Welcome to the world of
MJR PRODUCTIONS
MJR PRODUCTIONS
Welcome to the world of
MJR PRODUCTIONS
MJR PRODUCTIONS
Original Design by GOEMO.and enhanced by M.J.Roberts
It started with a suggestion from a work colleague that we all go trail riding in Wales. Having previously done a moto-x day, the idea of some sedate riding around the hills and moors of Wales sounded good fun. Five of us booked up to go to Wales, three being man (foolish) enough to arrange to travel there by bike.
So the day before the trail riding arrived and after doing half a day at work we met up at Asda's car park in Ipswich. There was Andy (the organiser and modest moto-x racer) on his Kawasaki ZXR600, Paul (born again biker and un-reformed chain smoker) on his Yamaha Fazer and myself with my Honda Blackbird (earlier in the day I nearly decided not to go when I found out we would be riding Yamahas! J). We set off along the A14 towards Cambridge and then headed north with the intention of going to Kettering and then on to the M6. Our plans soon came to a halt when we wanted to start heading west. The road was completely blocked by an accident (and three police Range Rovers) and traffic was being diverted North on the A1. Andy casually rode up to one of the policemen (despite the black visor and 'interesting' exhaust) and asked for directions. The guy was extremely helpful and gave directions to follow a backroad which rejoined the A14 after the blockage. So after 15 miles on nice sweeping backroads we were back on the A14 and not that far behind schedule. The rest of the journey was pretty mundane (usual rain and tailbacks on the M6 through Birmingham) until we reached Wales and started following the roads along the valleys and over the hills.
Eventually we got to the A470 which led to our destination, Llangurig. This road was fantastic, it had brilliant views over the moors and lots of nice sweeping bends all with good surfaces. We were making 'good progress' when the sign for a left-hander appeared. I assessed the situation - straight ahead meant straight down and all the visual cues suggested another 90 degree bend followed by another straight. So, out to the centre of the road (and some more), lean in left and wahhhhhhh! The Taffy sign-writers had forgotten to mention the immediate right-hander. Step on the brake-pedal (nice Honda linked brakes), the bike sits up and I look in my left mirror to see that I am about to be undertaken by a green Kwacker with a wide-eyed pilot!
We arrived at our hotel and met up with the rest of the group. Once we'd decided who was sleeping with who (all twin rooms!!!) we were soon tucking in to some excellent food. The following morning everyone was keen to get to Rhayader and meet up with Barry Johnson who was to be our instructor for the day. Apparently those of you who follow moto-x will know of him as he is an ex-professional rider for Yamaha.
So the day before the trail riding arrived and after doing half a day at work we met up at Asda's car park in Ipswich. There was Andy (the organiser and modest moto-x racer) on his Kawasaki ZXR600, Paul (born again biker and un-reformed chain smoker) on his Yamaha Fazer and myself with my Honda Blackbird (earlier in the day I nearly decided not to go when I found out we would be riding Yamahas! J). We set off along the A14 towards Cambridge and then headed north with the intention of going to Kettering and then on to the M6. Our plans soon came to a halt when we wanted to start heading west. The road was completely blocked by an accident (and three police Range Rovers) and traffic was being diverted North on the A1. Andy casually rode up to one of the policemen (despite the black visor and 'interesting' exhaust) and asked for directions. The guy was extremely helpful and gave directions to follow a backroad which rejoined the A14 after the blockage. So after 15 miles on nice sweeping backroads we were back on the A14 and not that far behind schedule. The rest of the journey was pretty mundane (usual rain and tailbacks on the M6 through Birmingham) until we reached Wales and started following the roads along the valleys and over the hills.
Eventually we got to the A470 which led to our destination, Llangurig. This road was fantastic, it had brilliant views over the moors and lots of nice sweeping bends all with good surfaces. We were making 'good progress' when the sign for a left-hander appeared. I assessed the situation - straight ahead meant straight down and all the visual cues suggested another 90 degree bend followed by another straight. So, out to the centre of the road (and some more), lean in left and wahhhhhhh! The Taffy sign-writers had forgotten to mention the immediate right-hander. Step on the brake-pedal (nice Honda linked brakes), the bike sits up and I look in my left mirror to see that I am about to be undertaken by a green Kwacker with a wide-eyed pilot!
We arrived at our hotel and met up with the rest of the group. Once we'd decided who was sleeping with who (all twin rooms!!!) we were soon tucking in to some excellent food. The following morning everyone was keen to get to Rhayader and meet up with Barry Johnson who was to be our instructor for the day. Apparently those of you who follow moto-x will know of him as he is an ex-professional rider for Yamaha.
Washed Out In West Wales
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Once the introductions were out of the way, we were soon getting kitted up in knee/shin protectors, moto-x trousers and shirt, enormous boots and strangely shaped helmets. The bikes were all lined up in a hotel car park gleaming in the sunshine. They were 250cc four strokes and 400cc two strokes. Well I haven't ridden one of those nasty smelly things since my youth so quickly acquired one of the 250s (the fact that they had an electric starter didn't influence me at all!).
It was then, with some trepidation, that we headed off down the road towards the moors. A few nervous miles later (the bikes had no mirrors) we turned off the road and started following a little track across the moors. This was fun and the scenery was beautiful. After a couple of miles we stopped and Barry told us that we would now go over some boggy area of the moors. He said that we should have no problem as it hadn't rained much during the previous week, and not for the first (or last) time told us to leave the clutch alone and use the bike's power to get us through. Off we set with a suitable gap between us and after much
It was then, with some trepidation, that we headed off down the road towards the moors. A few nervous miles later (the bikes had no mirrors) we turned off the road and started following a little track across the moors. This was fun and the scenery was beautiful. After a couple of miles we stopped and Barry told us that we would now go over some boggy area of the moors. He said that we should have no problem as it hadn't rained much during the previous week, and not for the first (or last) time told us to leave the clutch alone and use the bike's power to get us through. Off we set with a suitable gap between us and after much
slipping, sliding and sweating we had covered about a mile. We then had to go down a steep hill with the route made up of gulleys caused by previous riders and plenty of smooth rocks. Coming down hill was much harder than I expected. Using the back brake caused the back wheel to lock and the engine stall (something to do with those great big moto-x boots I think) and I didn't feel confident enough to use the front. I was coming downhill picking up speed when I dropped into a dip and saw the way forward/out was a vertical 2 foot high rise. All my road bike senses told me I was about to go over the bars so I braced myself for the inevitable - and then I was past it. These bikes just soak up the bumps and ruts like you would not believe (they still take their toll on your arm/leg muscles and knees though!).
We carried on through a lot more similar terrain until we came to some of the forest tracks. These were like the ones you have seen on television with Mr McCrae screaming around in his Imprezza/Focus. Having seen these roads for real you can appreciate how the rally cars tyres get torn to pieces as the surface is made of what looks like a mixture of crushed granite and slate. We followed one of these tracks up to the top of the hills (mountains?) and stopped to admire the view, eat our Mars bars and drink our cartons of fruit juice. By this time most of us were in need of the refreshments as the dust clouds generated by our small group were huge.
We carried on through a lot more similar terrain until we came to some of the forest tracks. These were like the ones you have seen on television with Mr McCrae screaming around in his Imprezza/Focus. Having seen these roads for real you can appreciate how the rally cars tyres get torn to pieces as the surface is made of what looks like a mixture of crushed granite and slate. We followed one of these tracks up to the top of the hills (mountains?) and stopped to admire the view, eat our Mars bars and drink our cartons of fruit juice. By this time most of us were in need of the refreshments as the dust clouds generated by our small group were huge.
After refreshments we descended down the other side reaching what felt like some fast speeds (most probably 40 mph tops) with the back end sliding out on some of the bends. Our next trail riding experience was to be river crossing. We started off with some nice easy ones about six inches deep and then progressed to about 1.5 feet. The final crossing in this section involved following the river for about 400 yards and in places it was deep enough for the front wheel and engine to disappear completely!
The day progressed with more of the same, a quick detour to Devils Bridge (to get fuel) and then on to a steep climb up the mountain. This was great fun and as long as you used the throttle, climbing the trail was
The day progressed with more of the same, a quick detour to Devils Bridge (to get fuel) and then on to a steep climb up the mountain. This was great fun and as long as you used the throttle, climbing the trail was
uneventful. Once at the top we had to do a small river crossing, turn round and then cross the river again. By this time I was getting very tired and on the return crossing the front wheel caught a rock and the bike veered in a direction I didn't want to go. Years of road bike riding experience switched in and I pulled in the clutch and gracefully fell in the river. It was very cold despite the sunshine and I think I got up quicker than I went in. I then had to ride the remaining hour and a half soaking wet including my crash helmet as I had gone right under.
After some more riding across the moors with some great views of the reservoirs we were back at the hotel. Now most sane people would have had a meal, a few beers and stayed for another night- but not us, we changed out of moto-x gear, in to our road riding gear and mounted up for the 260 mile return journey and work the following morning.
Just as we pulled out of the car park it started to rain (this was Wales don't forget) and as each mile passed it got heavier and heavier until the roads were flooded and traffic was moving at 10-15mph. We pressed on despite lorries ploughing through the floods causing mini tidal waves that engulfed us. When we stopped for petrol and chips I discovered that my waterproof Cordura jacket with waterproof pockets had worked as advertised. I was dry, but pockets are only waterproof if you don't let the water in through the zip! Being waterproof they also didn't let the water out, meaning when I tried to pay for my chips my money was completely submerged.
We arrived back in Ipswich at about 10:30pm. In the day and half of our trip we had covered 520 miles by road, about 100 miles off road and had experienced some of the worst rain I have encountered. Was it worth it? You bet! OK, the following day I was doing old man / cowboy impressions and getting no sympathy from my wife, but it had been great fun and an experience not to be missed.
If you are interested in having a go yourself then you can get details from:-
Barry Johnson
Yamaha Ride Out
42 Salisbury Drive
Cannock
Staffordshire
WS12 5YP
Mike Roberts
September 2000
After some more riding across the moors with some great views of the reservoirs we were back at the hotel. Now most sane people would have had a meal, a few beers and stayed for another night- but not us, we changed out of moto-x gear, in to our road riding gear and mounted up for the 260 mile return journey and work the following morning.
Just as we pulled out of the car park it started to rain (this was Wales don't forget) and as each mile passed it got heavier and heavier until the roads were flooded and traffic was moving at 10-15mph. We pressed on despite lorries ploughing through the floods causing mini tidal waves that engulfed us. When we stopped for petrol and chips I discovered that my waterproof Cordura jacket with waterproof pockets had worked as advertised. I was dry, but pockets are only waterproof if you don't let the water in through the zip! Being waterproof they also didn't let the water out, meaning when I tried to pay for my chips my money was completely submerged.
We arrived back in Ipswich at about 10:30pm. In the day and half of our trip we had covered 520 miles by road, about 100 miles off road and had experienced some of the worst rain I have encountered. Was it worth it? You bet! OK, the following day I was doing old man / cowboy impressions and getting no sympathy from my wife, but it had been great fun and an experience not to be missed.
If you are interested in having a go yourself then you can get details from:-
Barry Johnson
Yamaha Ride Out
42 Salisbury Drive
Cannock
Staffordshire
WS12 5YP
Mike Roberts
September 2000
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