BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO RIDING OFF-ROAD

There’s around 2000 miles of motorway in the UK – but believe it or not, there’s actually three times as many miles of green lanes that you can legally ride on two wheels. So to help you hit the trails with confidence, here are some of our top tips to help keep you safe and legal on the rough stuff.

STAND UP AND LOOK UP

If you’re riding off-road, you need to get comfortable with riding while stood up on the pegs. It’ll help improve your forward vision and force you to focus beyond your front wheel and avoid fixing on a target (and subsequently hitting it). That’s not all, it’ll also help offer better control, as the bike can move more freely beneath you and soak up bumps and lumps more easily. Ensure your knees are straight (but not locked) and your elbows are out to help you and the bike work in unison.

BE PREPARED

You never quite know what to expect when you’re on the rough stuff – so you’ve got to be ready to react to changing conditions quickly. In practice, that means you should be covering both the clutch and front brake with one or two fingers – so you’re ready to take some speed off in a hurry should you need to. You can feather the clutch and take drive away instantly when riding into a corner or making a sharp manoeuvre – and then release the clutch and accelerate out.

RELAX

Like riding any motorcycle – you need to try and stay relaxed. Don’t hold on to the bars too tightly, and don’t tense up when you approach an obstacle. Focus on being as smooth and fluid with your movements as possible. When riding stood up, your arms should be relaxed, with elbows out and your palms down – and your legs should be straight but not locked.

FORGET THE FRONT BRAKE

Braking off-road is a much different experience to on the tarmac – hard, aggressive braking isn’t going to end well unless you really know what you’re doing on the dirt. Instead of using the front brake for around 80% of braking, you should be using both your engine and the back brake to take speed off. It’ll be strange to start with – but with a bit of practice you’ll soon get the hang of it.

KNOW THE RULES

Strictly speaking, trail riding is not ‘off-roading’. All routes used are public highways with vehicular rights – and as a consequence, both bike and rider must be fully legal. By law, motorcycles are allowed to ride on Byways Open to All Traffic (BOAT) and Unclassified County Roads (UCR) – so be sure to check your local OS map before heading out. Or better still, consult the Trail Riders Fellowship. If you’ve not heard of it before, the TRF is one of the go-to sources for all things trail riding. It works to protect the road network of England and Wales – promoting its use and preventing any bans – and also operates a network of local groups throughout England and Wales, which organise regular trail rides. It’s the perfect introduction to trail riding if you’re not sure where to start. If you’re interested in finding out more about hitting the trails, visit: www.trf.org.uk for more info.