We've had a long hot Summer for the most part, and although temperatures are still at record high levels for October, it's cooling off a bit now and the rain is coming.  The roads are getting a bit slippery.  Click photo.  I often tell foreigners that progress can be slow on British roads :)

What the hell - we went out for a ride yesterday anyway.  It rained all day long.

Background

I've always said that before going out trail riding in Thailand, anyone is welcome to join me for an assessment ride near Nottingham.  There's a trail called the Viking Way which runs through the Vale of Belvoir, not too far from Nottingham.  In the dry, this is a similar level of difficulty to the vast majority of trails we do in Thailand.  If it's very wet and heavily rutted, it's actually harder than the Thai trails.

If anyone is unsure on whether they will like dirt riding before committing to Thailand, why not come along for a free trial before booking?  I think we'll both know within about 20 minutes whether you'e going to like it or not!

A couple of people who are lined up for my November / December tour haven't done much trail riding, so this was the excuse to hit the trail yesterday.

Sonja hadn't done any real trail riding before, and Andy has only just been introduced to the sport.  So they joined Tim & I for a potter along some local trails.

I made the effort to get my CRM 250 road legal by taxing it just the day before, and giving it a quick check-over.  I offered Sonja the use of my Honda Dominator NX650 if she wanted it.  I've used the Dommie on the Viking Way before.  It's adequate, but not ideal.  It's really a bit too big and heavy, doesn't have as much ground clearance as you might think, and the Continental TKC80 "Twinduro" tyres are OK, but not as good as proper off-road tyres.

Anyway, rightly or wrongly, Sonja said she was happy to use her own bike, as it was a "trail bike".  A mighty KTM 640 LC no less.  This was very helpful, but a very brave move it seems now, in hindsight!

Setting off to ride

As planned, we all met up at my house yesterday morning.  Andy turned up on his Honda XR400 (new toy) and Tim brought his XR400 by van. Sonja rode all the way up from London on her KTM.

After weeks and weeks of mostly dry weather, rain was forecast for our day out.  My CRM and the two XR400s were fitted with knobbly tyres, but Sonja's gargantuan KTM had trail "style" tyres, really more suited for road use only.  Hmmm...... this could be interesting.

The weather was mild and slightly humid, so some of us didn't even bother with proper wet weather gear, as we weren't actually going far, and the weather forecast could be wrong couldn't it? 

We set off, and before we even got to the petrol station it chucked down with a vengeance.  Raindrops stung my cheeks as I led my group along the dual carriageway towards Tollerton.

Shortly after filling up, we left the paved road for a steady little trail which runs from Clipstone Village to Owthorpe.  First of all, the trail follows a muddy path beneath trees, then skirts a farmers' field up a slight rise.   It is not a difficult trail, but it's always a bit slippy, and I kept looking over my shoulder watching out for the inevitable slide-off from someone or other.  The rain had made it soft and muddy, and the surface was slightly rutted.

I rode up towards the gravel road section at "normal" pace, which Tim & Andy later admitted was "quite fast".  In all honesty, I was expecting the KTM to struggle a bit, and I thought we'd have to slow the pace down quite a bit.  Also, I'd agreed to let Sonja take my lighter CRM (with knobblies fitted) if she preferred, and I'd ride the KTM.  I didn't want to do this unless really necessary though.

As it turned out - no worries - Sonja on the KTM battled on, and was right up there with the rest of us.  Amazing!

The Bomb Hole

We got to the "Bomb Hole" which is a large depression in the woods near Cotgrave.  It's rumoured that it was formed by a WW2 German bomb and this seems a logical enough explanation for this 10m deep hole between the trees. 

It's a great place to practice stunts, jumps and slightly technical trail riding, but it's also popular with the local scallies on their nicked moto-crossers.  One of the sides is steep and often slippery, and offers either an almost sheer drop-off into the hole, or a fairly tricky ramp to hit from within the hole and "leap" out, over the lip.  Most riders will usually pussy-foot around the edges of this thing for a while, and work up to the steep side - preferring to play around on the lower sides first.  Before I had chance to tell Sonja not to go in there on the big KTM, she just followed me straight over the steep drop off.  RESPECT.   What does that thing weigh 180+ Kilos? Probably.  I just looked on the 'net and found the dry weight is quoted at 158 Kg, so with acid, fuel & oils it will be getting up there. With a few tips from Tim, she was soon riding his XR400 into the hole and up the steep greasy exit slope.  Andy, doing likewise on his own XR.  No problems there then.  No need to worry about beginners.  Let's go for it.  Low confidence levels are certainly not an issue in this company.

A proper trail riding day

Off we go at "full pelt".  OK - nowhere near race pace, but a steady trail riding speed that wouldn't be frowned upon in any circumstances.  There's a slightly tricky bit ahead, where you have to drop about 1m into a streambed and out the other side.  It's been partially filled with gravel now, and a large log has been deliberately placed to make it difficult and dangerous for trail riders (some people don't like us).  I glance over my shoulder, but no one has a problem with it.  We cross the A46 then continue on the trail.  Cinders and gravel give way to wet grass with some hidden ruts.  The lively pace continues until Sonja and her KTM part company for the first time.  No problem.  It happens.

We take a road section to just beyond Granby, and pick up another trail.  I offer Sonja my CRM in exchange for her KTM.  She declines, saying she's happier on the bike she's used to.  Great stuff.  It's all going swimmingly well.  It's still raining however, and the trails are now awash with mud, and quite deep puddles.

This is when it all starts to go down hill a little.  Sonja has been happily following the "proper" lightweight trail bikes, with their knobbly tyres and slightly more experienced riders on board.  It's a scenario of amazing beginner's confidence, and undoubtedly, a good level of skill as well.  However, when 180 kilos worth of motorcycle decides to slide, it can do so in quite dramatic style.  There's just no grip at all from the lightly treaded Anakees (?) fitted to the KTM.  The front washes out incredibly easily and quickly, and due to the height and weight of the beast, it's very hard to catch this heavy bike by dabbing a foot down.  When that thing goes, it goes. 

See Sonja get thrown off and land in the ditch with her bike.   Poor Sonja. 

She apologises for holding back the group.  I explain this is NO PROBLEM whatsoever. I had expected a very very steady pace, and none of us could believe how she'd been bombing along up until now.  Tim puts into words the thoughts of many a trail rider,  “I’m more than happy to watch you fall off, I’m just so pleased it’s not me”.  Exactly.

She has a couple more, less spectacular offs, and eventually confidence and energy begin to wane as a result.  So we swap bikes near Belvoir Castle and I take the muddy trail from near Redmile, and ride the KTM towards the Muston Gap on the A52.  Wow!  What a machine! Big, powerful, imposing but such a handful in the dirt.  There's practically zero grip from the rear, but that's OK.  The front tyre is the problem.  It just won't go where you want it to, and slides out sideways with no provocation whatsoever.  Sonja has been a star.  I plod along very very steadily indeed, both feet down, and marvel at how well Sonja has coped with a handicap like this.  The KTM 640 is more of an Adventure Tourer then a trail bike suitable for green Lanes like this one. Proper off-road tyres would have made all the difference here (but killed its on-road capability).

The Viking Way

We join the Viking Way, just past the Muston Gap pub, going East on the A52, then turning right, just before the warning signs for the "S" bends.  Sonja & I trade places between the KTM and the CRM.  I think she starts to like the CRM. I wonder why. In this situation, I'm not particularly enjoying the Austrian machine.  It's built for the paved road mainly, but with a capability for wide open, gravel trails, unsurfaced roads and fire-breaks.  The Viking Way isn't one of these.  There are no hills or really difficult sections to speak of, but it's now very wet and muddy and deeply rutted in certain sections.  We stop for a well-earned rest beneath sweet Chestnut trees.  Sheltering from the persistent rain, we eat our Cornish Pasties, Pork Pies and Mars Bars, then plod on again, aiming for the airfield as our destination and turn-around point.

Fatigue is starting to set in, and my legs are aching from holding up the KTM.  I don't want to drop Sonja's bike, so I'm rigid with fear, and hold my legs at that weird angle where the bike is in a narrow rut, but your legs have to be lifted high either side, ready to save the day should the bike go astray.

We reach the particularly tricky section, which can be a bit difficult in true winter conditions.  I've seen it much worse, but what we see before us right now isn't pretty.  Deep, water-filled ruts made by tractor wheels possibly.  The puddles extend for 20 or 30 metres, and the muddy water comes up almost to tank height in places.  A certain level of urgency and big gonads are needed for this section. 

This is perhaps the end of the line for the big KTM.  I stay behind and "look after Sonja", while suggesting that Andy & Tim go ahead and pit their XRs against the challenge ahead.  Sonja & I haul the CRM and KTM around while Tim & Andy continue onwards, with some difficulty, to the next road stage, then come back to join us.  They return a bit wetter and muddier than they were before.  I take a snapshot of Tim, charging through the puddles towards me like an angry water buffalo, his trusty Barbour jacket now all green, wet and slimy.  Oh, I forgot; he looked like that even before we set off J

The return

It's a sensible place to turn around, as we still have to retrace our steps all the way home.  It is possible to return by paved road, but we choose not to do this.  We take the trails all the way back to Nottingham.  Why? 'Cos it's raining and we'd be cold if we went back by road (you keep warm trail riding).  And also 'cos we're tough, we are.

After grappling with the KTM and getting it through the muddiest sections, I hand it back, and Sonja rides it all the way back with no serious problems.  Andy is grinning like a Cheshire Cat as this sport is still quite new to him.  Tim takes it all in his stride, because he's already a seasoned trail rider and TRF member to boot.

We arrive back at my house as daylight is starting to fade.  A pot of tea is brewing as wet muddy kit gets discarded around my kitchen.  As we enjoy our mugs of tea, we reflect that, "it wasn't a bad ride that one".  98 kilometres since filling with fuel, with a large percentage of this, off-road.  Given the conditions, the riding we did was harder than it is in dry-season Thailand.  These guys will have no problem over there I feel.

With muscles just starting to ache a bit, I jet-wash my filthy trail bike, and put it away.  Andy's ridden off to his house which isn't far away. Tim's stashed his bike in a nice warm van and only has about 30 minutes to drive.  It's now dark, and STILL raining.  Sonja has to join the M1 and ride the KTM over 130 miles back down to somewhere South of London.  I don't envy her.

PS - if thinking about a trail riding holiday in Thailand, why not join me for a trial session like this in the Midlands first?