So I spent this afternoon pelting about the Afghan desert on a Yamaha WR450 with a group of outstanding individuals whom I cannot name. It turns out I am officially just as poor a rider off road as I am on road! I fell off twice trying to climb steep sandy inclines although not at speed. My legs and forearms are exhausted, I could barely hold on by the end. The bike wanted to pop a mono when it decided it has enough traction, or just wriggle around every which way when it decides it doesn't have enough traction! It nearly had me off many, many times and I didn't even get out of 2nd gear for most of the run. It covered ground I never though possible to cover on a bike, 1 foot deep and wide ditches, huge rocks, sand, dust, loose gravel. Fantastic! I have a new found respect for off-road riding. The Dakar must be truly challenging for even great riders. I'll definitely consider an off-roader in the future, especially as I live on salisbury plain in the UK so can get some proper use out of it!
My Grandfather lost a pair of glasses while he was in the Afghan desert a few years back.Next time your out can you have a quick look for them.
For anyone after at bit of winter bike fun I can certainly recommend having a go off road. Since buying my Yamaha WR 250 the road bike has not been out the garage. Even with zero off road skills fun can be had, went up the Peak District last weekend and had a great laugh. Here is a clip of my poor effort at staying upright on my second ever off road ride:
Sounds like great fun, and I'm sure it's better weather than here at the moment. And with regard to the green laning I think that my well be my next bike purchase so at least you can have some fun in the winter rather than just looking at nice shiny bikes in the garage.
It's freezing cold here now. But the sun is still shining! One of my colleagues, that rides the wr450, crashed and broke his hip on a mission last week. I recommend not wearing 20kg body armour when hitting a tree stump whilst airborne and falling off.
