Dirt riding for beginners

[sil3nt]

The girl and I would like to have a go at some off road riding. Can anyone recommend a place in or around the Waikato to go hire a bike and have some fun? So far I have this http://www.thundercrossvalley.co.nz/main.html

We both ride on the street but only ride mountain bikes off road and I think this has to change

[davem_nz]

You could always see if these guys are still operating ... http://www.puredirttours.co.nz/index

[nzspokes]

The girl and I would like to have a go at some off road riding. Can anyone recommend a place in or around the Waikato to go hire a bike and have some fun? So far I have this http://www.thundercrossvalley.co.nz/main.html

We both ride on the street but only ride mountain bikes off road and I think this has to change

Well ive only just started and my first "real" rides were at Thundercross. Great place. If you aim to do B loop the first time and do it a good few times that's a great start.

Let me know if you go and I will try to meet you there.

[Jay GTI]

Definitely do Thundercross, main benefit is you can do 1/2 day hires and trust me, even with the MTB experience, 4 hours on a dirt bike and you will be knackered! I've taken a few roadies out to Thundercross to lose their dirt virginity, they've all loved it, but a couple of them won't go back because they were so sore the next day. Don't be tempted by a DRZ400 either, if it's your first time. The 250s are a bit on the gutless side, but you will struggle with arm pump, so the 400s will be too much work to hold on to.

Oh and it is irrelevant how good you are on the road, some of my mates are bloody quick on their trackday bikes, but everything you know about riding fast on the road is essentiallu "wrong" on a dirt bike. If you can, hook up with someone on here who can meet you out there and just run through the basics, it will make it a lot easier in the long run (especially if you get bitten by the dirt bug).

[cambocambo]

I did a session with broxy a month ago to learn the basics and man was it worth it. It made a huge difference to my riding. This was my first dirt bike training session and I didnt really know anything by the end of the session I was able to hit the whoops at patetonga in 4th with a good rhythm.