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Read New Members 'First TRF Ride' Reports

My first ride out with the TRF:
By Gary Raggett

 


Lead Rider-  GFoz  (Yam WR450F)
Group-  Dave (CCM404) and Me on my Gas Gas   
 
Date - Sunday 4th May 2008

After attending one of the Manchester TRF club nights in Bredbury, I booked onto a ride.  I had arranged to meet another new member Dave at a local petrol station near me and we travelled over to Marple Bridge together to meet our Lead rider / Tour guide GFoz at 10am.  Unfortunately three other riders couldn’t make it so it was just the three of us today.   
 
Weather-wise, the day started off really nice but we did have a few heavy showers during the day.

 
GFoz explained the rules regarding the closing of gates and stopping for horses etc then we started our bikes and set off following him onto the first trail.  The first lane was initially fairly easy going and I was full of confidence and excitement.  The fun really started when we got to the first hill climb!, I started out quite well but lost momentum on one of the small steps going up hill and fell off several times before eventually I got to the top (with a little help from Dave).  We travelled along many more lanes of various terrain inc mud, gravel, sand and grass and then descended down a wet and rocky track which was very slippery indeed (sorry, I don’t know where we were exactly). 

Now exhausted it was time for lunch at a café where we had some much needed rest, food and drink (excellent sausage sarnie).

We hit the trails again after lunch, taking in some amazing views of the countryside and stopping off to rest and take photos.  Lots more mud on the trails in the afternoon due to a shower of rain then we went up yet another very steep track again with lots of falling off but eventually making it to the top, which was a real satisfactory feeling, before returning home taking in a pub stop on the way for a quick pint.
 


I could not believe how far you could travel without riding on almost any tarmac. What a day!  Arrived back at Marple Bridge for about 6pm a little battered and bruised but with a big smile on my face!

I had a brilliant day with lots of advice and encouragement from the lads and can’t wait to do it again. 
I will definitely be joining the TRF at their next club meeting and paying my TRF membership.
Just need to have a bath now and recover from today’s adventure!!!

What a buzz! More, more, more…

Cheers,
Gary Raggett

Ride Report Sat 27/6/09, Marple.
By David Taylor


 

I contacted the TRF a few weeks ago looking for advice on where to take my enduro bike, legal routes etc.  Last week they contacted me and invited me to join them on a run from Stockport to see if I liked it.  Suffice to say I'll definitely be joining the TRF because I had a brilliant day.
 
I didn't really know what to expect from the type of terrain we'd be going on but it was basically a mixed bag of everything.  There was fast stuff, loose rocky stuff, slow tricky stuff & steep stuff.  There are some road sections linking it up but they are generally sweeping single track country lanes where you can open the bike up and give your arms a rest from the rough stuff.  We covered around 80 miles or so on the ride and the leader GFoz knew exactly where he was going all the way round, which is a good effort (I don't remember seeing many road signs!). 
 


I am by no means a professional rider but I will give anything a go, there was a few sections where everyone struggled.  It was fine though, the group waited at the far side of each tricky bit in case anyone got stuck.  GFoz explained the rules of the trail at the beginning and said "don't worry if you fall off, everyone will at some point".  I thought, not me! and sure enough about halfway round I lost my balance on a narrow track and ended up in a bush.  It was fine though, the next rider stopped to make sure I was ok and we were off again.
 


My arms were completely knackered by the latter stages of the ride (probably due to a combination of poor riding technique and working in an office) so I had to take it nice and slow on the rough sections on the way back.  This wasn't a problem as the group wait at the end of every stage until everyone is together and then set off again.   
 
All in all it was much better than the bits and bobs of off road stuff I usually find near Bolton and it was a good bunch of lads that I went out with.  It was a hot sunny day so the beer garden lunch and halfway point pub stop went down a treat.



Good Times !!!!
 
Dave T.

 

The Novice-ish Run. By “The Flyin Hamster”

After a request from big t (Alex) for a gentle introduction to our lanes for a new local member Alan, a plan was hatched for a 4hr novice run starting at 10am at my place.
The runners were; Me, WR 450. Big t, XR 400. Alan, CRF 230 (first off tarmac run for 30+ years !). Pol, CRF 230. Scott (Muddyman), 200 EXC, (first ever off tarmac run !!) Terry, (Bosun), 530 EXC. Brian, (ttrfan), TTR 250.

 

Scott and Terry are both visitors from the Plymouth area. Pol and Terry were both trying to fit in as much riding practice as possible before heading off to do enduro Africa (on separate trips though). Brian was a last minute addition to the line up as backup run leader as I had been suffering from a flu type thingy.

Brian arrived at 09:30 for a pre flight briefing, closely followed by Pol, for some pre arranged bike fettling. (chain tensioned and lubed, handlebars repositioned, gearlever tightened and exhaust guard bolts replaced with nice shiny stainless ones). Big t and Alan soon arrived followed by a phone call from Bosun to say that they were running a bit late.

A look around Alan's bike revealed his newly fitted mt43 rear wasn't seated on the bead properly. So out with the compressor, to pop it out. It popped it alright but not in a good way. So out with the wheel and a swift tube change later all was well again. By this time Scott and Terry had arrived from Plymouth and were busy getting ready

As it was a gentle novice ride I thought it was the ideal time to test the newly fixed XT................ But 1 lane in, and it was obvious it still has issues so I handed over to Brian and popped home for a bike change.

I quickly caught the group and reclaimed the lead. The first 15 miles and 20 lanes passed without incident not a badger or squirrel in sight!! These newbie’s are becoming far too good spoiling all our fun. Another 7 lanes and 8 miles brought us to the viewpoint on 170 for another fag stop but the views were lost in the mist today. still not a badger or squirrel in sight!!

After 170 Brian took Scott and Alan around the easier loop of 166 and 165 while I took the others along the more interesting 245,168 combination.
This split tactic worked well several times during the run keeping it sensible for the newbie’s and interesting for the old hands.

I had quite a wait at the end of these lanes while Pol had an appointment with two badgers along them, then had a rest and sent the others for an up and back on the lovely 156. I believe Alan may have had a Del boy while turning around on the steep slope at the top of this lane, we had to have an unscheduled stop then to reassemble/straighten Terry's KTM after a Monty Pythons flying badger grabbed him as he was trying to keep up with Pol . Badger count; novices 0, old hands 3

 

A few more lanes and then came 243, a fairly straightforward lane with a bit of a rut along it. I had a bit of a wait at the end again, Pol then admitted to another badger along this lane.

Then Scott chose to have his first badger on camera and Alan may have seen his first badger along there as well, at this point 30 miles into the run Scott had gone onto reserve from a full tank! So a quick run for fuel into Sidmouth was performed. Terry’s 530 used 2.8 litres and Scott's 200 7.1 litres !!

Alan and Alex left us at this point as Alan was having glasses/goggles issues in the mist/drizzle and Alex's pass was about to expire. Another dozen lanes brought us back to my place.

Final result; novices 2, old hands 5!!!!!!!!  46 miles, 4 1/2 hours, 50 lanes, and a very pleasant day

 Roger Hart, Devon