More and more riders are getting into the big bike adventure riding, travelling all over the world on their bikes searching for fun and adventure. But the UK is home to some magnificent trail riding tracks, so here is everything you need to know about trail riding.
The first question most people ask when getting into trail riding is, where can I ride?
The Trail Riders Fellowship can help with that. All of their 5,000 members have been in beginners’ shoes at some point. The network of trails that cross England and Wales are varied in their terrain, landscape, and difficulty. Its great fun exploring them. But, one thing you will find is that they can be hard to find, and their legal status can change over time.
Fortunately the TRF has a wealth of information and help based around our members and local groups. We recommend starting by making contact with your local group. Most meet once a month and new members are welcome, and a lot also have their own Facebook Groups, websites and Forums that you can request to join. There’s also the TRF Trail Website which is specifically designed as a Green Road resource for TRF members.
Trail riding in England in Wales is an immensely rewarding countryside pursuit, bringing adventure and exploration together with technical riding skills, orienteering and land access knowledge.
It is enjoyed in sunshine, wind, rain and snow throughout the year in some of the countries most striking landscapes, from the wild moorlands of Northumberland, over the rocky mountains of North Wales to the flat farm plains of Lincolnshire and down to the furthest reaches of Devon and Cornwall.
However, just because you own a trail bike doesn’t mean you can ride anywhere you like. In fact, responsible trail riders technically never ride ‘off road’ as the trails and green roads used are classified as Byways Open To All Traffic (BOATS) or Unclassified Country Roads (UCR’s). Access to these historic legal lanes is under scrutiny by national and regional government organisations as well as land-owners and the wider countryside population.
What bike do I need?
Riding Green Roads is not riding ‘off-road’ and trails used are still legally classified as roads, they just happen to be unsurfaced. That means the law that applies to your trail bike is the same as the law that applies to a road bike. It must be legal, taxed, MOT’d and insured.
‘What is the perfect trail bike’ is a often asked question with no definitive answer. Everyone will have a different opinion, from those who prefer the classic old school twin shock machine, to those who prefer more modern enduro based bikes.
