Where should a new rider go dual-sporting?

[JackMan]

Hi there. Any suggestions on where to do some mild offroading? I have a Pegaso, which is not a serious dirt bike, and haven't been riding very long. Would really like to spend some time on my bike without having to worry about traffic, since I've already had one serious collision with a left turner (went over the hood, thankfully). I live in Boston, so I'm not expecting anything close by. Any suggestions appreciated.

[ChR1s]

http://www.bikemaps.com/ <- specifically one of the "Regional" maps

Those maps are pretty good for finding unimproved roads. Get a tank bag w/map pocket & slide it in. Worked great with my KLR out in the Berkshires.

[Tricky Mike]

Is the Rockingham Rec. trail still open? ("they" have been trying to get it closed for a while now, like every other rec area).

It's on an old railway bed and is about 20 miles long... runs from Derry, NH to Freemont, NH (I think). Since it's totally flat, it'd be a great place to get used to how the bike handles differently on the dirt. Not sure if your MA plate is good enough or if you need a NH sticker (?)
Dunno...

Here's the trail:
http://www.nhatv.com/Maps/Rockingham.gif

[Honclfibr]

Originally posted by trickphoto
Is the Rockingham Rec. trail still open? ("they" have been trying to get it closed for a while now, like every other rec area).

It's on an old railway bed and is about 20 miles long... runs from Derry, NH to Freemont, NH (I think). Since it's totally flat, it'd be a great place to get used to how the bike handles differently on the dirt. Not sure if your MA plate is good enough or if you need a NH sticker (?)
Dunno...

Here's the trail:
http://www.nhatv.com/Maps/Rockingham.gif

I assure you, it is quite open. If you sit on the back porch of my mother's house on the weekend, you are sure to enjoy the pleasant aroma of two stroke oil as well as the joyous sound of gutted exhuast after gutted exhaust riding by once every 30-45 seconds or so.

I didn't realize that there was an attempt to shut it down, but honestly if I lived there I probably would too. The trail runs not more than 50 feet from many houses, and a good proportion of the people who ride there seem to delight in holding their ill-maintained engines at WOT for as long as possible as they go by. Clearly these are the folks who are growing up to be harley riders with straight look-at-me-I'm-loud pipes

[oreo_n2]

i have ridden there.... and i can assure you its NOT flat!!! Its like 13 miles of mild wopp-dee-doos... more of an annoyance than fun!
But there is one place right in the middle where there is a
turn into a small network of fun trails with sand and water hazards!

[Tricky Mike]

I suppose when I said "flat" I meant relatively flat... as opposed to some spots out in Winchendon or Clough, for example. Rockingham really is about as flat as it's ever gonna get off road and they even groom it when it gets bumped up... At it's worst, it's still 4th gear through all the "bumps" if you're willing... That was the only reason I ever went... I think they're fun (if you mono them three at a time)

Honclfibr,
Maaan... I can imagine what it must be like at your mom's place... I can't say I'd blame her for wanting the thing shut down either...
It used to be a bit longer... they managed to shut down the southern-most parking lot a couple years ago...
IMHO, it's not even worth the trip, but if JackMan is just looking for a first experience in the dirt it might be worth it...

It's hard to ride trails legally these days... even the off-trail stuff that Oreo mentioned up at the Rockingham trail is illegal. So many spotsgetting closed down. I really think I'm gonna motard my 520 this winter...