History of motorcycling
Motorcycle/Trail riding Historical Timeline
1769 – The motor vehicle was invented and first driven on a British road in 1801.
1817. – The earliest form of bicycle, without pedals and propelled by foot was invented.
1864 – The marriage of motor vehicle and bicycle was celebrated when the Michaux brothers invented the motorcycle.
1894 – Hildebrand and Wolfmuller produce the first production motorcycle powered by steam.
1896 – First commercially available motorcycles became available in Britain.
1899 – British Motorcycling manufacture Matchless was founded
1901 – Hubert Egerton completed Lands End to John O’Groats by motorcycle, before tarmac had been invented, let alone used to cover most roads.
1901 – British Motorcycling manufacture Royal Enfield introduces its first motorcycle
1902(ish) – Trail Riding is the modern name given to what all motorcyclists did pre WW1 for utility and leisure, that is riding on unsealed roads for either everyday transport or for leisure and adventure.
1902 British motorcycle brands Triumph and Norton produce their first motorcyclyes in house
1903 – Auto-Cycle Club founded – later renamed as Auto Cycle Union (ACU)
1904 – First ever London to Edinburgh Trial covering 400 miles included 70 motorcycles.
1906-7? ’Hill Hunting’ JV has a fair bit on this. It is a rolling story in The Motor Cycle (maybe Motor Cycling) and Steve Pighills has magazine scans with the stories. This really is ‘proto trail riding’
1908 – First London to Lands’ End Trial
1910 – First London to Exeter Trail
1910 – Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) produce their first motorcycle
1913 – First every International Six Day Trail 1913 held in Carlisle in Cumbria (Steve Pighills
1914 – 18 The Great War sees motorcycles employed in a variety of ways.
1919 – British agricultural machinery manufacture Ransomes Sims & Jefferies produce their first prototype electric motorcycle which was a side car outfit
1927 – British Women’s Team of Marjorie Cottle, Edyth Foley and Louise MacLean who were the win International Six Day Trail
1930 – The first Road Traffic Act, with restrictions on motors on public paths and open land.
1939 – ACU provide and train motorcycle despatch riders covering sealed and unsealed roads for WW2.
1955 – Worlds biggest weekly motorcycling newspaper was started
1960s Journalist John Ebbrell (a TRF founder) writes a series of articles that help to define ‘trail riding’ as it is now understood.
1963 – Iconic film the Great Escape features Steve McQueen attempting escape of a British Triumph TR6 Trophy
1968 – the Countryside Act 1968 introduces a review of ‘Roads Used as Public Paths’ (RUPPs) the treat of which is a major driver for the start of the TRF
1970 – Trail Riders Fellowship (TRF) started
1971 – Motorcycle News introduces dedicated “On the Trail” column by Pete Plumber
1979 – Brian Thompson is active in the formation of the Byways and Bridleways Trust
197X? – Pete Plumber starts National Trail Riding School
1972 – Welsh Trail Riders Association formed and affiliated to the ACU
1975 – TRF Appoint Brian Thompson as first Road Conservation Officer formerly of the Ramblers Association
1981 – The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. For the first time ‘lost ways’ (BOATs) can be properly recorded.
1986 – TRF is a main partner in the formation of the Land Access and Recreation Association (LARA)
1997 – LDNP Hierarchy of Trails first published.
2000 – Countryside & Rights of Way act removes motoring rights on Road Used as a Public Path (RUPP)
2004 – Long Way Round actors Ewan McGreggor and Charlie Boorman leave London on a 19,000 mile trip around the world the first of a number of televised adventure rides.
2006 – Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (NERC) decimates the available unsealed roads open to motorcycles.
2014 – The Deregulation Bill. The ‘antis’ use this as a platform to launch a parliamentary campaign to close remaining BOATs and unsealed public roads. They do not succeed, but they are not going away.
2024 TRF Celebrates 50th Anniversary.
2025 Cumbria TRF Celebrates 50th Anniversary