I have been pleasantly surprised to find out, courtesy of an OS Wayfinder
map, that there are several BOATs (Byeways Open to All Traffic) within a
few miles of where I live. I spent a very pleasant couple of hours this
afternoon bimbling along some of them on the TW200. It coped very well
with ruts, loose gravel and mud etc. This green laning lark is jolly good
fun - and the only other traffic on these lanes was a solitary horse and
rider.

There are quite a few more of these BOATs within a 20 mile radius so that
should take care of a few more sunny afternoons.

--
Tony
'04 Ducati ST3, '08 DL650GT,
97 TW200, '87 semi-rat LS650, OMF#24

On Jun 11, 10:14*pm, TMack <qw...@yuiop.com> wrote:
> I have been pleasantly surprised to find out, courtesy of an OS Wayfinder
> map, that there are several BOATs (Byeways Open to All Traffic) within a
> few miles of where I live. *I *spent a very pleasant couple of hours this
> afternoon bimbling along some of them on the TW200. *It coped very well
> with ruts, loose gravel and mud etc. *This green laning lark is jolly good
> fun - and the only other traffic on these lanes was a solitary horse and
> rider.

I have explored a couple close-ish to where I live.

Main problem has been making sure I have enough fuel in the KTM 200.
I need one of those transparent tanks.

And you're right it is good fun, not as much as being out in the wilds
of wales but close enough and at the moment feels like more fun than
150mph madness on a sports bike. Clearly I am getting old.

> There are quite a few more of these BOATs within a 20 mile radius so that
> should take care of a few more sunny afternoons.

Quite. I must get to Salisbury plain but i think that's a chuck it in
the pickup job.

Agree huge amounts of fun, and usually a softer landing when it goes a
bit wrong (says he recovering from a broken collar bone doing exactly
this). Be warned, soon you'll be looking for a bike that allows you to
explore the Pyrenees with all your luggage, Last year found a rooute
that was ~80% off road across the length of them - huge amount of
giggling all round.

cheers

Soanners

"Stephen" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:af2a024c-3a6a-45a2-b261-(E-Mail Removed)...
On Jun 11, 10:14 pm, TMack <qw...@yuiop.com> wrote:
> I have been pleasantly surprised to find out, courtesy of an OS Wayfinder
> map, that there are several BOATs (Byeways Open to All Traffic) within a
> few miles of where I live. I spent a very pleasant couple of hours this
> afternoon bimbling along some of them on the TW200. It coped very well
> with ruts, loose gravel and mud etc. This green laning lark is jolly good
> fun - and the only other traffic on these lanes was a solitary horse and
> rider.

I have explored a couple close-ish to where I live.

Main problem has been making sure I have enough fuel in the KTM 200.
I need one of those transparent tanks.

And you're right it is good fun, not as much as being out in the wilds
of wales but close enough and at the moment feels like more fun than
150mph madness on a sports bike. Clearly I am getting old.

+1
> There are quite a few more of these BOATs within a 20 mile radius so that
> should take care of a few more sunny afternoons.

Quite. I must get to Salisbury plain but i think that's a chuck it in
the pickup job.

Come over to our place in Melksham, Leave the pickup there. Come out with us
on a little 'bimble' if you like.

JB

TMack <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> I have been pleasantly surprised to find out, courtesy of an OS Wayfinder
> map, that there are several BOATs (Byeways Open to All Traffic) within a
> few miles of where I live. I spent a very pleasant couple of hours this
> afternoon bimbling along some of them on the TW200. It coped very well
> with ruts, loose gravel and mud etc. This green laning lark is jolly good
> fun - and the only other traffic on these lanes was a solitary horse and
> rider.
>
> There are quite a few more of these BOATs within a 20 mile radius so that
> should take care of a few more sunny afternoons.

I went through a tank of fuel playing around on the local BOATs
yesterday but found no mud at all. The ford I went to have a look at was
about 6" deep so a bit tame but I still had a load of laughs.

Try using http://www.trailwise.org.uk/gmaps/gmap.htm to locate lanes
then mark them on a map, it's cheaper than buying random maps and hoping
to find something.

JB wrote:

> Come over to our place in Melksham, Leave the pickup there. Come out
> with us on a little 'bimble' if you like.

I'd be quite keen on tagging along if you do plan anything. I'll make
sure I bring enough oil.

--
Simon

"sweller" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> JB wrote:
>
>> Come over to our place in Melksham, Leave the pickup there. Come out
>> with us on a little 'bimble' if you like.
>
> I'd be quite keen on tagging along if you do plan anything. I'll make
> sure I bring enough oil.
>
Not a problem Simon. When we go out, we normally only do about 40-60 miles
actually offroad. As we have at least 3x 1980s stroker trail bikes
including mine, we don't tend to go too mad, but we do go to some
'interesting' places.
There are some cracking trails on and around the Plains. There really are.
To make it easier for everyone, we could all meet up in Devizes. there is a
safe small carpark to park cars/trailer etc right near the start of a trail.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&so...13733&t=h&z=17
Next outing will be 3rd July. Meeting up at about 11.45am ish.
Drop me a line if you are up for it. I think you still have my email addy?

JB

JB <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> "Stephen" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> Quite. I must get to Salisbury plain but i think that's a chuck it in
> the pickup job.
>
> Come over to our place in Melksham, Leave the pickup there. Come out with us
> on a little 'bimble' if you like.

Ooh...

Now, that is tempting.

The KTM is pretty slow on the road since I think the gearing is a bit
**** for road use. However it's fine for off road, although I might drop
a tooth off the front maybe...

And re the third of July... Sounds good to me!

JB <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:


> Not a problem Simon. When we go out, we normally only do about 40-60 miles
> actually offroad. As we have at least 3x 1980s stroker trail bikes
> including mine, we don't tend to go too mad, but we do go to some
> 'interesting' places.
> There are some cracking trails on and around the Plains. There really are.
> To make it easier for everyone, we could all meet up in Devizes. there is a
> safe small carpark to park cars/trailer etc right near the start of a trail.
> http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&so...vizes&aq=&sll=
>53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=13.992538,39.506836&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnea r=Devizes,
+United+Ki>ngdom&ll=51.337576,-1.983708&spn=0.003606,0.013733&t=h&z=17
> Next outing will be 3rd July. Meeting up at about 11.45am ish.
> Drop me a line if you are up for it. I think you still have my email addy?


Sounds good. It's in my diary.

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> JB <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
SNIP>

> > Next outing will be 3rd July. Meeting up at about 11.45am ish.
> > Drop me a line if you are up for it. I think you still have my email addy?
>
>
> Sounds good. It's in my diary.

I still need to get my van sorted out for personal use but would
certainly be up for a trip to the plains at some point. I'm not sure
about the 3rd July but I'll get down there at some point.

I've got enough lanes around my way to make a full day out but the
biggest problem is that I have to link them together with sections of
tarmac and I think that's where my fuel consumption problems start.

If anyone fancies a day out in Beds, Northants and Cambs give me a shout
and we'll sort something out. Most of the lanes are fairly wide and the
only problem with them at the moment is that they're rock hard and it's
not easy to spot ruts in grassy areas until you're right on them. I've
done most of them on the Tenere so big bikes are ok but you'll get very
hot and very knackered inside a couple of hours.