John Jefferies is leading something a bit different this Thursday.
Leaving the Sun Inn @ Coate Water at 6.30 pm, we will head to chisledon via the the curly bridge, heading out to Marlborough on the old railway line.
Aiming to get to the Royal Oak pub for 8pm. an hour spent having food and refreshments before heading back at approx 9pm.
Will be expecting to hit coate on the way back at approx 10pm.
The ride will be approx 30 plus miles leaving from the sun. Lights and helmets a must. Will be a 10pm plus finish
Its been 3 years since i was last there and now its time to visit again. This is an awesome place to visit with some serious trails worth riding. Some tough hill climbs, but with rewarding descents.
Current weather forecast is for showers, but this is Wales, so make sure you bring waterproofs! A helmet is also essential.
There are some great spots of riding at Swinley, but if you stick strictly to the Blue and Red trails you’ll a) miss some great off-piste stuff and b) have to churn through some really dull miles to get to the good bits!
So this ride is to show you the best bits – starting on the Blue trail, but then picking up some of the off-piste used on the recent Enduro race to connect up to the best of Red. That will take us to the bottom far east corner, where the downhill trials are as well and after a play in that area, we will take a more leisurely ride to pick up the fabulous Tank Traps section, before ending with the best of Blue to take us back to the hub. Should be 20 miles in total.
This ride contains blue and red graded trails, so bare that in mind – it’s Swinley not the Alps, but the bits of red we will be doing are definitely red grade.
See you at the entrance to the Blue trail at 10am.
Up through Wroughton and over Hackpen. Ruts to Rockley. Half 4 mile, Ogbournes to either Seathe’s Ridge or Gypsy Lane (time and legs dependent) Ladder Lane back to the Bayberry.
We will change the route if the weather turns out bad, but waterproof jacket is very strongly advised anyway – it’s not exactly been predictable recently.
You will need a helmet and lights too.
Keeping an eye on the weather and ground conditions. Heading out onto the Downs, possibly via Kings/Clouts Wood for some messing about. Expect around 500m of climbing and 30k over 2.5 hours (think Verderers x 2 without the exciting descents). Lights, lids and Jackets!
I’ve found time to squeeze in another weekend Scenic ride in January, going in a different direction along the Ridgeway.
The start is at the bottom of the Barbury steep side (see map posting) setting off along the Ridgeway away from Barbury to Broad Hinton. From there we amble along the valley and a potential pub stop. Then the climb back up to the Ridgeway and the White Horse trail to Rockley. Then it’s back along the valley and up onto the ridge back to the start.
The ride will be 27km in length with 350m of climbing and some beautiful scenery.
Please see map for the start point, although you can also park at Barbury and cycle down to there if you want.
You must wear a helmet and dressed according to the conditions – it’s pretty cold out there still!