hi guys,
today i took my wife's nice and clean F650 and play'd a bit to get it dirty...:comfort
first I had to get to my starting point: The beginning of the Ridgeway near Streatly...

here it took a picture of the F650 still clean

for those of you who have not been there..."The Ridgeway National Trail, 87 miles (139km) through ancient landscapes. Over rolling, open downland to the west of the River Thames, and through secluded valleys and woods in The Chilterns to the east, following the same route used since prehistoric times by travellers, herdsmen and soldiers."
Bikers are only allowed on a view a sections...and only for half the year

the first part was just a solid dirt track with only a view little puddles left...I had expected more after yesterday's rain...

i stopped a few time to take some pics...as you can see!

than just short of the end of the first track I came across this...and guess who is the Winner!!! yes the F650...

to be honest that Disco looked abandonded and could be stolen...the ignition barrel was hanging out and bits of engine missing... 4 guys in 4x4's stop as well and together we called the local police station to report the vehicle...my GPS came in handy as i could give the copper the exact coordinates! they told us that they will send someone...so i got back on the bike and made my way to Avesbury on the A4 just after Marlborough to start the next section.

on this track was considerably more mud and i soon fell off!!! Do'h! i lifted the bike back up and checked for damage...Nothing! these F650 are great!
here is the bike on the centrestand just after my off

i took about 2 minutes to fire her back up... and i rode on (a bit more carefully)

i passed a handful of walkers and only saw 1 other biker on a DRZ400 with knobblies (the correct tyre choice given the increasing amount of mud me thinks...:eek)


than further up the track until i got to the other side...

Back home the missus was not impressed of the state of her F650 - so i was ordered to clean!
all in all the bike ran perfect! managed to get still 53mpg...
the fan kept coming on and my rear end hurts now...but those are minor things after a perfect ride!
i havent been off-road for years and this eased me in nicely...
thx Lars

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Buell XB12X (06), Honda XR400, Honda CB1000R, Honda NC700x DCT

Good pictures and a good day out by the sounds of it. I didn't think there were many long off road and publicly accessible routes in the UK. Are there many more like this ?

I don't think my ER-5 would have done well there !

I may have to get a 2nd. cheap off road bike.

Maxander

Lars, thanks for the report - looks like you enjoyed it! Some fine views of the Heart of England...

Looks like you had a great day out, and not too busy. Thanks for sharing the photos.

Indoors.

@Maxander:
i only found out about the Ridgeway recently...
but now that i have tasted the goods again, i will have to look into what other trails there are nearby...
i even think of getting a purpose enduro rather than using the wife's tourer...

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Buell XB12X (06), Honda XR400, Honda CB1000R, Honda NC700x DCT

V jealous! Despite us having quite a empty bit of land up here, I don't think we have anything like that in Scotland where you can go off-road unless anyone knows of anything?

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Mike


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lars
try salisbury plain open to bikes as long as you stick to the gravel tracks

If you pick up the OS maps for the area (pink covered ones) then you'll see miles and miles of BOATs and trails.

The area to the south West and south East of Swindon are choc full.

The Smokies in Yorkshire, UK seem to actively target off-road bikers. Ironically they go around on off-road bikes to police the tracks.

The line is that trail bikes are anti-social no matter how considerately ridden and people are told to vacate under threat of an ASBO.

This is all second hand info mind, and the next time I see them I'm going to make a point of discussing what is considered acceptable and "social". I haven't got a trail bike but I'm thinking of getting one that is road legal and exploring. I always drive carefully and take time to look at the scenery.

I'll get the OS maps out though and have a look

Maxander

on my ride out i just stopped whenever i saw walkers or bycicle riders etc...and put a smile on and greeted them nicely...worked everytime...they all greeted back and smiled...some even commented "having fun?"....

so as long as you are careful i dont think it a problem...
and i was on trails which where ok for motorbike usage...

cant wait to go again...maybe this time i take my Uly....

thanks for all your kind words...

salisbury plains sound like a good plan...

thx Lars

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Buell XB12X (06), Honda XR400, Honda CB1000R, Honda NC700x DCT

Only on BOATS (Byeway Open to All Traffic).

You are legally allowed to ride a Road Legal (Taxed and Insured) bike on a lot of the trails marked as BOAT on OSmaps in the UK. Some however will have had their status changed in recent years and will be Restricted Byeways so no go.

Contact your local TRF Welcome to the TRF for info.

If anyone wants to try some lanes in Hampshire / Surrey, give me a shout and I'll take you out.

way to get dirty! looks like a fun ride, for sure...

Lars.... Good on you matey..... I'm only in North Dorset & still haven't got round to having a blast along the Ridgeway

Maybe next year :confused1: Nice to read a more local trip for a change

Great trip. Next time I'm in the UK (between 1 May and 30 Sept), I'll make a point of doing that.

Nick.

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Nick Taylor, a Colorado Mack'em
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