Off Road "Adventure"

RavenstoneGSA · Post by **RavenstoneGSA** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 8:41 am

Hi All,

As an off road virgin I've been looking for a bit of green lane experience, nothing too exciting because I ride a BMW GSA with road biased tyres.

I've been hearing about the Coalville Loop which is very close to home and riding through Ravenstone yesterday I spotted a likely looking track. At first it was great fun, standing up feelng like a proper adventurer despite my complete lack of off road skills.

A few minutes later the track deteriorated into pot holes full of rain water but despite a few slips and slides the big GS did me proud, (I'm guessing first time luck!)You can probably guess what happened next...

Five minutes later the "track" became a swamp with eight inch deep ruts perfect for a KTM 350, not so good for a GS with road tyres. I kept going in the vain hope of finding somewhere to turn around but it didn't appear and pretty soon I was stuck in thick mud.

I train for something called the Dragan Challenge which is a weight lifting endurance thing, so I'm pretty strong. I managed to get my front wheel into the other rut and then picked up the back end and walked it round to manage a 180. I almost wish someone had filmed me doing this because in the wet mud it must have looked hilarious. I picked it up seven times in about five minutes and suffice it to say that my language was pretty colourful!!!

You might think that this experience would put me off, but the fact that I got myself out and made it home made me really happy. It confirmed that a GS is great for dry tracks but way to heavy for serious off roading. I know there are some guys out there who can do amazing things on a GS but there are better bikes for this type of thing.

I still love my GS but the weight and cost of replacement parts has got me thinking about a little 250 just for fun. I did manage to give my new Altberg boots a proper test as my wife had to jet wash them so I could find the laces!!!

Cheers,

John.

Ruiz · Post by **Ruiz** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 9:06 am

Congratulations! Your post made me remember one of my first rides off road on my own, with road tyres and with a road bike that was not even powerful ( Varadero 125). It was bloody hard, but I think it is still the one I am most proud of. They make you realize what you are capable of, don't they?
On they other side, they also make you aware of how dangerous riding alone can be, so better try and find someone to ride with... although sometimes this is not an option!
Cheers,
Gonzalo

RavenstoneGSA · Post by **RavenstoneGSA** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 10:22 am

Thanks Gonzalo,

You're absolutely right it was a bit stupid to fly solo. To be fair it was walking distance from home but it would have been a long crawl if I broke my leg!!!

Cheers,

John.

beddowsm · Post by **beddowsm** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 10:30 am

Ace stuff, glad you had fun and made it back safely. I used to ride a lot of trails solo a few years ago. Got my Africa Twin stuck in some deep mud. Tried for 4 hours to get it out but I failed. I had to walk 6 miles to get phone reception, completely dehydrated. Had to leave the bike overnight. Took 4 of us the following day to get it out. It can be dangerous....but also fantastic fun.

Brenhden · Post by **Brenhden** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 11:28 am

Wow, you are lucky you are so strong! I by the sound of it you could have ended up in a right pickle otherwise.

Lots of people are capable of riding big bikes off road (not me) but its a lot easier to enjoy it on a smaller bike.

RavenstoneGSA · Post by **RavenstoneGSA** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 11:35 am

I'm paying for it today though!!! Struuggling to lift a mug of tea!!!

Richard Simpson · Post by **Richard Simpson** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 2:00 pm

Join the TRF

www.trf.org.uk

to get some folk to ride with and show you the lanes.

Big bikes are OK in the summer, but a nightmare in the wet. BMW Boxers particularly bad when the bike grinds to a stop suspended on the cylinders.

I remember lifting one along the Viking Way...four blokes and two spare fence-posts that we were lucky to find...fence posts through the wheels then carrying it like a sedan chair!

Mad Cow · Post by **Mad Cow** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 2:41 pm

Yep, once got a R80GS bottomed out in ruts many years ago, that took me four hours to get it out.

It was on decent tyres too, just ran out of ground clearance

And decent tyres will make a huge difference to the performance of a big adventure bike although you're stuck with the weight

Paul-S · Post by **Paul-S** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 6:26 pm

Well done John

Bongoman · Post by **Bongoman** » Wed Jul 02, 2014 5:49 pm

I do the Coaville loop as it very local to me , it's about 70 miles on and off road with some great trails , you could do with some knobles on to be honest , you'd more than welcome to come with us , it's a mixed bag so you'll get a bit of allsorts , might be going this Saturday if you fancy it