Feasible to learn to ride offride for a beginner?
Discussion
Looking for a bit of advice....
I've never been a "bike" person. And I don't have any kind of proper bike license or equipment.
But I saw a video on Harry's Garage which caught my imagination.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71oc_M3kFiU
I'm not really interested in sports bikes, but I am wondering about the practicality of getting my license and going on a few courses dedicated to gentle offroading / green lanes.
My concern is that, because I have no experience or skill, it might take too long to reach a standard where it would be both safe and enjoyable.
I'm early 40's in age, so not beyond learning new things, but neither do I have 20 years to perfect my skills before I reach a proficient standard.
I know these type of questions risk becoming, "how long is a piece of string?" But I am wondering if it is realistic to pick up the essentials and become 'proficient' with a few courses and a bit of practise.
I should emphasise, when I refer to "offroad", I'm talking about pretty gentle trails. I'm not expected to become Dougie Lampkin
I've never been a "bike" person. And I don't have any kind of proper bike license or equipment.
But I saw a video on Harry's Garage which caught my imagination.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71oc_M3kFiU
I'm not really interested in sports bikes, but I am wondering about the practicality of getting my license and going on a few courses dedicated to gentle offroading / green lanes.
My concern is that, because I have no experience or skill, it might take too long to reach a standard where it would be both safe and enjoyable.
I'm early 40's in age, so not beyond learning new things, but neither do I have 20 years to perfect my skills before I reach a proficient standard.
I know these type of questions risk becoming, "how long is a piece of string?" But I am wondering if it is realistic to pick up the essentials and become 'proficient' with a few courses and a bit of practise.
I should emphasise, when I refer to "offroad", I'm talking about pretty gentle trails. I'm not expected to become Dougie Lampkin
You don't need a licence to learn and there are plenty of places that will teach you to ride an offroader. IMHO it is by far the best place to learn, most things you hit when you fall off (and you WILL fall off!) are softish and the speeds when learning are a bit slower. But it till teach you the very best bike control you'll ever have a chance of learning.
IIRC Honda do a beginner course at their Dave Thorpe off road centre, maybe others. They should start you on a 125 4 stroke or something quite tame! ! But you'll have the best laugh on 2 wheels ever doing of roading.
IIRC Honda do a beginner course at their Dave Thorpe off road centre, maybe others. They should start you on a 125 4 stroke or something quite tame! ! But you'll have the best laugh on 2 wheels ever doing of roading.
Im sure many of us learnt to ride off road ...I certainly did, could never afford my own bike, but some mates had them. So learnt by riding a few hours a week messing about in fields, disused railway line, trails until I could afford my own.
Off road try out places like Dave Thorpe or Wildtracks do experience 1/2 days that includes basic training and kit hire. I have done stag do day out trips there and some of our group were complete novices and they were riding about on 125s by lunchtime.
http://www.wildtracksltd.co.uk/prices/
The off road schools are good, because they teach you the machine control basics for off road riding which are quite different to what you learn on a road CBT.
You could also do a road CBT and get a 125 trail style bike and start green laning on that to gain some experience before passing your big bike test.
Off road try out places like Dave Thorpe or Wildtracks do experience 1/2 days that includes basic training and kit hire. I have done stag do day out trips there and some of our group were complete novices and they were riding about on 125s by lunchtime.
http://www.wildtracksltd.co.uk/prices/
The off road schools are good, because they teach you the machine control basics for off road riding which are quite different to what you learn on a road CBT.
You could also do a road CBT and get a 125 trail style bike and start green laning on that to gain some experience before passing your big bike test.
This is an amazing place... http://www.wheeldontwo.co.uk/
My daughter and I had a brilliant day there a few years back and she's never ridden a bike when she arrived.
My daughter and I had a brilliant day there a few years back and she's never ridden a bike when she arrived.
My girlfriend took her test last year - 5 day intensive.
Since then she has done a handful of miles on the road - we hate road riding and only use it to get to trails.
But...we have wild camped in the Pyrenees, done miles and miles of green lanes and leave tomorrow to do a week in the remote northern parts of South Africa - just the two of us!
Never to late - never be easier!
In the pic below - ignoring her lessons/test....she had probably done 100miles at most on tarmac before riding up the side of the mountain to a spot where there was no one for miles.
If you need extra confidence - BMW off road skills are good in Wales (although full off people that think Charlie Boorman and Ben Kenobi had the right sort of bike to go round the world....they didnt) and Desert Rose in Sussex good for when you realise any thing over 400cc is getting pointless.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoU_VxZjhZ_/?utm_sourc...
Since then she has done a handful of miles on the road - we hate road riding and only use it to get to trails.
But...we have wild camped in the Pyrenees, done miles and miles of green lanes and leave tomorrow to do a week in the remote northern parts of South Africa - just the two of us!
Never to late - never be easier!
In the pic below - ignoring her lessons/test....she had probably done 100miles at most on tarmac before riding up the side of the mountain to a spot where there was no one for miles.
If you need extra confidence - BMW off road skills are good in Wales (although full off people that think Charlie Boorman and Ben Kenobi had the right sort of bike to go round the world....they didnt) and Desert Rose in Sussex good for when you realise any thing over 400cc is getting pointless.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoU_VxZjhZ_/?utm_sourc...
Edited by Tiggsy on Sunday 30th September 17:15
The Mick Extance school will take people with no licence or experience - they operate on private land and are happy to spend some time going over basics in a field. However IMO you're best off doing CBT with a local school first on a geared 125 just to get used to motorcycle basics rather than spend (more expensive) time at an off-road school.
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