Riding adventurously

I have found a great way to get into adventure riding: No pressure, no hardship, no drama – just a lovely, gentle and well-planned introduction to offroad fun

As I was plodding along gentle trails, past rolling green hills, grazing cows and impeccable stately homes, I couldn't help smiling. This was my idea of perfect off-roading – no speed demons whizzing past or impossibly difficult terrain to contend with, just the simple enjoyment of riding in the (relative) wild.

To be exact, I was riding in the lush surroundings of Trailquest's 1200acre training ground near Ledbury, Herefordshire. In the process, I was getting my first taste of the Royal Enfield Himalayan. The 411cc singlecylinder adventure bike is one of the most interesting recent entries into the market, and I was curious to see how it fares on UK trails.

Getting started

The reason for me being on the Himalayan was that I was attending Trailquest's Introduction to Adventure Riding course. It's a full day of getting used to riding off-road and enjoying the soft, but capable single-cylinder thump of the Himalayan.

We started with a short road ride to get into the swing of things, then worked on the principles of riding off-road. Once we had the basics covered, we moved on to easy trails to test the theory we had learned.

In the process I discovered that the Himalayan feels rather like a trail bike from 20 or 30 years ago: it has modest power, but it's perfectly happy ambling along trails and tracks.

Onwards and upwards

Next on the menu were hills. Being able to go up and down, as well as do a hill start, requires the right technique, and being able to master it all is essential. Next on the menu was another trail ride, this time in a bit more of a demanding environment.

What I really enjoyed about the day was that we stuck to routes that I was comfortable with and enjoyed riding. There was never any pressure to go beyond your limits, and never any rush to 'progress' to the next daredevil stunt – it was all very calm and controlled, and that made for a lovely day of riding.

Horses for courses

Another reason why the day was so enjoyable was the bike. In the Himalayan, Royal Enfield has built a bike that reminds me of the good old days when 'less was more' – simple bikes could be utilised for various tasks. They were easy to ride, easy to maintain and fix, and they didn't cost the earth.

When you look at the Himalayan's vital statistics – modest power with the 24.5bhp output, good levels of torque at 23.6lb-ft manageable weight of 191kg, seat at 800mm high (or rather, low) and, most importantly, a price tag of £3999 + OTR – it's starting to look like an interesting bike.

And the thing is that it's nice to ride, too. Sure, if you want to make speedy motorway progress, this is not the vehicle for that. But for a combination of back roads, fire tracks and green lanes, it's spot on.

After my day with Trailquest, I felt more confident riding off-road, I was impressed by the Himalayan – and I wanted more. But that's a different story…