Summer 2018 TRF Trail Magazine

Summer 2018

The Members’ Magazine of the Trail Riders Fellowship

THE SWEET SPOT A steep learning curve at the Sweet Lamb Adventure Bike Academy Directors’ Report – General Meeting voting results, Green Road Mapping project, Road Conservation, NERC review report.

Membership Matters including latest survey results Newcastle round trip taking the TET via the Netherlands, Belgium, France and finally back to the UK Wessex Wanderer unplugged on a Zero and other tales A flavour of the Gibraltar Race in the Home Counties

Trail Heritage A look back at the Southern Group

THE TRF TEAM Conservation Director: Dave Carling dave.c@trf.org.uk 07586 325 260 Financial Director: Michel Sabatier finance@trf.org.uk 07801 187304 Heritage Director: Steve Neville steve.n@trf.org.uk 01474 742705 Marketing Director: Mario Costa-Sa mario@trf.org.uk 07721 480000 Membership Director: Carla McKenzie carla.m@trf.org.uk Technical Director: John Vannuffel john.v@trf.org.uk 01323 898847/07730 796215 Membership Secretary: Sharon Connor sharon@trf.org.uk TRF Membership PO Box 4829 SHREWSBURY SY1 9LP 07958 316295 Press: pr@trf.org.uk 07812 402021 IT: Adrian Allen web@trf.org.uk Equestrian Events Liaison: Mark Holland equestrian@trf.org.uk Creative Communications & Website Editor: Greg Villalobos greg@trf.org.uk IT Director: Wil Linssen wil.l@trf.org.uk Governance: Stewart Bosworth stewart.b@trf.org.uk

Editorial THiS SUMMER EDiTiON of Trail marks the end of the first year of the new-look members’ magazine. Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun.

Speaking of time, summer has kind of rushed in after the earlier meteorological mayhem. My first LDT of the year came in mid-April, thanks to the Reigate and Redhill North Downs club. A great event, and well organised. However, pilot error let the editorial CCM down – got lost (that’s the trouble when you think you know where you’re going and don’t pay enough attention to the road book) and had a bit of an off, which temporarily dampened my enthusiasm.

Fortunately my ‘error of judgement’ came near the end of the day, fatigue may have been a contributory cause, and i had ample time to appreciate the Michelin Mediums and Hagon mono-shock. i said last time i would tell all on the tyres, but i’ve decided to run them all season before doing that – there are four more 100-plus mile events to come as well as my fitness regime on the local trails. initial impressions on the hard-to-sloppy going at the LDT are very favourable and, while it might be a strange thing to say regarding Enduro tyres, they feel exceptional on tarmac for a knobbly. The front tracks almost like a road tyre, which makes for a more relaxing ride allowing you to catch your breath between the gnarly bits. Running pressures of 14psi front and 12psi rear there was no noticeable tyre creep after the event, and no complaints about grip. Mileage at the end of May was just under 250. The Hagon shock has transformed the back end of the bike, which inevitably shows up the front, so that’ll be the next project. i was back in the Surrey Hills in May, invited by members of the Pre-65 Motocross Club. The photo is taken at the top of Leith Hill, and many thanks to run leader David Holt for a great day out.

But that’s enough about me. This issue of Trail is packed with stories about what you’ve been up to and, on a more serious note, this quarter’s Directors’ Report, which contains a huge amount of information regarding the Fellowship: what we’ve voted for, what’s changing, what we’ve achieved and where we’re headed – all the important stuff.

Wherever you read your copy of Trail – the bedroom, the lavatory, the shed or even in public – i hope you enjoy it.

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.05884933 Registered Office, 218 The Strand, London WC2R 1AT. All advertising enquiries should be sent to rick@trf.org.uk The views expressed by individual members in Trail are not necessarily those of the Trail Riders Fellowship.

Summer 2018 Trail 01

iSSUE #4 SUMMER 2018

The Members’ Magazine of the Trail Riders Fellowship

CONTENTS

03 Directors’ Report: Somerset General Meeting – Wern Ddu – NERC latest – Fellowship Finance – Road Conservation – Green Road Mapping Project 14 Having it Large: Tuition from the Adventure Bike Academy at Sweet Lamb Motorsport Comp 22 Membership Matters: Unsung Heroes plus your buying habits survey results 30 Ten Days on the TET: Greg Villalobos and mates prepare for the worst 42 Wessex Wanderer: Blez takes the twist-and-go Zero option 50 Gibraltar Prologue: Wil Linssen gets a taste of the Gibraltar Race 56 The Long View: Our Trail Heritage – Pete Wildsmith looks back at the Southern Group 66 Readers’ Rides: Does size matter? A tale of two KTMs

02 Trail Summer 2018

Cover image: Sweet Lamb Motorsport Complex Inset image: Pete Wildsmith

Notes from the chair by Mario Costa-Sa

especially in group riding. These are initially First Responder for riding injuries in the countryside and an additional requirement to meet the ACU coach certification.

We are working to understand where these two possibly specialised needs sit against the framework of existing First Aid at Work and other commonly used certified first aid courses.

Many thanks to Alcuin Wilkie (Chair Central Bristol TRF) and Keith Johnston (Wilts TRF Officer) for their work in incorporating existing programmes into our events, and to Paul Lonergan (Herts TRF) and John Dixon (NW Wales TRF) for their suggestions on a bespoke accredited course at a competitive rate for the future. John Dixon provides professional First Aid Services and Training at www.mpowerservices.co.uk/

J Bentman

THE TRF ORGANiSATiON continues to perform well with ongoing road conservation success and membership growing to record levels. This has allowed us time to work further on developing critical activities, and you can see the results in Carla McKenzie’s and John Vannuffel’s reports in this issue.

Safe Events – we continue to build on the progress in event organisation with risk assessments, qualified organisers and improved documented processes forming the bedrock of all our events. Many thanks to John Collins, Chairman of the ACU, and TRF Training Director Chris Barrable for organising the Clerk of Course (CoC) training session in Bristol in March.

This covers areas of importance when running events, such as: event team structure, procedures, risk assessments, insurance and more recently minimising event environmental impact.

We had around 17 attendees, which, with a prior session of 10 held last year, is well on the way towards our target of getting around 30 TRF members qualified for CoC. We thank all attendees for their support for this event, their concern for our safety and volunteering to run TRF events.

Chris will be working on the TRF’s ACU CoC training strategy and future dates for training. Dick Brew has offered to organise a similar session in the North. if you are an existing TRF member with ACU CoC, please register with Chris Barrable (chris.b@trf.org.uk).

Dave Carling has now taken over responsibility for First Aid for Trail Riding.

The TRF broadly has two needs above and beyond the level of excellence provided by Biker Down training, which is to many motorcyclists obligatory for any rider

Ongoing Activities Green road map project: This is a long overdue request from the Technical Director as well as many members. Following successful trials, we will move to the next phase.

Local Road Conservation Strategies: We have

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plex

Directors’ Report

been working on Road Conservation objectives for local groups and delivered training in this area.

General Data Protection Regulation: GDPR is a big focus for the TRF as it is with most organisations. We are fortunate to have Ceri Charlton, a professional in this area who has volunteered to be a TRF Executive and advise on our processes. Policy has been sent to all Group Officers.

Partners: Our relationship with the Police, the ACU and other partners is still a focus of activity to increase our influence. As well as the ACU we have been working our partnerships with the iAM and RoSPA and Keith Johnston is chasing formal agreements with both these organisations. Currently, we work in conjunction with the iAM to offer members a 10% discount on the iAM Skills For Life package.

Tom Carnell (Glos TRF) will be consulting with the membership on partnerships later this year.

Somerset General Meeting

Marketing - Summer Events We will be having a major TRF presence at the following events this year: The weekend of 16/17 June: Horizons Hubb, Hereford – presentations from Ferdi Pick – GPS Apps (Norfolk/Suffork TRF), Gavin Seiler (Herts TRF) and Mario, with ride-outs led by Simon Gaze and Graham Hutton (Hereford TRF).

The weekend of 7/8 July: Adventure Bike Rider Festival, Banbury, Oxfordshire – TRF will be organising the ride-out programme for 500 riders on both green roads and tarmac in conjunction with a major Police force. The TRF will also be promoting the iAM. Martin Welch (Chair Oxford TRF) and Cliff Osenton – Green Route and Scattered Navigation planning.

27 July: The Gamefair and 7 Aug Countryfile Live – Tom Carnell (Glos TRF) will be managing our presence again this year at these highprofile events and Robin Hickin (W Mids) and Martin Welch (Chair Oxford TRF) will be assisting.

Meanwhile please enjoy the copy of Trail magazine. We look forward to seeing your feedback on the contents. Enjoy the rides and events and access to trails that hundreds of volunteers have worked hard to deliver for you across this Summer.

Thank you for your ongoing support of the TRF, being a TRF member, and playing your part in ensuring the future of responsible trail riding.

Mario Costa-Sa 04 Trail Summer 2018

THE APRiL SOMERSET TRF Forest Ride was followed by a TRF General Meeting, which was attended by around 90 members including directors Michel Sabatier, Dave Carling, Stewart Bosworth and Mario Costa-Sa. The purpose of the meeting was to vote upon critical decisions required to ensure effective TRF function and governance in the immediate period ahead, although not before a complimentary cream tea...

Here’s what Mario had to say “A big thank you to the Somerset TRF team, led by Martin Keswick, for hosting the General Meeting last Sunday, at what was possibly the largest event that the TRF has ever seen.

“The site was impeccable, reminiscent of the ‘Hameau de La Reine, Versailles’. Many thanks to Mr W. Theed, the owner of the historic Combe Sydenham Country Park, for use of his land adjoining the beautiful Elizabethan surroundings. The catering was superb as ever, although we missed the venison burgers, enjoyed on our last visit. in their place TRF members were rewarded by a Somerset cream tea provided

by Martin’s daughter, which, as everyone knows, is cream first, then jam, with a split scone, definitely without dried fruit, and accompanied by bottomless cups of builder’s tea.

TRF organises a well-run event.

“With so many riders there, it is impossible to mention everyone. i did hear that Austin Vince, best known for his long distance adventure motorcycle expeditions, was present in his green TRF overalls [and very clean they were too – ed.], and i did see a mud-caked Gabriel Bolton of Zen Overland come up to thank Martin Keswick for the event. Even more memorable was the legend that is Dr Alcuin Wilkie (Chair of the Central Bristol TRF), caught having a quick in-retirement cat nap during the meeting. i am pleased to mention that Austin Vince has agreed to host a future TRF meeting later this year, possibly around Motorcycle Live.”

“The course offered something for everyone – especially the intermediates and the experienced. The Somerset TRF team of marshals were very much in evidence at the recent TRF ACU Clerk of Course event, and with so many fully trained and certified volunteers available, it is not surprising this event ran like clockwork. The Somerset TRF Exmoor Forest Ride is now the benchmark standard in how the

We had our say, too. Of the TRF members at the riding day almost half stayed to attend the General Meeting, showing that given the right environment, it is possible to engage members in person in the wider decision-making of the TRF. Members were keen to get involved in the meeting. Martin ensured that everyone had their say without detracting from the proceedings. He made it clear at the beginning of the meeting that the resolutions had been formed from the responses of members to TRF surveys and consultations, and were open for voting but not for change on the day. He actively encouraged questions to be asked, and responses were given both from the directors and TRF veterans.

Charlie Morris – a former TRF director – enlightened us with his positive views on the resolutions. On one contentious issue, the membership fee increase to pay for Trail magazine, a poll was taken that helped the room understand the strength of feeling on both sides of the difficult decision to be made.

As a result of Chair Martin’s efficacy, the meeting was completed to everyone’s satisfaction and decisions made with the whole meeting taking around 45 minutes.

Martin ensured both the event and meeting functioned smoothly. Commercial partners saw the benefit of the event as well. AT Motorcycles, trail bike dealers, were present with tyres, tubes and consumables and a stand promoting a current TRF favourite, the Beta.

They were offering test rides around the track to interested potential customers. The economic value of trail riding and commercial partners is an area of focus for the TRF.

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Wider Engagement

Minutes of the Meeting Michel Sabatier, Stewart Bosworth, Mario CostaSa and Martin Keswick addressed the meeting.

All resolutions in the notice were voted in.

The current directors were re-appointed and retirement terms agreed. Doug Cartwright was appointed as a director. New bylaws were adopted. The membership fee was increased to cover the cost of Trail magazine. The TRF Aims & Objectives were adopted. The Code of Conduct (2018) was adopted.

Our thanks to the two voting tellers – Martin Welch, Chair of Oxford TRF and Steve Coward of Wiltshire TRF – plus the other helpers who worked together to record votes in record time. Our Finance Director Michel Sabatier recorded the final voting figures and it is understood there was an overwhelming majority – approximately 90% – in favour of all resolutions.

In summary Proposals for meetings and TRF decisionmaking going forward were outlined in the previous issue of Trail magazine. The majority of these meetings, including AGMs, will be centred around riding events. The General Meeting proved that debates need not be dreary, and we can still have fun while making important decisions. Engaging over 400 riders is a spectacular sight and an opportunity for the TRF to show that it has critical mass.

Moving forward: The Trail team will work on communicating change to members through web Trail, email and Trail magazine.

The Code of Conduct page will be rewritten with a separate notice explaining to members the changes in regulations and guidance.

The undoubted success of this General Meeting has set the bar high for future events, while the Annual General Meeting held at Wern Ddu Quarry on Saturday 26 May gave us a sense of the shape of things to come.

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Record of voting This was taken by the TRF Finance Director Michel Sabatier and passed by the Meeting Chair Martin Keswick. Several members proposed to conduct the vote by show of hands to facilitate the counting. The votes of the 90 members present were therefore conducted by show of hands, with the proxy votes added. The Chair asked the members if they agreed so to do; the members agreed.

Resolution 1. Ordinary resolution to extend the appointment of current directors for a term that is subject of the following provision, which shall be included in the Trail Riders Fellowship Bylaws: Directors’ Length of Service and Retirement.

At every Annual General Meeting one-third of the directors who are subject to retirement by rotation or, if their number is not three or a multiple of three, the number nearest to one-third shall retire from office; but, if there is only one director who is subject to retirement by rotation, they shall retire.

The directors to retire by rotation shall be those who have been longest in office since their last appointment or reappointment, but as between persons who became or were last reappointed directors on the same day, those to retire shall (unless they otherwise agree among themselves) be determined by lot. if the company, at the meeting at which a director retires by rotation, does not fill the vacancy the retiring director shall, if willing to act, be deemed to have been reappointed unless at the meeting it is resolved not to fill the vacancy or unless a resolution for the reappointment of the director is put to the meeting and lost.

Count of votes including proxies For 128 Against 1 Abstain 0 Result Passed Resolution 2. Ordinary resolution to appoint Douglas Cartwright as a director.

Count of votes including proxies For 128 Against 0 Abstain 1 Result Passed

Resolution 3. Ordinary resolution to adopt the Trail Riders Fellowship Bylaws, which shall replace the TRF Temporary Bylaws. (“Trail Riders Fellowship Bylaws” were appended to the Meeting Notice.)

Count of votes including proxies For 127 Against 2 Abstain 0 Result Passed A member asked if those present could give a show of hands for keeping the membership subscription at the current level while including the print edition of Trail.

The Chair agreed and asked for a show of hands. Six members out of 90 supported this proposition.

Resolution 4. Ordinary resolution to increase the membership subscription rate to £52.00 direct debit, £56.50 postal/PayPal. Count of votes including proxies For 118 Against 10 Abstain 1 Result Passed Resolution 5. Ordinary resolution to adopt the Trail Riders Fellowship’s Aims and Objectives, and The Vision. Aims and Objectives, and The Vision, were appended to the Meeting Notice.

Count of votes including proxies For 128 Against 1 Abstain 0 Result Passed Special resolution 6: Code of Conduct.

The text of the TRF Code of Conduct (2018) was appended to the meeting Notice.

Proposed special resolution To adopt the Trail Riders Fellowship Code of Conduct (2018) and revoke the current TRF Code of Conduct.

For 123 Against 5 Abstain 1 Result Passed

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AGM at Wern Ddu, Corwen, Denbighshire OVER 56 MEMBERS came to the TRF AGM event at Wern Ddu Quarry. Many thanks to the North Wales Chair, Eddie Evans, who officiated at the AGM meeting.

At the previous Somerset General Meeting in April the core business of running the TRF, including appointing directors, had already been secured, so the Wern Ddu meeting focused on informing the attendees on Road Conservation issues, the progress made

by the TRF in the past year, and the rationale behind some our decisions.

The turnout on the day was lower than the 101 expected from registrations prior to the event. This meant that the members could not vote to receive the accounts.

This is a formality from our bylaws and not a company requirement. The vote will simply be deferred to a future meeting.

The Accounts have been made available to members since January and financial reports continue to be published in Trail.

Financial Report Finance Director, Michel Sabatier iN SUMMARY, THE TRF financial situation is good and has improved again since September.

The following deductions apply to the eight months from 1 September 2017 to 30 April 2018 (provisional unaudited accounts): income has increased by 12% to £153K in comparison with the last financial year.

Membership costs have increased from £62K to £87K, mainly due to the reinstatement of the printed edition of Trail (£25K) and to a lesser extent to the increase in the number of members.

Excluding the printed edition of Trail, total membership costs per member (excluding RoR) have decreased slightly.

We have spent £77K, or 47%, of our total spend on Right of Roads. Of this we have

08 Trail Summer 2018

recovered £43K of legal costs from the court cases we have won.

We have made a large surplus of £47K, although this is mainly due to large legal fees recovery.

Our total reserves have increased by 25% to £230K. Donations from groups have increased to £15K since September, which helps to reinforce our financial stability and allows us to take on more cases as required.

The Directors have implemented budgets for the year 2017–18 and we are following income and spending against these budgets.

We are 10% ahead of budget on income and on budget for membership expenses.

House of Lords Report House of Lords report on the NERC Review The House of Lords Select Committee, reviewing the 2006 Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act, recently published its report examining the progress and consequences of the Act. We’re pleased that the report has recommended the introduction of a simpler, more flexible Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) system to benefit both public services and public access. Public access to, and conservation of, green roads featured. Evidence was submitted

by LARA, TRF, Kent County Council and anti-access organisations, the last mentioned using the review as a platform to further their ideology in spite of such claims being both selective, and largely unsupported by the Government’s own evidence.

TRF – represented by Chairman Mario Costa-Sa and supported by Technical Director John Vannuffel – demonstrated motorcycle use of the green road network to be infrequent and of no greater impact than that of horse riding. TRF reaffirmed its support of the use of proportional TROs to deal with irresponsible behaviour and public use during periods of unsustainability, such as when soft ground is waterlogged.

LARA – represented by Alan Kind and representing GLASS – made the case that the Act had been a ‘blunt instrument’, which had harmed public access by creating a network inconsistent with historical and legal purpose.

Alan joined the TRF in advocating a new, flexible system whereby public routes would be temporarily closed during periods when sustained public use is not advisable.

Kent County Council (KCC) made the case that the Act fell short with its provision to prevent criminal misuse of the green road network, as bollards could not be used to deny access to routes located within National Parks.

By implication, this affirms the TRO process to be effective in regulating use by responsible members of the public, with disregard for legal orders (unsurprisingly) being the preserve of criminals.

KCC also drew attention to how the Act had concentrated motor vehicle use within a smaller network, citing it as an ‘unintended consequence’. TRF et al warned of this at the time of enactment, although they were unsuccessful at the time in convincing Parliament of the legacy of a diminished green road network.

The cost of this defence was a few thousand pounds in actual costs. The non-financial volunteer contribution of time, donated to the TRF by the team led by John Vannuffel, has been estimated at 400 hours and would have cost around £100k in professional fees without the gift of volunteers’ time.

As a follow-up, the TRF simply keeps doing more of what it is doing so well: trail riding in a courteous and responsible manner, and increasing the influence of the TRF at every opportunity and especially at local as well as national level.

For a summary of the NERC Review, see https://trail.trf.org.uk/2018/04/03/trf-welcomenerc-act-review/

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Road Conservation Report Technical Director, John Vannuffel Progress in Powys TRF is pleased to report that Powys County Council has undertaken a substantial programme of works on green roads in the last year and plans an increase in works for 2018–19. Works are scheduled to take place on iconic green roads including Monk’s Trod and the through routes from Ffair Rhos to Rhiwnant.

Peak District National Park Two unjustified TROs threaten to cause avoidable detriment to the special qualities of the park.

Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA) continues its programme of using TROs to degrade carriageways into paths and is in the process of inflicting that menace on Wetton.

Derbyshire County Council proposes to implement a full-fat TRO on Jacob’s Ladder on the basis of an ambitious and imaginative statement of reasons. A non-statutory consultation produced results that demonstrated most non-motorised users welcomed sharing the road with trail riders. Bizarrely, in the face of strong non-motorised users support for trail riding, the DCC is seeking to prohibit responsible trail riding.

Just outside of the PDNP, in the true North,

TRF input has successfully resulted in a Property information Notes (PiNs) decision to modify the DCC’s Order to downgrade Back Lane, in Darley Dale, to a bridlepath and BOAT. The modified Order will now seek to downgrade Back Lane from UCR (Unclassified County Road) to BOAT (Byway Open to all Traffic) in parts. TRF intends to object to the downgrade.

Hampshire The TRF has successfully prevented Hampshire County Council from using archaic powers to stop up Heaven Hill Road.

The HCC sought to persuade the Magistrates Court that the green roads was unnecessary for trail riding and 4x4 use. The Court did not accept the HCC’s arguments and commented that the TRF presented a substantial amount of user evidence.

James Higgs, Andrew Sillence and Jonathan Buckley were all commended by the Court for the quality of their evidence.

The Highways Department of HCC, prior to its defeat in the Magistrates Court on 18 May, also made a TRO on 14 May to prevent responsible and sustainable trail riding on green roads in Warnford, where the TRF has initiated the process of challenging the Warnford TRO.

Coast to Coast for South Yorks Police motorcycle unit TRF Director Stewart Bosworth (Bozza the Rozza!) leads South Yorks Police motorcycle unit on Rudland Rigg, North Yorkshire, as part of a TRF-led Coast to Coast run.

Following on from our Police Rights of Road training course, this event was laid on especially for the Police and helps build our influence with the Authorities in the Peak District.

Many local groups have started to look outside the traditional area of ROW departments. and LAF meetings, and reach out to local Police forces and Local Police and Crime Commissioners, who can be powerful influencers on behalf of the TRF.

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Graham Hutton seized the opportunity with Hereford TRF in Monmouthshire where he secured an influential local working relationship with the Police. https://www.adventurebikerider.com/policecrack-down-illegal-off-road-motorcycling/ Contact: Stewart Bosworth stewart.b@trf.org.uk

Riding with Champions Look who turned up for a ride out!

Beginner rides have been a big success in many groups. Held monthly, the focus is on safety training and responsible riding. New riders, including non-members, are introduced to the TRF normally with the aim of getting back home for lunch. New riders are also buddied up with established members, sometimes one-to-one, so they can spend time discussing any issues they may wish to raise.

The beginner rides in the Herts Group have become very popular, and the Group has started introducing intermediate rides at the same time. Rides go out from various locations in Herts, one of the most popular being Torque Racing, the motorcycle servicing and rally support specialists in Royston, run by Martin Wittering.

Even though the rides are open to anyone, it was still a surprise to Paul Lonergan, one of the Herts Group’s ride leaders, when former World Superbike Champion Troy Corser (see top photo, Troy is on the left) turned up.

So Paul – how was riding with a Superbike Champion?

“Epic!!! Riding with Troy was inspiring. He’s so smooth on a bike he makes it look effortless. it’s not easy to approach a ride knowing you have to stay in front of one of your racing heroes but it’s not a race and also he’s very approachable and down to earth. We had a good chat about riding and he was happy to get stuck in with mechanical issues, giving all of us riding tips and demonstrations.”

How did it come about? “it was luck really. He happened to be at Torque Racing when i popped in about two weeks ago.

Martin introduced me and explained what we were doing with the regular TRF rides. Troy already runs a well established race school, www.race-academy.com, but he originally started riding off-road bikes and is thinking about developing an off-road training school as well. So the idea of getting him to join us was bounced around and he happened to have a rare weekend at home for that date.”

Why did Troy come out with the TRF? “Troy is a Herts resident and wanted to find out a bit more about the local trail riding scene as well as places to ride and the varieties of terrain. Martin pointed him in the direction of our rides without hesitation and i think we fulfilled the brief. Depending on his other commitments, i’m hoping it won’t be the last time he joins us.”

If you are thinking about doing a beginners’ ride, here are some tips: Use a check list and do a briefing – see http://www.trf.org.uk/a-beginners-guide-tothe-trf.

Focus on safety and the Code of Conduct.

Make sure you have plenty of experienced riders, so you can split up into small groups or ideally give one-to-one training.

Start by showing how to safely pick up a fallen bike.

Don’t worry too much about non-members taking advantage of your offer – persistent freeloaders are easily weeded out and most will enjoy themselves so much they will sign up after the session.

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Green Road Mapping Project Following successful trials in the South East (Phase 1), we are excited to announce that the TRF is close to releasing its Green Road mapping project, focusing on the needs of trail riders.

What it delivers Phase 2, the target for initial release date, is Summer 2018. This will be an up to date map of all the legally accessible green roads within England and Wales. in the future (Phase 3 onwards) the following features are to be added: To be able to record and archive any historical information associated with a green road.

To enable route planning using the map.

To enable the recording (via gpx files) of routes ridden for proving future access rights.

To have filters available to members to help with accessibility and route planning.

Who is doing the work The project is managed by Gavin Seiler.

John Vannuffel provides the raw data on green roads.

William Chapple is in charge of data consolidation and revision, and version control. Wil Linssen and Greg Villalobos look after map display.

The initiative is overseen by Mario Costa-Sa and any budgets are the preserve of Michel Sabatier, the TRF Finance Director.

The Linesman The concept of a ‘Linesman’ was introduced in the Trans Europe Trail (TET): see http://www.transeurotrail.org/the-linesmen.

The pioneer linesmen for Phase 1 have been Andrew Sillence for South England, and Steve Mann and Trevor Judd for Herts and Beds.

Many thanks to them for their work.

Following its successful introduction on the TET from a TRF perspective, a network of TRF Linesmen currently serves most of the South East. TRF Groups will be asked to consider volunteers to be the Linesman in their area. in most cases, it is envisaged this will be the existing TRF Group’s Road Conservation Officer.

The costs All development to date has been done cost free by volunteers, including Walter Turner,

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Computacentre iT implementation Specialist, William Chapple, software engineer, and Gavin Seiler, a professional engineer and Wil Linssen, TRF iT Director and a professional Software Developer.

As a guide to value and back-up in case of delivery problems from our DiY solution, we have a commercial software provider alternative used by local authorities ready to step in.

The cost of this would be licence fees of tens of thousands of pounds and professional implementation charges.

Without the professional skills of volunteers freely donating their time and expertise to the TRF, the cost of this project could be estimated at £100k.

Next steps More information on the project and its development is available from your local Group Chair, as given in the June Group Chairs’ Newsletter. This includes access to a presentation for Group meetings and an access link to a sample development site, which has been temporarily placed to enable local Groups to see where we are heading.

Naturally we are keen for all local Groups to participate in this to ensure national coverage, so all queries and access requests should at this stage be made through your local Group.

The local Road Conservation Officer or Chair can then take up any unanswered queries with John Vannuffel, who has overall responsibility for the data displayed, or Gavin and Mario for the project overall.

This could well be the TRF’s biggest project to date. We know you will be keen to access this information and please bear with us we enter a period of controlled release over the next few months.

THE MOTOR CYCLING CLUB LTD AND NOW FOR something completely different... Be a marshal / observer on the 2018 Edinburgh Classic Trial, one of the oldest events in the UK motorsporting calendar having been running since 1904!

The Motor Cycling Club Ltd would like to invite you to help on the 94th Edinburgh Trial to be held on Saturday 6 October 2018. Please see our website for pictures and more details of previous year’s events: https://www.themotorcyclingclub.org.uk/ The trial will start at Tamworth Moto Services M42 Junction 10 / A5 at midnight and will finish at The Duke of York, Ashbourne Road (A515) Pomeroy (nr Flagg) Derbyshire SK17 9QG on Saturday: 12:15pm (first bike)-16:30 (last car). See the campsite website at https://www.thedukeofyorkpomeroy.co.uk/camping-caravans.

The event Chief Marshal, Dave Malin, is recruiting for marshals, and if you are able to help you can contact him direct: Tel: 01788 334293 / 07949 948054 E-mail: info@themotorcyclingclub.org.uk Please detail which section you would be able to attend.

There are 15 observed sections and 2 timed tests spread around the Derbyshire Peak Park. The earliest starts at 2:00am and the last starts at 11:30am. Each section is open for about five hours as the 250+ field on two, three and four wheels goes through.

There is a choice of roles you may be interested in performing.

Observer: Scoring on an MCC trial is different to that of a PCT or Sporting Trial, but is, if anything, easier. Full training and briefing will be given, previous experience of MCC events is not absolutely necessary.

Timekeeper: Wield a stopwatch on one of the two observed tests – these are like mini autotests.

Time Control: An indoor role suitable for those less fleet of foot.

Contact Chief Marshal – DAVID MALIN Tel: 01788 334293 / 07949 948054 E-mail: info@themotorcyclingclub.org.uk

Summer 2018 Trail 13

Road-book Enduro Tours in France DATES FOR 2018 20/21/22 June Pyrénées SOLD OUT SOLD OUT 5/6/7 Sept Cantal 19/20/21 Sept Pyrénées SOLD OUT 24/25/26 Oct Trèfle du Morvan SOLD OUT 7/8/9 Nov Dordogne 21/22/23 Nov Normandie Subscribe to the newsletter on the website for dates for 2019

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.

Chris Evans, Sport Adventure, 15 Faye, 71550 Cussy en Morvan, France Tel: 0033 662 487190 chris.evans@sport-adventure.com www.sport-adventure.com

Having it Large The Adventure Rally Bike Academy at Sweet Lamb, Powys, is an accredited TRF Accredited Training Centre.

Mario Costa-Sa mixes it with the heavyweights iN THE SPRiNG edition of Trail magazine we covered the importance to TRF members of training, something that has now become even more important to the TRF as an organisation.

We investigated how skills from training have become an acknowledged means of preventing damage to both rider and bike. in addition to looking at training for beginners, we gave examples of such skills and competencies including: Lifting the weight of the bike’s front wheel to clear a fallen log without stopping or diverting from the trail.

Using momentum when going uphill to take the machine over tree roots and other obstacles without digging in.

Avoiding the damage caused by inexperienced riders unnecessarily getting stuck and digging themselves in through wheel spin and the associated effects of recovery of a stuck bike.

14 Trail Summer 2018

Recent TRF training progress Training has become a key initiative for the TRF and we are working towards having a comprehensive package. Chris Barrable continues to lead in this area and will be consulting with members later in the year – members will be requested to formally vote on the TRF training strategy.

Progress continues, and a draft document including the scope and objectives of a training programme for trail riding to a Police and Public Authority training standard has been written by TRF Director and Senior Police Officer Stewart Bosworth. This has been submitted to the Auto-Cycle Union (ACU) for consideration. in parallel, Keith Johnston, Wilts TRF Officer, has volunteered to progress accreditation of the TRF’s training scope from iAM Roadsmart and RoSPA. Once these recognised bodies approve this document, it is intended that it will form the

basis of a TRF members’ training programme in the future and we will circulate the contents.

The content of the course will be the domain of the TRF and it is envisaged that the TRF will set the standard for training in responsible trail riding.

The Adventure Rally Bike Academy at Sweet Lamb, Powys The Adventure Rally Bike complex backs onto the Yamaha Off Road Experience, which featured in the Spring 2018 issue of Trail. it is based near the Mid Wales town of Llanidloes.

Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff are all approximately 100 miles or a couple of hours away, and the run from London’s M25 can be done in as little as 3½ hours.

You won’t get much “further away from it all” than this spot. Sweet Lamb is situated in 5,000 acres of Welsh countryside. Wide open spaces in the heart of the Plynlimon mountain range, with no other traffic around, means time to learn and practise in safety and peace.

The rally complex is one of the UK’s premier motorsport testing facilities. With many miles of dedicated and graded gravel roads, plus almost endless off-road links, it’s the perfect place to

hone your off-road skills on an adventure bike.

The centre offers three specific routes and loops for adventure bikes and trail bikes with a “hard” rally for the most advanced and adventurous riders. The tracks cover a huge area, running to almost 20 miles in length over a vast variety of terrain, from mountains and moors to forests and valleys – it’s off-road heaven!

As you would expect, the Academy offers something for everyone: Entry-level day - An introduction to dirt and gravel riding, concentrating on safe and stable progress, with lots of on-bike time to practise.

Technical skills training - Technical skills work on off-road techniques specific to riding. We’ll work with you to improve your personal riding and overall skill set.

Intermediate trail riding - Trail bike training and riding experience. The spectacular surroundings of Sweet Lamb provide the ideal place for trail riding.

Rally-ready competence - We take you to the next level in terms of riding competence, working on weighting the pegs correctly and the more tricky techniques.

Road Book & GPS Navigation - To get the

Summer 2018 Trail 15

most from your adventure bike rallies you will require sound road book and GPS navigation skills. Learn how to navigate using a written road book and GPS navigation.

One-to-one training - Tailor-made one-toone training is available to cover everyone from absolute beginners and intermediates through to experts and pro riders. The Academy has a track record of proven success with riders of all abilities across the board.

The machines Most TRF members and visitors will choose to use their own bikes. The Academy has larger machines available to hire – 450 and 600ccs – and they welcome calls from those interested in hiring smaller bikes.

The instructors There is a team of instructors at Sweet Lamb headed by Mark Molineux. Mark was born in 1957 into a motorcycling family and started off-road riding at 13, graduated to MX at 16 and achieved expert level within a month!

He won the iMBA Round at international Level and began his Enduro career in 1982, winning a Silver Medal at his first Enduro.

He was runner-up in the British Clubman Championships, 1985, and winner of the British Expert Enduro Championships, 1986, as well as being a Husqvarna Team Rider, 1986/7, a multiple Gold Medal winner, and achieving

16 Trail Summer 2018

many other Championship wins.

Mark started rally racing in 2007 and won first time out on a BMW HP2 1200. He is a founder member of Rallymoto, going on to organise many large events in the UK and abroad, including participation in Merzouga (Morocco) and Baja (Portugal), and scoring many class wins when entering.

Mark has developed a rally preparation and bike-building service for many customers, including three rally builds for AJP Motorcycles (Portugal), and assisted with development ideas for the AJP PR7 600cc prototype.

He has been active in coaching Olly Lloyd, who won the Baja Aragon at his first attempt and went on to further international rally glory, and also Lee Green, who topped the All-Terrain Rally Championships in his debut year. He has also trained and coached many other riders, one-to-one, over the past 10 years.

Needless to say – and almost a requirement of TRF accreditation – Mark is a Fully Certified ACU off-road coach.

Personal impressions i have twice visited the Adventure Rally Academy at Sweet Lamb, and both times i have been impressed. The first time i was in awe of its facilities. in addition to the trails we were privileged to ride truly unspoilt land, legitimately off-piste, from mountaintops to pristine, virgin bogs where we scarcely dared

off-road, but not so wisely tried to outpace Josh following Mark’s confidence-inspiring training. Fortunately, when checking him over, i was pleased to see that he did not appear to have broken anything. Even more fortunately this included not breaking the colostomy bag he informed me that he was sporting under his BMW rally suit. Further evidence indeed that Sweet Lamb caters for all abilities and needs.

Top tips

to tread for fear of leaving a trace. From a TRF perspective, the centre offers a great venue for a larger group to ride with other members in safety, and even to bring riders without a licence, in its extensive grounds. There is no need to leave the private terrain of the Sweet Lamb complex.

The second time was more training-focused. i personally observed a group of riders “in their golden years” progress quickly from being unconsciously incompetent to consciously proficient. What was more remarkable was the speed with which Mark and his team progressed the group. There are, of course, few secrets that are not already well known to most trail riders and trainers. The ability of Mark lies in his delivery of this knowledge in practical terms to the rider, resulting in real progress in a remarkably short period of time.

The group i rode with had progressed to such a level that i was happy to stay back and watch them tear around on their adventure bikes, while i proceeded at a far more sensible pace on my CRF250L. i rounded a corner and saw that a GS1200 rider had come off his bike while trying to keep up with 15-year-old Joshua Costa-Sa on his CRF250x! Under the gear it transpired that the rider was a gent from London, who had gone back to biking not having ridden for quite some time. He had picked up a 1200GSlc the week before and had wisely come out to get some training on riding

Mark offers good catering facilities at Sweet Lamb. You may choose to go out to the nearby hostelries, but it is not necessary.

There is a comfortable bunk room available in which to spend the night; alternatively you can visit Suzanne Bayley’s AirBnB in nearby Felindre for as little as £35 for a twin-bedded room (https://www.airbnb.co.uk/users/show/7068483 3). Suzanne’s husband is a (road) biker and you will sleep easy with the security, care and attention delivered by these exemplary hosts.

Sweet Lamb has extensive workshops at the centre, so there are no problems about doing a little maintenance during downtime over a visit.

Booking is done from details on http://www.adventurerallybike.co.uk/ contact-us. Expect to pay around £100 per day for part of a group, excluding accommodation etc, and £200 per day for one-to-one training. if you are lucky, there may be space on the TRF training weekend run by TRF member Ben Newham: 22, 23, 24 June (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/herts-trf-sweetlamb-adventure-rally-centre-weekend-tickets42687395148). Training and trail ride weekend is priced at £175 including food and accommodation but excluding drinks, fuel and booking fee. i am asking everyone to donate £20 to the Herts TRF fund as well. This is semi-optional and i’m structuring it this way to avoid large costs from this ticket platform.

Again, cash on the day is preferred, please.

Full accounts will be given to the Herts TRF treasurer and provided to anyone who wishes to request them afterwards.

Training is by Mark Molineux and his team.

There is space in the bunk house for 19 (20 including me!).

This is going to be more suited to Endurostyle bikes, simply because that’s what the majority will be riding and we’ll be routed accordingly. Bikes will need to be road-registered and insured as we will be going off-site.

Lightweight ADV bikes with a skilled rider will be fine.

Summer 2018 Trail 17

Provisional itinerary Arrive Friday, 22 June late afternoon/early evening.

Light supper (big eaters may want to grab dinner on the way).

Full breakfast on Saturday morning.

Training in two or three groups in the morning.

Riding in the late morning/afternoon, on local trails, in groups according to ability or preference.

BBQ dinner in the evening.

Drinks in the evening, probably with a fire.

Full English breakfast on Sunday morning.

Training or trail riding, depending on the group’s wishes.

Depart in the afternoon.

Accommodation is basic but comfortable. You will need to bring a warm sleeping bag, pillow and torch, plus the usual stuff you would want on a weekend away. imagine camping, but indoors.

The schools accredited to date: Yamaha Off Road School http://www.yamaha-offroad-experience.co.uk/ Sweet Lamb Adventure Rally Academy http://www.adventurerallybike.co.uk/ Mick Extance Experience http://mickextanceexperience.com/ Trials Day with Stuart Day http://www.trials-school.co.uk i2i Motorcycle Academy with Tom Killeen https://www.i2imca.com/About.asp Raidtec with Donna Gray http://www.raidtec.co.uk/

18 Trail Summer 2018

Please bring a couple of tanks’ worth of fuel. it’s a fair trek to the nearest petrol station and, with groups as large as this, it’s best if we can be fully fuelled each day. important: if you are vegetarian or have other requests on the food front, i need to know well in advance so you can be properly catered for. i’ve been here before and the food is BBQ burgers, sausages etc but i’m not sure how it fares for vegetarians.

TRF contacts:

Chris Barrable – chris.b@trf.org.uk. Chris is TRF Director for Training. He looks after our training relationship with the ACU, and our programme for accreditation of training schools.

Stewart Bosworth – stewart.b@trf.org.uk.

Stewart is TRF Director, and owns our formal TRF Training Course for trail riding and learning objectives. This will be submitted for external accreditation by the ACU and possibly iAM Roadsmart and/or RoSPA in the near future.

Justin Heavens TRF Trail Facebook Those on Chris Barrable’s radar: Wheeldon Farm http://www.wheeldontwo.co.uk/ Docklands Riders http://www.docklandsriders.org.uk/ BMW Off Road Skills http://www.offroadskills.com/ Dave Thorpe http://www.davethorpehondaoffroad.com/ Desert Rose http://adventureridingacademy.com/

Sweet Lamb Case History Louise Hodgkinson, Herts TRF

MY DAD’S BEST friend, Uncle Clew, was the ‘Hughes’ in Coburn & Hughes, the original importer of many italian brands as well as Harley-Davidson. Any bike-mad youth, now over the age of about 50, will go WOW! So bikes have always been around and i remained my daddy’s pillion until my hubby, Paul, and i took our CBT very late in life as a bit of a laugh. For me, learning a new skill at 35 years old was quite a challenge. But 14 years later we have morphed into a biking-obsessed couple.

Soon after we had passed our bike tests, and intrigued by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman’s The Long Way Round, we did the level one course at ORS (Off Road Skills) with Simon Pavey. We thought it was brilliantly amazing but why on earth would you want to do all the off-road tricky stuff on those big 250KG GS things?

So we purchased a couple of Yamaha WR250s and spent over a decade having great off- road fun. The dog had died and the kids had left home, which meant we had even more time to go biking – from UK rallies such as the Hafren, Kielder and Beacons to international rallies like Hellas in Greece. We also joined Byways Tours for the Wounded across various parts of the UK. And of course thanks to the wonderful TRF community around the country, you can go to different regions and play with the locals, who know all the trails. Then, with our love of traveling, it made sense to hire bikes in all sorts of places around the world and explore: Cambodian jungles, Moroccan deserts, the length and breadth of india on beaten-up Royal Enfields, the Pyrenees … basically for anything that involves biking and adventure with a good spot of camping, count us in.

This may make us sound as if we are a biking god and goddess but far from it. We are just good at hanging on, and where throttleshy (especially me), each time we came off (a regular occurrence) the damage was not as bad as it might have been, so we have carried on, as it is a giggle.

Aims and aspirations in 2017 the BMW GS Trophy was opened up to allow women from all around the world to compete for three places (one women’s team).

The selection was to be made by offering the first two ladies from each of the contributing countries (17 in total) the chance to go through to a women’s international qualifier.

My hubby said he thought i could get through the UK qualification. i thought he was crazy, but then why not go for it? So i bought a lovely old BMW GS1150 and filled in my entry form (you must own a BMW to compete).

Amazingly i was lucky enough to make the grade by qualifying as the second woman at the May 2017 GS Trophy.

Then in November 2017 the women’s international qualifier was held at the amazing County Trax facility in South Africa. Twenty-three women from around the world made the grade.

Why Moly?

So i had qualified, but now i needed to learn how to ‘bike’, and on the GS how to use a

Summer 2018 Trail 19

throttle, get the bike to twist and turn, then jump it. Get it to do things and go places that i wanted it to.

Through one of our TRF buddies, Mark Hatherly and the brilliant Martin Wittering from Torque Racing, we found Mark ‘Moly’ Molineux.

What must Moly have thought of me on that first training day, this throttle-shy granny, but he said ‘yes’ to training me. From July to October 2017, come Welsh wind and high water, we spent every Sunday/Monday at Sweet Lamb Adventure Rally Bike Academy.

Hubby Paul became my ‘fixer’, creating all the challenges/obstacles that we believed i would encounter during the four-day competition.

Moly is a phenomenal biker in his own right, but we have found that while there are a lot of great bikers out there offering teaching, they can’t all translate what they feel in their biking bones. Moly can, and when you don’t get it (and i did a lot of not getting) he re-thinks his approach/presentation until it sinks in and you do get it. You always leave Sweet Lamb having achieved great things.

He also has the patience of a saint. Being throttle-shy, mastering jumping a bike is a big deal. He spent hours with me, trying the technique this way and that until i bloody got it. And he cares – don’t tell anyone, but he is really a big softy.

To progress with Moly you need to be committed, you need to want what he is offering (he has such an enormous wealth of biking knowledge) and you also need to love biking in the mud, wind and rain (it is, after all, Mid Wales).

What Moly gives We call it MOLYFiCATiON basically. Moly stripped back 14 years of hanging onto a bike, going the way the bike wanted to go, and gave me control of my machine. He taught me how to feel what was possible. We started out on his Honda 450cc school bikes and then, as i mastered a technique, we would progress through to his 650cc and then finally onto the BMW 1150.

We soon realised that as lovely as the 1150 was, if i was to be competing on a modern GS1200, i needed to be riding one … so once again my wonderful ‘fixer’ hubby Paul searched high and low and found me a 1200 that no one wanted because it was quite beaten up. Perfect for me, as i spent most of my training sessions dropping my bike.

Six weeks before the qualification i became

20 Trail Summer 2018

the proud owner of my 2014 GS1200, or, as the grandchildren call it, “Nanny’s BiG red bike”.

Moly also taught me how to ride in a competition and the mindset required.

Why Sweet Lamb is special Sweet lamb is 5,000 acres of playground, with the brilliant addition of a fully equipped bunk house with showers and also garage facility.

You take your own bike, so there is no cost of bike hire unless you want to borrow a school bike and leave yours mud-free. The variety of terrain is amazing. You can practice fast / slow / tricky / difficult / ruts / hill climbs / descents / mud or water, and now with the new super tricky skills area in place for the KTM event in July, being hosted by Sweet Lamb, there are now mazes, see-saws, grinding logs, wheat grinders, tractor wheel bridges and so much more. All such fun to accomplish!

What did I achieve? i learned how to bike off-road, to the point that big butch blokes go “Oh no, you can’t do that on a big bike”. But i can … and all thanks to Moly’s training. i also had the most amazing experience at the GS Trophy women’s qualifier. i made it through to the last day of the four-day competition (they cut a selection of ladies each day). Some days were 16 hours long, culminating in being sent out for three-hour night rides into the South African veldt, with GSP co-ordinates and a bunch of challenges. i ended up being placed 9th, with BMW choosing the top six women (two teams as they thought the level of riding was so high) to travel to Mongolia to join the 17 male teams from around the world in the GS Trophy 2018 Mongolia Challenge. i was so close but not quite there. The women who got through where phenomenal, most had been biking from a young age, and all had a wealth of knowledge gleaned over many years. it was an honour to be placed among them.

Future goals – with Moly’s help To bike only on the GS this year.

To learn how to use the power that the GS1200 can offer and not to be shy of it.

To work on committing to a rut, a log, a hill climb (“if in doubt throttle out”) and corners (“in like a lamb and out like a lion”), all put into practice under his expert guidance.

Then to have a stab at qualifying again in 2019, so watch this space…

Membership Matters Membership Director Carla McKenzie updates us on the latest activities THE MEMBERSHiP TEAM has been busy during the last quarter. The AGM saw the majority of members vote for an increase in fees to £52.00 per annum. This is the first rise in fees for many years. The increase will support the production of the paper edition of Trail while allowing us to maintain our rights of road work at the same very successful level. Underpinning the decision to take this resolution to the AGM was the fact that 68% of the membership who responded to the earlier membership survey said they would support the increase.

On the subject of membership fees, there has been some confusion as to what the

parameters are for joint membership.

The organisation allows joint membership for those residing at the same address.

Our membership numbers continue to grow.

We are now an organisation of 5,179, and this is around a 10% year-on-year increase. The following groups have seen good growth since our Spring report:

The Development of a TRF Youth Movement

August and September looking at the subject of TRF communications. it will be the final survey of the year but will help to inform our future decisions on which communications platforms to develop, so please bear with us.

We are looking to support the development of a TRF youth movement for 18 to 25 year olds. Our membership has traditionally been an older generation. However, we are starting to see a very welcome younger generation coming through the ranks. The TRF board has agreed to make a director position available for an 18 to 25 year old who demonstrates a real commitment to trail conservation. The post will be subject to normal AGM voting protocols.

To appeal to a younger audience we need to do more. Firstly, i am looking for a member to spearhead the creation of a youth group and coordinate activities for younger members.

Please get in touch if you can help. Secondly, we are looking for TRF training partners and suppliers to help support the development of the youth movement. Again, please get in touch.

While i am on the subject of young people in the TRF, a massive thank you to Josh Costa-Sa. Josh has taken on the coordination of membership benefits. Thank you, Josh. if you would like to offer members a discount on products or services, please email membership.

There has been some considerable debate and feedback on the new Trail website, particularly around the loss of a forum-style communication platform. We are planning to complete a wider membership survey during

22 Trail Summer 2018

Suffolk Cornwall Mid-Wales

Wiltshire Essex Dorset

Out and About in April i welcomed new member Julie Diplock, boss of Elk Promotions. Julie is the founder of the regular classic bike shows and auto jumbles that take place across Kent and Sussex. Less well known is the fact that she has an extensive collection of veteran and classic motorcycles.

Julie and i headed out to explore the trails that run across the barren expanses of Romney Marsh and Dungeness (and the UK’s only desert).

Riding an A10 BSA 650 Julie managed her bike through ruts and over roots with the conviction of a seasoned trail rider, while i had a considerably easier ride on my more modern 250cc Husky!

Julie, welcome to the TRF and thank you for your support.

Julie and i are in the process of planning a pioneer ride from London to Paris on green roads. Our bikes will likely be a 1928 Triumph Q and 2017 Electric Zero DSR. The trip will take place in September and the proceeds will be in aid of the TRF Fighting Fund and Air Ambulance. We hope the trip will highlight not only the development of the motorcycle but

The Wessex Wanderer’s raffle draw, contrary to appearances the prizes were not rubbish!

Julie, on her BSA A10

also the fact that in the beginning, all roads were green! in May i returned to Wiltshire and old friends at the Wessex Wanderer event. The weather was fabulous and members from across the country experienced some first class riding and great ‘aprés trail riding’ with good food and great fellowship. Bravo Keith Johnston and the Wessex Wanderer team! Motorcycle journalist Blez joined the ladies’ ride on Sunday on my own Zero, and endured some gentle joshing with his unruly charm. Great fun was had by all.

Summer 2018 Trail 23

Membership Director Carla McKenzie addresses the crowd

Later in May i hopped on the BMW R1200 GSA to head to Wales for the postponed AGM at Wern Ddu Quarry. Unfortunately, with only 56 members present we were not quorate, so a general meeting was held instead. The quarry provided an excellent area for our members to demonstrate their bike handling skills. Seriously impressive they were too. it was easy to spot those with a background in trials riding – the steep face of the quarry was scaled with ease by these experts, while i looked on in awe!

Fundraising Groups have been busy raising funds for charity through raffles and events. Please drop membership a line if you have raised substantial funds for charity.

Congratulations to Suffolk and Norfolk TRF groups. The iCENi weekend raffle raised £452.52 for the Headway charity. The groups are seeking to raise a further £2,000 with their ride in August.

Wiltshire TRF’s Wessex Wanderer raffle has Over £2,000 has been raised for blood bikes and the TRF Fighting Fund.

Unsung Heroes Congratulations to the following volunteers: Dick Brew, Teesside & North Yorks: Dick was nominated because of his dedication and commitment to the TRF. He is committed to our aims of conservation and safety and successfully led the charge on the reopening of Seggimore Lane and organised work parties for lane repairs. Dick is the driving force behind the moors event and is key to our relentless approach to training and safety.

Leo Crone, Teesside & North Yorks: Leo is known to everybody in the TRF, Highways, National Parks and the Police! Leo is our RoR guru and freely advises members where to ride. He is currently our local RoR committee member but has held and

24 Trail Summer 2018

undertaken just about all of the roles within the Teesside & North Yorks TRF group. Leo is simply our ‘go to’ guy.

Marianne Walford, Mid-Wales TRF: Marianne Walford has made an outstanding contribution to trail riding and the TRF for many years. Her work in promoting considerate riding of the trails as well as substantial rights of road work in Wales is legendary and greatly appreciated. Marianne is a brilliant ambassador for the TRF and also for motorcycling in general.

Recommend your Unsung Hero by contacting membership@trf.com This month i was delighted to be able to present Keith Johnston and Steve and Becky Burbridge from the Wiltshire Group, and Technical Director John Vannuffel with their awards.

raised over £2,000 for the blood bikes and TRF Fighting Fund.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the raffles; funds raised are making a real difference to the communities in which we live and ride our trail bikes.

Steve and Becky Burbridge received an Unsung Heroes award WHITE

Membership Secretary it was my great pleasure to present Sharon Connor, our membership secretary, with a small show of our appreciation. Sharon, from the membership , thank you for all you do to support our organisation.

FLUO YELLOW

BLACK

Summer 2018 Trail 25

FLIP FS-606 HELMET WWW.ACERBIS.IT ukinfo@acerbis.it - 0044 1582491076

Membership Buying Habits Survey A huge thank you to the 777 members who completed the survey. it is an extraordinary response, 15%, which, in marketing terms, is a stonking amount and will help the team to target organisations and suppliers for advertising revenue and support.

Here are the responses: 1. Are you male or female?

Male Female

97.1% 2.9%

2. What age bracket are you in?

18-25 26-35 36-50 51-65 66-75 76+

7 52 242 417 49 6

3. What group is your primary TRF group?

Great responses from all groups with the top three returns from: Hertfordshire Wiltshire Devon (These are some of the largest TRF groups, so not entirely unexpected.)

4. What cc is your primary trail riding bike?

250-450cc is the most popular at 57% 0% for electric, something that will change in the coming years as it becomes more accessible.

Under 125cc 2 125-250cc 206 250-450cc 440 450-650cc 83 Over 650cc 41 Electric 0

5. What is your top brand?

1st – KTM 2nd – Honda 3rd – Yamaha

26 Trail Summer 2018

30.1% 21.2% 12%

Beta KTM BMW Suzuki Honda Triumph Husqvarna Yamaha Kawasaki Zero Other

77 234 18 39 165 5 45 93 12 0 87

6. On average, how many sets of tyres for trail riding do you buy each year?

Almost 50% buy one set a year!

None 59 1 set 369 2 sets 215 3 sets 78 4+ sets 52

7. Who is your preferred tyre manufacturer?

Michelin Maxxis Mitas Metzeler Pirelli

28.1% 22.9% 12.5% 8.9% 7.2%

8. Generally when out on a trail ride do you: Take your own lunch: Stop at a garage: Stop in a café/restaurant: Other:

78 251 403 41

9. How much do you spend on lunch?

On average, trail riders spend £7.96.

10. How often do you buy a new crash helmet?

Once a year Once every two years Once every three years Other

61 219 313 181

11. Crash helmet brands of choice?

Any/no preference Arai Shoei Airoh Bell AGV Schuberth HJC Shark Nolan Klim

22% 18% 14% 9% 7% 4% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2%

12. Do you own a road bike?

Yes No

581 194

13. What is the brand of road bike?

BMW Honda Triumph Yamaha Suzuki KTM Ducati Kawasaki

17% 14% 11% 8% 6% 6% 4% 4%

14. How often do you participate on a trail riding holiday or break in the UK? Never Once a year Twice a year More than twice a year

260 228 129 158

15. How often do you participate in a trail riding break abroad?

Never Once a year Twice a year More than twice a year

441 255 44 27

16. Where is your preferred location for UK trail riding?

The top five responses: South West England Mid-Wales

23.5% 18.6%

South East England North Wales South Wales Yorkshire & Humber

13.1% 9.7% 7% 7%

17. Where is your preferred country for trail riding abroad?

France Cyprus Spain

11.6% 0.8% 34%

18. Do you do your own servicing?

Yes No

77.3% 22.7%

19. How much do you spend on servicing and maintaining your bike?

On average members spend £425 per annum.

20. How much do you spend on accessories and equipment for your bike?

On average £300.00.

21. How often do you buy new boots?

Never Once a year Every two years Every three years Every four years Every five years Other

29 24 181 199 94 131 116

22. Who is your preferred boot manufacturer?

No preference/any Alpinestars Sidi Forma Gaerne Fox Altberg TCX Best Deal Wulf

23% 23% 21% 6% 4% 3% 3% 3% 2% 2%

23. How much each year do you spend on protective clothing?

On average, around £250.

24. How much each year do you spend on tools, both for the trails and workshop?

On average, around £150.

Summer 2018 Trail 27

TRF GROUPS LIST

43 42 40

41 39 36

38

37 35

34

33

32

31 29

28 23 22

25 24 27 26

7

15

8

30

19

14

10

6 4

20

21

9

3 2

1 Cornwall TRF Contact: Martin Goddard | admin@cornwalltrf.org.uk | 07787522674 | http://www.cornwalltrf.org.uk Meeting details: 3rd Thursday of the month, 8pm at The Hawkins Arms, Zelah, TR4 9HU 2 Devon TRF Contact: John Heal | johnheal@blueyonder.co.uk | 01626 832413 http://www.trfdevon.org.uk/ Meeting details: 2nd Tuesday of the month, 7:30pm at The Dolphin Hotel, Station Road, Dolphin Square, Bovey Tracey, TQ13 9AL 3 Somerset TRF Contact: Josh Cook | keeperjhc@hotmail.co.uk | 07590 281296 http://www.somerset-trf.org.uk Meeting details: 1st Thursday of the month, 7:30pm, at The Maypole, Thurloxton, Taunton, TA2 8RF 4 Dorset TRF Contact: John Williamson | wjwilliamson@btinternet.com | 01929 553640 | http://dorset-trf.org.uk/ | http://www.facebook.com/groups/1655657811402165 Meeting details: 1st Tuesday of the month, 8pm at The Royal Oak Hotel, Bere Regis, BH20 7HQ 5 Isle of Wight TRF Contact: Andy Hawkins | 01462 811654 Meeting details: 1st Wednesday of the month, 8pm at The Eight Bells Inn, Carisbrooke, Newport, PO30 1NR 6 Southern TRF Contact: Ben Plummer | twine007@me.com | 07769652656 | http://www.southern-trf.org.uk/ Meeting details: 3rd Thursday of the month, 8pm at Southampton & District MCC, Cranbury Centre, Cranbury Road, Eastleigh, SO50 5HT 7 Central Bristol TRF Contact: Darth Speede | hello@centralbristoltrf.co.ukv | 07766090190 http://www.facebook.com/cbtrf/ Meeting details: 3rd Tuesday of the month, 8pm at the Nova Scotia Hotel, 1 Nova Scotia Place, Hotwells, Bristol, BS1 6XJ 8 Bristol TRF Contact: Glen Summers | mail@trfbristol.org.uk | 01454 619246 | http://www.trfbristol.org.uk/ Meeting details: 4th Monday of the month, 8pm at The Portcullis, 130 High Street, Staple Hill, BS16 5HH 9 Wiltshire TRF Contact: Jim Cairndu | trf.wiltshire@gmail.com | 07840 352996 | http://www.wiltshiretrf.com | http://www.facebook.com/groups/WiltshireTRF | http://www.facebook.com/wiltshiretrf/?fref=ts Meeting details: 1st Tuesday of the month, 8pm at The Fox and Hounds, Nursteed Road, Devizes, SN10 3HJ 10 Loddon Vale TRF Contact: Dave Carlingv | http://www.lvtrf.co.uk/ committee@lvtrf.org.uk | Meeting details: 2nd Tuesday of the month, 8pm, The Swan, Basingstoke Road, Three Mile Cross, Reading, RG7 1AT 11 Sussex TRF Contact: Andy Wardrobe | sussex@trf.org.uk | 07414 529298 http://www.sussextrf.org.uk Meeting details: last Thursday of the month, 8pm at Ashington Village Hall, Mill Lane, Ashington, RH20 3BX

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1 28 Trail Summer 2018

For the latest details go to: trail.trf.org.uk/groups/

12 Kent TRF Contact: Steve Neville | sneville@blueyonder.co.uk | 07887 478552 http://www.kentishtrf.org.uk Meeting details: Last Sunday of the month, ride leaves at 9.30am, The Oakdene Cafe, Wrotham, TN15 7RR 13 South London & Surrey TRF Contact: Tony Rowlands | grouprep@surreytrf.org.uk | 07772 333328 http://www.surreytrf.org.uk/ Meeting details: 4th Tuesday of the month at 8:30pm, Ripley British Legion, 25 Rose Lane, Ripley, GU23 6NE 14 Oxford TRF Contact: Martin Welch | martin@braysdene.co.uk | http://www.oxfordtrf.org.uk/ Meeting details: 3rd Thursday of the month at 8pm @ The Gladiator Sport and Social Club, 263 Iffley Road, Oxford, OX4 1SJ 15 Gloucestershire TRF Contact: James Osborne | hello@trfglos.org | 01531 822728 Meeting details: 1st wednesday of the month, 8pm at the Wagon Works Club, Tuffley Avenue, Gloucester, GL1 5NS 16 Hertfordshire TRF Contact: Mark Brown / join@hertstrf.org.uk | 07958 506066 | http://www.hertstrf.org.uk/ http://www.facebook.com/groups/HertsTRF/ Meeting details: 2nd Wednesday of the month at 7pm, different venues around London and North Home Counties Schedule on Facebook or contact local rep 17 Essex TRF Contact: Graham Coker | 07789 922537 graham@cokerg.freeserve.co.uk Meeting details: 1st Wednesday of the month, 8pm at The White Horse 2 Church Street, Witham, CM8 2JL 18 Suffolk TRF Contact: Colin Poutney | vraptor@ntlworld.com | 07981 116310 Meeting details: First Monday of the month, 8pm at The Three Kings, Fornham All Saints, Bury St Edmunds, IP28 6LA 19 Norfolk TRF Contact: Rupert Trigg / info@norfolktrf.org.uk | 07899 918276 | http://www.norfolktrf.org.uk | http://www.facebook.com/groups/norfolktrf/ Meeting details: 2nd Wednesday of the month, 7:30pm at The White Horse, Trowse, Norwich, NR14 8ST 20 Cambridge TRF Contact: Andy Lonnen | 07753820520 | newmembers@cambstrf.org.uk http://www.facebook.com/TRF-Cambridgeshire-624123620992268/ | http://www.cambstrf.org.uk/ Meeting details: 3rd Thursday of the month, 8pm at St Ives Outdoor Leisure Centre, California Road, St Ives, PE27 6SJ 21 West Anglia TRF Contact: Geoff Groom | ggroom@btinternet.com | 07929 275465 Meeting details: 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, 8:30pm the Scott Bader Social Club, 122 High Street, opp Parish Church, Wollaston, Wellingborough, NN29 7RJ 22 West Midlands TRF Contact: Steve Whetton | enquiries@westmidlandstrf.co.uk | 01527 451089 / http://www.westmidlandstrf.co.uk Meeting details: 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month, 8pm at Wilmcote Sports and Social Club, 16 Aston Cantlow Road, Wilmcote, Stratford upon Avon, CV37 9XX 23 Worcestershire TRF Contact: David Walters | davidwalters101@hotmail.co.uk | 07767 204730 Meeting details: 1st Tuesday of the month, 7:30pm at The White Hart Fernhill Heath, WR3 8RP 24 Herefordshire TRF Contact: Graham Hutton | graham.hutton671@btinternet.com | 07581023924 Meeting details: 1st Tuesday of the month, 8 pm at the New Inn, Fownhope, Herefordshire, HR1 4PE 25 Mid Wales TRF Contact: Marianne Walford | 01686 430522 marianne@trailrides-wales.com | http://www.facebook.com/groups/354419968236284/ Meeting details: Last Thursday of the month except December, no fixed venue.

26 South Wales TRF Contact: Christian James | christian@swtrf.org.uk | 01446 410073 Meeting details: 1st Thursday of the month at 8pm at the Ty Nant Inn, Nr Radyr, Morganstown, CF15 8LB

27 South West Wales TRF Contact: Rob Williams | rwmotobiker@aol.com | 07974 102372 Meeting details: Last Thursday of the month, 7pm at Hagans Café and Fish & Chip Shop, 2 Pensarn Road, Pensarn, Carmarthen, SA31 2BS 28 Shropshire TRF Contact: Mike Price | alwynmike@hotmail.com | 07718902682 Meeting details: 3rd Thursday of the month, 7.30pm the Acton Arms, Morville, WV16 4RJ 29 East Midlands TRF Contact: Lee Jordan | lee@jordaninstall.co.uk | http://emtrf.co.uk/ Meeting details: 2nd Wednesday of the month, 8pmthe Clock Warehouse, London Road, Shardlow, Derby, DE72 2GL 30 Lincolnshire TRF Contact: Nev Cooke | cookie60@btinternet.com | 07845 067047 | http://www.facebook.com/groups/253106844849995/ Meeting details: 1st Thursday of the month, 8pm Woodys, Woodland Waters, Willoughby Road, Ancaster, Grantham, NG32 3RT 31 Peak District TRF Contact: Alan Gilmore | a.gilmore_home@outlook.com | 07807818542 Meeting details: 1st Thursday of the month, 8pm the Fisherman‘s Rest Belper, DE56 2JF 32 High Peak & Potteries TRF Contact: Russ Unwin | russ.u@hotmail.com | 07968 770629 Meeting details: 2nd Thursday of the month, 8pm The Black Horse, Endon, Stoke-on-Trent, ST9 9BA 33 Derbyshire & South Yorkshire TRF Contact: Bob Morley | bobmorleycbs@gmail.com | https://www.facebook.com/SOUTHYORKSHIRETRF/ Meeting details: 2nd Tuesday of the month, 8pm the Dusty Miller, Sheffield Road, Barlborough, S43 4TW 34 North Wales TRF Contact: Neil “Timpo“ Thompson | timpo@bikerider.com | 07980 555874 / http://www.facebook.com/NorthWalesTRF/ Meeting details: 1st Wednesday of the month, 8pm The Burntwood Pub, 26 Burntwood Road, Buckley, CH7 3EN 35 Manchester TRF Contact: Phil Kinder | philmancunian@googlemail.com | 07809647293 http://www.facebook.com/groups/13477365684/ Meeting details: 4th Monday of the month, 8:30pm at The Sycamore Inn, 4 Stamford Square, Ashton under Lyne, OL6 6QX 36 Lancashire TRF Contact: Keith Westley | keith.westley@outlook.com | 01704 893215 http://www.facebook.com/TRFLancashire/ Meeting details: 1st Tuesday of the month, 8pm The Rigbye Arms 2 Whittle Lane, High Moor, Wrightinton, WN6 9QB 37 West Yorkshire TRF Contact: Tim McEnhill | info@wytrf.org.uk | http://www.wytrf.org.uk Meeting details: 1st Thursday of the month, 7:30pm Cue Garden, Stadium Mills, Stadium Road, Bradford, BD6 1BJ 38 East Yorkshire TRF Contact: Julian Mamo | julian.mamo1@googlemail.com | 07583694431 http://www.facebook.com/groups/959312044201559/ Meeting details: 2nd Tuesday of the month, 7:30pm the Bay Horse Inn, 75 Market Place, Market Weighton, York, YO43 3AN 39 Ribble Valley TRF Contact: Paul Stewart or Gary Barker | admin@ribblevalleytrf.org | 07791 934041 or 07711 064574 / http://www.ribblevalleytrf.org Meeting details: 1st Tuesday of the month, bi-monthly, at 8.00pm commencing 5th June 2018 Contact rep for full details. The Petre Arms, Whalley Road, Blackburn, BB6 8AN 40 Teesside & North Yorkshire TRF Contact: Leo Crone | leocronektm1190r@outlook.com | 01325 463815 http://www.facebook.com/groups/teessidenorthyorkshiretrf Meeting details: 3rd Wednesday of the month, 7:30pm The Lord Nelson, 40-41 St James Green, Thirsk, YO7 1AQ 41 Cumbria & Craven TRF Contact: Nigel Summers nigel_summers@sky.com | 07891 403992 http://www.facebook.com/groups/1631280750485319/ Meeting details: 2nd Tuesday of the month, 7:30pm the Cross Keys Inn Milnethorpe, LA7 7AB 42 TyneWear Teesdale Contact: Paul Smith | smip694@aol.com | 07980 144446 Meeting details: 4th Tuesday of the month, 7:30pm The Golden Jubilee Pub, Yarm, TS15 9XN 43 Northumbria TRF Contact: Greg Villalobos | ride@northumbriatrf.org.uk | http://www.northumbriatrf.org.uk/ Meeting details: 1st Wednesday of the month, 7:30pm The Staffs Club, Blaydon, NE21 4JB

Ten days on the TET Don’t under estimate the organisation required for even a ten-day excursion on the Trans European Trail – especially if you’re carrying your accommodation.

Greg Villalobos, TRF’s head of creative communications, and four mates did just that and you can benefit from their experiences.

Words by Clive Barber and photos by Greg both from the Cumbrian & Craven Group

Ready fo r

the off in

Newcastl e

30 Trail Summer 2018

OuR TET aDvEnTuRE began in The TET begins, straight off the Ferry in Netherlands January 2018, well, it started for real in april 2018, but we spent four months planning and discussing what, where, how and when we were going to go. Having a small trail bike, with very limited luggage-carrying capability certainly challenges the mind when you need to pack for ten days and include everything you need for camping, cooking, spares for the bike, tools, casual clothes, food and water, wet weather gear, spare glasses, front and rear spare inner tube, oil and filters, camera gear, drone, tyre levers, bivvy kit, uSB power pack, extra fuel carrying capacity, satnav etc. You get the idea.

We didn’t need to spend four months thinking and planning, we could have just packed our bivvy kit, passport and credit cards, satnav loaded with free TET GPX files from http://www.transeurotrail.org and jumped on the ferry, but where is the anticipation and fun in that? The reality is we did very little planning. Once it was decided that we would jump on a ferry from newcastle to amsterdam, ride south through Holland, Belgium and west through France, before hopping back over the channel and riding as much of the uK TET as we could in the remaining time we had prior to getting back to the family and work.

Kit though. Boy did we talk about kit. We agreed a tool-share programme, who was bringing what spares, and which were ommunal. We agreed not to share tents and not to carry any of Greg’s cooking gear even though he bleated on endlessly about all the extra camera gear he had to carry.

Speaking of Greg, it is probably worth introducing the rest of the crew; Clive, me, a dad, I do something in IT, which isn’t IT, which nobody understands or cares about.

I carry a comb and I’m not afraid to use it.

Davy is a navy aircraft engineer turned building magnate, dad and strong man, usually a reliable drinking partner on these trips of The guys hit the Dutch sand lightweight adventure bikers. Greg is a film

Summer 2018 Trail 31

“What do you mean I brought the wrong bike?”

Spend in the local economy as much as you can

maker, goal-focused hippy, dad, and media guru for adventure-Spec and the TRF. Joe is an eternally optimistic engineer, dad and long-distance trail rider who would happily have ridden all night if we didn’t make him stop. noel is a very handy handy-man with extreme views on guttering, he is an ace photographer and is enjoying a burgeoning career (non-profit making) as a motorcycle adventure chronicler.

We had quite a comical last 24 hour build up to the trip. Greg mentioned on our Facebook chat group that the cheap 12v uSB charger he had fitted had fully drained his battery. unfortunately, we had all fitted the same cheap 12v uSB chargers and all had flat batteries. Except engineer Joe who had done something engineery and had a very lively battery indeed. Then Greg’s kick start broke, then Davy’s side stand snapped and then his

32 Trail Summer 2018

luggage started to melt on his exhaust.

Seriously – four months of preparation.

Surprisingly we made it to the ferry on time, even though the spares budget took a bit of a hit on the way there. We took the overnight ferry which was when Davy mentioned the health kick he was on and he wasn’t really drinking anymore. That was disappointing. We’re going to Belgium, it makes the best beer in the world, definitely.

We arrived in amsterdam nice and early on a Saturday morning and decided to take a detour into the centre to capture some interesting, out of context, fully-loaded dirt bikes in the city over bridge type of footage.

We stopped on a random street in the centre of ‘The Dam’, near a café. Coffee only readers. Within minutes a chap approached us and started asking what we were doing with dirt bikes in the centre of the city? a nice guy, it turned out Tijs Groot was an adventure biker himself having travelled extensively by bike throughout the world.

“Sorry what’s your name again?” “My name is Groot.” I thank you. It turned out he knew several of noel’s biker buddies and even paid for the coffees. Small world biking.

Thanks Tijs.

We were using a variety of luggage combinations, we all had Kriega rucksacks (and KTMs) apart from professional contrarian ‘Honda noel’; Noel – Proper pannier and rear rack using Mosko Moto luggage Clive – Kriega OS Base plus old Wolfman panniers and small Enduristan roll bag Davy – Kriega OS full kit Joe – Giant Loop Coyote, plus a Kriega 20 Greg – Kriega OS full kit Once we had had our fill of the city, we headed out of town in search of the 100 mile-plus liaison with the start of the TET proper. The first sighting of a gravel track was really quite exciting, and necessitated the retrieval of numerous cameras and the drone to record the moment. We managed another 30 miles or so before the trip elders, myself and noel, ruled that it was time to find a campsite, much to the exasperation of ‘the boys’ who were happy to ride until it got dark and then worry about a campsite. Oh, the

Download and go. The TET couldn’t be simpler

folly of youth. They were magnanimous in capitulation, much like you would be after repeating yourself for the fifteenth time to your deaf grandad. “I SaID WE’vE STILL GOT FuEL In THE TanKS!” We had been told to look out for ’kliene campings’ (little camp sites) for a more rustic camping experience. The first night didn’t disappoint. We were on working farm, with a supermarket down the road and a trust bar stocked with booze and edible produce from the farm – lovely.

We used a combination of Garmin Montana and Etrex satnavs to follow the TET GPX routes, and backed those up with smart phone-based CoPilot and the brilliant Galileo Pro road satnavs to find campsites and other points of interest when we need to. We didn’t plan campsite stops in advance, just found them when we need them. Four of us had GPX capable satnavs, and took it in turns to lead. Incidentally, my 130-quid Etrex 20 did as well as a £400 Montana, other than the fact that it runs off batteries, has a smaller screen, and has a much smaller processor that takes ages to load the route.

The weather forecast was not good.

It predicted rain for the next two days. Oh well, we are prepared for anything. Part of our mission was to test and promote some of the goodies sold by adventure-Spec, hard work, but somebody has to do it. First up, most of us had bought, at cost price, and fitted a range of Motoz tyres (featured in Trail Winter ’17). The main attraction was the longevity of the tyres, they should be good for at least 3000 miles, which would more than cover

Just like the postcards...

Summer 2018 Trail 33

The TET crosses through the site of Waterloo

our most optimistic planned route. The tyres worked out really well, have a look on the adventure-Spec website for more info.

We were also supplied with some of their new clothing range which has been developed over the last four years as a layering system to cope with the vagaries of the trailbiking environment. I was given the baselayer range to try out over the ten days. I must admit I was doubtful. I am a big fan and exponent of merino wool base layers for their climate control capabilities and the fact that

you can wear them for days, and they only smell slightly funky. I actually took a spare set of merino base layers, just in case. I ended up only wearing the merino stuff for one day whilst the adventure-Spec stuff dried after I washed it at the half way point. The aS kit worked very well, it did everything that merino does, but will undoubtedly be much harder wearing than wool, and it works as compression wear too, at least it did on me.

It makes your moobs look like proper pecs.

Bargain. I also had an adventure-Spec Baltic Insulated jacket which worked brilliantly as a mid-layer on the cold and wet days, and as extra warmth at night when the temperatures were nearing freezing.

We headed off in the rain on section two of the Dutch TET, heading south. Holland and Belgium are particularly flat, but the trails were very enjoyable, they are well looked after and vary greatly in nature, from wide open sand to wooded muddy single track.

There is something special about just being in a foreign country. The afternoon was a little drier, but we were warned via social media that a serious storm was heading our way in the evening. as we were approaching

Noel makes his way through the Belgian farmland

34 Trail Summer 2018

Speaking of kit; Should have left at home Extra fuel container. I have a range of 140 miles, which is more than enough in northern Europe. a bike lock – never used Too many non-bike clothes – there was very little time off the bike Bivvy, tarp and tarp pole – one or the other, make your mind up!

Kriega US-5 / Kriega OS-6 / Kriega OS-12 x 2 / Giant Loop Zig Zag Handlebar Bag / Giant Loop Rogue Dry Bag

Should have brought Chain lube Woolie hat for cold nights Warmer sleeping bag Puncture repair kita the campsite Greg’s KTM ground to a halt, it didn’t look good. Fortunately, the engineers spotted the problem within minutes. The electronic fuel pump connection in Greg’s new large tank wasn’t fitting as snugly as it should, so fuel wasn’t getting through. We just had to trim the connection a bit and off we went. Great team work, except for the fact the cameras and sarcasm were retrieved far more quickly than any tools, assistance or sympathy. The banter ratcheted up each day, culminating in open ‘Facebook Live’ mockery.

Childish, but funny, and still available on the TET Facebook page.

We had a relatively long day in the saddle, riding from 9am until 7.30pm. We were up every day by 7am, if not earlier.

We asked at the campsite if they have any cabins or anywhere else that would protect us from the worst of the storm. They had one cabin left but that would only sleep four, but they also had an abandoned event marque in which we could pitch our tents and wheel our bikes. We’ll take it! Sadly, they had stopped serving food, so Joe got busy on his phone and ordered a Deliveroo of massive pizzas. not only that but the bar served my favourite Belgian beer, Grimbergen. It was as if we’d died and gone to Holland.

During the next day we reached Belgium and managed to out ride the rain. By

lunchtime it was miraculously dry and sunny.

So pleasant in fact that we had lunch outside by a roadside frituur (chip/sandwich shop).

They serve a big variety for food, including broodjes (sandwiches) all with excellent Belgian chips.

Just as we were sitting down to eat a chap approached us and introduced himself as Stef Stockmans, one,of the team that had worked on the Belgian TET route. What a coincidence! He had seen us pass and pulled over to come and say hello. It was great to meet him and thank him in person for the work he and all the Linesmen do. It’s all done on a voluntary basis. It is not just a one-off job

It’s all a bit much for Noel’s XR650L

Summer 2018 Trail 35

Belgian waffle time

either, there is a constant need to keep up with changes in legislation and any local alterations or issues.

The TET is an amazing achievement, done by a group of approximately 30 voluntary linesman and coordinated by the remarkable John Ross, with support from the chaps at adventure-Spec. You cannot underestimate the effort required to complete and pull together an ever-evolving route of 38,000 kilometres, remarkable.

John is a keen biker, a GP by trade, he has a rally’d up 690 and a Tenere 3aJ which is going up for sale if you are interested? He has worked with the British army in Germany and it was there that the idea of the TET has been growing and evolving since 2008. John has been a keen rally raid competitor over the years. But it was while he was working for the British army that he and a few friends and colleagues from the army base came up with the idea to ride as much off-road as possible from their base in Germany to Tarifa, the most southerly part of Spain. The TET was born. John used the Internet and contacts made over the years to build the route, and he has continued to make those connections over the last 18 years to build the TET into what it is today.

John sees the TET as being more than just a repository for GPX files. He wants it to be a community of like minded people who are bought into and believe in supporting the

36 Trail Summer 2018

Taking a minute to reflect at Tyne Cot Great War Cemetery Not the most glamorous camp, but at least it was dry

efforts of what the TET is trying to achieve, to embed a sense of responsibility to maintain our rights to ride in these amazing rural areas. It has been about nine months since the TET website went public. The Facebook page alone has grown from about 1500 people to around 12500, and it is increasing by 950 per month. John sees this first year of the TET being public as a period of consolidation, and a year of spreading and maintaining the responsible riding ethos.

One of the key drivers that we should all be championing is the extra cash that the TET brings into rural areas. We kept a log of expenditure. Between five of us we spent

The first of Clive’s punctures

The first coffee in France

French breakfast

over 3000 Euros on our ten-day trip. That didn’t include Davy’s spend of about £2k on camping and other kit (Davy, please tell me you’re your wife doesn’t read Trail magazine or the website?). John has several exciting initiatives in the wings, but they are for another story… Chapeau John.

My own experience of community on the TET has been very positive. Every time we posted about a mechanical gremlin, we received numerous offers of help and support and ice-cream. I was particularly impressed with the folk that turned up to help the guy recover his GS that had fallen into a ravine.

Good work team TET.

I managed to pick up a three-inch nail puncture. I normally run mousses, but the long distance and lack of cash meant I was using uHD tubes. I had a second puncture a few days later. noel had a slightly more challenging issues with his Honda and it took a good hour or so to diagnose and fix what was wrong. To be honest I was too busy taking the piss and getting the drone to land on my head to listen to what the problem was, but I do remember something about not changing or cleaning his air filter for eight years. I guess you don’t normally need to worry about such things if you ride a Honda, until you do.

It was at about this point I began to feel properly unwell. Diarrhoea, extreme tiredness, a fever and I was shaking like a shitting dog. not good when you are on a moto trip and sleeping in a tent a good hike from the toilet block. Thankfully it was only a 24-hour bug and I was able to pack the bike and get back on to ride. I wasn’t exactly chipper for the next few days, but you just have to get on with it, or be responsible for holding everybody back. Thankfully nobody had to make decision to continue a man down or hang around for a recovery. What a brave soldier.

Without fanfare or border demarcation we made it to France, on the outskirts of Dunkirk.

We had three days left of our trip, so it was now time to decide about either continuing our TET journey into France, then have a

Summer 2018 Trail 37

Noel gets all ‘ trials’ on his XR650L in the Peak District

Tricolor

Finally a real fire in West Yorkshire

mad dash up the English motorway system to reach our respective homes in newcastle and Kendal or hop on the channel tunnel the next day, have an unpleasant day on the motorway and then have two fine days riding the northern part of the English TET from the Peak district. Joe was still convinced if we’d put a few more hours in each day we could have done the entire southern England and Wales loop and still made it home in time for tea. We went for the Peak district option. after a very dull 300-mile slog on the motorway we were struggling to find a campsite as it was a Bank holiday in England, and we were in a real tourist honey-pot.

Social media came to the rescue and suggested an out of the way wild camping spot not too far away. I was not keen however,

38 Trail Summer 2018

after being ill and not having had a shower for two days, I wanted a bit of home comfort.

It was getting late and it all got a bit confused. I eventually found a campsite that had space and opted for that. Davy had waited with me and I sent a message with him that I would meet up with the rest of the crew the following day. To cut a long story short, the guys ended up coming back to find me after an aborted attempt at finding the wild camping spot. They got to the campsite at about 11pm, tried to check in but nobody was about, nor did anybody answer the mobile phone number on the reception window. So, they rolled silently through the campsite to find a spot near to where I was camped. Moments later an angry campsite manager appeared with two heavies and asked them the leave immediately.

Goodness me, in all the years of moto touring in Europe I have never experienced this level of blatant anti-motorcyclist prejudice. That is exactly what it was, I have no doubt. We managed to calm the situation and he agreed we could stay as long as we didn’t make any noise or disturb the other campers. We decided to put the bacchanalian orgy of animal sacrifice and hell raising on hold for the evening, fed ourselves and went to bed. Welcome back to little Britain.

We awoke to glorious sunshine, and despite the irritation of the previous evening set off in a good frame of mind to enjoy what was left

of the trip. Davy and Joe decided they would ride for the day in the Peaks, and then head home to see their young families. It was a gorgeous day weather-wise and The Peaks never disappoint. Even a second puncture couldn’t dent the mood in the team. We had another long lunch in a lovely pub garden.

We guessed we might have trouble finding another campsite for the night, especially as the Tour of Yorkshire was passing by. We found what looked like a great campsite on the Internet, but when we got there it looked like a music festival, which is great is you want to enjoy a music festival type of thing, but we didn’t. So, we found another site, which was on a working farm again, it sounded great, except when we got there we found out it didn’t open until the following weekend. no problem though, if you don’t mind roughing it with the sheep and sheep shit you are welcome to stay. Brilliant, we had the campsite to ourselves. It was at the top of the valley with unspoilt views to the valley below. We found a fire pit and cooked food over an open fire. after 1300 miles we had found camping nirvana, right on our doorstep. The following morning, we had a leisurely breakfast and decided to take a

direct route home.

What an amazing trip. 1400 miles and everything about the trip worked, sure, we could have chanced upon some nicer campsites, probably taken a bit less stuff to lighted the load, been a bit luckier with the weather, but the thing that has stuck with me was the quality of the people I did the trip with. We were laughing from the moment we met until the minute we parted company. There was enough compromise and flexibility so that we usually came to a consensus when group decisions were necessary. I know the younger guys would have probably ridden for longer if we didn’t encourage them to stop, but I don’t think it was a burning issue. There was minimal stress, everybody got stuck in if there were any issues with the bikes, it just worked.

So never mind the latest and lightest tent or sleeping bag, the most important thing you need to bring on one of these trips are your mates. actually, you need to get some bar muffs as well. I have been so rude about bar muffs for so long. Davy found some on eBay for a tenner. What a revelation, I will never go anywhere without them ever again.

Greg’s 450 takes a break in the Peak District sunshine

Summer 2018 Trail 39

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Leccy vehicle advocate Blez rides a Zero at this year’s Wessex Wanderers and becomes an ‘honorary lady’. Now read on…

This year’s Wessex Wanderer was the eighth running of the event, and by common consent, the best yet. For the second time it was based at the Blackland Lakes campsite, just outside Calne, and a hundred TrF members came from all over the country to be led along Wiltshire’s numerous byways and in some cases, far beyond, by local Wiltshire TrF run leaders. so there were 20 groups of six riders taking part over the two days, plus numerous camp and not-so-camp followers and helpers, all marshalled by organiser Keith Johnston and his merry band of helpers.

Following my recent article about the joys of electric bikes, i thought the event would be an ideal opportunity to do some proper trail riding on an electric machine and i was very fortunate that Membership director Carla McKenzie was willing to lend me her own recently purchased 2017 Zero dsr on which to do it. having ridden down from London to her place in hastings on my BMW hP2 1200 the weekend before, i was able to test the Zero’s real-world range on the ride back. i had a fantastic blast back up the a21 for 40 miles, riding with just

Wandering Star Blez and the Ladies at

Camp MOD

42 Trail Summer 2018

as much gusto and enjoyment as i had on the big BMW, but from there back to my home in south West London i used only five miles of the M25 instead of the usual 20 which halved the rate of electron consumption. This added about half an hour to the journey time, but enabled the Zero to complete the 75 mile trip with 3% still showing QuiQ charge on the battery indicator. Phew! r and associat ed cabling...

Of course, range is only half the story with electric vehicles – charging time is the other key factor and unfortunately for Carla, Zero saved some impressive charge-time improvements for the 2018 models. it claims it’s now possible to re-charge in 2.5 hours with the 2018 fast charge option, whereas the standard on-board charger of the 2017 dsr takes the best part of eight hours and the fast-charge option turned out not to be available in europe on the 2017 models. Carla did buy a Zero-approved ‘QuiQ’ charger, but it only halves the charge time to four hours and with all the extension cables and plugs, fills half the top box with 8kg of metal and plastic ‘spaghetti’.

Lynn Studley on her CRF250

Summer 2018 Trail 43

Zero Meets a Classic BMW Twin People who know me won’t be surprised to hear that i didn’t actually get down to Blackland Lakes until saturday afternoon, but as luck would have it, this turned out well. i was just about to set off alone for some exploration of the local lanes when run leader reuben alcock returned earlier than expected with his group. spotting me and the Zero, he immediately said “Can i come out with you on my BMW?”. Of course. so he swapped his trusty xr600 for the classic r80G/s he’d also brought on his trailer, and away we went.

We started with some trails i knew, from Cherhill to Broad hinton. i had also chosen to ride with the additional weight and encumbrance of the top box containing the QuiQ charger and cables. i knew i wouldn’t actually need to charge, but i wanted to see what the loaded top box felt like on the trail to help me decide whether or not to take it on the full day’s ride on sunday. i’d padded it out with foam, but the way it shook the back of the bike on the bone-dry byways was really annoying. The other irritating thing, when standing, was the handlebars – they’re just too low. if i were Carla, i would definitely fit some bar risers.

From Broad hinton we made our way across to Uffcot and the trail at the back of Wroughton airfield which leads up to the ridgeway, near Barbury Castle. We rode up the steep climb a second time for photos and i discovered another irritation while struggling to do a three-point turn on the rutted byway – the Zero has a very restricted steering lock. it also lacks the reverse which comes as standard with many electric machines and that would have helped a lot too!

From Barbury we took the trail across the Marlborough downs to Ogbourne Maizey, and swapped steeds for a few hundred metres. reuben enjoyed the Zero in its restricted power eco mode and i enjoyed his Beemer, which reminded me of the r100Gs i once owned. it felt much more nimble, with steering more precise than the Zero, whose chunky 19in Pirelli MT60 100/90 front tyre seemed to have a mind of its own in ruts.

Back on the Zero, i opened it up briefly on the a482 in sport mode, just to show reuben what it could do, and it left the old 800 BMW for dead. Their top speeds may be similar, but the acceleration is worlds apart! a short trail full of long grass took us around the eastern approaches to Marlborough, where we stopped for a think about the route back to base.

We plumped for the a345 to the south, which took us to the trail that joins the Wansdyke on the edge of the West Woods, where the famous bluebells were still out in force. From there it was only a couple of miles south on tarmac for the final and most scenic trail of the afternoon: the southern end of the ridgeway which runs due north up to east Kennet and the a4. That section of the trunk road, heading west past the man-made and pre-historic silbury hill, is one of my favourite stretches of twisty tarmac and the Zero was a joy to ride on it. i stopped at the Beckhampton roundabout and said to reuben “you really ought to try this thing in sport mode” and he was happy to do so. Let’s just say that i had to wring the neck of his poor old Beemer to keep him in sight and we went past a line of cars and a rather surprised honda Gold Wing 1800 rider as we passed the White horse and the Lansdowne Monument back at Cherhill. reuben pulled over shortly afterwards and confessed, “i can’t believe the way that thing goes! “i’m shaking!”.

By the time we got back to base we’d done 44 miles and the Zero had used 50% of its ‘juice’, but 18% of it had gone in the last 11 miles, most of which was thrashing down the a4. Before that, it had only used 32% in 33 miles, confirming my ‘rule of thumb’ of 1% per mile when riding in town or ‘bimbling’ out on the trail.

The barbecue dinner was in full swing by the time we returned and the Zero attracted lots of curious attention. People seemed genuinely surprised by how quiet it was. When i told them it topped out at about ‘a ton’, some were amazed.

The raffle has become a big part of the Wessex Wanderer, not least due to Carla McKenzie’s efforts to publicise it and persuade all and sundry to donate some desirable prizes. and with 33 prizes, it took quite a while for Wilts TrF chairman derek sadler to draw all the winners.

44 Trail Summer 2018

Blez takes on a hillclimb on the Zero

Drawing the prizes at the Wessex Wanderers raffle Classic BMW meets the Zero on the Ridgeway

The Zero with Silbury Hill in the background

No Cars sign on the Fosse Way

Georgina in action on her Beta 200

Lek Johnson and her Beta The lady and her horse seem to apprecitae the Zero

46 Trail Summer 2018

at the end of the evening i realised that i couldn’t actually plug the Zero into my allotted campsite power point because i didn’t have the necessary adaptor. Fortunately the folk in charge of the bar/restaurant area let me use the one in there, on condition that it be returned in time to plug in the water boiler-urn for breakfast in the morning.

Sunday: An ‘Honorary Lady’ on a Leccy Bike For sunday’s ride it seemed a good idea to go out with Carla’s all-female group of riders for three reasons: first, they were taking a route i’d never ridden before, up the Fosse Way; second, they’d be taking it steady and not doing many miles, so it would easily be within the Zero’s range; and third, it would give Carla a chance to do some trail riding on her own electric machine! so i became an ‘honorary lady’ for the day. My fellow riders were sarah Crittle, Georgina Mason, Becky Burbidge and Lyn studley. and it was good to see that there were seven other lady riders, taking part in the event, plus Liz smith who rode with Carla and co. on saturday, so a dozen in all.

We headed west from Calne to Chippenham on the a4, then north-west past Castle Combe race circuit where we rode our first trail before hitting a tarmac section of the Fosse Way just south of the M4. as we passed under the motorway and then left the asphalt again, it was nice to see the ‘no Cars’ sign on our first trail section of the old roman road. i’m sure it keeps the surface in better condition than if it were being used by 4x4s all the time, and also makes it feel more friendly for cyclists, of which we met several, along with a couple of horses.

When we stopped for the first time, i was pleased to note that even though most of our first 20 miles had been on tarmac, the Zero had only used 20% of its charge, so was still averaging 1% per mile travelled. When our speed dropped further as we bimbled gently up the trail section of the Fosse Way, i naturally assumed that ‘juice consumption’ would fall to a trickle, but that turned out not to be the case. For reasons that are still not clear to me, it transpired that the Zero still used 1% per mile, whether trail riding gently at 15-25mph or gliding along the a4 at 35-40mph.

We stopped for a break at easton Grey, where the Fosse Way crosses the river avon, and there’s an interesting information board which explains that this was once the site of a substantial roman town. While there we were caught up by a group of northerners led by James Osborne who, unusually, were all riding Betas, including another lady, Lek Johnson. a little further on, just after the Fosse Way becomes the border between Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, there was a lovely little ancient stone bridge across a tributary of the avon, and the only real patch of mud that we saw all day.

The original roman road ran in a straight line all the way from exeter to Lincoln but 1600 years of development has inflicted plenty of detours. One of these is around Kemble airfield, or Cotswold airport as it is now called. it was also our coffee stop destination at the aV8 (geddit?) café, right inside the airfield. To get there we had to do a couple of miles on the a433, where i felt obliged to open up the Zero for the first time all day, just to show the girls what it could do.

The aV8 café is a popular sunday ‘watering hole’ for motoring enthusiasts of all kinds, including plenty of road bikers and the Beta boys and girl we’d seen earlier were there too.

The manager was good enough to let me plug the Zero into the café’s nicely weatherproofed outside mains socket. With the slow on-board charger, the battery indicator only rose from 69% to 75% in 47 minutes. it’s not a lot, but the mantra of all eV users is ‘plug in whenever you can’ (especially if the juice is free!) because you never know when you might want a bit more range – that extra 6% could save you six miles of pushing. after retracing our steps down a few miles of the Fosse Way, Carla led us east to ride a scenic easy trail that runs due south for a couple of miles near Minety. We met a horse that i managed to ‘spook’ despite the near-silence of the Zero. i think it was the headlight, combined with a twitch of the bars, as i stopped to grab my camera. i still say that most horse riders – and all other non-motorised byway users – would love all trail bikes to be as quiet as the Zero!

Summer 2018 Trail 47

at the end of the Minety trail i finally persuaded Carla to have a ride on her own electric machine, while i swapped onto her husqvarna 250. The husky was a bit of a shock to the system after the smooth comfort of the Zero. While obviously lighter, it also seemed very ‘busy’ and uncivilised – vibratory, noisy and hard to get my leg over. after a few road miles, we paused for petrol at royal Wootton Bassett, reminding me that some of the machines in our group actually had a smaller range than the Zero…

We got back on the trail at Broad hinton, to ride the same route i’d started with on saturday, but in the opposite direction. The husky finally made sense when i turned up the wick to leapfrog past the ladies several times in succession so that i could get some action photos of them. it skimmed over the lumps and bumps effortlessly as the suspension started to work and i could hop from rut to rut with impunity, where i’d had to take care on the Zero. i’m sure it’s a very capable enduro tool, but personally i like my trail bikes to be a bit more versatile, with more speed and comfort on the road, which explains why i ride a dominator 650 and an hP2 1200 while my poor old KTM 450 exC hasn’t turned a wheel in years.

We were soon back at the Blackland Lakes base in Calne, having completed a total of 71 miles in our gentle day out. The Zero’s battery indicator showed that it still had 37% left. if you subtract the 6% boost it gained at Kemble airfield that would still leave 31%. in other words it had used 69% after covering 71 miles so managed to stay below that useful figure of 1% per mile. i’ve since discovered that the electric beast will keep running normally for several miles after the indicator hits 0%, so a day’s trail ride of a hundred miles is eminently ‘do-able.

Of course, that still wouldn’t be nearly enough juice for long-distance Wessex Wanderer Warriors such as James higgs, who led his merry men all the way to Weymouth and back on the saturday – 195 miles, over ten hours! That’s almost certainly a WW record. On sunday he and his group ‘only’ did 130 miles, which would still be too far for the standard 2017 Zero, but would be possible on a 2018 dsr with a fast charge at lunchtime. it could also be done on a 2017 machine with the extra battery, which adds 25% juice capacity (and an extra 20kgs).

Loose Torque Costs Lives… as on saturday, the Zero attracted lots of interest, and quite a few people gratefully accepted the offer of a test ride around the main field. i made sure everyone started off in the restricted power eco mode, and after one educational incident, i made sure they stayed in eco too. One chap, who shall remain nameless, completed a lap of the field in eco with no trouble. having seen him arrive on a super Ténéré 1200 i said, “you obviously know what you’re doing on a bike, so i’ll put it in Custom mode, but for goodness’ sake be careful, because with all the torque these things give, right from the bottom of the rev range, they can really bite you on the bum”. he got about ten metres before the rear wheel span up on the grass, the bike went sideways, and he was unceremoniously spat off, fortunately without injury to him or the dsr.

This was by no means the first time i’d seen Zeroes bite their riders, hence my prior warning, but in retrospect, i think his initial go in eco mode had lulled him into a false sense of security. i’ve watched an embarrassed video journalist explain how he came to crash a 2018 Zero dsr press bike turning into a side road at a T-junction he knows really well. Traction control is the only sensible answer, and if BMW can fit it as standard to their cheaper C evolution scooter (along with reverse!), then surely Zero can too. everyone who rode the Zero enjoyed it, and i like to think that it broadened a few people’s minds. huge thanks to everyone involved with the organising and running of the Wessex Wanderer, especially main man Keith Johnston, and to Carla McKenzie for the generous loan of her seductive machine! Paul Blezard Details of all Zero models, options and prices: http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/eu/ see Blez ride the Zero in circles while talking about it at the same time for five whole minutes! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3Mr4QuKpJc

48 Trail Summer 2018

Thanks to the manager of the AV8 cafĂŠ for the use of the outdoor socket

Meeting some friendly cyclists on the Fosse Way

The Zero’s torque catches some people out!

Carla took a stint on her Zero whilst I swapped ontothe Husky 250

About this time last year, Herts TRF member Mark Kinnard was lifting the winner’s trophy at the Gibraltar Race. Now he’s helping others to get there and compete.

The TRF’s iT Director Wil Linssen went along to his Uk preparation event to find out what it takes.

Gibraltar Prologue MARk DeSCRibeS THe Gibraltar Race as being “like a Dakar for mortals”; it’s achievable for a decent rider, and it won’t break the bank. People come from all over the world to compete, and it’s clear you can still have fun on the race, even if you’re not flat out trying to win.

Mark’s Uk-based Adventure Trail Riding (ATR) business is now offering packages to people hoping to participate, spreading the cost of transport and support, and making it even more accessible. Those racing with ATR can expect to have their bikes shipped out, travel arrangements sorted, technical and navigation support at the event, as well as some preparation here in blighty before setting off. i tagged along on the Uk preparation event to get an idea of what it’s like to ride the race, and see what it takes to participate.

The days were split into several special stages (off tarmac) and road sections.

50 Trail Summer 2018

The short version goes like this: 1. Wake up in a nice hotel room, and go for breakfast 2. Receive your GPS with today’s waypoints already loaded 3. Create a route through them with expert help from ATR’s Donna Gray 4. Ride! Hit each of your special stage waypoints at your designated time –

penalties for being early or late. Negotiate the road sections in between and get back to the next hotel 5. Wait in the bar for everyone to get in, and laugh about all of the day’s ups and downs 6. Dinner, then bed 7. Repeat 1-6 twice more

We did three days, with surprisingly varied riding. Day one was a long blat from essex to the Norfolk coast, then to Chipping Norton; long flowing lanes, and glorious weather.

Day two was up to and around Northamptonshire in the rain, and slop.

Day three was a more technical challenge around Surrey and Sussex from the Devil’s Punchbowl.

Summer 2018 Trail 51

The riders had started to do GPS training with Donna a day before the event. They split an afternoon learning about the Garmin units between the classroom, and the field. by the end, they could all take in a set of waypoints and calculate a full day’s riding with strict timing. it was impressive to watch them each morning getting the units loaded up.

Another advantage of the event is that you’ll meet the other riders going from the Uk. They were a fascinating bunch; some relatively new to riding off tarmac, some multi Dakar and baja finishers. i relished sharing a pint and a tale with all of them, and by the time you get to the start, there’ll already be a firm camaraderie. i should also take this opportunity to

52 Trail Summer 2018

thank Steve for helping me pull my bike out of a ditch on day two. i was on an R1200GS Adventure, a bike you’d expect see on the Gibraltar Race. i’d class myself as competent, but not stand out in the skill department and this taster weekend was superb for me. it was challenging, but achievable, and you really felt like you’d accomplished something at the end of the day.

Admittedly, day two was a real slog around in the mud. The big lesson for ATR from this year is to ensure that next year’s riders know they can skip sections, and accept penalties, rather than spend more penalty points trying to slog their way through it. i’d not considered the race before this

preparation event with ATR, mostly because i thought of it as unassailable, and i had some nebulous fear of the unknowns of it all. The ATR team assures me that this Uk event is very indicative of the race proper, and now i know that not only is it something i could do, it’s also something i would have a lot of fun doing.

We started the weekend with eleven riders, and only three of those finished the entire thing. Most of those who didn’t cross the finish line can attribute the DNF to mechanical issues, and as Mark puts it, “This will give all the riders a wake-up call about reliability and maintenance of their bikes.” You’ll be pleased to hear the GSA survived with only a minor rhinoplasty.

Mark’s racing again this year, and his eye’s

on the podium. ATR will be supporting 29 riders in total, and i’ll be rooting for each and every one of them from over here.

The weekend was such a success, that ATR will be expanding the event next year.

So you’ll have a good chance of a place on that event, and indeed as a supported Gibraltar Rally racer. There’s even talk of a full Uk based rally – so keep your eyes peeled for that.

The Gibraltar Race is from 22 June to 7 July this year. There’s even still time to sign up for this year’s race via http://www.gibraltarrace.com/en/ if you’re even curious about the race, or want a bit of a challenge on your ADV bike, then talk to Mark at Adventure Trail Riding at https://www.adventuretrailriding.co.uk/

Summer 2018 Trail 53

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Heritage Unsung Hero Pete Wildsmith tells the story of the TRF Southern Group 1975–2005

The

Long View I THINk A brief record of the history of the Southern Group TRF is worth doing before I ride the great trails in the sky. Up there, there will be no ramblers, just 4x4s and horses to churn it up a bit and to make it more interesting for us. We will be fit, and there will always be sunshine (but wet underfoot if you want, clever eh!).

The Southern Group was started in 1975

by Laurie Shepherd, a teacher from Milland, West Sussex. I remember the very first run in 1975, which actually started from his home.

In the early days the Southern Group was just that, covering most of southern England.

Eventually, as trail riding became more popular, other groups were formed: Loddon Vale, Thames Valley and West Sussex among others.

Our first formation meeting took place in a rickety old upstairs room in a seventeenthcentury pub, First in Last Out in Wales Street, Winchester. The Southern Group was now gaining momentum so more suitable venues had to be found, such as the Fountain Head, Brook Street (another pub in Winchester, no longer there), which if I remember rightly

56 Trail Summer 2018

Pete Wildsm ith at Weave rs Down trial, H ampshire

proved unsuitable because of music issues.

Next up was the Grosvenor Hotel, Stockbridge, a splendid meeting place and a known haunt of Prince Charles.

How did we get such a grandiose place?

Well, the manager was a motorcycle competitor and known to the late Mike Crossman, a trail rider, Enduro rider, and organiser and officer of the still active SETRA (Southern England Trail Riders Association) – a misnomer of a title because its primary function is organising Enduros. Mike, a good friend and a colourful character who sadly suffered a fatal heart attack while in the prime of his life, also used to run stubble races in a field at the rear of his bungalow at Meon Hill, just west of Stockbridge on the A30.

In 1980 I became the Southern Group secretary, taking over from Peat Gleed. In those early days, as well as regular group meetings we also held monthly ROW (Rights of Way) committee meetings at my house.

We were busy, fruitful and organised with various officers fulfilling their individual tasks.

Originally there were five of us, with Peat coming all the way down from Newbury, Alistair Fleur coming from Broughton and Alan Watts from Southampton. There was an incentive, however, for members to come from far away – my wife’s scones.

Nick Chalk from Eastleigh was another very keen committee member, and we would travel up to Trowbridge to visit the Wiltshire records office and do some ROW research.

The records office had late closing on Wednesdays, and there was always fish and chips to look forward to on the way back.

When looking for a meeting place our goal was always been to find a pub with a large lounge where we could get on with business in a quiet corner, as we couldn’t afford to rent a room. For years TRF member and friend Brian Boden and I would trawl various pubs trying to find suitable venues. Sounds fun but it was actually very difficult to find a suitable place. Once Brian and I rode the whole length of Halnaker Lane on our quest. We then crossed straight over the metalled road

of HMS Mercury and into the short lane opposite, which ended in a small copse, where we decided to have a break. To our surprise we then noticed this gypsy bloke, complete with lurcher, hiding in the undergrowth. We struck up a conversation, the upshot of which was that he asked us not to give away his whereabouts.

We continued on our way and then came upon a ‘plod’ of police, two cars and a motorcycle. We stopped to find out what was going on but were gruffly told to ‘mind your own business’. I found out later it was to do with sheep stealing. If the police had been friendlier, who knows, someone might have got a promotion – their loss.

The next meeting place was the Tabby Cat at Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh, now demolished. A strange place but satisfactory until we found a better alternative – the Chamberlayne Arms, Eastleigh, where we met from 1981 to 1983. The Southern Group was by now ticking over but the right venue was still to be found.

smith, Lee ft, Pete Wild le m o Fr l. il er H k Page. e top of Buts son and Fran ri th ar at H p u an ro u E g n en d the Souther escape me, th Kent group an ent chaps whose names Summer 2018 Trail 57 oK Wildsmith, tw

Heritage ith at Ver Pete Wildsm

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We then moved to the Woodman Inn, Lower Upham, near Bishops Waltham, a cute small country pub, from 1983 to 1987. For a while membership was poor – sometimes just two of us, me and Peter Cuerden from Eastleigh. But fortunately membership gradually started to pick up.

The Great Storm of 1987, and its unbelievable devastation, inevitably made many of our lanes impassable from that October. In 1988 Hampshire County Council (HCC) asked us to do a survey of every lane in Hampshire.

We allocated specific areas to each of our members and every lane was surveyed and reported on, with a comprehensive description where necessary, collated and then sent to the Council, job well done!

In March 1988 the Waterlooville Club organised the prestigious British World Trials round and we were pleased when we were asked to be involved, collecting the score cards and backmarking the event. It was good to see the Southern Group TRF

58 Trail Summer 2018

acknowledged in the official programme.

We next moved down the road to Bishops Waltham for our new meeting place, the Priory Inn, from 1987 to 1993. The Southern Group was now on the up. It was a good venue until the landlord decided to introduce folk singing on the night of our meetings – was he trying to tell us something?

I represented the Southern Group at many Public Inquiries. I thought it was a worthwhile cause; it showed the responsible face of the TRF and put forward what we stood for.

There was a site meeting and an Inquiry in 1993 for kingsworthy RUPPs 1 and 12, a long on-going saga going back to 1986. The objectors were a particularly obnoxious lot, but this made no difference to the outcome as RUPP 1 was made a BOAT. The Council was recommending a bridleway for RUPP 12, which I had objected to – hence the Inquiry.

The inspector listened to evidence from Dave Tilbury, Dennis kingswell, Mike Crossman and myself, particularly Mike’s as he had been a previous resident of the area. The bridleway

was overturned and is now a BOAT – result!

BOAT 12 is the lane that starts about halfway along BOAT 1 and leads to the Worthy Down army barracks.

Another Inquiry took place in 1993, this time at Herriard, near Basingstoke, for RUPPS 7 and 9. In fact this was a re-inquiry because of objections from Dave Tilbury and myself.

It was therefore up to us to present a case to prove the inspector wrong. Dave presented historical use and I presented user evidence for RUPP 7. I argued against the inspector’s dismissive attitude to the previous user evidence but in my heart I knew there wasn’t enough use evidence over a long period. The important route, however, was RUPP 9, known to us as Herriard Common. Called the ‘Wet Forest’ by the car brigade, it was cracking route. Dave went to a great deal of effort producing further historical evidence indicating that the route was indeed vehicular. I questioned the inspector’s report on several

Lane End, Fe

bruary 1976

points as I felt his previous conclusion was flawed with regard to the various illegal regular obstructions.

There was much support from TRF members, which pleased me greatly and helped my presentation. It was a very difficult and stressful Inquiry to prepare for. Dave and I both felt that, in the light of both user and new historical evidence, it should be a byway.

However, the inspector, who was brought out of retirement, was not known for his good results, and the landowner, allegedly, was an a ****. Unfortunately our challenges were unsuccessful.

Marshalling at horse events has been and still is an extremely important part of the Southern Group’s activities. Breamore, I think, was the very first event we got involved with, and it’s good to see that it is still going strong.

In the early days we also helped out at horse events held in the New Forest. Can you imagine it, riding in the New Forest! We marked out the course the day before, then rode the event the next day, before taking down the markers, fun or what!

I recall an early event that began at the old Stoney Cross aerodrome in the New Forest.

It was a very foggy, early morning start. I set off a few minutes ahead of the horses but the fog was making it difficult and very soon the horses were breathing down my neck – have you ever smelt horses’ breath? I asked the leader of the group behind if all was okay.

She said yes, but later on I had to deal with a bleeding horse and ensure the vet was on his way. A very grateful bunch.

I also attended Council meetings and site meetings as a representative of the Southern Group. Site meetings were called to review traffic regulation. It meant a day out in the countryside, so it usually wasn’t too much of a chore. Site meetings required walking and inspecting the lanes in question but more importantly it gave us the opportunity to lobby the locals. In the early days Brian Boden and myself often represented the TRF and the ACU; later on Dave Tilbury represented the All Wheel Drive Club. I like to think we gave a good account of ourselves.

A site meeting at Bradley, Bentworth and Wield was especially memorable. A few lanes

Summer 2018 Trail 59

Heritage needed to be viewed, so communal transport was arranged in the form of tractors pulling trailers. It was a truly rustic occasion, we lounged on straw bales set out on the trailers and basked in the sunshine as we entertained the lady parishioners, who were most surprised to find that we were charming and quite normal!

Some years later, in 1990, there was a second site meeting at Bradley, Bentworth and Wield with regard to traffic regulation – Land Rovers had been churning up the lanes there. There was a good cross section of interested parties: HCC, the police, cyclists, ramblers, the landowner, parishioners and others, all mostly anti. At the end of the meeting it was Council procedure to go round asking people to introduce themselves and to offer their views. When it came to the landowner he reinforced the Land Rover problem but stated that motorcycles were not the issue.

For many years Dave Tilbury (representing the AWDC), and myself (TRF/ACU) would attend the bi-monthly HCC ROW sub-committee meetings, important events where definitive decisions were made. At one such meeting the previously mentioned Bradley, Bentworth and Wield traffic regulation order (TRO) was on the agenda. The Council members were discussing the subject and I was waiting anxiously for the appropriate moment to intervene. Heart in mouth, I spoke up, reminding the assembled ROW committee of the land owner’s statement, i.e. that motorcycles were not the problem. For some time after this event the HCC’s TRO automatically allowed motorcycles but banned motorised four-wheelers.

The first route to have a TRO that allowed motorcycles but banned four-wheelers was the infamous Butser Hill Lane, officially known then as Langrish RUPP 14. This lane was used extensively by the Waterlooville Motorcycle Club for their many trials events throughout the year. However, HCC must have submitted a total TRO because in 1977 the Waterlooville Club (with Ralph Venables) successfully intervened and got an allowance for motorcycle use.

The Southern Group continued to meet

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at a variety of venues. From 1993 to 1997 we favoured the Ship Inn, Owslebury, a salubrious eating place but not ideal for holding meetings. Next up was The Phoenix, Twyford, from 1997 to 2002. It had a large bar area and a skittle alley which, apart from skittling, meant we could also hold our AGMs and even have a Christmas meal there. But the manager started making noises that he didn’t want us there anymore. So in October 2002 we moved to the Southampton and District Motorcycle Club premises, and for a few years I remained an officer. However, I didn’t want to go on for ever and at our 2004 November AGM replacements were found: Dave Holness, our new Group secretary, and Dave Tilbury, our new chairman. Sean Fosberry continued as the ROW co-ordinator. With our new officers in place I was free at last!

For many years I was the secretary, chairman, or ROW secretary, and sometimes doubled up positions when times were difficult. I have in fact been a continuous serving officer in various capacities for twenty-five years – mug or what! In the early years of the Southern Group TRF the

Resulting lanes that now prohibit motorised four-wheelers but allow motorcycle use: Bentworth BOAT 24 (Bullfield Lane) Binsted BOAT 60 (Hardings Road) Bradley BOAT 7 Colemore & Priors Dean BOAT 22 (Buttons Lane) East Meon BOAT 41 (Gravel Lane) East Meon BOAT 45 (Woodbridge Lane) East Meon BOAT 46 (Greenway) East Meon BOAT 47 (Cumbers Lane) East Meon BOAT 48 (Pidham Lane) East Meon BOAT 49 (Fishponds Lane) East Meon BOAT 50 (Limekiln Lane) Fareham BOAT 125 Langrish BOAT 14 (Rake Bottom Lane) Langrish BOAT 23 (Pidham Lane) Langrish BOAT 24 (Greenway) Newton Valence BOAT 30 (Buttons Lane) Wield BOAT 17 (Rushmoor Lane)

Lee Wildsmit h coming up

Butser Hill

Southern Centre ACU also had a ROW interest and its own ROW sub-committee with Ralph Venables as chairman. The ACU’s sub-committee had been in existence for several years before the TRF and yes, I became secretary of that as well. We met at Ralph’s cottage in Treyford at the bottom of the South Downs. The ACU sub-committee was eventually disbanded. It had been very useful and influential but the TRF was now the major ROW force for the area. The Southern Centre ACU still kept a ROW representative and one of the reasons I fulfilled this role was to get money from the ACU for TRF use. The TRF needed funds for postage, photocopying, and petrol for attending Public Inquiries, site meetings and Council meetings. I was using my holiday entitlement to attend these various meetings but a couple of times I had to take days off sick without pay and I had to be recompensed from the club funds. I was successful and the ACU kindly approved donations for ROW work, either by ACU reps or the TRF. Motorcycle clubs donated as well – Tadley and Southampton Vikings spring to mind.

At that time some observed trials were still using green lanes, so the clubs had a vested

interest, although it was still very generous of them. The result being that over a period of time several hundred pounds came our way.

In 1991 there was a Public Inquiry for the Pepperbox Hill lanes, Alderbury RUPP 17 and Grimstead RUPPs 15A and 15B. These Wiltshire routes were used for the Southampton Vikings trials event, so this time it was the Wiltshire group that got involved. The RUPPs duly became BOATs. Around this time I invented and produced the Southern Group’s Handout Maps. These maps used a unique lane numbering system and were comprised of several A4 photocopies of the A4 sections of all the Landranger Maps that covered Hampshire.

They showed all the legal routes and these routes were given a unique Southern Group number. This importantly allowed a very simple way of recording our use. With the introduction of the 2006 NERC (Natural Environment and Rural Communities) Bill our Handout Maps were withdrawn because of probable legal implications, plus there was now no real need for user evidence and the latest Landranger Maps showed all the legal

Summer 2018 Trail 61

Heritage

ith XL600R. Pete Wildsm Down.

Possibly Teg

routes quite clearly.

Ralph Venables, apart from his competition interests and ROW commitments, was mostly known for being a Motor Cycle News journalist, whose interests were swimming in rivers, jazz, and more importantly motorcycle trials and of course ROW. A good man, he would always help if he could. In 1991 I was at a Public Inquiry for Colmore & Priors Dean, just north of Petersfield. The opposition had questioned Ralph’s car user evidence, assuming he must have used a normal car.

Ralph responded in his cultured booming voice, “You don’t know me or my car.”

He had used his special Canon Trials car, a vehicle he drove for years on various routes throughout Hampshire when organising events in the area.

Another gentleman giving user evidence was the late Phil Mellors, an ex-works trials rider for the Ariel factory. Phil was often seen officiating at trials I was competing in, a smashing bloke and fondly remembered.

62 Trail Summer 2018

Times were busy under the old Wildlife and Countryside Act. There were letters to be written and Action Packs to send off for Inquiries or TROs. Fortunately I had built up a quite large database of users of TRF and ACU members. I went to a few National Committee meetings up country because that’s what you supposed to do as a rep, although there was no real need as the Southern Group was totally self-sufficient.

Going to the National AGM was a great time to meet up with old friends but the AGM itself was often boring. Other officers, however, such as Dave Giles, and Alan kind of the Land Access and Recreation Association (LARA), were always very friendly and appreciative.

Organised weekends away were popular and always memorable, and included the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, Scottish Borders, Dartmoor and the Mendips, Mid Wales, North Wales and the Peak District.

A funny occasion was our North Wales road race alongside Lake Bala. We were tramping along this long, wide, free-of-traffic road.

With the bigger bikes were ahead of us, three

Recognition of Southern Group members who did an officer stint during 1979 to 2005: Brian Boden Nick Chalk Pete Cuerden keith Dobson Sean Fosberry Peat Gleed Malcolm Godbold Les Gwinnett Mike Hannigan Euan Harrison Dave Holness Gareth Lloyd-Jones Russ McDermid

Howard Millichap karl Mumford *Frank Page Penny Page Derek Powell Gareth Richards *John Sapsard Dave Tilbury Alan Watts Pete Whalley Malcolm Whiting Lee Wildsmith *The late Frank Page deserves a special mention for his enthusiasm and thoroughness with regard to the many horse events

of us on our XL185s were trying desperately to catch up, hunched over the petrol tank, road-racing flat out for all we were worth, changing positions and doing at least 65 to 70 mph, on the speedo that is! It was immense fun. There was a fast ’S’ bend approaching and none of us really wanted to slow down. As we rounded the bend, however, we found this bloody copper standing in the middle of the road. We had inadvertently interrupted a wedding crossing! After a bit of a panic – luckily everybody survived – it was over in a flash and we were on our way.

A different event to our usual weekends away was the John Ebbrell Memorial Run, a TRF two-day event named after a founder member. This event comprised a day in the Lakes and a day in the Dales. All together now: “Lakes to the West of me and Dales to the East of me, Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.” It was large well-organised affair with many run leaders. Based at a dormitorystyle hostel at Tebay, just off the M6, we strolled around looking at the various trail bikes parked up and noticed the rattiest bike I’ve ever seen in my life. A small two-stroke, a Yamaha 125 or 175 I think, with a strange clutch/throttle arrangement. The next day we were allotted our run leader, a chap named Howard Wadsworth, and guess what? He had

he was in charge of. He was a staunch supporter of the TRF and attended many Public Inquiries.

Frank and his wife, Penny, were also responsible for gathering our important user evidence. *John Sapsard also deserves a special mention for attending the East Hampshire AOB meetings, plus other user group meetings that fell outside of the usual HCC control.

He also attended many Public Inquiries.

one arm. Bloody hell, we thought, what have we got here? We assemble for the off, and guess what? Who’s that on the ratty bike, none other than our leader, Howard!

We needn’t have worried, Howard was amazing. Unfortunately, a true TRF stalwart and tireless worker, he died suddenly in 2004.

He was well known as an incredibly determined person, no doubt brought on because of his disability.

Regrettably, despite our efforts, we lost two memorable routes, the first BOAT at Wheatham Hill, Hampshire, officially called Steep 34/Froxfield 46. A notoriously tough lane that at times could not be beaten and not to be confused with the Wheatham Hill route that is currently used by the TRF, which is Hawkley BOAT 36. One of the reasons the HCC gave for the TRO was the safety angle.

There was a choice of two lines: the righthand one was alongside a pit with a steep drop, truly high (on one occasion my son Lee tried to blast his way up and fish-tailed off course, ending up with his rear wheel hanging over the precipice – I thought that was nearly one less for tea!). The other lost route was known to us as Warren Lane, Colmore & Priors Dean BOAT 23, again an extremely challenging lane but incredible fun. A long, steep, sunken dark route through a wooded

Summer 2018 Trail 63

Heritage area, it rarely dried out and was always full of debris. Like Wheatham, it was sometimes impossible to get to the top, so then it was downhill for these lanes instead, still tricky though.

On one occasion in 1992 I was riding a ‘reccy’ for an up and coming Public Inquiry at Ellisfield. I was looking for a particular lane and turned into what seemed a likely route but found I had actually ridden into someone’s drive and garden, to be met by a surprised and disagreeable person. Come the Inquiry who should be one of the main objectors? That disagreeable person, a Mr Croll, embarrassing or what! Mr Croll was to appear many times at Public Inquiries – as well as being at the aforementioned Ellisfield Inquiry he was also at the later Mapledurwell and Up Nately Inquiry and also the Upton Grey Inquiry. User evidence was important for these areas, so I contacted the Aldermaston Nomads, who used to run long-distance trials in the area. Tony Jefferies from the club furnished me with route cards, list of runners and programmes, all good user evidence.

Ralph Venables had told me of an old gent named Owen Tyler, aged 93, who would give me good user evidence, so my wife and I went to interview him at his home in Hook.

In the 1920s Owen had a motorcycle shop in South Warnborough, and had been a

Inquiries I attended where I represented the TRF (any where I was not the TRF rep are not included): Bradley, Bentworth and Wield 1994 Buriton 1988, 1992 Colmore & Priors Dean 1990 East Meon 1993 Ellisfield 1992 Farrindon 1992 Hale 1991 Herriard 1992 Herriard 1994 kempshott 1995 kings Somborne and

64 Trail Summer 2018

Pete Wildsm ith riding do wn Butser on John Hort ons XL185

competitor. He dictated his motorcycle events to us, which was then transferred to letters for him to sign. Owen was a great, interesting, and more importantly coherent chap, more good user evidence. And good news! These three Inquiries all ended up with BOATs: heh, heh, Mr Croll!

Here endeth the good old days.

Ashley 1994 kings Worthy 1993 Mapledurwell and Up Nately 1992 Upton Grey 1992 West Tisted 1994 West Tytherley 1992 Wield 1994 Site visits I attended for the TRF where traffic management was being considered: Barton Stacey Bradley, Bentworth and Wield (twice) Bramdean

Five Ways Hale kempshott kings Worthy Litchfield and Woodcott Littleton/Crawley Martin Down Middle Wallop Newton Valence, Colmore & Priors Dean Shalden The Clatfords Warnford West Tytherley Whitsbury Wield Worldham

THE CHALLENGE 250 MILES, 80 GREEN LANES IN LESS THAN 10 HOURS Cambridgeshire TRF

Suffolk TRF

Join us for a ride from the Cambs/Essex border to Hunstanton in Norfolk and back to raise money for charity

Advanced bookings only 4th August £30

Free basic camping Friday night at start point For a booking form email: vraptor@ntlworld.com

Orange Aid Can you have too much of a good thing? For Ian Morley the answer was easy... KTM 250 EXC-F v 450 EXC

I waS NEw to dirt biking but used to road bikes and my previous green lane toy was a Yamaha Raptor 700 quad bike, so it had to be the KTM 450 EXC. That low-down torque was addictive and made overtaking on the road nice and easy, plus, 450 sounds way better than 250 when you’re telling people what bike you ride, right?

Off road however, it was a different story.

First gear was hard to moderate on slippery surfaces and I struggled at Enduro practice events being made to look silly by guys on smaller engined bikes. I just assumed it was my lack of skill. a friend suggested I try his 4-stroke 250 EXC-F on a few green lanes so we swapped bikes. The lack of torque was evident and initially made me dismiss the 250. It was harder to lift the front wheel to help with puddles and rocks, but then after a few lanes I realised I wasn’t trying anywhere near as hard to handle the bike and was easily keeping ahead on the technical stuff. His bike had been geared quite high with a 13:48 set up which explained the seemingly lack of low down grunt, but it certainly felt more nimble.

Unfortunately my 450 was stolen so I was forced to look at a replacement. at the same time my friend had decided to give up and stick to road biking so his 250 was available.

I decided to get it rather than another 450.

The first thing I did was change the gearing

back to 13:52. This made it a lot livelier and helped lift that front end at the cost of a slightly higher revving and noisier cruising speed. I’ve had to get used to the different power band too. Now the power is all at the top end with a lot less low-down torque but still enough to get you through the mud.

I need a gear higher in most situations than I did on the 450.

But the main difference is how much easier the 250 is to handle off road due to the lighter chassis (107kg /113kg dry) and more sedate power delivery. I’d say off road, in novice hands such as mine, the 250 is a more confidence inspiring and therefore faster bike than my 450. So, if you’re having the same dilemma, for green laning try the 250 EXC-F. I’ve learned that lower weight is more important than cubic capacity.

Summer 2018 Trail 67

EVENTS 30 June - 1July Tour Of The Moors Camping Weekend TyneWear & Teesdale TRF are now accepting entries for the 2018 Tour of the Moors Camping Weekend. Based in the centre of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park at the Feversham Arms, Church Houses, Farndale. £50 for 2 nights camping with an event polo shirt included in the price. Showers and toilets provided.

Entry forms from: stephendoy@hotmail.com 07527223677.

4&5 July Classic Coast 2 Coast Leaving Scarborough’s North Bay Wednesday morning you will ride some of the best legal green roads in the North Yorkshire Moors before the overnighting at Scotch Corner (provided in the price).

On Thursday morning you continue West riding some of the best legal green roads in the North Yorks Dales before arriving in Hest Bank, Morecambe Bay on Thursday evening.

Entry forms from: https://1drv.ms/w/s!AsehUyzChwFRgZUfdZ8vVjSLTfaOfQ Email tnytrfevents@virginmedia.com for more info.

27-29 July TRF at the Gamefair Ragley Hall, Alcester, Warks B49 5NJ 2-5 August TRF at Countryfile Live Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1PP 5 August Somerset TRF’s 1st Annual Griffin Trial Raleghs Cross Hotel. Brendon Hill, Taunton, Somerset TA23 0LN 1&2 September Mid Wales Meander & Hafren Hunt Meander: Guided rides from Sennybridge, Bucknell, Welshpool, Furnace and Staylittle. Each location has a large parking area for vans and cars with trailers. The Staylittle location is also the start of the Hafren Hunt on Sunday.

Max 6 riders each group. Pre-booking essential, £30 entry fee which includes a donation to the Brecon Mountain Rescue charity. Registration form available from midwalestrf@gmail.com.

Friends of the TRF 58% Discount Suzuki GB bikes.suzuki.co.uk/owners/acu-licenceholders/ 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 Gecko Enduro Tours Guided green-lane tours in the Pyrenees Orientales www.geckoendurotours.eu 20% Discount CCM Spares www.sparesccm.com The place for CCM owners quote membership number Custom Lids www.customlids.co.uk Discounts available on all motorcycle clothing Datatag www.datatag.co.uk Quote code TRF2017 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

The following businesses are offering discounts to TRF members

J&S Oxford www.jsaccessories.co.uk Flexiplates www.flexiplates.co.uk quote code TRF15 Zen Overland www.zenoverland.com Eurotek KTM (Ripon, Yorks) www.eurotekktm.com Applies to mail order, shop and parts fitted in the workshop The KTM Centre (Hemel Hempstead) www.thektmcentre.co.uk Bikestop www.bikestop Off-road clothing discount Viewranger www.viewranger.com Discount on digital maps code: TRF2017 MotoKing www.motoking.co.uk 10% Discount Rally Raid Products www.rally-raidproducts.co.uk Discount available on all custom Rally parts Redtread Off-road motorcycle tours in Spain www.redtread.com 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

Hafren Hunt: A lightly competitive scatter rally. Please enter in teams of two, three or four, £30 each person. A jacket potato meal will be provided on your return. You will have 50 minutes before your start time to decide on your route. Maps will be provided. 21 bunkhouse places are available, and other accommodation options are available in the area. Entry forms available from midwalestrf@gmail.com.

15&16 September Hereford Hospice Trail 2018 Baskerville Hall, Clyro Court, Hay on Wye, HR3 5LE. Two days guided trail riding and two nights camping. Includes; Saturday breakfast and evening meal and Sunday breakfast. Access to hotel bar and pool. TRF members only. Online entry forms from https://fs28.formsite.com/htrf/2018/ Entry fee £100.00.

29&30 September Hadrian Adventure Weekend WryTree Drift Mine (next to WryTree Farm), Haltwhistle, Northumberland

Manchester Xtreme www.manchesterxtreme.com Please quote your TRF membership number 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 Variable Rates Centre Trail, France www.centre-trail.com 15 Euro cash back on booking Enduro Tyres www.endurotyres.com Special rates Bike Revival www.bike-revival.co.uk Shock Absorber specialist Trail Rides Wales www.trailrides-wales.com Free guides for members on selected days J&S Oxford www.jsaccessories.co.uk MX Zone www.mxzone.co.uk Centre Trail France centre-trail.com Helite Airbags pcadvancedmotorcycletraining.co.uk IAM www.iamroadsmart.com Bike Seal bikeseal.co.uk 10% off of clothing and 5% on spare parts Fraser’s of Gloucester www.frasersmotorcycles.co.uk

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250 4T EFI Motor 104 kg – Lightweight Cro-Mo steel frame Progressive Drop Link Suspension Arrow Exhaust System CNC Triple Clamps 43mm Olle` Forks Mitas Tyres RRP £4699

L Plate legal 50 & 125cc variants available.

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