Easy, Peaceful Riding
A recent ride in the mountains on my Royal Enfield Himalayan provided me with wonderful opportunities for personal growth. Specifically, a close look at the limitations of my off-road riding skills. And learning off-road riding skills.
My rider ego had its knuckles cracked with a ruler as I discovered the gap between off-road riding fantasy and the physical realities of that activity. During a recent relaxed ride in the central Pennsylvania mountains, a choice of a “drivable trail” led to riding lessons that are painful at 67 years old.
Before moving on, I need to thank Eric at “Kraken’s Garage and Adventures” on YouTube for the title of this post. He said it gets directly to the point! And indeed he’s right. Learning off-road riding at 67 was painful.
A Relaxed Start
My friend Paul and I began the day like so many others, a short jaunt to a place for breakfast, and then on into the mountains to enjoy the scenery and ride on the dirt and gravel roads plentiful in this part of Pennsylvania. He was riding his KTM 390 Adventure and I was on the Himalayan. Both are capable of exploring the dirt and gravel roads we would encounter in the forest and mountains.
It wouldn’t take long before we were learning the difference between riding on dirt and gravel roads and riding “off-road.”
Learning the Hard Way
“Roads” is the keyword in this story. When we encountered the sign noting a “Drivable Trail” and looking at that trail disappearing into the forest we figured it would be an interesting route.
The lessons started almost immediately. The rear tire was sliding around in the muddy paste that had replaced the hard-packed dirt and gravel. And just a short way up the trail we encountered our first of many areas of mud and water blocking our way.
Our lack of real off-road riding experience meant each puddle and “lake” was fraught with danger. And as the vegetation on the unmaintained trail closed in it became harder and harder to ride without being beaten by branches. And when there wasn’t water and mud to deal with there were rocks and eroded trenches.
It didn’t take long before my heart was pounding, breathing rapidly, and the physicality of navigation of the motorcycle had me exhausted. Paul and I would ride a few hundred yards and catch our breath. And from the very beginning, there were questions of whether we should turn around lest the route becomes completely impassible.
And then I dropped the bike trying to go around another section of water and mud.
Lessons Learned
Learning off-road riding is a gradual process. For me at least. As I encounter and get past an obstacle I gain a little more experience handling the motorcycle and understanding how to deal with an obstacle.
Paul led the way through the drivable trail. Neither of us knew what to expect beneath the murky waters we encountered or were experienced riding through, over, and around things in our path.
Now we know.
Riding the same route now would be much easier because we know what to expect and how to best handle things.
But man, learning off-road riding at 67 is a painful, stress-inducing process. But I did learn a few things.
- Water standing on a road at the top of a mountain isn’t likely to have a lot of mud. Just ride through it.
- At 67, don’t ride alone in places like this.
- Go slow, take your time, rest, hydrate, and puzzle things out.
- Riding off-road is fun!
Watch the Ride Video
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I admire your pluck, Steve, but, naturally (perhaps over) cautious I am sticking to Vespa-on-road…
Best wishes
Chris (Lincoln UK)
I understand completely Chris. I’ve done a lot of soul searching regarding my Vespa and motorcycles. While I definitely wanted something to easily ride on dirt and gravel like the Himalayan, I had begun wondering if a motorcycle of some sort wouldn’t be a good choice for the pavement. I’ve ridden a lot of different motorcycles and what I’ve finally come to conclude is that for me, the Vespa GTS is the perfect choice for the way and places I ride. After all these years and miles I still love it. The only decision I might face is when it comes time to replace my current GTS with a new one!
You have to learn to relax, keep the rpm’s up more and maintain some speed through some stuff.
The engine and wheels can act like gyroscopes and you have to remember to relax the arms and grip.
Good job of the riding, as you do more you may get in better shape, nothing like fun exercise!
I’ve gotten a lot better with practice on keeping the revs up and relaxing my arms. The Himalayan sails along pretty well.
Mud. I hate mud. I rode through so much mud in Delaware and New Jersey enduros. . . In Florida I stuck my bike in quicksand/ mud, during the Aligator Enduro, so bad that one 4WD got stuck trying to pull me out. The 4WD club had to call in another extra heavy duty 4WD to get me and the first 4WD out.
It was a mud puddle in Mongolia that caused my bad crash there.
I hate mud.
As things turned out for Paul and me, there was a lot of water but not much mud. Our fear of mud was intimidating though. Now with some experience, we have a better sense of when there is troubling mud and when there isn’t.
Sounds as if you encountered real mud. The kind that eats machines!
Yeah, well Steve, gettin’ old sucks, and that why I prefer 4 wheels on the dirt roads.
You’re a couple of weeks older than me Frank so I can still ride on two. But somewhere off in the future, my two-wheeled riding will be solely on pavement and then exclusively four wheels.
Glad you’re feeling better and traveling the world!
PS: I was amazed at where you went on that Vespa the day that you, Paul and I went out the Port Matilda Mountain for me to supposidly teach Paul off-road basics. You went all the way through that trail.
I remember that ride. The Vespa can go a lot of places but man oh man the suspension isn’t up to the task and both machine and man take a beating. The only thing that really isn’t feasible with a Vespa is water. Here’s a link to the Off-Road Riding!
Riding off road is a lot easier with a lighter bike. That Himalayan weighs 100 pounds more that my Suzuki TU250, and that’s kind of marginal. My favorite trail bike of all times was the Honda Trail 50. It’s a lot easier to lift off yourself after hitting the ground!
The Himalayan is definitely not light at 420 pounds or so. But it does feel light and is pretty easy to handle considering that weight. I looked at a few lighter dirt bikes but I didn’t like how they looked, the hard, board-like seats, and a host of other things. The Himalayan fit my needs. I just never planned to really ride off-road on something that was more akin to a single track route.
I rode a Honda Trail 50 way back as a kid. It was great. If I were going that direction now I would look hard at the Honda Monkey. A 2019 model maybe. It would be fun!
Having started riding in the dirt I know how difficult it can be sometimes. I saw one video and the roads weren’t for the faint of heart. Becoming an Enduro Rider at 67 is a tough slog. There are videos that will assist in the process but sometimes you just have to say, “It’s a Good Day to die” like a Klingon and charge without thinking in the dirt.
I have no plans on becoming an Enduro rider. This ride was an accident. I’ll be more careful with my route choices in the future!
Today is not a good day to die…
I concur with the commentator above about hating mud. About seven years ago my MSF Instructor and I met at a trail riding facility, and I had a blast on a rented Honda CRF230 riding trails, (dry trails). We came back a few weeks later and recent rains had turned the place into a giant mudhole. My MSF Instructor had no problem. But I went down at least 8 times, got absolutely filthy, and was actually grateful when my clutch lever snapped so we could quit for the day. I don’t ride in mud anymore. I don’t see why anyone would want to, but to each his own.
I hate mud already and I haven’t even experienced it. Thanks for sharing your experience. I’ll be careful to stay away and stay clean. It’s dry trails for me!
I have moved on from off road to off highway given my advanced years as well as unbridled and unfortunate over enthusiasm. Your older than you think … or something like that? Thanks for the reality check … I think?
Reality…. ugh. But a necessary acknowledgment. I need to remember that even when I have to give something up in life, there’s still plenty left for me to be excited and grateful for. Even with no more snow riding or off-road riding I can still find plenty of thrills on two-wheels!
I have the privilege of riding the same area of PA and have a few words of advice. When you get to a big puddle like your photo, I stay in the wheel tracks as they are less rocky than the center, stand on the pegs to lower the bikes center of gravity and gas it! If you trundle along in 1st you will fall. If you are on the gas in 2nd or 3rd your 2 giant gyroscopes are going to keep you moving and upright. Actual mud and your tires are a bad mix. Stay away from mud!
Hope to see you and Paul back behind Tussey one of these days.
Thanks for the advice John. I’m not sure how often I’ll get to practice moving through the water like that but I will follow your advice.
I’ll keep my eye open for you behind Tussey. What are you riding now?
Me too. I didn’t know what was under the water, slippery mud or big rocks(no). I have a lot more confidence now.
A little experience and practice goes a long way in making the next ride a little more comfortable.
I firmly believe, Steve, that NOTHING helps when it comes to mud. Not lower tire pressures, or knobby tires, or innate skills. I avoid mud like the plague, its a sure recipe for trouble in my case.
I agree Dom. Like you, I’ll avoid it as much as possible.
Wow nice bikes to ride on such shitty ground
It was an adventure. I’m sure there will be more in the future!