For my 40th birthday last year, my wife bought me what I can honestly say was the best present I’ve ever had.
I’d always wanted to have a go at off-road motorcycling but wasn’t serious enough about it to really get into it. And to be honest, I always felt a little nervous about the prospect, not being much of a biker.
Nevertheless, I took the plunge courtesy of a voucher for a day’s training and riding and what a day it was!
The training day was in deepest Shropshire and once we’d got the important but dull safety briefing and introduction to the bikes, we were off into the wilds.
All the requisite equipment and bike hire was of course included; the result being that you feel like the real deal; you just haven’t actually done it before!
My bike was a new Honda CRF450R and I can honestly say it was superb. After the necessary but boring training instruction, we were off across country. The trail took us across muddied fields, up and down some pretty steep hills, across rivers and streams, over gravel and rutted paths, and through woodland.
As the day wears on, you get more and more confident; for which read, you go a bit faster!
But the excellent Honda handled it all in its stride and I managed not to fall of which was a feat in itself.
The whole riding trip lasted about five hours. And to say it was exhilarating would be an understatement. I’d definitely do it again, but it didn’t grab me quite enough to go the whole hog and buy my own off-roader and start doing it really seriously. But for a once or twice a year experience and for a couple of hundred pounds, I’d thoroughly recommend it.
