Wheelie good holidays!

By TMX Archives on 26th Jan 07

THERE'S just no excuse these days for not treating yourself to a totally self-indulgent off-road riding holiday. There has been an explosion of companies offering trail, trials and motocross holidays all over the world and they do all the hard work for you, all you have to do is turn up and ride...

Depending on such variables as the depth of your pocket to your ultimate ambitions, you can choose between such extremes as a wet, muddy but absolutely brilliant, weekend's trail riding in Wales to the moto-crosser's trip of a lifetime to California where you can ride a host of fabulous and famous tracks AND possibly take in one of the big Supercross events.

Bikes and riding gear, accommodation, food - all can be supplied, leaving you to concentrate on just one thing. Riding that bike!

On the home front there are trail and trials riding holidays available in several parts of the country. You may ask, "Why would I need to sign up with a company to go trail riding in Britain?” There are several reasons actually. One is that the bike and gear can be supplied for you and it's clean, shiny, serviced, fuelled and ready to go. Local guides know exactly where all the trails are and which are strictly legal, meaning that you don't have weeks of homework to do trying to suss out where you are allowed to go in a strange area.

Moving on, one of the fastest growing areas in off-road has been the number of providers offering trail riding holidays in Europe. France, Spain (including Tenerife) Andorra and Italy are all covered as are other Mediterranean countries. Obviously you get the benefit of much warmer, drier weather than you can guarantee in Britain. These countries are often much more bike-friendly than Britain although some of these countries are now beginning to tighten their off-road laws. The answer is of course to take advantage while you can!

Here again you can decide how long a holiday you want. You might just want a weekend away or you might want to make a full week of it. Some providers are very well organised and can even keep the lady in your life (assuming she isn't coming riding with you!) occupied and hopefully happy with pools and bars at the base.

As more countries join the EU there are new areas that are sure to be opened up in future. There is no need to be stuck for an off-road fix. Sure, we have lost thousands of miles of tracks in Britain (although many remain) but there are thousands more available just a ferry ride, or a couple of hours in a plane, away

You can also choose between long - some as long as a week - treks, or just short morning, afternoon or daily rides. Whatever you want is out there.

Motocross riders can take advantage of some genuine worthwhile training in the winter months. No need to wallow round in a freezing mud bath, check out the alternatives!

As we have said, there is something for everyone out there from the raw beginner looking for gentle trail rides and to be looked after every step of the way, to out and out adventure holidays, may-be trekking across an entire country. In all cases most of the work is done for you. All you do is pay-up and make sure you catch your plane. After you land you will more than likely be picked-up, fed, watered and generally babied until it's time to leave!

So what to do now. Your first move is of course to check-out the advertisers on these pages. You should soon spot something that fits in with your idea of an ideal off-road holiday. Then simply get in touch and see what they really have to offer you.

Get out there - and enjoy!

Off-road Holiday Companies:

Hessaford Farm - www.hf-trialsholidays.co.uk

Llannerchindda Guest House - www.cumbrianway.com

Green Mountain - www.greenmountain.org.uk

Backtrax Off Road Motorcycle Tours - www.backtrax1.com

Algarve Offroad - www.algarve-offroad.com

Moto Fiesta - www.motofiesta.com

Go Sun Go - www.go-sun-go.com

Motocross Adventures - www.motocrossadventures.com

Trailworld - www.trailworld.co.uk

Trailblazers - www.trailblazers-spain.com