steep-sloped track in the woods for the first exercise that got the heart beating a little faster: riding down it without touching the brakes. It was a good little challenge, especially since the track had a rut with a significant step in it near the bottom. We also did it with front brake only and clutch disengaged, and finally with both brakes, to appreciate the difference.

After a short break we returned to the same section of woods to ride up it rather than down. We all did it okay except Carla, in a

Trail Autumn 2020 15

NEW TRICKS

The groups instructor for the day, Harry

OUR LOCATION WAS A WONDERFUL PIECE OF PRIVATE WOODLAND JUST OUTSIDE HEATHFIELD

perfect illustration of why she felt the need for some instruction in the first place: she lacks confidence on the dirt, despite having now had five years of trail riding experience.

On the road, she’s one of the fastest and most confident women I’ve ever ridden with, but on the dirt, as she says herself, her brain and body are prone to a sort of ‘seizure’ when things get tricky. She actually got her little Honda up the trickiest, steepest part of the climb, but then came to a slow stop and stalled, having failed to change down or slip the clutch to get the revs up and some more power to the back wheel to keep things moving.

The last exercise was a useful manoeuvre – how to get out of trouble when you’re on a really steep climb, grind to a stop and have no chance of getting any further uphill. The idea was to hop off the bike, manoeuvre back and sideways, wiggle the handlebars to get it pointing downhill, hop back on and ride back down. My problem was that with no possibility of parking the bike on the side stand I couldn’t hop off, so I just did the whole

16 Trail Autumn 2020

Harry was particularly impressed by Mark’s textbook turn-around and bold descent on his old BSA

Harry shows how to get out of trouble when grinding to a halt going up a steep slope

around the site on Carla’s Zero, while I followed him on the KTM. Having done a lot of miles on Zeroes, on both road and dirt, and having watched several people be spat off them by their maximum torque from zero revs, I’m always very cautious when opening a Zero throttle on a loose surface. But Harry just revelled in all the monstrous torque and soon had the beast scrabbling for grip as he gave it ‘the berries’. He declared himself impressed, as I was by his riding! The KTM 300 EXC just made everything very easy after the dear old Domi, but I refrained from standing it on its back wheel the way Harry had been doing! I’m a lot less ‘gung-ho’ than I used to be!

I also persuaded Mark to let me have a go on his 62-year-old BSA, which was a change in the opposite direction from the KTM. It was surprisingly enjoyable to ride, with great gobs of torque coming from the 500cc single, but without as much vibration as I’d braced myself to expect. As a stripped down trials-ish machine it’s actually much lighter than the

manoeuvre while sitting in the saddle!

The others were all able to hop-off and turn – including Dean, impressively, with his artificial leg; Harry was particularly impressed

by Mark’s textbook turn-around and bold descent on his old BSA. Unfortunately Carla came to grief in spectacular fashion; the dismount was fine but somehow she contrived to fall over backwards while trying to reverse and turn the bike. Fortunately there was no damage to her or the Honda and she ‘got back on the horse’ straight away, had another go, and completed the exercise successfully.

We then had an enjoyable trail ride through the whole twelve-acre site. With Harry leading on the KTM 300 we went up, down and all around the woods and meadows which are also home to some timid deer. The only time I had any trouble was when I got stuck on some logs that were hiding in a muddy spot well off the beaten track but I managed to extricate myself without assistance.

At the end of the day Harry had a blast

Trail Autumn 2020 17

NEW TRICKS

Harry, once again showing how it’s done

Dominator, but I had to keep my brain engaged to cope with the right hand ‘up for down, down for up’ gearchange and I never managed to find the left rear brake without looking at my foot. The well-padded low seat was actually quite comfortable, but the change from sitting down to standing up required a huge effort from my arthritic hips – much more so than on the Domi or any KTM. Mark said simply, “I hardly ever stand on the pegs”. I gave it a quick whiz around the places that we’d done most of the exercises and was very pleased I didn’t stall it because I’m not at all sure that, with the aforementioned dodgy hips, I would have been able to kickstart it.

One thing Mark and I agreed on was that we rated our rear brakes more highly than Harry, (for stopping that is) but that may be because we’re both fans of Feet First motorcycles which tend to keep more weight over the rear wheel than conventional motorcycles. (Mark is the undisputed World expert on Quasars).

I’ll never forget top enduro rider Ady Smith telling me that he’d much rather lose his rear

18 Trail Autumn 2020

brake than his front, even off-road. Another minor point was Harry’s claim (made by many other instructors too), that standing up on the pegs actually lowers your centre of gravity.

This would defy the most basic laws of physics and is simply not true. There are lots of good reasons for standing up, but lowering the CofG isn’t one of them!

My final alternative ride of the day was the twenty-odd miles back to Carla and Mark’s place on her CRF250L, while she rode my Dominator. I’d never ridden one before and was particularly curious having just finished editing Steph Jeavons’ account of her fouryear, seven-continent ride around the world on one of these machines (Home By Seven – out now!). People go on about the 250L being ‘heavy’ but it felt very light compared to my old Domi! It also felt pretty gutless, to be honest, so I think I’d want at least 350cc of four-stroke single power in a lightweight all-rounder, at least to carry my 15stone-plusclobber. I also could not turn the heated grips off, no matter how hard I tried, which was

Blez struggling with the right foot gearchange

“JUST A BRILLIANT DAY WITH A SUPER COACH AND SOME VERY GOOD FRIENDS”

annoying on such a warm day!

All in all, it was a very enjoyable and instructive day out, especially for Carla, which was the point of the whole exercise.

Mark was impressed, “Harry was refreshingly constructive, accommodated our differing abilities and coaxed us all to a successful outcome with a remarkably positive approach. Everyone enjoyed it and would go back! Two things I hadn’t thought about before were using the front brake when riding very slowly and pivoting the left handlebar all the way forwards when mounting an excessively tall bike.”

Dean was very complimentary too. “For me it was a fantastic, full-on day on a proper off-road machine, with very relaxed but informative training. It was one of the best days I’ve had on two wheels – great tuition, great fun and a true learning experience.”

Carla was delighted: “Just a brilliant day with a super coach and some very good friends – thoroughly enjoyable and exhilarating!”

In short, a splendid time was had by all!

Recommended.

Trail Autumn 2020 19

Desert Rose Racing T

he Desert Rose in question is Patsy Quick the UK’s most successful female enduro rider and desert racer. We could probably devote a whole issue of Trail to her exploits and she has put them to good use through the company.

Desert Rose Racing offers rider training from its two sites in Sussex, Heathfield and Westfield and covers everything from juniors on Oset electric trials bikes through stage 1, 2 and 3 Enduro training to the Adventure Riding Academy. If Rallies are your thing then Desert Rose is for you. Everything is catered for; rider training, clothing, road book and GPS, bike preparation and full event backup. All you have to do is hop on a plane to the the desired destination, the rest is taken care of. At least that how it was pre-Covid.

If you prefer to stay at home and see how things shape up there is more than enough on offer to keep your skills honed and your brain event ready. For the full picture visit desertroseracing.com

20 Trail Autumn 2020

Desert Rose Racing cater for all age groups and abilities, the Oset electric trials bikes being more suitable for the youngsters

Trail Autumn 2020 21

A Quick Leg Over a...

AJP SPR 250

22 Trail Autumn 2020

I

have to confess that AJP wasn’t really on my radar. Trail had featured one some issues back and it looked interesting. I also know that owners get very enthusiastic about their AJPs but that was about it. When I knew that I was able to get a 2021 SPR 250 from UK distributors Torque Racing, I thought I’d check the company out on the internet, as you do.

Well, it turns out that back in 1981, in Portugal, Antonio Pinto opened a motorcycle repair business specialising in modifying off-road bikes.

AJP Motos was established in 1987 when Antonio’s brother came on board and the first AJP motorcycle was produced, the Ariana (the name of Antonio’s daughter), using a 125cc Casal 2-stroke motor. The company’s leap forward came thanks to the partnership with Portuguese petroleum company Galp Energia and the development of the 50cc AJP Galp.

Trail Autumn 2020 23

AQLO - AJP SPR 250

This little enduro bike won its class in five consecutive National Enduro Championships and established the brand in Portugal.

The bikes as we know them today kicked off with the PR4 125 4-stroke in 2001. This was the first bike to feature the brand’s now trademark features of the under-seat fuel tank and cast aluminium swingarm. This was also the first AJP widely available outside Portugal. By 2007 the low-fat PR3 200 was launched with the frame incorporating aluminium beams bolted to a steel cradle, the whole machine tipping the scales at a class-leading 89kg (that’s lighter than Paul Blez!).

Fast forward to today and in the 2021 line up we have the SPR 250 Euro5, 4-stroke Enduro, which Trail managed to grab for a couple of days for A Quick Leg Over. This is a proper enduro

24 Trail Autumn 2020

bike, purpose-built for the job. However, unlike some, that doesn’t necessarily make it a bad trail machine, particularly when you look at the price.

We’ve already mentioned the fuel tank and the swingarm but there’s a lot more. That swingarm is attached to a rising-rate linkage acting on a fully-adjustable ZF Sachs shock with remote reservoir offering 300mm of travel. That’s matched at the front by Sachs fork units adjustable for compression and rebound damping. The fuel tank positioning is well suited to a fuel-injected motor as it occupies the space where the airbox on a carbureted version would normally live.

Visually you could mistake the fuel tank for conventional side panels; that is until you spot the fuel filler recessed in the rear of the seat. The 9.5-litre capacity tank is sculpted to

Polished alloy swingarm looks pretty neat. Rising rate linkage works on a fullyadjustable ZF Sachs shock

Pegs are purposeful enduro items, the brake lever has an adjustable toe plate

The twin radiators are both equipped with fans

The tank cover houses the airbox for the fuel-injected motor. The filter simply pulls out

by-now familiar electronic dash with multifunction buttons kph/mph, trip zero etc. New to me was the function (apparently) of being able to set the fuel level at which the flashing pump icon appears. Aside from all that, starting is fuss-free and off you go.

The gear lever has a spring-fold end and, nice touch, the rear brake has a laterally adjustable toe plate. The bike feels well balanced, helped by the onboard ergonomics – the relationship between the seat footrests and handlebars feels right. The lowest part of the seat is on a vertical axis with the footrests and in a standing position the handlebars can be adjusted to suit.

The SPR 250 feels light for a 250, in fact it feels light full stop. I couldn’t locate any exact figure but if it’s over 100kg I’d be surprised.

With a light bike, off-road or on a green lane,

Trail Autumn 2020 25

perfectly fit the space and includes finger cut-outs to help with manhandling the bike when necessary.

Thanks to the GET injection venturi being angled upwards, the airbox now occupies roughly the space where the fuel tank conventionally resides which, in turn, means that the filter element can be replaced by simply removing a rubber cover situated behind the steering head – brilliant. All this results from AJP’s heritage of being developed by people who actually compete on motorcycles.

The SPR 250 comes complete with handguards, mirrors and indicators on very flexible stalks. You might want to fit some aftermarket handguards as the OE ones can compromise the lever position.

Once you switch on, you’re faced with the

AQLO - AJP SPR 250

Fuel tank is located under the seat...

Battery can be charged in situ, without having to remove half of the bodywork

you need less rider input to achieve the same effect. To some extent, this compensation becomes intuitive after a few meters but there is a noticeable saving on energy expended.

Basically you get less knackered over a given distance. The front end seems particularly light, which is fine for steering but isn’t always a good thing when grip is required. But somehow the AJP seems to contradict this. In a situation where you feel that the Michelin Medium might be tempted to slide off a tree root, somehow it doesn’t. It was also happy enough to climb out of ruts. Conditions were dry, which would’ve helped and tyre pressures weren’t particularly low at 18psi front and 14psi rear.

Apart from rider weight distribution, grip is also dependant on throttle control and the fuel-injected, 4-valve, overhead cam, liquidcooled, made-in-China lump, with its Italian Athena GET ECU, delivers its power strongly and predictably. Its 11.6:1 compression ratio is enough to deliver lively performance without

26 Trail Autumn 2020

making it fragile. The final part in the grip equation is suspension. It’s easy to tell when it’s not right because basically everything is all over the place but correct set up is a bit of an art in itself and most riders you talk to will have their own theories. I may have been just lucky that my weight and riding style suited the standard set up but I experienced no suspension related ‘moments’. I wasn’t aware of anything topping or bottoming out at either end and, considering that the bike had zero miles on the clock when we collected it, there was none of the usual “I expect that’ll wear in after a bit more use” conjecture. I’d say that the frame geometry and the Sachs suspension units were a pretty impressive combination.

The ratios in the six-speed gearbox seemed well suited to the power characteristics; there were no big jumps that left the motor struggling for grunt. Likewise, the brakes were strong and predictable even though the front disc and caliper wouldn’t look out of place on

Come to where the action is...

Come to Catalonia!

A sensor monitors exhaust gasses to ensure the fuel-injection works as it should.

The black cap behind gives easy access to the rad header tank for easy top-ups

a mountain bike. However, that lightweight assembly reduces inertia on the suspension movement.

Nothing on the SPR 250 is there by chance or fitted just because there happened to be some in stock. Everything has been thought about. For instance, the battery is mounted alongside the air filter where there’s a gap in the bodywork, so it can be charged in situ without the need to remove anything. Importantly, the twin radiators are fan-cooled, something often omitted for cost reasons but essential for consistent engine performance and to prevent the radiators boiling over when you’re paddling down a long muddy slot at 5mph creating zero air flow. There’s even a fly lead provided for a USB charger or whatever.

This was admittedly a brief encounter with my first AJP but one that I’m looking forward to repeating at length. As is, the SPR 250 makes a great Trail or Enduro bike without the premium brand price tag. For those of you with a seriously competitive nature, there’s a 280cc performance conversion with factory race exhaust available.

AJP SPR 250

On trails...

On tarmac...

Our rural, Our rural, off-grid of f-g rid F Finca inca is is the the p perfect erfect b ase ffrom rom w hich to to explore explore tthis his base which b eautif ul area area of of Spain Spain ior ior ttrails rails or or beautiful rroads, oads, ffrom rom the the m ountains tto o the the sea. sea. mountains R ide d own o ly o ver a nd explore explore the t he Ride down orr ffly over and rroads oads a nd trails trails u sing o ur n ew H on d a and using our new Honda C RF250L ttrail rail b ikes.

CRF250L bikes.

Engine: Liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, 4-valve SOHC single cylinder Capacity: 249cc Power: n/a Gearbox: 6-speed Starter: Electric Fuel Capacity: 9.5 litres Wheelbase: 1450mm Seat Height: 960mm Dry weight: n/a Price: £5695.00 + OTR

Trail Autumn 2020 27

www.catalanadventure.co.uk w ww.catala nadventure .co.uk

The

SEARCHERS Well known as the organiser of this and other Mid-Wales events, Marianne Walford of Trail Rides Wales reports on on this year’s reduced entry Hafren Hunt

28 Trail Autumn 2020

T

he Hafren Hunt is a scatter rally with a choice of 25 checkpoints on a variety of green roads and minor tarmac lanes. In previous years, riders had six hours to visit as many as possible, but some thought that that was not long enough, so this year the allowance was eight hours. As riders could cover a greater distance, the checks also covered a greater distance! The furthest away were on the green road that runs alongside Llyn Tecwyn Uchaf (a favourite of mine) and on a little tarmac lane near Gellilydan, 55 miles away.

When the Welsh lockdown rules were relaxed and groups of up to 30 were allowed to meet outdoors, we decided to go ahead with this year’s event, and with an entry of seven teams consisting of 27 people, and two riders from the group going out to check and assist, the numbers worked out well.

Storm Ellen had largely passed through but was still bringing rain and wind, so one team decided not to take part. It was with some trepidation that the other six set off, but it didn’t turn out too badly. By 11am the rain had cleared and the winds became manageable, and we even saw the sun on a few occasions.

Twenty A4 map sheets were supplied, which required a lot of space to lay them out. As well as showing the location of the checkpoints, green roads were graded: A= Tarmac or gravel road B= Easy green road C= Green road with nothing too difficult but with a degree of technicality D= Green road with quite difficult technical sections

Trail Autumn 2020 29

E= Green road with severely difficult climbs and descents Additional notes relating to the difficulty and condition of the lanes were also supplied to allow each team to make decisions on their routes, taking into consideration their machine type and rider ability.

Only one of the checkpoints was on an “E” lane, and some had a choice of “B”, “C” or “D“ by which to access them. Green roads without checkpoints were also highlighted and graded, so the less competitive teams could enjoy a good day’s riding on all the green roads in the Machynlleth and Dolgellau areas.

The maps were available on Friday evening and the winning Team, “The Savoury Pigeons”, spent the evening plotting routes by torchlight in a tent! The team, consisting of Philip

30 Trail Autumn 2020

Harvey, Ferdinand Pick and Jules Sawdon, with Sonia Todd joining them in place of Simon Crombie who couldn’t come, were experienced scatter rally competitors, having taken part in several Taffy Drwgs and the Paddy Dakar.

The other teams were The Wacky Racers (Nathan and Anita Garratt, Perry Whitaker and Phil Hassell) and Team Kemp. The Breakdown Boys comprised Tudor Lewis, Clive Heaton, Steve Fletcher and Ryan Davies. The other teams without names included Yoshi Adams, Sarah Williams, Steve Davies and Ian Farley; Peter Smith, Mark Webb and Shaun Clark; and Huw Reed, Steve Stewart and Carl Roper, who had not known each other before this event, but were willing to go together.

The field was made up of an interesting

THE SEARCHERS

Trail Autumn 2020 31

selection of bikes, with a couple of Honda CRF 250Ls, a CCM404 and a Beta Alp 4.0, as well as some KTM 350s, SWM 300s, WR250F, Fantic Casa, CRF 250X and Husky FE250, two Yamaha Tenere 700s, a BMW Sertao and Sonia and Jules on a pair of Serows.

Steve and Iwan from the Mid Wales Group rode as assistance men and in the afternoon they came across the team of Yoshi, Sarah, Steve and Ian struggling with an ailing CCM. Steve and Iwan assisted them home, and all came back early, having only managed to ďŹ nd a couple of checkpoints.

The other teams visited a good selection of checkpoints, with all teams covering those in the east around the Mallwyd area, but going in dierent directions for others. Team Kemp and the Breakdown Boys amassed a good score

THE SEARCHERS

visiting both east and west as well as a fair bit up north including the E-rated Gold Mine, and would have been the winners had they not fortified themselves with a long lunch stop at a local restaurant. This caused them to return 19 minutes late, for which they received a penalty of minus 100 points. The winners, The Savoury Pigeons, had intended to reach one more checkpoint, but abandoned it in order to get in on time, and it paid off. They told me they covered 175 miles!

The winning score was 234, followed by 164 (264 less 100 penalty points), then 142, 134 and 117. With the teams coming in at different times, it allowed for the meal supplied at the finish to be served in staggered sittings. As soon as the last team arrived, I was able to finish the results and award the small prizes of

32 Trail Autumn 2020

a bottle of sparkling wine each, with a baseball cap from Yamaha or a light pair of gloves from Wulfsport. A few riders went out on Sunday as well, either collecting boxes or enjoying some different routes.

Many thanks to Sarah and Darren at The Hafren Forest Bunkhouse for again hosting our event. ... and from Phil Harvey: The Hafren Hunt was suggested to me by a member, and former entrant, in the Lincs TRF Group which I’ve recently joined. Being a competitive person, the opportunity to ride in Wales and to have some organised sport was irresistible, and I knew immediately that I wanted to be involved. Marianne did a great job of laying out the rules and supplying the

checkpoint information in a way that was difficult enough to make you think, but easy enough for novices to work it out and have a good day. As is usual for the “Pigeons”, we rode to the event from Nottingham and Norfolk and camped with our friends in the other Lincs TRF team (The Wacky Racers).

As they were over their team number’s limit of four, and we were missing a usual member due to other commitments, we offered our fourth space to Sonia Todd who, as a novice to this type of event, wasn’t quite ready for the relentless ride that was to follow! Nevertheless, we worked well as a team, planned a good route and were able to make reasonable progress on the day, having learned from time-wasting mistakes made in other events.

We wanted to be competitive, but we knew

Trail Autumn 2020 33

THE SEARCHERS

that as we were pitted against local teams and the “Wackies” riding enduro bikes, getting two middleweight adventures and two relatively inexperienced off-road riders on Serows round the course was going to be a challenge.

Arriving at the start, in the wind and rain, I can’t say that any of the four of us were feeling too confident of even getting round, let alone scoring well. As it happened, the weather improved and despite having our first ‘off’ of the day on the tarmac, whilst turning around after overshooting the start of the first lane, we stuck to the plan and kept going. Aside from the competition it was a great event, with good banter and sport at the campsite and on the trails between all the teams. Sarah and Darren at The Bunkhouse were fantastic providing breakfast and a very welcome dinner on our return, 7 hours and 54 minutes after we had set out. The Hafren Hunt is definitely on my list of favourites and we fully intend to have another go next year!

34 Trail Autumn 2020

ENDURO CHAMPIONS RIDE KENDA

Official of Officialtyre tyre partner partner of FactoryONESherco, Sherco, including FactoryONE includingriders riders Cody Webb, Baylor andBaylor Grant Baylor Cody Steward Webb and Grant K776F & K779

IBEX K774

Available in standard ENDURO and soft GAUNTLET version for extreme enduros

Supersoft compound for extreme off-road riding

K777F & K778

Available in standard ENDURO and supersoft KNARLY version for extreme enduros

CAMBRIAN T Y R E S

Sole UK Importer

KendaMotoUK

@Kenda_UK

kenda-moto.co.uk

DRUGS, ALCOHOL w a l s e l o C and

38 Trail Autumn 2020

Ceri Charlton recalls being a volunteer courier in the time of Covid

B

adopted the same principle. Most of area covered was in the Barry, Rhoose, Bridgend area, with the longest trip almost 40 miles each way, in order to drop off a box of visors to a nursing home near Newport that was desperate for them. Despite the small catchment area, I managed to rack up just shy of 1,500 miles. Not bad, considering that I otherwise adhered to the five-mile journey restriction in place at the time.

As well as thousands of items of necessities such as food shopping and medicines, there were plenty of requests for ‘unobtanium’ – toilet rolls and alcohol gel, hand wipes, etc.

Remarkably, on more than one occasion, when people heard what I was doing and that these items weren’t for me, staff (and even people who had nothing to do with the store) produced them as if by magic and, in some instances, even refused to accept payment.

It was heart-warming.

Over the three months that I was doing the

Trail Autumn 2020 39

y mid-March, one and a half million people deemed to be at risk from Covid-19 had received a letter, asking them to shield indoors, in order to both protect themselves and prevent overwhelming the NHS. Shortly afterwards, the call went out from the NHS for a ‘Volunteer Army’ to be administered by the Royal Voluntary Service.

The rationale was that such large numbers of people, unable to go about their normal tasks, would require not only food shopping but also the delivery of medicine, which many of them – by nature of the conditions that made them vulnerable – depend on. The majority are elderly and as such are either unable, or uncomfortable, shopping online. Even amongst those who were willing to use the major supermarkets’ delivery services, with increased demand, slots proved to be about as easy to come by as a mint condition Suzuki TM250.

By happy coincidence four days earlier, my wife, who had not previously shown any interest in anything mechanical, managed to get my ‘Build it yourself’ 3D printer working.

To think, all this time, I never realised that she could have been servicing my bikes. My dream of making small ABS components for the bikes had to wait a little bit longer. For over a month, the printer was running almost 24/7, making plastic visor face shields and trying to put a dent in the seemingly everincreasing demand for PPE amongst hospital staff, ambulance crews and nursing homes.

Meanwhile, my aged mother was getting in on the act, sewing fabric masks in industrial quantities.

I realised there was scope to link all these things together, so I signed up and set about making routes to follow as I collected masks, materials for making visors, visors made by a friend, shopping and medicines prior to dropping these items off to the necessary recipients. I decided to start right away by asking friends and neighbours if they knew anyone who was unable to go out. This turned out to be the right decision, as the Royal Voluntary Service took weeks to respond (citing a slow launch in Wales) and by the time they did, I already had my books full of regulars and had made dozens of trips.

This resulted in a very different type of route planning to the usual, trying to tie disparate lanes together into a continuous path, but

deliveries, before I managed to put myself out of action with a back injury (nothing bikerelated), I got to know some of the regulars.

What I found interesting was that many of the requests were for things which, at first, people were too embarrassed to ask for. As they got to know me better and became more comfortable with me, I started making a point of telling them that plenty of others had been requesting frivolous things and if they wanted ‘treats’ they mustn’t feel embarrassed to ask.

Once I’d done that, it was as though the floodgates had opened and I felt more like a WW2 spiv than a delivery courier: a huge variety of cakes (most impressively, a gateaux), chocolate, wine, spirits, slabs of beer, cigarettes, etc. were added to the list. A lady whose son did her shopping, while I collected her medicine, was suddenly putting in an order for a bottle of brandy every two weeks.

It wasn’t all vices, however. In one instance, a friend’s mother told me her daughter had been to visit that week, so she’d already done her shopping, but if I could possibly get her a tin of peaches, she’d be really happy as the shop had sold out when her daughter went and it wasn’t expecting any more for a fortnight. It seems like a really small thing, but when people are housebound, it really brightens up their day Of course, doing all this on a TRF-stickered bike, rather than a van, was a good conversation starter. Some people were already interested in bikes, especially three who were ex-bikers themselves. Plenty of them, however, had never heard of the TRF, so it was a great opportunity to win a bit of credibility with the broader community for our organisation.

Kit for purpose I’m a big fan of Kriega, having used one particular US-10 tailpack from them for well beyond the ten years’ guarantee period. It must have close to 60,000 miles use on it and still doesn’t leak. I have a number of other bags from them, but all are geared towards trail riding and fairly small. The largest capacity of any of them was a US-30 and I know from experience that this is not enough for a week’s-worth of shopping for one household, much less a week’s-worth for a number. With incredible generosity, upon hearing what I was doing, Kriega loaned me a pair of their new OS-32 panniers and their new third party Outback-Motortek frames for attaching them to my Tenere 700. These proved to be just the ticket with cavernous capacity and a mounting system that occupied that sweet spot: secure enough to leave on the bike when parked up, whilst easy enough to remove once you know how, so that you can take

40 Trail Autumn 2020

them with you when you need to.

A nice feature turned out to be the relatively flat platform across which to carry larger items, provided by the stiff tops of the panniers and the top of the frames, which married up close to the Tenere’s rear seat.

This proved to be invaluable when one gentleman asked for a slab of 24 cans the same morning that someone else asked for a 20kg sack of potatoes. I can also vouch for how waterproof they are. Not only did they survive the usual Welsh summer’s ‘liquid sunshine’ encountered on many trips, they also held water impressively well as I discovered after I hosed one out following a mishap with some coleslaw whilst unpacking.

If you’re in the market for a set of panniers that you can use just as well for commuting and a run to the shops as for an RTW attempt, these would be at the top of my list. By the time it came to sending them back, they had seen hundreds of instances of opening and closing, as well as getting tangled in a bramble bush on one particularly overgrown drive, yet they’d still pass as brand new.

A big thank you to Dom Longman and all at Kriega for the gracious loan of the kit. I simply would not have been able to complete as many runs as I did in the time available, nor delivered so many items to people in need, without the OS-32s.

FOREST Retreat Covid-19 – a phrase that will probably echo down the decades to come for all sorts of reasons. In the case of Steve Coward, Wiltshire TRF Vice Chair, it meant lots of cancelled trips, booked over a year previously to places far and wide. As he says, ”That’s the joy of being retired with a wife who also likes to travel”.

O

42 Trail Autumn 2020

nce we had come to grips with lockdown, hand sanitisers, face masks, protecting the NHS, not travelling unless necessary, etc, etc, etc, the time had come for the English, and then the Welsh government to decide that it was safe to travel in each country, as well as stay overnight.

Having spent an excellent fun-filled weekend in December 2019, with members of Wiltshire and Mid Wales TRF, up at The Hafren Forest Bunkhouse on the Mid Wales Father Christmas Charity Weekend, it seemed a rather “jolly” idea to get together again as soon as possible with a weekend’s riding

The Old Weather Station was purchased in July 2017 and the owners, Sarah and Darren have been rebuilding and refurbishing ‘The Hafren Forest Bunkhouse’ ever since

Trail Autumn 2020 43

FOREST RETREAT

based at The Bunkhouse. As owners Sarah and Darren put it: “We purchased the Old Weather Station in July 2017. Since then we have been refurbishing the building and bringing it back to life. We enjoy the great outdoors and have fallen in love with Mid Wales and what it has to offer. We want your stay to be a pleasant one, and we love to chat to our guests before they arrive to make sure they have the best experience when visiting Mid Wales.”

With a flurry of email and telephone calls, the setting up of a Messenger group for those riding over the weekend, and the careful watching of news from the Welsh government as to when The Bunkhouse could open, we were able to book ourselves in for their first open weekend with allowed-for overnight stay. The area is extremely popular for those who like to ride the green lanes, and many TRF groups stay with them due to their ideal location on the edge of the Hafren Forest. They provide a fully-catered weekend – a minimum of two nights with cooked breakfast and a two-course evening meal.

Price per person was £86, arriving Friday for

44 Trail Autumn 2020

an evening meal and leaving after our ride on Sunday. One thing we particularly liked about their arrangements, especially with concerns around Covid-19, is that they are happy to arrange sole occupancy groups for a minimum number of 12 beds for two nights.

As an older TRF member with a minor underlying health issue, it was great to hear beforehand, as well as see when we arrived, the changes Sarah and Darren had made to meet the new health and safety measures.

On entry to The Bunkhouse through the boot room – a great place to take off your dirty boots and hang up your coat, with an area to dry your wet clothes plus a large washing machine and tumble dryer, which riders are welcome to use – there are hand sanitisers on the wall.

After a long day on the trails one of the joys of coming back to The Bunkhouse is the large but cosy lounge. It has a comfy seating area and a wood burner for those cold winter nights. Being off-grid they provide a TV, BBC i-Player, Netflix and the facility to play downloaded material on your laptop if you wish to.

There’s a DVD player and a host of available

ALL OF THE GUYS SPENT THE DAY RIDING “AMAZING, STUNNING AND AWESOME” GREEN LANES...

DVDs. They also have a PlayStation 2, with some family games. There is plenty of reading material, and also board games, not that we had enough energy for anything apart from sitting and chatting with a beer or two. Take your own, there’s a fridge to keep them cool!

Having a rather dodgy knee at the moment I spent the Saturday road-riding about 170 miles through some spectacular scenery in a huge loop around Snowdon, using as many small roads, narrow mountain passes and off-the-beaten track routes as I could. If you’re more into road-riding, the quality of the roads in that part of Wales is brilliant. At times it felt as though newly-laid tarmac was being put down a few miles ahead of me – it was that good. As for the other nine guys, they spent a day riding “amazing, stunning and awesome” green lanes, mainly in the Barmouth direction.

So good in fact that the evening meal had to be put back to 8pm as they were going to be out later than they had expected.

As for meals, the large kitchen-diner is fully equipped for those who wish to self-cater, or if you prefer Sarah loves to cook for guests as long as you book in advance – her food is

Trail Autumn 2020 45

FOREST RETREAT

AMAZING! The dining table seats up to 20 and, as we found, it is a great place to sit and talk about the day’s riding, whether Chris actually fell off or was pushed off his bike etc, whilst offering a front row seat of the amazing sunsets.

Although there were only ten of us there over the weekend they can sleep up to 20 guests, and welcome bookings from individuals, couples, small and large groups.

They are also dog-friendly but would appreciate it if you could let them know if you wish to bring a dog. As we found on arrival, the bedrooms were made up ready for us on our arrival; they provide the linen. All the rooms are bookable as private rooms. They have four bedrooms, 2 x 4 beds, 1 x 5 beds and 1 x 8 beds – don’t forget these are bunk beds, so plenty of space between us, good and airy with the windows open at night as well.

After a day out on the trails it was great to come back to clean up before the evening meal. They normally have two shared shower rooms with a total of six electric showers and five toilets within The Bunkhouse, but they had cordoned off one of the shower rooms just for our use with extra hand sanitisers and hand wipes as well as individual hand cloths.

So, where is The Hafren Forest Bunkhouse?

Well, it’s almost a four-hour drive from my house, but well worth it. Staylittle, or in Welsh Penffordd-las, is a small village set in the

46 Trail Autumn 2020

shallow upland basin of the Afon Clywedog on the B4518, and is equal distance from Llanidloes and Llanbrynmair. It is less than a 10-minute drive to the Clywedog Reservoir, where you will find the exceptional Llyn Clywedog Trout Fishery and the Clywedog Sailing Club, which is happy to accept day membership, not only to sail but also for a variety of paddle sports. There are many opportunities to walk and cycle in the area.

The National Cycle Route NCR 8, Lon Las Cymru and the long-distance footpath Glyndwrs Way all pass The Bunkhouse.

We were lucky that we had Hywel and Steve from the Mid Wales TRF to guide us around, but if you’re new to the area there are two local guides that Sarah and Darren can put you in touch with. The Bunkhouse is also close to the Yamaha Off Road Centre and the Sweet Lamb Riding Centre, based around KTM 790Rs, both of which I’ve been to and both of which offer excellent training facilities and tuition.

So, a relief to get out and experience some fantastic countryside, meet old friends and get a bit of positive mental health inside us, as well as enjoying the hospitality that Sarah and Darren offered us. Go on, get together with some mates and go and have a great time riding. After all, that’s one of the main reasons we continue to support the work the TRF does for us all.

TRAKMASTER ROAD LEGAL MX TYRE

• Trail Riding, Hare & Hounds, Off-Road Training – Trakmaster does it all.

• Tall aggressive tread blocks for high grip on varying terrain.

• Tough compound for extended tread life and exceptional value.

• Road Legal.

CAMBRIAN T Y R E S

Sole UK Importer

KendaMotoUK

@Kenda_UK

kenda-moto.co.uk

LOCKDOWN

Ride Day

Somerset TRF has been running its ‘Ride Days’ in various forms for the last ten years. These have included the ever popular Exmoor Forest Ride Days, as well as Quarry Days and charity Grasstrack Scramble Days. It has now run over 30 of these open events and gained a lot of experience over that time.

Somerset TRF Chair Martin Keswick takes up the tale

I

48 Trail Autumn 2020

n 2020, like a lot of other Groups, we had a busy schedule planned with a main Ride Day in April, a charity day in May and a smaller venue Ride Day in July. This was on top of normal local trail riding and away-weekends in Greece, Bulgaria and Wales, all booked.

Having had to cancel and refund our ticketed events in April and May, we were keeping a close eye on the lockdown-easing status for our 5 July Ride Day and kept the ticket sales open and our fingers crossed.

This pic: Whilst we would never condone this kind of behaviour out on your local byways...

Here having fun is the name of the game!

Trail Autumn 2020 49

LOCKDOWN RIDE DAY

THE RIDE DAY PREPARATIONS FOR US START SOME MONTHS/WEEKS IN ADVANCE WITH DISCUSSIONS AND AGREEMENTS WITH THE LANDOWNER

The ‘normal’ Forest Ride Day Format Our forest ride days have a particular format that we have kept consistent over the years and they have attracted many riders from around the southern portion of the country, including a good number normally from Kent, Cornwall and Wales as well as the more local Groups such as Devon, Bristol and Wiltshire. Our largest event was in April 2018 where we had 485 riders, 50% of which were TRF members. To control numbers to a more manageable level for future events, we decided to include only riders who were TRF members and to handle only advance ticket sales and no pay-on-the-day. We have capped the entries to 250 riders, which we normally achieve.

The ride day preparations for us start some months/weeks in advance with discussions

50 Trail Autumn 2020

and agreements with the landowner, any advance warning signage on the forest accesses and notifying by letter any affected neighbours. Our ticket sales are now run through Eventbrite, and whilst you pay for their service, the management of the tickets and communications with riders along with the ease of creating rider sign-on sheets is worth the cost. We typically have tickets available for sale a few months prior to the event and advertise through Trail and on our STRF Facebook page, which spreads the message well through sharing. We encourage junior riders, who ride for free, as long as they are riding with a paying TRF adult. The appropriate parental sign-on form is required.

The forests we use are all private. We do not use Forestry Commission land, as the Commission has specific conditions and

clearing the way, so as to administer first aid.

The key to Somerset TRF being able to make these Ride Days the success they are is simply down to the commitment and contribution made by all our experienced members during the set-up, on the day and in the final clearing-up process. A number of our members have been on the ACU Clerk of the Course Training, which also bolsters our knowledge of best practice for course safe set-up and the running of the event.

I would strongly suggest that you also need to have one person in charge of the whole event to give direction and make decisions.

Authorisation Under normal circumstances we complete our Safety Plan for the event, which includes the following information:

restrictions that make its use a lot more complex. The layout of our courses is designed to be suitable for all levels of rider: the one-way ‘Main Loop’ is typically three to four miles long, is clearly marked all the way round the course and is achievable for all levels of rider. Off this main loop we have a number of ‘Sub-Routes’ of differing levels of difficulty, from Moderate to Severe and Extreme. These are marked at the entrance to the sub-route. The sub-route will generally return to the main loop without the rider losing too much of the latter. These sub-routes are designed to allow people to challenge themselves based on their ability.

They may include river runs, hill climbs, tricky trials type sections, tight woodland enduro style tracks or whatever we can create from the local terrain. The Extreme examples are challenging even for confident riders, but safe.

At each junction, sub-route entry or return and key point on the four-mile course we apply a number board from 1 to 25 that allows us to mark-up the large-scale map that we have in the pit area. These numbers help riders to identify the course and locate places where we may be having difficulty or an issue that needs action, including accidents. Riders are asked to notify riding marshals of any problems they may see and to locate the position on the course. Through our two-way radio, we can get assistance to where it is required including the 4x4 ambulance and First Responder, Dorset Medical Services (£220 for the day), who, if needed, will travel to the point on the course, with marshal outriders

Trail Autumn 2020 51

LOCKDOWN RIDE DAY

1. The type of event 2. Roles and responsibilities and contact details of key personnel 3. Location details of the event 4. Course description 5. Detailed, event-specific, risk assessment 6. Details of event marshalling and briefing 7. Details of medical arrangements and emergency response plans 8. Monitoring, review and audit 9. Course map 10. TRF Major Incident Procedure This Safety Plan is sent to Dave Carling at the TRF in the preceding weeks for approval and sign-off to ensure compliance and insurance underwriting for the event.

52 Trail Autumn 2020

A big thumbs up, indicating a fun day was had by all involved

Key things to consider when organising a Ride Day Landowner agreement Parking arrangements Communications to neighbours and authorities Ticket sales, marketing and rider communication Sign-on sheets and parental consent sheets Food plans Sign-on identification (i.e. wrist bands) First aid and ambulance arrangements Toilets Members with knowledge/experience in setting up a ‘safe’ course

Sufficient members available for the set-up, as marshals on the day and for clearing up Creation of the safety plan and approval from Dave Carling One person nominated as the event director Who is going to do what on the day?

Event director/clerk of the course, parking marshals, scrutineering, sign-on, course explanation to riders/riders’ brief, head marshal (to give marshal briefing), riding marshals, safeguarding officer (for juniors), food supervision Two-way radios for emergency communications

Professional Drivers). The IOPD clearly catered for and understood the type of events we were running and is the authorising body for a number of other motorcycle track days, practice/fun days and classic scramble clubs as well as a host of ‘off road’ vehicle events including the Land Rover Experience days.

We agreed to join the IOPD at a cost of £580 for an annual membership, we submitted our safety plan including our detailed Covid-19 control measures, and had a number of telephone calls with the IOPD culminating in a visit/inspection at the event location during the Saturday set-up day. This resulted in our being issued with a permit for the event and a very positive report.

Trail Autumnr 2020 53

Lockdown In the weeks prior to our planned 5 July Ride Day at Combe Woods we were all in unknown territory with regards running this event under Covid controls. The ACU stated that it was issuing permits for racing from 4 July.

In discussions with Mario we decided it might be prudent to apply for an ACU permit for this event as well as being covered by our own TRF insurance (belt and braces). Despite two attempts at getting a permit, the ACU was not prepared to issue one for this type of event at that time.

In discussions with other local motorcycle event organisers, such as Core Events, we started to look at other authorisation bodies for these non-competitive types of events and entered into discussion with Steve Murty of the IOPD (International Organisation of

LOCKDOWN RIDE DAY

THE SUN CAME OUT, AND THE QUANTOCK HILLS SUPPLIED THE BACKDROP FOR ANOTHER ENJOYABLE SOMERSET TRF RIDE DAY

The IOPD does not offer insurance cover, but does give ‘authorisation’ to run ‘off-road’ events and a level of professional back-up and support in a worst case scenario (death or serious injury). We received a comprehensive ‘Black Safety Pack’, a folder of documentation to use for events including method statements, generic safety plan, safety policy document, check lists, entry forms, sign-on sheets, etc. The IOPD does offer an alternative to the ACU for ‘off-road’ event authorisation but we are still in the evaluation stage as to whether this IOPD membership option would benefit the TRF in wider off-road event management and back-up.

We notified the police in the preceding weeks to advise of our planned running of the event during lockdown and were initially advised that we were not permitted to do so as it was a gathering of more than six people. We challenged this based on riders riding individually and Covid measures we would have in place that did not permit group gatherings. They responded and

54 Trail Autumn 2020

said that we had to follow the law and government advice. I had a call from a local PC to ask if they could come on the day and show a presence. Of course, no problem.

They were very pleasant and had no issues with the controls we had in place.

At this event we were parking on-site and so agreed to limit the entry for this event to 150 riders to ensure we could manage the Covid controls and allow people to return to their vehicles for separation when not riding. We decided not to offer food ourselves for this event and contracted out to a quality local, `The Grub Hub’ wagon, which served food with a difference, again with all the Covid controls in place.

So despite the extra hurdles that we had to cross to run the event in the ‘lockdown times’, I am pleased to say that the riders observed the rules impeccably and the day went off without incident, the sun came out, the Quantock Hills supplied the backdrop and another enjoyable Somerset TRF Ride Day was completed.

Italian Lakes & Mountains Marathon Road/Adventure Bikes, Sept 2020 dates TBC Isle of Man, October 2nd to 5th 2020 Hellas Rally Raid, October 11th to 17th 2020 Portugal Top2Bottom, Guided Trail Riding 2020 Dates TBC Gatescarth & The Lakes, 3 Day Adventure November 5th to 9th 2020 Thetford Forest & Hunstanton November 14th & 15th 2020 The Mud Run, Herts, Essex & Cambs December 27th & 28th 2020

A FAMILY Affair

56 Trail Autumn 2020

“Trail riding brings economic benefit to rural areas”. It’s a line that gets trotted out in support of our cause, but other than petrol and pasties what does it mean? Dominic Fitchett goes in search of the answer

M

y love of bikes started off-road, hacking around the fields on a 1977 Honda XR75, which led to road bikes of increasing capacity and speed followed by track days and the usual broken bikes and bones. This in turn eventually led me to trail riding on a 1998 DR350 and my first forays out onto the green lanes of Dorset.

Previously bike time was always my time, when I could shake off work and family

worries, and the economic benefit to the community at large was limited to fuel stops and many, many cooked breakfasts. But trail riding is different, let me explain…

Trail riding is a means of exploring new places and, unlike rambling or mountain biking, you cover a lot more ground on every trip you make.

For me it started locally as I explored the lanes around Dorset, taking me to Corfe Castle and Worth Matravers. I found places that I never knew before and wanted to share.

So I brought my family to stay in a local holiday park, joined the National Trust, walked them up the Castle and along the Jurassic Coast before treating them to the compulsory cake in the tea rooms, ice-creams and visits to the gift shop.

After my first tentative steps in green laning encouraging friends got me to put my bike in a van and take it to Wales for the 2015 Taffy Dakar. The Taffy Dakar is based at The Ancient Briton pub and campsite in Pen-y-Cae, Powys, and became an annual event for me due to the relaxed nature of the competition (Si and Llewellyn Pavey were once disqualified for being too professional), the good causes it supports and the friendly locals. Plus it was held close enough to my birthday to secure a pass from the missus. Shame that the

Trail Autumn 2020 57

organisers of the more famous event got their lawyers to get the name changed for copyright reasons because they were worried that French folk would mistake our distinctly amateur efforts for their illustrious desert race, despite the lack of sand and professionalism.

This is the event that really got me hooked on trail riding. Despite being soaked and muddy I made more great mates, saw just how much more there was to explore further afield and rode more extreme trails than ever before. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I convinced my friend Dan to buy a CRFL and join me in the van to go back in both 2016 and 2017 to enjoy dry days of riding and more travelling through the stunning Welsh scenery, despite overnight temperatures of –4 degrees C. In 2018 I discovered that the UK section of the Trans Euro Trail went from Dan’s front door, near Salisbury, to within spitting distance of the venue for the Taffy Dakar.

So I took an extra day’s leave, went a step further and rode to the event.

Being a soft southerner I naturally looked to split the distance into manageable chunks, so it became an enjoyable jaunt rather than a test of endurance. Faced with the prospect of

58 Trail Autumn 2020

more camping than was absolutely necessary, I looked for an alternative and found … an actual castle with a pub next door for just £15 a night!

The castle at St Briavels is part of the Youth Hostel network and provided us with a bed in the Guard Room, hot showers, cooked breakfast and dinner in the pub. The next day we rode on to enjoy the Taffy Dakar but the memory of this place stuck with me, so I later booked up to go back with my family.

Knowing how my kids can react to seeing “another castle” or going on a “lovely walk”, I did get a bit creative for the return trip and told them they were staying at Hogwarts and bought them all wands with which to practice their spells. Whilst I am not sure they were convinced, they enjoyed exploring the castle and its grounds before visiting the Forest of Dean, which has been the film set for many of their favourites including Star Wars, Merlin, Doctor Who and Tree Fu Tom (ask the kids – it’s on CBeebies), so perhaps it’s not such a stretch of the imagination.

I can be a bit over the top in trying to cover every risk on trips and so planning trail rides is something I enjoy almost as much as the riding itself. Just as well because a busy

working and family life can make it difficult to get away. So it was not until 2019, after riding to the Taffy again, that I went one step further and pieced together the places I had seen on my previous trips to Wales for a family camping trip, for which there was only one obvious destination – The Ancient Briton.

Before we left there were a few extra things that had to be purchased including a familysize tent, numerous sleeping bags, air beds, fire pit and cool box, not forgetting a torch each to avoid arguments.

Having thoroughly scouted the area on my previous visits I had a few ideas of what was available, so once we had arrived and set up our tent we went up the road to visit Craig-yNos Country Park, paying into local coffers for our parking and supporting local businesses by buying ice-creams.

After a BBQ dinner, a first night under canvas and a slap-up cooked breakfast, I took the short drive up the road to the National Show Caves of Wales, which was the highlight of the trip, especially as my three-year-old loves dinosaurs and they have loads. Whilst it’s not a cheap day out we were not disappointed: the caves are spectacular (better than Wookey Hole in my opinion) and the kids

loved the farm and the play area, even finding the twin of our guinea pig. They also enjoyed supporting the economy with their pocket money on a visit to the gift shop.

For dinner we went to the Pen-y-Cae Inn, which as well as offering excellent dining actually has its own zoo in the pub garden with meerkats, cranes, wallabies and a burrowing owl; and that beats even a McDonalds.

As usual the second night under canvas is always a better night’s sleep than the first, usually because we are all exhausted from the lack of sleep from the night before. Suitably refreshed we visited the local SPAR shop to stock up on provisions before heading out for a hike up the valley to the Henrhyn Waterfall.

Whilst my kids like their video games and YouTube as much as the next, I do keep trying to introduce a love of the outdoors and they enjoyed the walk and the sense of achievement from covering the distance almost as much as the ice creams (again).

I often say I have never had a bad time in Wales, now my kids say it too. So if you need another reason, or excuse, to get out there and explore, just remember – you are doing it for the kids.

Trail Autumn 2020 59

LET THERE Bee Light Paul Blez ventures west to test a featherweight electric trail bike, the Sur-Ron Light Bee, on some Wiltshire green lanes

I

first rode a Sur-Ron Light Bee last year at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where there was a ‘pop-up’ trail park with two tracks available – one for little ‘uns on OSET mini-MXers and the other for the Sur-Rons. It was great fun, although I rode with a high level of caution since I was

60 Trail Autumn 2020

There’s a juice-gauge on top of the Sur-Ron’s removable battery as well as on the dash

The Sur-Ron on a scenic Wiltshire trail

headed for Oxford Airport, which is right next door to King’s.

The Light Bee is so light and compact you could probably squeeze it into an estate car – it’s only 50kgs including the battery. There’s only one downside to this, which is no fault of the bike, or the Chinese manufacturer – it’s actually too light to meet the criteria for the government’s otherwise enlightened Plug-in Motorcycle Grant, which specifies that machines must weigh a minimum of 50kg without the battery. With the 20% grant it would be £900 cheaper than the £4,495 it currently costs…

Strictly speaking the Sur-Ron LB is classed and homologated as a moped, which explains

wearing shorts and trainers and my only protection was a crash helmet. Those machines were the off-road-only version of the Light Bee, but there’s also a street legal version complete with lights and indicators and both have been selling like hot cakes this year – especially since Covid-19 caused lockdown – over 500 of them in barely six months.

I was keen to try a Light Bee on some green lanes and our man James Higgs was keen to try out his new high-resolution video camera so I gave Sur-Ron importer Jamie Masterman a call. Turned out there was a brand new machine available at King’s of Kidlington so I fired up the deeply untrustworthy Transit and

Trail Autumn 2020 61

LET THERE BEE LIGHT

Blez tests the Sur-Ron’s waterproofing in Wiltshire

The Sur-Ron battery on charge in Robbie’s Plaice, the Batheaston chippy!

the lack of high and low beam in the headlight. As every policeman should know (but most don’t) mopeds have been officially restricted to just 28mph/45kmh for many years now. However, the Sur-Ron has a red button on the left handlebar to switch between Eco and Sport modes. Officially, sport mode just enables it to accelerate to 28mph a bit faster, but with a bit of sleight of hand it’s possible to de-restrict it so that it can zoom up to a rip-snorting 45mph, or even 50 with a fair wind and a downhill slope. In de-restricted form it reminded me of the unlimited sports mopeds of the 1970s like my own Garelli Rekord, which used to eat FS1Es for breakfast – and sparkplugs for tea – but without the need to change gear.

James Higgs designed a loop of nearly forty miles between Corsham and Bath, and Jamie Masterman assured me that the Sur-Ron should be able to manage that distance on a single charge so long as I didn’t thrash it.

However, a decade of testing electric two wheelers of all kinds has taught me that

62 Trail Autumn 2020

importers tend to err on the side of optimism when it comes to range claims…so I was keen to get a realistic idea of the Sur-Ron’s real range in my tender hands (and carrying my 95kg weight) before starting the video shoot with James. With this in mind I took it for a quick solo town and country blast over to Heddington Steps, a section of byway that leads up to Roundway Down near Devizes.

In town, Eco mode was fine in the morning rush hour traffic but once out in 40, 50 and 60 limits I was very glad of the ‘magic button’ which enabled the little machine to avoid holding anyone up. By the time I got to the T-junction of byway and restricted byway on Heddington Steps I’d covered 21kms but got through 41% of my full charge. Hmm. At this rate we’d be out of juice in 50kms, or 30 miles.

By the time I’d retraced my route, it was down to only 10% having covered just 41kms or 25 miles. There’d be a lot more trail and much less tarmac on James’s route, but it seemed sensible to take the charger with us. But first we had to make it work…

Off and pushing up the ‘Goat Track’.

At least it’s light!

Jimmy dwarfs the tiny Sur-Ron!

0% left after 64km and one and a half charges!

easy to ride but I’d already decided that if I owned a Sur-Ron I’d add some ‘bar risers because the handlebars are too low to be comfortable when standing on the pegs.

The first real challenge for the little electric trailie came at the village of St.Catherine’s where James directed me up the 1 in 3 gradient of Stony Lane. Apparently it used to be a major challenge for any rider on any machine, but now it is very smoothly graded and the Sur-Ron sailed up it with no problem at all, although it was giving all it had on the steepest section, where I also got up on the pegs. At the top we were greeted by a curious dog which rushed out of a nearby house and an apologetic and very friendly lady resident with whom we had a friendly chat. She was amazed by the silent progress of the Sur-Ron. As we rode past Solsbury Hill and into Batheaston the Sur-Ron’s battery warning light came on as the percentage indicator clicked down from 21 to 20%. We’d covered precisely 38.8 kilometres, or 24.1 miles, according to the trip meter. I was glad I’d

Both the bike and charger were brand new and at the first plugging in to the mains, very little happened. The fan on the charger spun into life, but only for about two seconds, and then stopped. After several abortive attempts a phone call to Jamie Masterman revealed that the chargers can be a little temperamental when first used. You have to follow a sequence of turning it on, turning it off, back on again, saying a few ‘Hail Marys’ and crossing your fingers. After several more attempts, and doing a little rain dance, the charger finally came on and stayed on, and recharged the battery. And never gave any problems again!

With the removable battery back up to 100% James led me to the first trail, between Biddestone and Slaughterford, which I recognised from doing it last year on the Royal Enfield Himalayan, when it was pretty wet and muddy. Weavern Lane was a lot easier on the Sur-Ron, thanks to its more knobbly tyres and superlight weight! The Old Coach Road from Ford to North Wraxall was

Trail Autumn 2020 63

LET THERE BEE LIGHT

James Higgs and his Serow with the batteryless Sur-Ron outside the chippy in Batheaston

The Sur-Ron handles surprisingly well on the tarmac despite those knobbly tyres

brought the charger in my Zero rucksack, since we clearly weren’t going to complete the route on a single charge. Time for some lunch then, ideally purchased from an emporium prepared to supply some juice for the Sur-Ron as well as food for its rider! Fortunately Robbie’s Plaice (geddit?) in Batheaston were happy to let me plug into their mains and there was no need to run an extension outside because the battery can be removed from the bike in a matter of seconds.

After a little over an hour the battery gauge was up to 58%, which we thought would be enough to get us back to base, so we headed out of Batheaston and rode a short section of the Fosse Way before turning off it for an open trail with great views of the Avon valley.

The biggest challenge of the day, by far, was a really steep trail near Rudloe which James called ‘The Goat Track’. Unlike the earlier Stony Lane, it was anything but smooth and featured not one but two dirty great rock steps in separate places, both of which caught

64 Trail Autumn 2020

me out. James had gone ahead on his Serow, so was well positioned with his video camera to film me making a complete Horlicks of both obstacles and toppling over in a heap.

The saving grace of the Sur-Ron is its light weight, so it was no problem to pick myself and the bike up and to walk it up and over the obstacles on a gentle throttle before remounting, riding a bit further and falling off again!

Anyway, the bike and I both survived our tumbles unscathed and continued on to Hudswell, where there’s a lovely gravel track right above the London-Bath railway tunnel, where James got a shot of me getting the Sur-Ron’s wheels off the ground on a rise.

I recognised the last trail on our planned route – a section of the old London Road – having also done it on the Himalayan last year and at the start of it I still had 10% showing on the ‘juice’ gauge. It was well under a mile long, and I rode it very gently but to my surprise and dismay the gauge had run down to zero just before the end and as it did so, all

power cut out! So having been reasonably confident of completing our route, we actually conked out a couple of miles short.

We had done precisely 64kms – 40 miles – since the start, and in doing so had used up not just the original full ‘tank’ of electrons but also a further 38%’s worth from the lunchtime top-up at Robbie’s Plaice.

Again, the Sur-Ron is so light that pushing it is barely harder than walking with a bicycle, but that is a bit slow. James heroically managed to give me a ‘straight leg’ push to the outside footrest all the way back to base.

I also had the Sur-Ron for a few days in London where I discovered that the ‘Eco’ 28mph moped mode is absolutely fine a lot of the time, now that so much of the metropolis is limited to 20mph. On the other hand, an entertaining rush across town in sports mode to watch MotoGP live at The BikeShed in Hipster-Central Shoreditch saw me get through no less than 59% of a full charge in only 28.1kms/17 miles. Fortunately the BikeShed is perfectly equipped for recharging electric bikes, so I was able to leave there fully ‘topped up’ for free.

The Sur-Ron handles really well on the tarmac despite those knobbly tyres, so could be a great little commuter bike, apart from the fact that you’d have to use a rucksack if you want to carry anything, (and a large chunk of that will be occupied by the charger if you want to recharge at work or anywhere else).

The bike’s light weight also makes it highly nick-able of course, so you’d want to attach it to something pretty solid, with a heavy chain, if you leave it exposed for any length of time in public; (it does have a steering lock, separate from the ignition switch). The trip meter would be far more useful if it hadn’t been programmed to revert to odometer mode after only a few seconds. You can’t switch it to trip mode while moving either, you have to stop the bike to do it, which is absolutely infuriating! (It can also be switched to read in miles rather than kilometres.)

Overall, I had great fun on the Sur-Ron Light Bee. I think it’s ideal for complete beginners, whether on road or dirt, especially if they’re physically petite. It’s actually more learnerfriendly than the tiny but very fierce little OSET electric trials bike I tried at Neil Berry’s electric enduro park last year, which was offered as an alternative to the heavyweight KTM FreerideE. But the Sur-Ron is also ideal for knackered old codgers like me, just because it is so light and easy to ride. And yet, in the right hands, especially if fully tweaked, these little electric bikes can embarrass all sorts of expensive dirt machinery – have a rummage on YouTube for the entertaining evidence!

Trail Autumn 2020 65

DOMINATOR

Scrambler

Al Ranger is MD of Enduro Tyres and has been a TRF member for over 30 years. In that time he’s done his fair share of event winning. So what would he do when it came to Lockdown?

“I

won the British Expert 4-Stroke Enduro Championship on a Husqvarna TE 350 in 1994, soon after I had a knee operation and got into some gentle trail riding in my back garden (Salisbury Plain). It was at this time that I joined Wiltshire TRF and like most people I was amazed at just how many byways existed that I didn’t know about. I enjoyed some great trips away with other Groups, and set up some TRF training days as an ISDE fundraiser – it was good to see this revived last year with the TRF’s involvement in the ACU Women’s ISDE team and TRF Enduro team.

66 Trail Autumn 2020

Trail Autumn 2020 67

DOMINATOR SCRAMBLER Endurotyres.com is now the UK’s largest Michelin off-road centre. We have a varied customer base including professional riders and teams, alongside the newbie trail rider.

When we get a call from someone new to trail riding, we do our best to direct them to their local TRF Group.

Most weekends you will find us trackside at British Championship Enduro or Mountain

68 Trail Autumn 2020

Bike events. My son Lewis was 2018 Clubman Enduro Champion on a Husqvarna 150, and last year he came third in the under-21 class in the British Mountain Bike Enduro. Michelin dominates both these sports, so it’s great for our business, as you can imagine. At 53 years old I still have a ride-out in the Vets Enduro class occasionally, and I particularly like to do the Welsh 2-Day. One of the highlights was competing with my son in the French classic “Trefle Lozerien” Three-Day World Enduro. On discovering it was Lewis’s 18th birthday on the

ping minimalist custom bike). eBay fenders and a sticker kit and pinstripes were sourced and stuck on at the kitchen table. ‘Butch’ then flicked the tank and side panels over in classic Honda Elsinore silver and green.

One of our old Enduro buddies James Giddings (of Steer in Style Ltd) stopped what he does for McLaren for a moment and did the seat, while RS Racing rebuilt the forks after powder-coating. I found a spare silencer from one of my old Husky Enduro TEs, so this was used with a nice custom stainless front pipe made by ‘Stainless Chris’. We were chuffed with the result, and with a freshly repacked silencer it was surprisingly quiet. Now the bike was breathing a lot better, with the pipe and open airbox, John re-jetted it to suit.

Being used to riding Enduro bikes on the road without indicators or mirrors, my thoughts were like those of all BMW car drivers: Why start now? We ended up with loads of excess wiring from behind all the bodywork we’d removed, so we sent the bike to a motorcycle wiring specialist and within a few days Richard Prowse had made a bespoke loom, had hidden all the unsightly CDI boxes,

Trail Autumn 2020 69

final day, our friends from the Purple Helmets Enduro team insisted that Lewis should ride into the packed bar and hit the rev limiter – the rest of that evening was a bit of a blur!

Cast your mind back to March 2020 and if your lockdown was anything like ours It consisted of painting fences, feeling happy with your daily hour’s exercise spent burning off 300 calories, and then sitting in the garden rewarding yourself with probably one too many alcoholic beverages. To be fair, many dirt bike riders spent the time doing the jobs we hate, like greasing linkage bearings, cleaning air filters and arranging the spanners in the tool box.

The guys at Endurotyres are guilty of all the above, but they did find time to finish the following project.

We attend most of the big UK Enduro and MTB events with Michelin race support and the one thing missing is a cool little service/chase bike to go in our race truck. We have been looking for a C90/Chicken Chaser for some time, but these are hard to find and expensive when you do.

Out of the blue came this oneowner, low-mileage 1989 Honda Dominator, which was up for sale at our local bike shop, VP Motorcycles of Salisbury.

Vince Previtt sorted out a good deal and the Honda was quickly stripped – my old mate and TRF member ‘Trigg’ literally sent me a dozen messages saying you can’t break up a classic Honda. By this time it was too late and the angle grinder had come out in anger. All the OE Red Tupperware bodywork had fetched strong money on eBay, adding more funds to the build pot.

For us, being a big Michelin dealer, the main thing was to mount the right rubber and we fitted Michelin Anakee Wild adventure tyres.

We bolt-cropped the spokes and sold the original DID gold rims, the 31-year-old hubs cleaned up perfectly with some WD40 (good old Honda build quality) and these were then sent to Talon to be laced on black Excel rims: 19 front,17 rear.

Once we got the bike sitting right, John Towle, my uncle who has worked on all my race bikes since I was a kid, cut the subframe and made the old Honda CG 125 tank fit.

Remember, this is a budget bike to be chucked in the truck (not some show-stop-

DOMINATOR SCRAMBLER

horn etc., and installed a trick GPS speedo that we sourced online, which let us ditch the speedo cable and drive.

Any racer knows the easiest performance gain is to save weight. We’re not sure how many kgs we saved but ditching the highmounted twin steel rear pipes, cutting the rear subframe, getting rid of the fairing with clocks, steel handlebars, speedo cable and drive, huge petrol tank and luggage rack plus miles of wiring gives a very noticeably lighter feel.

This, coupled with a bigger main jet and free flow pipe, has transformed the bike and it feels more XR than Adventure.

Okay, so we know we have upset some of the ‘Vintage Honda Owners Club Branch’.

Why modify a nice low-mileage example?

Yes, we could have found a high-mileage bike and sunk a lot of money into an engine, suspension rebuild etc., but we love the way this budget-build green-lane bike

70 Trail Autumn 2020

has turned out.

The scrambler had its debut ride at the Malle Mile (see main photo), an event for inappropriate motorcycles, held at Kevington Hall in Kent. It consisted of three separate short grass special tests and you are paired with a similar motorcycle. Obviously any modern Enduro/MX bike is ruled out, so it’s a mix of Classic Brit, old Trail Bikes, modern Street Scramblers, Harleys with knobblies, electric bikes, four-cylinder Superbike engines squeezed into an Enduro chassis and anything else deemed unsuitable. This year, due to COVID-19, the event was topped off with great socially-distanced evening entertainment. If you can dig something out of the shed for next year, we highly recommend the event – it was a great weekend.”

By the way, if you know of a cheap Honda C90, please get in touch with Al.

9RPIEWL ]SYV %HZIRXYVI &MOI ٍ​ٍ

LF ODQW XUH 0HG GYHQW OO\ G L 5D VHUW $ UR 5D H QGX F' (SL 7UDLO ( NHV U %L EVLWH IR :H H 6 H IRU LQIR

IɖǼǼɵ nƺɮƺǼɀ ɀɖȵȵȒȸɎƺƳ ɎȒɖȸɀ ‫« ב‬ǣƳǣȇǕ IɖǼǼɵ ɀɖȵȵȒȸɎƺƳ xȒȸȒƬƬȒ ۭ ¨ȒȸɎɖǕƏǼ ‫« ב‬ǣƳǣȇǕ nƺɮƺǼɀ

ǣǣȇǔȒ۬ƫǣǕɀǸɵȸǣƳƺȸɀِƬȒȅ ȇǔȒ۬ƫǣǕɀǸɵȸǣƳƺȸɀِƬȒȅ

ÁƺǼ‫ي‬ Á ƺǼ‫׎ ي‬ ‫גהא׏׎‬ ‫ד גהא׏‬ ‫חחדב׏ד‬ ‫ חחדב׏‬۴ ‫׎‬ ‫אהגו׎‬ ‫ו אהגו‬ ‫גווחאו‬ ‫גווחא‬

ɯɯɯِƫǣǕɀǸɵȸǣƳƺȸɀِƬȒȅ ɯ ɯɯِƫǣǕɀǸɵȸǣƳƺȸɀِƬȒȅ ȇƳȒɮƺȸ

ȇƳȒɮƺȸ ‫ ٮ‬RƏȅȵɀǝǣȸƺ RƏȅȵɀǝǣȸƺ

$PɈʫʖQɒ 7Uʋɵɗ 5LʏʖQɒ +ɼʙLGʋ\ɡ ʖɚ 6Sʋʖɚ

3 nights only £350 per person,- NON-RIDING NON-RIDING PARTNERS PARTNERSCOME Andalusiais a magical Andalusia magical setting setting for a Dirt Bike Holiday Holiday in in Spain Spain and and our villa villa couldn’t couldn’t be better placed. Nestling between olive groves and the Andalusian mountains (and just 40 minutes from Malaga) our stylishly, decorated country house has everything you need as a base for your holiday, extensive secluded gardens, excellent facilities, a full English breakfast before your off-road ride and a fabulous pool to help you relax after it.

Expert advice and tuition is available to make Group Discounts your experience even more enjoyable (our for 3+ riders! guides have 30 years off-road motorbike experience between them). All riding gear and equipment is supplied at no extra cost.

When it comes to dirt bike riding, Spain really has it all. You will ride awesome mountain passes, dense forest trails and stop for coffee in traditional whitewashed villages that seem frozen in time. There are over 1000 miles of trails to iÝ« Ài] > v Û>ÀÞ } ` vwVÕ Ì ið / i ` ÀÌ L i Ì ÕÀà are arranged based on the riders abilities. Expect to be thrilled before arriving at the local village for some well earned R&R in the evening.

Villanueva del Trabuco, Malaga, Spain, 29313 UK: 01442 234233 Bookings: 07453 260841 E: dirtbikeholidays@yahoo.com

www.dirtbikeholidays.com

Airport transfers/pick-ups/ drop-offs can be arranged

Friends OF THE TRF

The following businesses are offering discounts to TRF members

58% Discount Suzuki GB bikes.suzuki.co.uk/owners/acu-licence-holders/ On parts for ACU licence holders 38% Discount John Banks Renault on Traffic Vans 25% Discount EBC Brakes Direct www.ebcbrakesdirect.com Brake and clutch components 20% Discount Custom Lids www.customlids.co.uk Discounts available on all motorcycle clothing Flexiplates visit: www.flexiplates.co.uk Quote code TRF15 Herbert & Ellison Discount on seat refurbishment www.herbertellisonupholstery.co.uk/ 15% Discount Cotswold Outdoor www.cotswoldoutdoor.com Cycle Surgery www.cyclesurgery.com Gear 4 Motorcycles www.gear4motorcycles.co.uk WM Moto (Carlisle) www.wmmoto.co.uk Available on parts and selected clothing Adventure Spec Motoz low-impact trail tyres www.adventure-spec.com J&S Oxford www.jsaccessories.co.uk Bikestop www.bikestop Off-road clothing discount MotoKing www.motoking.co.uk

Viewranger www.viewranger.com Discount on digital maps code: TRF2017 10% Discount Fantic CCM Gas Gas EC Spares www.hainesmc.co.uk Quote code TRF2020 with membership number on an e-mail after placing your order online Rally Raid Products www.rally-raidproducts.co.uk Discount available on all custom Rally parts Midwest Racing www.midwestracing.co.uk Available on parts, accessories and clothing Premier Bikes www.premierbikes.com KTM franchise with discount applying to parts and clothing Endurotek www.endurotek.co.uk Parts and accessories Manchester Xtreme www.manchesterxtreme.com Please quote your TRF membership number PC Advanced Motorcycle Training http://www.cbtanddas.co.uk Bolt Bikes www.boltbikes.co.uk Gerbing www.gerbing.eu Discount code is TRF10 EDZ www.edzdirect.com Base-layer clothing Discount code is TRFC_10 Bike Revival www.bike-revival.co.uk Shock Absorber specialist J&S Oxford www.jsaccessories.co.uk

MX Zone www.mxzone.co.uk IAM www.iamroadsmart.com Rewire Security Tracking, cameras, CCTV, alarms www.rewiresecurity.co.uk Dirtbikebitz Bike parts, riding gear and helmets www.dirtbikebitz.com Opie Oils & Service Parts https://www.opieoils.co.uk// Nomad ADV Lightweight travel & rally gear www.nomad-adv.com Fowlers of Bristol http://www.fowlers.co.uk Smith & Allen Lubricants https://www.smithandallan.com Transylvania Trails http://www.transylvaniatrails.com Bikefix Discount on servicing and repairs www.facebook.com/Bikefixyeovil Dirtbike Express https://www.dirtbikexpress.co.uk Fraser’s of Gloucester 5% on spare parts www.frasersmotorcycles.co.uk Various Discounts Centre Trail, France www.centre-trail.com 15 Euro cash back on booking Enduro Tyres www.endurotyres.com Special rates Trail Rides Wales www.trailrides-wales.com Free guides for members on selected days Bike Seal bikeseal.co.uk Catalan Adventure 10% off accommodation and 50% off bike hire

Check the website for up-to-date information on discounts offered at www.trail.trf.org.uk/members/benefits/

72 Trail Autumn 2020

GET THE FACTORY FEELING FANTIC’S NEW RACING ERA 2021 MODELS ARE OUT NOW!

KYB SUSPENSION YAMAHA ENGINES ATHENA ELECTRONICS ARROW EXHAUST SYSTEMS

FIND DETAILS AND DEALERS AT

FANTICMOTORUK.COM