There were a number of people walking on the Ridgeway the other day, and all very happy/smiling faces when I passed by on my little trail bike, leaving "scarcely a footprint in the sand/chalk/flint".

Glad you popped in; I thought the conversation had finished!



The Byways of west Berks are easy to find; very well signposted.
The Ridgeway closes to vehicle traffic for the winter from 1 Oct for 6 months, so best get there soon.
Those in south Oxfordshire were mainly lost to vehicle access all those years ago; again, they are easy to find, both on the map and on the ground, but they are clearly sign posted as "restricted".

Personally, don't bother with all that electronic file/GPX stuff - just print off a map from Rights of Way.com (linked above) and go explore.
In other words, they have been shared already, not least by means of the RoW mapping.
http://www.rowmaps.com

__________________
Dave

Before I joined the evil TRF I lived in East Sussex and the county council was very happy to provide me with a copy of their definitive map.

__________________
"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

Cogitating, now I am back in the saddle of my "goes like stink" inline 4 cyl, these are my current thoughts:-

Reasons not to join the club:

My state of physical health and general mobility is such that I have no inclination to undertake "hardcore off road" adventures (there's that noun again).
I am inclined to undertake off-asphalt riding only when the tracks under the wheels are in good condition such that I don't have to get off the bike and drag it out of the bog/mud or whatever (been there, done that and it doesn't hold my enthusiasm nowadays - connect with an earlier post).

I do like to stop quite frequently and enjoy the views + chat with anyone who is so inclined to do the same thing; hikers, dog walkers, geriatric pensioners out for the day, tractor drivers, anyone basically.
Consequently I also tend to ride pretty slowly to take in the views, and the potential views that may be coming over the horizon soon, while also absorbing the landscape, the ambience, call it what you will.
In my occasional foray with the TRF, years ago, I found this aspect to be of little interest to those whom I was expected to accompany.

Nor am I greatly inclined to even fall into line with a riding schedule set by ANO,"be there by such a time or we will depart without you".
Fine by me, be gone and I will carry on regardless with both my life and my riding.

__________________
Dave

It seems that some have had less than satisfactory experiences with their contact with the TRF. All I can say is that mine have mostly been superb.

There are runs that are planned to crack on at a reasonable pace to cover ground or get a little further afield and others are a more relaxed. The old(er) boys I ride with sometimes, still do many technical lanes but with more comfort breaks and instead of lunch being a pasty in a garage while fueling up, it'll be sat on a hill somewhere picturesque.

Be honest about your ability and what you want out of the day and don't be afraid to say that you're knackered and could do with a rest.

I know that I wouldn't have had any where near as many spectacular experiences if I'd just got a map and bumbled about on my own.

Minutes of the Northumbria T.R.F. Meeting held at the Staff's Club, Blaydon on 5 August 2015

Apologies
These were received from, Paul Jewitt, Arrif and Ken Lord.

The meeting
This was opened by Tony our Chairman at 8.15 pm. He then played a short humorous trail riding video. They were 35 in attendance including seven new member s and potential members.
Tony then introduced the new members to the committee. He then advised new members (and guests once they joined) how to access our group Facebook, the on line Trail Magazine and TRF National web site. The meeting then continued in the usual power point/audio visual format showing pictures, reports and video clips of runs out.

Minutes of the previous meeting
These were previously sent out to members by email and copies were circulated during the evening. They were also mentioned in the power point presentation, Also that our next meeting was to be our annual general meeting. There were no matters arising.

Previous Run’s out.
Greg gave a short report on how he and Gary got on with a run around Alston and how he managed to get Gary back after he had run out of fuel. Some discussion took place on A.J.P trail bikes.

Future Runs
Members were again advised to keep in touch with our Facebook page and the national TRF forum.
Tony again requested more runs leaders are required to take out new members. Ian Myers offered to take out a run geared up for novice riders every Saturday starting on 5 Sept. He also advised those interested to contact Facebook.

R.O.W. News
General matters of ROW. Were discussed in particular:-
Hexham lane Fund raising activities were discussed for the legal costs of saving the lane. Greg reported that over £14000.00 had been raised to date and that by the end of September the total should be in the region of £15000.00. He then thanked all those that had made contributions and suggested we visit Teesside group to thank them for their £1000.00 contribution.
Winnows Hill Plantation Access is still progressing with NCC.
Simonburn Suggestions were again made for repairing access from tarmac road and gate entrance and that one of our members was to search for the land owner for permission to repair the damaged entrance.
The Ash The farmer has blocked of the foot bridge. Members advised to travel south to north to avoid alerting the farmer’s wife who is photographing riders struggling to cross the ford.
Doctors Gate Concern expressed re the condition made by 4x4s to the section near Hamsterley Forest.
Slaley Forest The on going condition of the trails was discussed.
New Berwick and Old Berwick Byway now confirmed and the impassable ford access was discussed

Discount Tyres, oil and accessories
Tyres and oil are available from our treasurer Nic at discounted prices, whilst accessories at a 20% discount are available at Custom Lids Westgate Rd by showing an up to date TRF membership card.




Any other business
Hadrian Adventure family week end (See Below) 2 and 3rd of October estimated cost £45.00. Tel 01434320175 quoting Ref. TRF 2015
Glendale show stand. This was cancelled due to lack of volunteers.
Dirty Weekend. This is to be arranged at Drum Clog Scottish Borders approx. £15.00 per head. Greg gave news that the TRF promotion shop is now open and that clothing etc. is available can now be bought on line but he advised it should be bought through our local Northumberland group where discounts can be shared between members and group funds. Tony our chairman gave an interview for Land Rover Magazine.
Dave Vaughn sent an email to our secretary about some members he encountered whilst riding his cycle at Redesmouth Bridge last month. He said “They were very aware of me and slowed right down. One rider had stopped as he had lost his tool bag and had a quick chat”. “Just pass on that they were a credit to the TRF.”

The meeting was then closed and the raffle was held at 8 45 pm which consisted of a trail tyre, oil Tee shirt and CO2. This was then followed by a GPS workshop hosted by Dave Lawson.

Next Meeting. This will be our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 7 October 2015 at the usual time and place 7.30 for 8.00 pm.


The Hadrian Adventure Weekend £45.00. 2 & 3 October 2015 BOOK NOW!
A trail riding family weekend at Herding Hill Farm one of the most luxurious campsites in England.

· 1 x pizza and local ale on Friday night

· 2 x nights in the 28 bed bunkhouse

· Use of all the campsite amenities

· 2 x guided days riding.

· OPTIONAL EXTRAS: Evening meal in pub on Saturday night, accommodation in luxury wigwams or tipi, tent or caravan pitch

Call Herding Hill Farm 01434 320175 and quote 'TRF 2015' to book


To unsubscribe from this email list send a blank email to:

group-unsubscribe@northumbriatrf.net

Here's another resource that some might find useful: Trail riding on Green lanes - the map

Click on 'select area' to choose between
- East Sussex
- Surrey
- West Sussex
- Kent
- Hampshire
- Dorset
- Bucks
- Devon
- Wiltshire

__________________
"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

I am not clear if you attended that meeting, but what do you make of it (via the minutes if you were not there)?

__________________
Dave

I left the trf last year but for some reason I still get the minutes emailed to me,
The only interesting bit would be the amount of funds raised by the club and who has donated,
I just thought you may of wanted to pick the bones out of it

Those minutes don't cover the financial side of life (not that month anyway) so we don't know if this club/branch does get any income from their individual annual subscriptions to the HQ.
Maybe they run a raffle each month to pay for the hire of the meeting venue?

Other than that, the whole meeting was over in about 30 mins - I do appreoiate that will be the formal bit.
The minutes do touch on an aspect that I have been musing upon while riding: I am inclined to think that the TRF is much the same as any other motorcycle club formed in the UK, and there are 100s if not thousands of them.
Perhaps it is closest in nature to the single marque/model type of bike club but in the case of the TRF their common, binding theme is green lanes rather than the bike itself.

__________________
Dave

My paper based 1:50000 map of Salisbury is over 40 years old - the highway information was last revised in 1970 - but it still works today for the location of trails which are, after all, old rights of way.
It cost 44 pence so I must have got it just after the currency became decimalised.

I get a feeling that the online electronic maps produced by the authorities are kept well up to date in accord with the paper based definitives held at county halls. There are staff employed to do exactly that function who will revel in their own computer skills.
But the second link was produced by an individual who is now deceased, so it will go out of date, sooner or later.

__________________
Dave

I came upon this in a different forum (KTM oriented if you really must know).
I wasn't but it did bring on a smile.

"I've been considering the TRF but I don't have a van or trailer and have a pathological aversion to bureaucracy, committees and the kind of Napoleon syndrome that always seems to infect that kind of organisation."

__________________
Dave