Adventure Bike Rider Forum

At the farm just be courteous, no revving of engines etc, close the gates and if they're around ask for permissions pass through. I've only ridden it 3 times but on each occasion they were absolutely fine with us passing through.

Theres a sign at the West end of the Claerwen reservoir where the trail heads into the monks Trod. Large no vehicles sign. But I don't recall seeing one from the East end.
Ive ridden it before and after the sign was erected and never had any issues. As others have said just be polite if challenged or if you see anyone. But it is a risk as the sign clearly states no vehicles, so if you get caught then you don't really have any defence. Its a good long beginners trail but I only use it when needed as a link to Rhyader. The road route round is long but enjoyable.

You might not want to take a GS on the section below the Dam , it gets a bit wet and boggy in places , (thumbs)

diggermanbob wrote:You might not want to take a GS on the section below the Dam , it gets a bit wet and boggy in places , (thumbs)

A bunch of us rode our 950/990's and 950SE on it a few years back, it was a good laugh but best suited to the smaller bikes.

Did the lower Claerwen a couple of weeks ago. Its changed a lot since the first time I did it many years ago. The tricky boggy section has been reduced to a puddle, and the track splits in 2 here now, so easy section round. And the rock step at the East end is no more. Not sure what happened to it. Ace trail.

2 of us did Monks Trod a while back we were talking to the farmer before hand who said don't do it you'll get stuck so we ignored him :whistle: and within the hour we'd managed to get separated and stuck in 2 different sections axle deep and losing the will to live. Finally managed to get free after what seemed like hours and limped back to base whimpering. I remember it being that bad we nearly left the bikes there :pinch:
Anyway don't let me put you off...it was fine until the last half coming towards Claerwen (thumbs)

Q plate wrote:2 of us did Monks Trod a while back we were talking to the farmer before hand who said don't do it you'll get stuck so we ignored him :whistle: and within the hour we'd managed to get separated and stuck in 2 different sections axle deep and losing the will to live. Finally managed to get free after what seemed like hours and limped back to base whimpering. I remember it being that bad we nearly left the bikes there :pinch:
Anyway don't let me put you off...it was fine until the last half coming towards Claerwen (thumbs)

And the moral of this tale boys and girls, always ALWAYS, listen to local knowledge... :pinch: Probably find out that his lad/lass is an enduro champion or something... :whistle:

You can practice riding Monks Trod in your garden.
Hire a mini digger, and dig a hole big enough to take your bike, so only the handlebars are above the surface.
Fill the hole with water and ride your bike into it.
Use the mini digger to backfill the hole.
Now dig the bike out, using your helmet peak.
Get the bike running again, and ride it around the garden and back into the hole. Then dig it out again with your hands.
Repeat until you are bored.

yup Monks Trod should be closed and made a nature wilderness.
a pointless lane that defeats the point of riding to me
it becomes like a 4x4 winch challenge to haul your bike across
unless you get lucky with your lines
TRF/GLASS etc should be volunteering to help close it, in favour of making the missing link past Claerwen permanently legal.

Well I certainly won't be bothering with monks trod in all fairness. Need to have a better look and figure out where I'm going but I'm at Lindisfarne ATM and didn't bring any maps, I didn't bring a bike though :woohoo: