Sand in the UK?

[henryuk]

Dear all,
I am trying to find somewhere to test out an old pizza delivery bike on sand before I go into the Sahara on one, any suggestions as to where I might be able to do this? The nearer to Sheffield and the 'more legal' the better - I don't want the bike getting crushed by someone with a sense of humour failure!

[mattsavage]

Hi. Sand quarry would be the best bet. Or there is a beach somewhere that you can drive on, but I can't remember where it is. In fact there are probably a few?
I think one of the pay and play off road places has sand, but (again!!) I can't remember where! Sorry not a great answer, but try looking on the internet for beaches. Or find your local sand quarry.

Cheers,
Matt

Just had a very nice cup of coffee, so nice I might just have another right now!

[henryuk]

Cheers Matt, that's a great idea - coffee time!

Did you find that apprentice you were after?

[mattsavage]

Hi. Yes. Apprentice isn't really the correct word though, more like helper!

All the best, Matt

ready for a cup of tea now....

[Dazzerrtw]

Hi

I have done many a beach race here in the UK .
so I thought I could ride on sand , That was till I tried riding desert sand .

It's totally differant.

You will get the hang of it once your down there.

All The best

Dazzer

If it help's you used to be able to ride your bike on the beach at Redcar, not sure if you still can.

[henryuk]

Cheers Dazzer. I've done a bit of desert sand before on a 750 and it's definitely not beach or MX sand, it's dry for a start!

The problem I am trying to overcome is how to get a scooter set up for a rally, there are going to be several 400km+ sand stages and I'd like to find any major problems in the UK if at all possible....

I have a sneaking suspicion this whole plan is going to go tits up, that's when the fun will really start!

[bilimanjaro]

come to sunny cleggy..
i.ll even supply the tea...lol...............

[mattsavage]

ahh yes. It could be Redcar I'm thinking of. Well done Dazzer!
I did just do a search of driving on Redcar beach and came up with some horse forum but it didn't really say anything really useful.

Cheers,
Matt

Just had a load of croissants from Lidl. Really nice!

[Dazzerrtw]

I should think the problem with a scooter would be ground clearance .

It may just bottom out when the tiny wheel's sink in the sand

[henryuk]

It's definately going to be interesting! I'm sure the bikes wont sink as much as a larger bike (they only weigh 100kg) and we can get knobblies for the 17" wheels so should be able to get some traction and momentum built up.

The big question is will the lightness make up for the ground clearance. Probably not!

[bodie]

Hi you could try FATCATS MOTO PARK just off junction 3 or 4 of M 18 AT ARMTHORPE there into all sorts of off road motorcycling have a word im sure they would help

[henryuk]

If thats the one near Doncaster then I've already dropped them an e-mail. No response as yet...
Thanks for the pointer though!

[Big Yellow Tractor]

You'll struggle to emulate anything very deserty (is that a word ?) in this country.

We have a huge sandbowl near us (used in the Natterjack Enduro) but it would need to be near drought conditions before it behaves much like desert sand. We also have a couple of lanes that get a bit fluffy mid summer.