Trail riding if you have your own bike

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Rider coming up rocky stream bed

Trail Riding Details

"Thanks for today's ride out. I think that was one of the best days out locally as we took in so many variations. See you again soon." Gary, from Shropshire

Routes in Wales are excellent! Some are suitable for big trail bikes and novice trail riders, while other provide challenging and technical trail riding (although not enough to make up a day without some easy lanes).

We can take a single rider out, especially if one-to-one tuition is required, but if there are more of you, the price per person reduces. If you want the cheapest price, and your group is not big enough, I will try to find people to join you. If there are more than eight, we are likely to split into two separate groups. Please see the Prices and Availability page for the cost of one or two days' riding.

Sustainability of Green Roads

If you are looking for a ride in beautiful scenic surroundings (providing you can see them and we are not in a cloud!), then you will enjoy a day or two with us.

We are promoting a positive image of trail riders, and many of the local people we encounter frequently are friendly to us. In order to continue to build on our good relationships, we are not impressed by wheelies, stoppies and high revs in towns, villages and particularly the farmyards we pass through.

A wet day

NOISY BIKES!

IMPORTANT!
Your bike must not be excessively noisy. Many of the unsurfaced roads go through farms and beside rural dwellings, and to ensure continued use it is important that we are considerate. If your bike sounds too noisy, you will not be allowed to come trail riding.

Most enduro bikes with standard exhausts and silencers are OK. However, some of the early DRZ400Es, some KTMs (mainly 400s and 450s) and Honda CRF450s do NOT comply in standard form. Honda CRF250X's are OK as long as the silencer insert is still in place. If you want advice, please email or phone 01686 430522 and ask to speak to Colin.

We like wet! Trail riding has become considerably more popular during recent years - just at the same time as new laws have substantially reduced the green road network. We are lucky here in Mid Wales that most of the rights of way we ride are unclassified roads and have not been affected (yet).

However, we are concerned to maintain a future for trail riding. There will be areas where we ask you to ride gently to preserve a delicate grass surface. Too much throttle or braking hard on the grass tears it up. Once damaged, the grass is unlikely to grow again, leaving a slippery muddy lane in winter and a dusty rutted one in summer.

If you are looking for that extra buzz, you might like to consider entering one of the competitions on offer in this area. Trail bike rallies are ideal for the first time competitor, being aimed at the leisure trail or enduro rider.

The Hafren Dirt Bike Club organise one or two a year: the main one being the Hafren Rally in October.   MWTRA organise plenty of hare and hounds and enduros - about one a month from June. The Rhayader Club also organise hare and hounds and enduros.

A competitor in the Tarenig Rally

SMALL NUMBER PLATES!

North Wales Police put more resources into policing the roads than any other Force. During the summer of 2006 our groups were stopped by Police, and several riders received fixed penalty notices for small number plates. The routes from Llwyngwern Farm or the Dolgellau area are in the North Wales Police area, but the ones from Nant yr Arian are in the Dyfed Powys Police area. Sundays are the most likely day for police checks.

Honda CRF230 on a long trail

Trail Riding Routes

Please contact us to discuss the type of route and the length of day you require, and for prices if you would like more than two days. We can be flexible to fit in with your plans, and can also provide accommodation for groups of 5 or less. More details and suggestions for other places to stay are available on our accommodation page. Our email address is marianne@trailrides-wales.com and phone number is 01686 430522.

Secure parking is available for your bikes, and overnight clothes drying if required.

If you are a trail rider and have friends you would like to introduce to it who don’t have their own trail bike, we can provide bikes for them.

Enduro riding tuition is available if you wish. Colin has ridden and trained with Wyn Hughes and Geraint, Rowan and Dylan Jones. In the past he has assisted Wyn in running Husky Sport enduro training days.

Bike Breakdown Service

If you are concerned that a bike breakdown would end your day or days prematurely, we can usually provide a breakdown service. If one of your group's bikes breaks down, we will bring you a replacement bike, and retrieve your bike.


Newsletters

We issue several newsletters. The main one is for experienced riders of trail and enduro bikes. If you would like to receive it please email me putting "subscribe" in the subject line. It would be helpful if you let me know what your bike is. If you have a big trail bike, or are inexperienced, please put "subscribe - big trail bike" or "easy ride" Thanks. If you are not on email, I am happy to send it to you - please phone 01686 430522 to give me your address.
BMW GS1150 in Pakistan

BIG TRAIL BIKES

"We finally made it to Pakistan and the bike arrived.   I thought of you quite a lot at the weekend when I went for some proper off-road riding around the mountain passes not far from here. It was brilliant riding the rough roads and seeing the amazing views of these parts - almost as pretty as Mid Wales! The skills you taught me were all very useful on the incredible GS which is even more impressive off-road than on-road, and amazingly tough and easy to ride on the rough stuff. Thanks for your patient teaching and guidance."   James, RAF Instructor, Pakistan

We run trail riding days for riders with twins and big single cylinder trail bikes.

FAMILY DAYS

During school holidays, we usually set aside some midweek dates for children to ride. If you would like to receive the newsletter giving these dates and venues, please email me putting "subscribe - family" in the subject line. 		Lucie

Great view from the top of the hill

Trail Riders Fellowship

The TRF is the National, voluntary and non-competitive body formed in 1970 by people who enjoyed exploring 'green lanes' by motorcycle.   Our aim is to conserve our heritage of green lanes for everyone to enjoy. Trail riding is an 'active recreation'.

Visit www.trf.org.uk for more information.

We give £5 discount to TRF members.   (You may be asked to produce your membership card)

Trail bike riders are unfairly blamed by groups opposed to any legitimate use of vehicles in the countryside, for damage caused to green lanes in certain parts of the country. While members of the TRF agree that bikes can and do cause damage when ridden in an irresponsible manner or in the wrong places, they often find when the evidence is examined that motorcycles have not been used to cause the damage, and are fighting back to refute such ill-founded claims. DEFRA commissioned a report on the state and usage of Byways in 2004 by Faber Maunsell, the report was published January 2005 and supports the TRF's View.
Days
Weekends
and other options 		Home Contact
Us 		Trail Riding
Pictures 		Prices
Availability
Using Our Bikes

General
Information
Accommodation
Links
Prices
Availability
About Colin
and Marianne

© Colin and Marianne Walford