UPCOMING EVENTS

We run an interesting and varied programme of runs and other events. Here is a short sample listing of some upcoming fixtures, the runs predominate, however, and accounts of two recent ones are included below.

RUN REPORTS

SOUTHAM RUN

It was a very cold and frosty morning in a lay by somewhere near Ladbroke where the group met up for a Mr Clues ride out.

Quick re-cap on the runners and riders:

• Andy Clues KTM

• Andy Spencer GAS-GAS

• Simon Edler KTM

• Robin Hicken HONDA

• John McGowan YAMAHA

• Chris Hollands YAMAHA

• Mark Long HUSQVARNA

• Me BETA

First of all the award for having a bad day goes to Mark on his Husky for his attempts to remove his rad and side panel stickers by sliding horizontally up to every gate. Indeed when he wasn’t “backing the bike in” to any corner no matter how slight, he was picking it up from a previous attempt. To scrub off speed he seemed to favour using his helmet peak and elbows. Mind you I started the day thinking I would use this ride out as a chance to practice my feet up skills. I think on two lanes I actually got my feet onto the foot pegs. Mr Spencer had to go off before the start and fill up his reasonably priced Y02 gas-gas 300 (£2450) so I had just enough time to give every one a brief history of Ladbroke and was just about to start my Morris dancing display when the gas-gas shop owner returned.

First lane of the day was Windmill lane, which I had seen on the map but had not ridden. It was 400 yards into this lane when Mark and his Husky took the first of many falls. As I helped him up I asked him how long he had been into trail riding. Three days was the reply, so I don’t think he did bad considering. Then came the lanes at Marston doles. It was when we re-grouped at the cross roads that the local farmer arrived in his Land Rover and went straight in to a torrent of accusations ranging from creating tractor sized ruts to mixing up different lambs in his fields. Most of us spoke to him and agreed that some 4x4 drivers are not doing anyone any favours. With this he calmed down and once he got his head round the fact that there were 8 Richard Hawkers all out at the same time he wished us a safe journey.

On through to Helidon then back round to Priors Marston. These lanes seemed very cut up by 4x4s since the last time I rode them. At this point we said goodbye to Mark and he left us to return home on the road. Joking apart I hope he comes out with us again as he did very well to ride the lanes we did as they were frozen to start with then thick mud as soon as it warmed up a bit. A couple of more lanes later we arrived at Burton Dassett.

Riding through brought the usual stares from the walkers and families alike. Still some managed a smile and or a wave. We then rode a lane (E6405) that I didn’t have on my map. It didn’t look like it was used that much as there was no tyre tracks like the other lanes. I can see why, through two paddocks with mad horses, across a freshly dug field, past a flock of lamas and down the side of a farm that had double gates and several signs saying it was private property. Then on to the furthest lane at Warmington. I don’t know if people had confused this place with Warmington-on-Sea but there were a lot of caravan’s around. (“You stupid boy!” – ED).

A short blast back up to Burton Dasset allowed us to ride down Mill Lane. I see that the old boy on the bicycle that collected the car park fee has been replaced with a meter! Next stop was the garage for some petrol and food. Refreshed we rode a couple of miles on road so we could take in Centenary way from the Ufton end. This was, as always, a two hundred foot long bog. After the lane at Hunningham we rode the lane from Eathorpe to Marton, I see this lane now has a sign up saying it is a private road. Well if they are saying it’s a road it will make it a lot easier to claim than if they said it was a footpath. Then we came to the lane at Hodnell manor, Thank God I just managed to see which way the person in front went as this lane crosses left and right all over the place including a very slippery plank over a very nasty ditch. Another road crunching session and we were doing the three lanes at Grandborough, Wolfhampon, and Nethercote. In Nethercote I noticed frost still on the ground at 3.30 just shows how cold it was. That was it for this ride, just a twenty-mile bimble back home.

Thanks must go out to Andy Clues our guide.

CHRIS O’BRIEN

Bride of Chucky

Here we go again! Chris has played another blinder and nicked the fully fuelled up works van. This time we are three up, Chris, myself and some bloke from Bidford called Rich (Dick to his mates) turns out he's chairman of some bike club or other. Anyway, heading due westish it wasn't too long before we arrived in Dolgellau, but not before scoffing sausage rolls and sarnies kindly donated by Dick's missus. After a little searching we found the B+B, nice place even nicer location. Mrs Perkins showed us to our rooms "wot no telly?" We dumped our gear, jumped back in the van and headed for Barmouth to pass some time before meeting up with Paul, Pete and Roy back at the B+B. They had been out riding earlier in the day Pete had had a bit of a moment, which resulted in some nasty bruises to his ribs and hand that would ultimately see him sidelined for Sunday's antics. Paul had booked a table for six at the Ponderosa, a remote outpost that can only be described as a shrine to John Wayne and all things cowboy and Indian. Not what you'd expect to see in the middle of the welsh countryside. Anyway if that was a surprise you should see what the menu had to offer, a sixty-six ounce steak that's what! I mean, that would take some eating, even for world record speed eater Chris. So not being greedy we all decided, with the exception of Dick who said we should put it to the vote, to go for the smaller sixty-five ouncer instead, anyway a good meal was had and we were all looking forward to Sunday.

Sunday morning broke nice and sunny we were soon aboard the van and heading to meet Paul and Roy at the garage. Andy and his mate Kev were already there having got up at the crack of dawn and driven across. Andy rolled a very nice looking red gasser out of the van and his mate a 250 KTM. It wasn't long before Paul rolled up on his XR, closely followed by Roy aboard his four-stroke Gas Gas. Rich gently wrenched his KTM from the tangle of bikes in the back of the van only to find the battery as flat as a fart, we reckon the start button may have been pressed in as the bikes were wobbling about, maybe that could of explained the fumes in the cab on Saturday?

Paul had arranged for us to meet a bloke called Big Andy, down in Aber-some-where in a couple of hours, in the meantime he'd take us on a gentle bimble up into the hills along some twisty tarmac lanes that had more gates on them than a twisty tarmac lane with loads of gates on it. Chris had a brush with a huge brown owl that flew across his path and actually touched the front of his helmet. Eventually tarmac gave way to stony track; all was well until disaster struck. Whilst waiting to get through a gate I looked back up the track only to see blue smoke bellowing up from the bracken on the slope beside it, another look and I could see somebody lying on the track. Turns out it was Chris, he'd gone down really heavily, he'd bailed out when the throttle stuck wide open sending the bike straight off the track flying about thirty odd feet down the rock strewn hillside. The smoke was from the KTM screaming full throttle on its side. This looked serious, as I legged it towards Chris I was thinking how am I going to tell his wife the KTMs a write-off, oh and by the way Chris is in hospital, no really, Chris looked bad, going down on his ribs had knocked the wind straight out of him he was struggling for breath and his leg was hurting a lot .We thought this might be an air ambulance job but decided to pull the KTM back up the bank with a long strap, it probably wouldn't of fitted through the doors anyway. Amazingly the bike emerged virtually unscathed and by this time Chris had managed to stand up. Nice trick mate, was it a no handed superman? Cool! I reckon one day he's going to land one. Fortunately he recovered enough to coax the bike and himself back to the garage car park.

Time to reflect. It's a good job he was wearing, for the first time, a keenly purchased set of body armour this undoubtedly saved him from far worse injuries to his chest, also a full face lid stopped his gob from getting smashed in, not forgetting proper padded jeans and good boots, no kidding this was a nasty crash, injuries could have been a lot worse, modern riding gear eh, who'd have it?

Anyway, it was clear that Chris's riding for the day was over and since it was barely 11 o' clock he insisted Rich and I go along with the others, he reckoned he'd be ok in the van, what! For four hours! Yep, no probs. We were very reluctant to leave him (honest) but he insisted he'd be more poked off if we didn't go. So, after quite a few seconds of thought we were off and about twenty-odd minutes and some stunning scenery later we were chatting to Big Andy and his mates, one called Barry Sheene, isnit eh. Turns out they were going to show us some tracks and trails some on private land (with permission). Anyway a mixture of long gravel tracks, steep wooded climbs and descents interlinked by even steeper rockery made for some very exiting and technical going, these guys obviously know this place like the back the of their hands they have even given names to some of the trails, dinosaur, one of the trickier isnit. Must be great to have all this in your back yard. How time flies when your having fun. Rich and I had agreed earlier that we'd knock it on the head after a few hours since Chris was laid up in the van. If only we knew where we were we could of made our way back to the main road. As it turned out Big Andy had had enough anyway, well actually his bike had, since its crank case was smashed earlier on resulting in a total loss of gear oil, Barry's bike was also suffering a loss as well in the form of teeth on the back sprocket - there simply wasn't any, not one it was smooth! As we emerged from the forest tracks on to what appeared to be a proper lane we were confronted with the most spectacular views across the mountains and beyond, this one could have been called Top of the World, Barry managed to get the bike back home which turned out to be not that far away and mostly down hill, I reckon he's well used to breaking down as the only thing he takes with him is a thick tow rope wrapped around the handle bars. Once we'd reached civilisation we said ta-ra to the boyos and headed back to the van.

Well although the day was cut a little short for one reason or another I reckon a good time was had by most. I suppose its just the way it goes sometimes, I'd just like to thank Chris for providing the transport and organising the digs - not to mention the stunt show -, Rich's missus for the grub, Paul for setting the whole thing up and Big Andy and his mates for the entertainment also cheers Roy for showing me how its done - boy can he ride that gasser! That's it until next time, y'know, I always said that KTM was a flying machine …

Rob Brooke

Llanymynech One Day Event 12 th June ‘04

The single track road in Pant petered out through a five bar gate into a field in front of us, to the left a dirt track disappeared behind the farm. Nailed to an old ash tree beside the gate was a crude sign “MARES LEFT AT OWNERS RISK”. I turned to look at Lindi sat in the passenger seat, she was grinning at me; looking past her a lovely red haired woman walked towards us from an outbuilding. Paul? She said. Angela? I said. She gave me a fantastic hug; I could feel every bump and dip on her body. In fact it lingered on my nerve endings like fresh honey… however; I could feel Lindi's eyes burning the back of my neck. Angela breeds horses, keeping a very big persistent stallion for the purpose. She is also as mad as a hatter, and a great laugh.

On the last day of the Cleobury horse event, two of our TRF riders were unable to ride and rather than leave Stewart on his own there and also let the organiser down, I felt obliged to ride in their place. This didn't go down well at home but Lindi understands responsibility and accepted my decision. On the day Stewart said he'd double booked Llanymynech and would have to leave early. Andy Prince had enquired about riding here so I asked if he'd like to ride the day instead of Stewart, he agreed. Originally I was to take our other rider, John Melville, but as he lives closer to Andy P than me, I asked if they could travel together; a bit of an imposition on my part, but they agreed. This gave me the opportunity to get a few Brownie points with Lindi by staying a weekend in Wales with her in lieu of the last Sunday lost at Cleobury.

Angela is the owner of this B&B, she got our number off Hazel who owns the land the event is run on, and she got our number off Heather who organises it, after I'd asked her for a recommendation.

I was told some years ago that ‘Pant' in Welsh means ‘Hollow', so when we booked the B&B over the phone, climbing gear didn't seem necessary but this place was just on the edge of the top of it!

We dropped our gear in Angela's bedroom, (she vacated it for us), and after talking for an hour with her, went down into Llanymynech to the Cross Guns pub for steak and chips. Walking back up the mountain after a good meal and a good few pints we met Jo and her mother unloading their car at Angela's. Jo did commentary at the Cleobury Mortimer event; she lives on Anglesey and had travelled down to do the commentary at Llanymynech. (Small world, equestrian eventing.) On our way in, across the kitchen range and worktop was a large sign ‘TOILET ROLL 6 PACK - £1': Bloody hell Angela – it's a good price but have we got to buy our own!' Her partner is a market trader, it wasn't meant for us.

In our room two swimming cossies were on the bed, Lindi was talking downstairs to Angela; when she came upstairs she brought three pairs of swimming trunks. Soon after, I was in a hot bubbling Jacuzzi with three lovely women playing footsie and leggie for almost an hour; difficult to explain, you had to be there. To end the evening, while Lindi was a foaming tribute to Colgate in the bedroom washbasin, an enormous brown slug slid out of the overflow aiming for the bright orange soap.

Home grown bacon, rashers as thick as gammons and eggs for breakfast set us up well for the day. Well and truly Angela'd, we made our way to venue. We met Heather at the secretary's tent, she was tense and trying not to flap: and overjoyed at seeing us on site – one less worry.

his Land Rover Discovery, it went away when they slowed down and made it without further problems. Andy determined to get the AA out to have a look at the wheel before lunchtime. AA very nice man looked at the passenger side wheel and declared the bearing knackered. Andy was overjoyed, not only would he get to enjoy a glass or two of wine but someone else would pay for the fuel home!

The cross-country course here is fairly flat, from field to field through gates, over small bridges or through streams if you were watertight. Old earthworks, probably ancient homesteads made fun riding between fences as did a very steep bank; and long open stretches where missing the odd fence was easily done, (I did it several times).

We had an easy time really, three of us covering the cross country because despite an initial bit of confusion, a young chap on a farm quad covered dressage. While bimbling around we met Brian Perry, landowner and organiser of Cleobury Horse trial, his wife Jenny was judging fence three with Angela Noblet, our Jacuzzi owning B&B lady. Catering was once again in a large marquee served by professional caterers, good food but not abundant, and very nice wine – even Iwhodonotdrink had a glass.

After an entry of over 350 riders, the entry was whittled down, 138 potential riders were balloted out leaving a field of 212, of whom 208 rode on the day.

Jo on commentary gave the TRF a really good reference mentioning aptitude (drinking), diligence (falling over) and reliability (unaware of wheel bearings); I owe her a drink for that at least, if not another Jacuzzi…

We picked up the last score sheet at 1850hrs, a few problems with thrown riders and runaway horses had delayed timings leaving us to finish later than expected. The AA picked Andy and John up later that night eventually getting them home around midnight. Johns partner Jan was very vocal for a day or so after (so I'm told). I never did get to find out if Andy managed to move his daughter with two knackered wheel bearings.

Watchet – March 2004

One word springs to mind, absolutelyf-infantastic! The lanes of Exmoor and the Quantocks are just that.

Having borrowed a van from Chris's works' he and I chucked the bikes in the back and headed off M5 southbound. A couple of trouble free hours later we turned up at the Blue Anchor Inn, backed the van to the wall and headed for the bar. Several pints of John Smith's and that black stuff with the creamy white top later (not forgetting the compulsory bag of scratchings or two) we decided to hit the sack; not totally sure what the next day would bring.

After a decent nights kip we met up in the dining room for a mega breaky, setting us up for the day. Dave Chamberlain was to meet us in the car park at 8:30. He was bang on time, having got up at 5:30 and travelled down. Dave was to be the run leader. The three of us set off to meet the others at Washford, just down the road. There were about fifteen or so bikes there that split up into two groups. Our group consisted of Dave on his TTR; Pete Hemming (XR); a bloke called Rob on an XR400; another called Vince (KTM450); yet another called Paul (who was a bit poked off as his CRM250 wasn't running right – which will be explained later). Then there was Chris on his KTM 300 rocket ship, and me on the trusty KDX200 (oldest shed on the car park / hairdressers bike).

Anyway we set off with Dave leading and Pete bringing up the rear. We hit the first lane, a long, twisty climb: not exceeding (of course) the mandatory 52mph (That's right isn't it?) At the top we had to duck beneath a fallen tree, probably a victim of the previous week's gales, then descending a lane cut into the hillside. At the bottom you could look back and see where you had just been. Wicked. On we went, following Dave like sheep – fast sheep. He doesn't hang about. We took in lane after lane. Not just any old lanes, these were mega.

A couple of hours quickly passed. Chris and I were suffering from face ache from all the smiling we were doing as the lanes came and went. And then Chris's KTM picked up a nail in the rear hoop. So we injected it with some hoop gloop, only to see it flat again within a couple of miles. Within minutes, Vince had got the KTM perched on a picnic bench (or was that another fallen tree). Wheel out, tyre off – it turns out he does this for a living (not normally on picnic benches though) Handy eh? Anyway, having borrowed a tube from Rob it was duly fitted by Vince almost as quickly as he had removed the old one. Top bloke!

We set off again. More lanes were taken in. The one through the forest seemed to go on forever, it was ace. Dave was doing a fantastic job, it was just lane after lane after lane. Having sorted ourselves out a bit in terms of positioning in the line up, we hit a really steep rocky climb. Dave binned it halfway up and a little mayhem followed before we all reached the top, mostly knackered. Shortly afterward, Chris's chain became detached and it was all hands to the pumps to try to get the KTM back on track. Unfortunately, this time it was more serious. That said, it's great that these guys who had only net a few hours previously could be so helpful. Cheers guys. Anyway, Chris coaxed the KTM back to Minehead where we found a bike shop, namely West Coast MCS. He duly purchased a chain from the very friendly and helpful chaps at the shop. We soon had the new shain fitted and decided to head back to the moors to retrace some of the steps we had taken earlier on. Back down the really steep rocky job, it was ace.

Well, the light was fading so we decided to ride back to Minehead. Curry and chips in the bus stop watching two Elvis's obviously on a stag night wobble down the street. Bizarre. Just a few miles down the road and we were back at the Blue Anchor where upon we sampled some more black stuff with the creamy white top.

Sunday morning broke. Grey skies and pi**ing down rain. Mind you it was an hour earlier than it should have been. Dave seemed pleased that his bike was still chained to the trailer in the car park. The Quantocks beckoned and Chris and I were about to embark on the best days trail riding either of us had ever had. We met the others at the Washford. This time there were to be six in our group. Pete decided to go with the others, since his lift home was with one of the other chaps. Paul was well happy after discovering that the problem with the bike was nothing more than a maladjusted air screw which, when set properly brought his CRM back to life. “Somebody must have screwed it right in!”

Dave reckoned some of the lanes on the Quantocks are shorter than the ones on Exmoor. Maybe, but they are just as much fun. Anyway, about four or five hours and a load more face ache later we all pulled up outside a small pub. Dave popped in to ask whether we would be allowed to go in given the state we were in (and of course we were on nasty motorcycles). The landlady asked, “do they bite?” “No” was the obvious answer, and we were soon in the comfort of the bar tucking into some sarnies. Since we were all pretty low on juice it was decided that we should call it a day and head back to civilization. But not before taking in a few more cracking lanes on the way.

Thanks go out to Chris for borrowing and driving the van, and also organizing the digs. Thanks also to Pete and especially Dave (as well as all the other blokes) for an unforgettable weekend. I'm still smiling a week on.

Roll on October and the next run!

Rob Brooke

Cheltenham Home Guard MCC Sphinx Rally 27th April

Having ridden motorcycles virtually all my life I hold one regret. I have never competed on a bike in any form and thought I was now too old and wrinkly to consider it. I then discovered off road biking via Geraint Jones Yamaha experience in November 2001 and was hooked. One thing led to another, I purchased a bike, joined the TRF and have been thoroughly enjoying myself. This rekindled my desire to ‘compete’ and so with some major trepidation entered the Sphinx rally which was being held in the Cotswolds, just down the road from where I live.
I did not sleep much the night before. There were 106 entries and I have been given the lucky number 7. On arriving I found out that competitors were sent off in numerical order, oh dear, only 6 people to follow, big nerves. As the start time got closer, I am informed that some people have not shown, and I will be first away! Oh sh^@*t. Even bigger nerves, big ache in tummy and very dry mouth! Before I could go to the toilet, I’m waved off and am on my way.
Well, what an interesting and challenging day! I think it fair to say that I and my mate Ian did not really appreciate what we had actually let ourselves in for.
Turns out that the event was classified as a 'Long Distance Navigation Trial' which means we had to negotiate 29 'Trials' type sections throughout the route of approx 70 miles using the green lanes and some tarmac across the Cotswolds. Of course these sections usually meant bottom gear, feet up, full lock turns, climbs & descents with an identical scoring system to normal trails riding. My naivety was reinforced when I had to ask the observer at the first section how the colour coded gates worked! (Red on the right, blue on the left, have you not done this before sir?) Some of the sections and terrain were extremely challenging, well they were for me. I am now amazed what the bike can go up and over with me on board, well not always with me on board! The majority of the seasoned competitors were on Gas Gas Pampera's, Yam 225 Serrows & XL200's. i.e. ideally suited to the task at hand. Two brave lads were on CCM's! My DR and Ian’s DR350 were somewhat difficult to get through on occasions but clearly much more manoeuvrable than the CCM’s. However, we were made very welcome by all; I would say at least a third were 'virgins' which certainly made me feel much better. It was great fun, and very relaxed. Frankly it is amazing how some old chap, fag in mouth on an old XL could clear sections without even breaking into a sweat. Seems I have a lot to learn! We were both totally knackered at the end of the day but survived, which is more than can be said for Ian's DR. He holed his engine case when he fell off pushing the gear lever into it. It wasn't too bad so he could continue, but he has a seriously impressive bruise on his person to accompany it. I am pleased to say I did not finish last and perversely look forward to their next event in July.
So, personal goal achieved. Who knows where all this could lead to?

Simon Price

Trio of Trials

In a busy week of horse trials I opted for Berrington Hall on Sat. 2nd Aug., Aston Le Walls on Wed. 6th and Offchurch Bury on Sunday 10th.

With logistics sorted and trailer borrowed I collected Chris Nicks enroute through Alcester at 8am on Saturday morning and continued on to Berrington Hall near Leominster taking about an hour and a half, meeting Richard on-site at approaching 9.30.

Richard had already ‘sussed’ out the course and offered a guided tour. A lovely course with undulating landscape. As we started, over wet and slippery grass, Richard warned that although horses could, we could not ride over the ‘Ancient Ice Store’ (large mound to you and me), instead diverting through a farm yard picking up the course later on. When we arrived at the farmyard, the farmer, having witnessed Richard on his earlier sortie had locked the gate! “No choice left then” says Richard “we’ll have to go over the Ice Store”. Richard led but I was too far behind to see how he did it. My technique was to drop into second, give it some juice and hope to get to the top. When I passed the top, in a heavenward direction, I experienced an ‘out of body’ experience, a kind of weightlessness that seemed to last some time before my rear wheel touched ground, I slid off the back and the TTR merrily wheelied on its own across the field. Chris admitted that watching this manoeuvre did nothing for his confidence as the next to try. The ‘mound’ retained my respect for the rest of the day.

Lunch was a sandwich in the open air on a hot and sunny day, the riding ended at 6.30.

My favourite was next, Aston Le Walls. I can ride there and back, about an hour each way, the food is very good and so is the almost limitless supply of wine. The surroundings are civilised and people friendly. It was another very hot day and Richard, Dave Chamberlain and myself did our best to stay on the move and get some wind chill. I started the day with all the sensibly protection and of course the customary bacon sandwich. As the day progressed the sensible protection diminished – not because of the few glasses of courage consumed over lunch but because it was so …. Hot.

Last but not least was Offchurch Bury, a first for me and another one I can ride to (about 50 mins.) and another one I highly recommend – food not so good but the undulating course with wooded area and river crossing made for an interesting and enjoyable day despite the decision not to carry waterproofs on the wettest day for 8 weeks. Fortunately for my moral I was reminded by a lady scorer as she sat in her car that “I was lucky, as the rain was warm”! I met up there with Paul Clarke and Andy Cadney and Robin Hickin popped in for a mid-morning run around – who could blame him. This event had an additional element, it had the usual Dressage, Show Jumping and Cross Country but also included an event called Roads and Track. I did not fully appreciate the necessity for this activity where the horses walk around a course similar to the cross country (I feel sure that somebody is going to enlighten me)!

Roll on my next Horse Trials at Upton House in September.

John Melville

FOUR GO MAD IN TAMWORTH

26th JANUARY 2003

I turned up at the lay-by on the A444 just in case there were too many riders on the planed ride out by Steve. At nine o’clock Steve headed out with his full compliment of riders and I was left with Alan Cox (TTR250),Tony Murray(KTM200),Ian Dyche (TTRr250) and myself (KTM200).
We gave the other group fifteen minutes to get a head start then we rode the same route as them (to start with). The first two lanes were the muddiest I have ever seen them and it was quite a struggle to get through. The rest of the tracks were in a pretty bad state, due I think to the over use by four-wheel drive & mass bike use. Ian told us that the TTR was his first off-road bike and he was still getting used to it. Tony gave him a few tips on fast riding on ruts while Alan and I stood there nodding as if we knew already.
We progressed as far as Green lane then Tony had to switch to reserve, so after the lane at Batram we headed for the petrol station. It was just after we had filled up that Tony realized that he’d lost his bum-bag containing mainly tools. We took a vote and decided to re ride all the lanes back to the start (15 at that point).
It was quite strange to tackle the ride backwards and I had trouble spotting the start of lanes as some of them as I tend to ride the one way only. On route we passed three different groups out on their bikes, one land rover and three young female ramblers who not only thanked us for riding slowly past them, but shouted that they wanted a lift!
The others wanted to pick them up but I couldn’t take the chance that it wasn’t a ramblers ambush so we continued our quest.
Sadly there was no sign of Tony’s bum-bag and we rode back into the lay-by at three thirty. Apart from Tony’s lost bag we all had a muddy good day.

Chris O’Brien.

BIKES ON THE MYND

8th FEBRUARY 2003

Having not been on the TTR since the 7th December Cotswold Run I was a little apprehensive when Paul Clark XR 400, invited me, at the February Club Meeting, to accompany him on an exploratory trip around some Shropshire hills on the following Saturday.
After trading a few good reasons why I could not go, too short a notice, bike not ready, I found myself warming to the idea knowing that although Paul was an impressive rider, he did ride on ‘road tyres’ so I should be able to keep up.
Transport sorted, courtesy of Iain Dyche TTR 250, who for obvious reasons became an essential participant we were joined by prospective new member Nick Cooper XR 250 and met up with Paul at 9.30am in a lay-by just above Church Stretton.The first thing that I noticed was that Paul had now fitted new knobbly tyres! How relieved was I to learn that the sign-post indicating the way to The Bog were giving directions to a nice little Shropshire village with an unfortunate name.
The weather could not have been bettered, cool not cold and comfortingly dry. We climbed out of Church Stretton leaving The Long Mynd to our left and once on the tops began to criss-cross over the moors where there was still evidence of the snow of weeks before. The actual lanes we covered will be reported elsewhere, some of which were covered more than once for the simple reason that they were that good.
The day saw us climbing grass covered hills affording spectacular views, dropping down deep valleys and crossing streams. The terrain encompassed moorland, wet peaty tracks, muddy ruts, fast stony trails and over stumps and branches through recently felled woodland. There were no ‘offs’ - honest!
There were a number of National Trust Wardens sighted throughout the day but with the exception of one, who seemed to take a liking to Paul and kept popping up at the end of each trail, they paid no attention to us. Unlike the farmer who parked across one track and advised that whilst he did not mind us crossing his land, the road had been diverted some sixty years ago and pointed out the ‘A’ road deep down in the valley. (An unlikely storey for further investigation). We politely shared our map with him, thanked him for his advice and went on our way.
We returned to Church Stretton at 3.30 and after loading the bikes retired to the Railway Café where Paul and Nick cleared them out of English Breakfasts before making our way home.
Thanks go to Paul for coming up with a fantastic day out, one that will definitely be repeated.
John Melville

ROCK ON – MUDDY

COTSWOLD BEGINNERS RUN 7th DECEMBER ‘02

With conflicting feelings following the earlier ‘Beginners Run’, I had, I thought provided perfectly acceptable reasons (excuses) as to why it would be impossible for me to attend on the 7th, after all on the 6th I had to go to a late and boozy reunion with old colleagues and intended to be far from fit the following morning.

For those interested, there will be some, the boozy ‘do’ with the exception of having my car broken into, went well with a ‘not before time’ bedtime appointment being kept at around 2am.

Repetitiously morning came again all too soon and I will leave you to imagine how I felt when at a cold and misty 8.10am fellow member, Hon. Sec, neighbour, one time friend and Leader for the day ‘Prince Andrew’ arrived in my drive promising “No muddy ruts, No offs, just dry stony trails and a pub lunch”.

I was advised that he was going off to meet Ian (TTR250) at Newbold on Stour and that I was to follow on from where we would proceed to Fish Hill, Broadway to meet up with the rest of the party.

When we arrived at the car park most of the others were already there and after a short while we were away in the drizzle, over mist covered tracks, it wasn’t long before we could feel the nip at the ends of our fingers, but this was all soon to change as our leader, realising the need to keep warm, sought out some more challenging stuff !

Personally, if I had not seen it with my own eyes, I would not have believed that bikes could have gone where we went, it would have been difficult enough to walk/climb it let alone ride it – I’m talking here, for those that have been there, of around Cleeve Hill and above Prestbury. There was at one point down a rocky gully where spectators had gathered at the side of a particularly challenging drop. Now it would be Christian to assume that these good people had positioned themselves at this strategic place to be kindly and helpful to anyone requiring assistance. However, from their shouts of encouragement there’s a good chance that their motives were slightly less humble – but I may be wrong !

Being thoughtful, our Leader stopped at the end of each section to give those of us that needed it, time to recover, it was at one of these stops that I explained to him that being a spectacle wearer every time we stopped the cold air would cause my glasses to fog up, this coupled with the rain made it impossible to see where I was going. Andrew took immediate action and changed the timing of the stops to be instead, just before a difficult section. This did not stop my glasses fogging up but my riding seemed to improve!!!

During the day we had the good fortune to have experienced slippery waterlogged fields, water filled muddy ruts, railway sleepers, boulders, rocks and gullies. I perfected my ‘over-handlebar forward roll’ to the appreciation of following sympathisers and did some more work on my fally-off whilst not even in motion technique (3 times – before anyone else asks)! So if any of you out there have still got your 60’s platforms hidden in the wardrobe, bring ‘em along to the club jumble.

Paul was again impressive on ROAD TYRES and later in the day during some tarmac work between tracks when he stopped to effect some repairs, I did wonder whether he had stopped to change to slicks.

STATISTICS:
OFF’s - I’ve now got this down to 1oph (offs per hour)
Or .086 opm (offs per mile) including SO’s (static off’s), not to be confused with SOS’s although maybe it should!
RELIABILITY OF LEADER INFORMATION: 1 / 4
“No mud” – There was loads
“No offs” – There were loads
“Rocks” – Oh yes, on this he scored
“Pub lunch” - Well I blame myself, I’ve known Andrew for some time now and he’s never been one to rush into a pub crying ‘drinks all round’. I should have known.
Enjoyment - 100%

Thanks go to all those taking part and making it a great day and especially to Andrew for planning and organising and to Aleck Coulson who brought up the rear and seemed never to tire from picking my bike up.

JM

TRAIL BY MUD, OR – SOUTHAM BEGINNERS RUN – 9th OCTOBER ’02

On an Autumn evening in the warmth of the Wilmcote Club I heard of a run being planned for beginners or those returning to the sport after an absence, being on the right side of a couple of pints I thought this was ideal for me.

I had bought the TTR250 eighteen months earlier as a winter bike to spare my VFR from the worst of the weather. During my ownership I had been tempted out on a couple of green lanes (The original ‘green lane use only’ bike!) and had been under mounting pressure from TRF member and neighbour (He knows who he is) to do some ‘Off Road’ lanes which I did with him and despite an off enjoyed myself.

Feeling confident I joined the TRF in August and later, under the watchful eye of Richard, helped out at a horse trial - what a great day out that was too – put me down for more.

I digress. Confidence at a high, after all I thought I could ride a road bike! I was keen to be included on the ‘Beginners Run’. So enthusiastic was I that I persuaded friend Ian to join me, somewhat essentially though he first needed a bike. A quick scan of the adds found him a TTR down in Stroud which was purchased and we were ready to go.

The big day arrived, the first day in weeks that it was not p….g down, everywhere was so wet that Noah would have been long gone. We arrived at the designated lay-by on the outskirts of Southam to find that even the ‘Brace of TTR’s’ were excited and had mounted each other on the trailer – miraculously the only real damage to the bikes all day. After some quick repairs and arrival of the others we were off, up through Southam where we picked up Robin before entering our first lane.

Through the gate and on the pace – just two riders in front, both looking the business riding the centre of the lane above and between the deep water filled ruts. That’s the way to do it – I thought, what fun as I followed their example – this is what it’s all about. Whoops – ooH, how did that happen. Loads of laughs, pick up the bike and away we go again – and off we come again. This is not going to be as easy as I thought! After much needed help and advice from Robin I’m up and running again.

After more offs and feeling the effects of energy spent I began to wonder whether this was really for me and whether the time had come to give up all two wheeled pleasure, I had been reduced to feeling that I could no longer control the TTR if my life depended upon it, which appeared to be the immediate situation!

At about this time we pulled into a garage and I thought thank God for that, its over. Then a funny thing happened – disappointment, I thought no it can’t be over yet, lets do some more. It was at about this time that I also learnt that I was not the only one to fall. Until then I was beginning to feel a bit of a burden upon the group, oh no, the exchange of stories at the garage underpinned my crumbling confidence. But it still did not explain how well Paul was doing on ROAD TYRES!

Before leaving the garage we learnt that Leader Simon was bored and was handing over to Robin for a couple of lanes. Now if you are my size it could be unhealthy to call someone as big as Robin a b…..d but it was spontaneous. Robin’s lanes, all slippery, included a stretch just over a metre wide between hedge and barbed wire fence with tight right angles, more eye poking than thought provoking.
Robin’s best was a ditch to cross, approximately 2 to 3 meters wide 1 meter deep (to surface of the water) bridged by a mud covered 400 wide plank erected half way down the ditch. To make things interesting the plank was not at right angles to the banks and on the other side was a thorny hedge in front of a steep drop.

I saw the man in front, whom I had earlier wished I could emulate, go down and I thought - oh blast, that’s a shame! Time to think positive, if someone that good can foul up then there will be no shame if I have an off here.

I lined the bike up at the top of the bank and weighed up the situation. The plan was to drop onto the plank – slowly, pray not to slide off, then give it some wellie to get up the other side. To my amazement it worked, I was up the other side in a flash and promptly celebrated with an uncontrolled dismounting. Next across was Ian on the other TTR, similar tactics embedded him into the aforementioned hedge where it took three of us to disengage him – Oh how I laughed.

After a couple more of Robin’s lanes Richard took over again and led us back to the Southam lay-by before dark.

Synopsis Great day
Highs - Definitely
Lows - Cleaning the bike

Thanks to Simon and Robin and all the others who never tired of extracting me and my bike from Warwickshire’s swamps.

Footnote: Robin, I thought about the Quad at the show but I would’nt be able to get it across the plank!

JM

GAP ROAD - 6th OCTOBER.

After getting everything ready on the evening of Saturday 5th, and having turned down an invitation to a party and a ball, I was a little upset to get a call from Andy Spencer to advise me that the run was off as Greg's lift had fallen through.
Not wanting to be put off without a fight, I managed to get in touch with Andy Peters and borrow his maps (thanks Andy -I owe you one) so duly armed, Chris O'Brien and I set off 7am on Sunday to have a day out.
To say the weather was good would be a considerable understatement. We travelled quickly down and parked in the car park of the Coach and Horses in Llangynidr on the B4558 south of the Usk about 4 miles from Brecon. This pub is ideally placed for an attack on the first lane, up onto the moors. The later part of this dropped down to Outdoor Pursuits Centre at Pentwyn reservoir. This latter section had a TRO applied.
Chris and I had decided to go west rather than risk the Black Mountains and without a run leader and having to rely on stops to check maps, we knew it was going to be slow going. There was a good variety of stuff, lots of loose surfaces, and steep slopes with rocks like kerbstones strewn all over the track. Onwards and upwards, the gap Road came into sight and with a stop at the top to 'reccy' the situation, we decided we should go down on the right, through and up on the right as well. Wrong!! Chris made it owng to his experience in trials, but I hit a rock (which Chris must have loosened!) and had an off, He has it on film somewhere. Halfway along the track we stopped for a photo opportunity and could not believe the tranquillity of it all. The map revealed the adjacent Summit was called Fan-y-Big!!
What is all the fuss about with us and the 'others' who use these tracks? We saw a good number of walkers, a group of miserable looking tourists on a pony-trek, a group of Californian students (one of whom had the most magnificent fun-bags -eh Chris??) and probably no more than 6 or 8 bikes the entire day. No-one had anything bad to say, no glares or stares and even thanks from the pony trekkers for stopping and switching off while they passed.
Travelling from the Gap Road, we did another lane into Brecon and stopped for some carbohydrate. From there, the map beckoned us out of Brecon on the A470 to the visitor centre just outside Tai'r Bull. This is a great road, very mixed surfaces and some quite deep water towards the end where the track runs along-side the forest.
With time pressing on due to the stops to read the maps, we decided to stop just north of Dysgwylfa on the A4109 and with no known route back across country and the TRO on the only option, we had no choice but to blast along the A465 back to Rassau and then across country due North to Llangynidr. This last stretch of road was like a mini-alpine pass. Dropping down into the village onto the B4558, a sports bike would have been a good choice, but it's amazing how well Katy Emm handles.
Back at the car, hot wet and tired, and with the landlord originally directing us to a preferred parking spot that morning, we felt we simply had to put some money in his till. What a great pint that was.
The pub looked brilliant. The beer was excellent and the menu adventurous. They do not mind 'off-roaders', have a big car park and 5 rooms.

A twin costs £20 per person B&B and the only double (which is en-suite) is £50 or £28,50 single occupancy. I will certainly be using it as a stop off point in the future.

A Tale From The Tail-End

It’s amazing what you miss when leading a run.Not that I want to put anyone off Run Leading,but after volunteering to be “Tail End Charlie” on the recent Megaride run, I’d forgotten how entertaining it could be!

Andy S. had warned me that there had been a lot of interest in the run.We had put no limit on numbers as this was going to be a one-off ride.We were hoping to arrive at Meriden “on mass” and assemble at our W.M.T.R.F. tent,where our Chairman would greet us with a fry-up and mugs of tea.

He was not wrong! There were 16 of us in all,with a vast array of bikes from DT175’s to 2002 DRZ400’s.

Just one group was going to be interesting!!

Andy S. consulted his maps and chose to do the lanes that are North of the county which he felt we could cover easily in the morning.None of them should prove to be too tricky at this time of year.Tony Murray rode mid-pack should anyone get split up,and as I’ve already mentioned,I followed up the rear.

The day had not started without a hitch though.Rich Colledge decided to ride to the start point with me from my house.We were all primed and raring to go.He gave his bike a quick stab on the kickstarter,then another,then another-nothing-dead as a dodo.”that’s unusual” he said!I had a go,Rich had another go-still nothing.Eventually about 30 kicks later it spluttered into life with plumes of smoke pouring out of the tailpipe! We tore off towards Balsall Common,already late by this time.I looked over my shoulder to see if Rich was ok,to see a massive cloud of blue smoke behind him,completely engulfing the car that was following him!

Later it dawned on Rich why his bike was so reluctant to start.As he had laid his bike up for a while he had decided to pour some 2 stroke oil into the cylinder through the plug hole to keep things lubed.KTM’s were not intended to run on 5:1 pre-mix!

We left Balsall at about 9.15 and headed to Barston.I was amazed how well the group kept together.The first few lanes went without a hitch.Some of the less experienced guys had a few minor tumbles,but nothing too serious.I later found out that this run was the very first trail ride for some of them!Fair play,they did really well.One downside to being the tail-ender is that you have to suffer the dust of the 15 bikes in front !

Many of the lanes were very overgrown and at some points I did not recognise where we were.We suddenly popped out at the end of one lane to find it was the infamous”Dial House”The lane that we had won thanks to Richard Hawker and Ken Stepney’s hard work.We stopped for a “team photo” outside the gates for proof we had ridden it.

Soon we were at Claverdon.I noticed that the bloke who normally gives us grief at the start of Breach Lane has put his house up for sale! I wonder if he’s told any potential purchasers about the lane? Ooh look theres a flying pig!

Next was Hercules.Fairly rough in places but perfectly rideable.Chris Scott(KTM 200EXC/GS) decided he needed a lie down halfway along it!We gathered at the end of the lane for a breather and a chance for the usual exchange of friendly banter.(p***-taking) Mr Hicken being at the receiving end of most of it!From there we headed towards Yarningale Common,when disaster struck! Steve Shepherds brand new Gas Gas 300 refused to change out of 1st gear.We stood around and scratched our heads and realised there was nothing we could do to fix it.It was a back to the dealer job!After a lot of deliberation as to what we should do,we called on Mr Chairman(who was manning the stand at the Megaride)He volunteered(under duress!) to come and pick Steve’s bike up from the nearby pub in our van.Someone asked Steve if he was in the AA.We were unsure if he meant the motoring organisation or the people with a drink problem as I’m sure Steve was dying to drown his sorrows in the pub!Dean(MTX125) chose to stay with Steve for moral support and the rest of us pressed on.

We had reached the Durham Ox when Jason realised he had got a flat front tyre on his CRM.Sure enough on inspection we founda nail in his tyre.Obviously he must have been a boy scout and heeded the motto”be-prepared”.He produced a new can of “Tyre-Weld” out of his rucksack .A quick blast of that saved his day.

Literally half a mile later yet another incident!Two new guys to our group, who’s names escape me, decided to let their bikes get to know each other a bit more intimately! The one chaps TTR250 decided to”mount” the others DRZ400 at the next road junction.Not a pretty sight!(The only way I can describe it was like watching sheep trying to bustle their way out of a sheep pen!)Apparently the Suzuki is expecting a PeeWee 50 later this year!

It was now a case of “what’s going to happen now”?!!

Unfortunately Andy Spencers brother-in-law (who was on his very first trail ride) took a nasty tumble when he got cross-rutted.The rock hard ground was very unforgiving.Luckily he was soon up,looking dazed and confused , wasn't put off and away on his bike again.

Next stop-----The Megaride!

We all rolled up together,and gathered at the T.R.F. tent.It must have looked quite impressive.We were all fed and watered .Mr Edler is a demon with the frying pan!

A few of the lads had to call it a day at this point.The rest of us decided to do a few more lanes.In particular Hobgoblin lane,another lane we’ve won the right to use.

We all gave this lane the title”lane of the day” It was quite tricky due to the fact it was very overgrown.The bracken was head height.Poor old Andy had to cut a path through with his bike,as no one had used it for some months.Some one had attempted to block the lane with a fallen tree.This was soon cleared by our band of mud-pluggers.However one tree trunk was balanced very precariously just waiting to pin down the next person that nudged it!The bikes had remained relatively clean all day until we had to cross a stagnant ditch.This 4ft wide gully of stinking goo gave some of the riders a bit of a challenge.I think it was the thought of coming to grief and landing face down in it psyched a few out.As a result all our bikes were totally plastered.We returned to the Megaride at about 4pm,just as people were starting to pack up.

I think it was fair to say that we all had had a good day’s riding-90 miles in total.The lanes are well worth using-and they’re right on our doorstep!

Cheers Mr Spencer,for leading.

Andy Clues

Crosshouses -20th April

Lead by Alan Weaver, accompanied by Andy Spencer, Steve Hayes, Tony Murry, Pete Hemming, Kev Bowes, Stuart Cheatham and Chris Scott.

Starting from the now usual place in the public car park in Church Stretton, the weather forecast was not too promising but for the moment it was dry and sunny if a little chilly. The first couple of lanes highlighted that the ground was very slippy and so the pace was reduced accordingly.
Now normally there is a distinct advantage in being the run leader, a clear track in front with no wheels to distract you plus the speed of the day is dictated by you. However as we arrived at the first river crossing the water looked deep and was flowing quite fast. Faced with this you therefore have three options, 1) turn around and go back, 2) go over the adjacent bridge or 3) just go for it. The first two options do leave yourself slightly wide open to a certain degree of urine taking, so its looks like its option three then. I always think that it does not pay to dwell too much on the "what if' situation, just aim for the other bank and go for it, cor blimey that water was cold and deep. But with everyone safely across we headed for the next water crossing. This is the one where you drop down quite steeply in to the water, directly across and up the other side, again same options applied as before, I dropped down into the water and headed across towards the other bank but struck a submerged boulder, which diverted my course away from where I was headed, only by the grace of God did I manage to get my foot down before I dropped the bike. Standing knee deep in water I then had to haul the bike around and face it in the right direction. As there is no free space
to observe the others at this crossing, you have to continue to the end of the lane before you can stop but I think that every one experienced some minor difficulty with the crossing in one shape or another. We did investigate a couple of lanes that according to my 1996 Landranger map were RUPP's, but after a minor confrontation with a local resident we were informed that in fact it had been downgraded to a Bridleway some two years ago at a public enquiry. Apparently representatives from the local TRF were invited but no one actually attended. I have since checked on a more recent Explorer maps and it is now shown as a Bridleway. Once again I was demonstrating my skill at crossing ruts at 45 degrees, but
in the heat of the moment I chose too high a gear and stalled the damn thing half way across, mid ruts. This is where you discover that the precise point where you want to put your foot down is directly above the deepest part of the rut. Down I went like a sack of spuds, giving my head a good old whack, now it may be pure coincidence but for the next few lanes I could not sort my left from my right out, who "said no change there then?"

Regulars to this run can no doubt recall the steep muddy "off-camber" climb after passing through the farmyard at the bottom. Well as usual this provided great entertainment in particular to a certain club member who gave up after numerous attempts and passed his bike onto someone else to ride up.Unfortunately the person he chose in his hour of need consequently stalled it and rolled backwards off-camber with the front brake locked, unable to stop, into a fallen tree, it then took three people to push it back up again!!

Mid aftemoon as we approached the Long Mynd the weather tumed quite dramatically from being sunny, if cool, to gale force winds & hail storms which then turned to snow!
So strong in fact was this "blizzard" that we were we forced to take shelter under some trees until it had blown over. The ambient temperature dropped very dramatically and the decision was made to call it a day at that. We then made for the most direct route back to the car park in Church Stretton in the search for warmth and dry clothing.

Alan Weaver