Legal EU Dirtroading?
 

Any recommendations as to which Northern European countries offer a goodly amount of legal "soft-roading" i.e.dirt/fire roads with which to explore their countryside - unlike here in the UK, with their virtual absence of such? Scandinavia/Poland/Czech etc?:mchappy:

There's still some great places to ride legally in the Uk. Granted there are more and more restrctions but we regularly travel to the Uk and ride some great trails all over the country . You just need to find the locals with the knowldge and lose yourself in the countryside with them . I was in Yorkshire in May this year and rode some fantastic trails in the Dales including one called "deadman's hill" which almost killed us on BMW GS's but what fun when we conquered it !!!

Belgium has some but they are not the sort of trails you can ride for hours without seeing anyone or getting on the asphalt but we have some fun nonetheless. Same in Holland but you need some local advice. The further east you go the more relaxed the rules and therefore the trails are less abused by endless 4x4's and MX bikes and the locals don't care so much. I hear Romania is great but I haven't tried it myself. pretty much all of Western Europe is protected by one or other Eco wrrior policing which is understandable because without it , there would be no countryside left .

There is a lot of gravel roads (and nice scenery) in Norway.
You are not allowed to drive where there are no roads, on some private roads you “should” pay a toll.

The “problem” is that many of these roads are not used anymore and they are not on most maps so it is quite a job to plan a proper route.

Camping somewhere in the west:
http://www.actiontouring.com/pic/utsikt.jpg

Gravel in the east:
http://www.actiontouring.com/pic/vask.jpg

http://www.actiontouring.com/pic/Bakfra.jpg


If you have time right now you can join here: Bukkerittet - OTC (Offroad Touring Club)

Edit: But we are not a part of the EU....

There are excellent opportunities to go off-roading in Norway, Sweden and Finland. Several thousand kilometers of small tractor paths, gravel roads and so on.
I think parts of Poland also offers really good off-road riding.
If you want more specific info send me a PM.

Trail riding in UK
 

Hi
I agree with Geeko - there are still great trails to ride in the UK despite recent govt. legislation restricting access to old lanes.

I recommend joining the Trail Riders Fellowship (TRF) TRF [The Trail Riders Fellowship] Welcome to get more information - and find some friendly riding companions if you want them.

For a more DIY approach: Get some detailed OS maps and look for BOATs (Byways open to all traffic). As long as there is not a restriction in place on a byway you can still ride them with a *road legal* vehicle. A restriction is indicated by the usual Highway Code sign - circular sign, red outer circle enclosing a car and\or a motorcyle.


David

Spain Is Good!
 

Here in Spain. once you leave the Autovia (Motorway) and start hiting the back roads...your on dirt bike territory.....twisty, poorly maintained, potholed, not on most maps (well the best tracks anyway):funmeteryes:, and great fun!!

France
 

Not done it but you can ride from north to southern France on tracks.

See the IGN maps at www.ign.fr I have some that are 1cm to 250 metres so you would need a few:smiliex:

They do one called Carto Exploreur 3 - CDRom for PC & Pocket PC - Windows.
Versions in 1:25 000 and 1:100 000. See IGN - CD ROM BAYO CartoExploreur 3 - Version 1:25 000 et 1:100 000

Looks good.

John

Makes you think
 

Is there an equivalent to the TransAm trail in the US for Europe: a sort of coast to coast from West to East or North to South, or both?

If not, it could be put together on here easily!

Makes you think... it certainly does!
 

Just had a quick scan of the Land Rover International site and spied a non-clickable window containing this - " Members of the Red Rose Land Rover Club do it the hard way, Lands End to John O' Groats by greenlane." Anyone get this illustrious Mag to expand on this?

The GR7 is 2699km long and we regularly ride part of it. It runs from Tarifa in Spain to Crete. Would love to ride the whole route one day.

There's a whole network of Gran Recorridos (GR) through Spain, the GR579 runs through Belgium, the GR10 runs through France and over the Pyrenees.

The E1-11 is a network of paths that run through Norway, Sweden, Italy, Scotland, France, Turkey, Spain, Finland, Greece, Portugal, Ukraine, Ireland, Bulgaria, Russia, Poland, Germany, Holland and Lithuania. You are able to ride them in Spain, but I'm not sure what the 'rules' are in the different countries.

The problem is it's REALLY difficult trying to find out any information about them, especially on the internet, but this image shows roughly where some of them are.

Attachment 700

The GR routes are often footpaths and every time a bike passes it destroys a bit more. I have seen medieval paths destroyed by bikes in France. In other places I have seen ruts 1 metre deep caused by bikes. Tree roots are cut, stones dislodged and the whole path washes away in the rain. In France as many as 15 trail bikes pass in huge groups . It is a disaster. I regret that you ride these footpaths.

Yes we're ALL EcoWarriers now....quite right too

Since the GR7 is the only route to many remote farms and houses in Spain, their owners would have a terribly long walk if they couldn't use their motorised vehicles to get to and from them!! A tractor, for example, I suspect would cause far more damage than a bike, particularly on the tracks we ride.

As I said before, different countries have different rules so it would be wise to know what those rules are in order for individuals to make an informed decision. A footpath in one country is an only means of access to somebody's livelihood in another.

Although biking's in my blood and the limited off-roading i've managed has been a bit of a revelation to my tarmac-addled mind, i'm fairly adamant to steer clear of footpaths if at all possible as vehicles on them just seem to cause problems, as a walker i appreciate the relative peace/tidyness of a vehicle-free path. But a decent fire-trail/forest track etc is a real treasure and this is what i'm seeking. We host HUBBERS from many Euro countries so i wonder if a compendium of great bike-friendly off-road tracks could be amassed? Perhaps this thread should be on the Trip Planning forum...

Riding fire trails/breaks in Spain IS illegal. Whilst I understand the concerns of riding paths, you only have to look at satellite imagary of a country like Spain to see that there is a huge percentage of roads, tracks and trails that aren't tarmaced - it simply isn't economical to do it.

It may not be the part of Europe you're looking to ride, but given the climate here, particularly in Southern Spain, all but the hardiest of flora dies off each year due to the heat and lack of water, so no fear of damaging anything living (unless you hit a goat).

Have a look at this thread on advrider - it has a great collection of photos showing you what the tracks are like throughout Spain -
Andalucian trip... - ADVrider

I have a web album with some photos of the GR7 and you can see it is no different to any other track in Spain -
Picasa Web Albums - Dakota - Motorcycling