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Both Nick and Chris have owned Triumph's excellent Tiger 800, the same bike in fact, and thoroughly enjoyed its rugged, go anywhere practicality, smooth triple motor and ability to shrug off the worst that Britain's roads can throw at it. The Tiger of course comes in two, road and off road oriented, versions and as a birthday treat, Chris' wife bought us both an introduction to off road riding course provided by independent Triumph partner Trailquest who use a fleet of Tiger 800 XCs (and newer XCXs) for a variety of off road training. Trailquest are based in bespoke premises on an estate near Malvern in Worcestershire and have use of a huge variety of different terrains and surfaces to try. As the date of the Trailquest day got nearer, Passport Tours' newest member, Chris "Hugo" Sullivan, also decided to come along and enjoy a day of adventure riding in the Malvern countryside.
Our day with Trailquest was on Monday and so we decided to head to Malvern on the Sunday and enjoy a leisurely ride down combined with a decent meal and accommodation at the nearby Malvern Hills Hotel. Coming from North, South and more South London, we met at the Beaconsfield Services on the M40 on Sunday evening. After a brief delay for Nick to return home to collect his driving licence (not a good start, particularly as Nick had been very clear |
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with Chris and Hugo the night before not to forget theirs...) we were on our way. The night was clear and dry, great conditions for riding, albeit it did get quite cold towards the end. We followed the M40 to Oxford and then cross country on the A40 to Burford, A424 & A429 to Stow on the Wold and then down the B4077 & A46 to the M5. The A40 is a great road, the derestricted sections being especially good and allowed for fast progress. For Nick and Chris, having a third rider to consider is a new departure; Hugo definitely needs to get hold of a Sena bluetooth intercom to join in the ongoing conversation, if only to highlight the requirement for fuel!
We arrived at the Malvern Hills Hotel around 20:00 and enjoyed a lovely evening meal. The hotel is in a wonderful setting (read our TripAdvisor review), coincidentally, the car park opposite being the site where Chris and Nick swapped bikes during the 300 odd mile test ride of the Tiger Explorer XC in June 2013 (link here), and close to the spot where Chris' parent's ashes are scattered. After an average night's sleep (beds too soft, too much to eat before going to bed) and an excellent breakfast we set off for our day in the mud. After what turned out to be a slightly longer than planned detour to buy lunch at a local supermarket in Malvern, and an even longer detour when we arrived at the Land Rover Experience centre rather than Trailquest (note to Chris, read the instructions!) we eventually arrived 30 minutes late at Trailquest's centre. Frustratingly, the centre is actually right next to J2 of the M50 and had we approached from there (as indeed the instructions suggest...) it would have been a much easier journey.
Richard, our host and trainer at Trailquest, was slightly perplexed by our inability to follow the directions but delighted we’d got there. After a short briefing we were off out on into the countryside on 3 18 month old Tiger 800 XCs. A group of recently launched Tiger models were all lined up inside Trailquest’s premises, sadly not ready for using until the following week.
The introduction to adventure riding day that Trailquest offers is just that, riding Tiger 800s on grass, trails, through deep mud and ruts and down some steep-ish slopes. All three of us had a fantastic time, Richard being a fantastic instructor. We all ended up doing things on a bike that we didn’t think were possible, especially riding in deep mudded ruts full of water. Riding across fields also provides a great insight into general bike control which you don’t get on the road, or at least not at the sort of safe speeds we could here. A wonderful day which is highly recommended, our next job is to sign up for the more advanced course!
Contact Richard Jeynes of Trailquest.
We arrived at the Malvern Hills Hotel around 20:00 and enjoyed a lovely evening meal. The hotel is in a wonderful setting (read our TripAdvisor review), coincidentally, the car park opposite being the site where Chris and Nick swapped bikes during the 300 odd mile test ride of the Tiger Explorer XC in June 2013 (link here), and close to the spot where Chris' parent's ashes are scattered. After an average night's sleep (beds too soft, too much to eat before going to bed) and an excellent breakfast we set off for our day in the mud. After what turned out to be a slightly longer than planned detour to buy lunch at a local supermarket in Malvern, and an even longer detour when we arrived at the Land Rover Experience centre rather than Trailquest (note to Chris, read the instructions!) we eventually arrived 30 minutes late at Trailquest's centre. Frustratingly, the centre is actually right next to J2 of the M50 and had we approached from there (as indeed the instructions suggest...) it would have been a much easier journey.
Richard, our host and trainer at Trailquest, was slightly perplexed by our inability to follow the directions but delighted we’d got there. After a short briefing we were off out on into the countryside on 3 18 month old Tiger 800 XCs. A group of recently launched Tiger models were all lined up inside Trailquest’s premises, sadly not ready for using until the following week.
The introduction to adventure riding day that Trailquest offers is just that, riding Tiger 800s on grass, trails, through deep mud and ruts and down some steep-ish slopes. All three of us had a fantastic time, Richard being a fantastic instructor. We all ended up doing things on a bike that we didn’t think were possible, especially riding in deep mudded ruts full of water. Riding across fields also provides a great insight into general bike control which you don’t get on the road, or at least not at the sort of safe speeds we could here. A wonderful day which is highly recommended, our next job is to sign up for the more advanced course!
Contact Richard Jeynes of Trailquest.
