Weather looks good this week, so come along to Croft and have a cycle with us.
As well as doing a few laps, there is a nice beginners loop we can do from Croft, with only gentle uphill and 3.5 and 7 mile options which we’re happy to do if there’s demand for it.
Davinia will also be there if anyone wants to do Ladies only groups.
For the next Tuesday evening ride, we are going Urban 😉
Starting from Coate water cafe (next to the diving board), we will head to lydiard park via the cycle route 45 and do a lap once there. After that we will head to shaw forest and again do a lap around there! Then move onto moulden hill country park, do a lap and then head back to the Sun inn pub next to coate water for a nice refreshing beverage 🙂
Approx 20miles.
Please bring a helmet, NO HELMET, NO RIDE! Please also bring some lights and wrap up nice and warm.
Look forward to seeing you there folks 🙂
Something a little bit different this week – a lap of Croft followed by a ride out to Shaw Forest on route 45 for a lap of there, before heading back to Croft.
This is a perfect ride for beginners, with a well surfaced, largely flat route, with optional fun bits! It’s 10 miles to Shaw and back, so that’s the minimum, plus how every many laps of Croft / Shaw Forest you want to do.
It will be dark obviously, but the route to Shaw is well surfaced and lit in places – lights are essential though, as it’s very dark in other places.
Meet in the Croft car park for a 6pm set off.
This weeks Thursday ride will be lead by me and going from the Tawny Owl.
Will be heading out towards Coate Water before looping back via Lydiard Park. Route will be about 20 miles and will be riding at leisurely pace.
Lights and helmet required.
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.
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!
The Peak District is simple awesome for mountain biking – stunning scenery and brilliant riding.
I’ve done lots of riding up there and am putting together some of the best in one long weekend.
We will be based in the Hope Valley, which has a great selection of campsites, B&B accommodation, cafes and bike shops. Personally I’ll be camping and will make a recommendation for a campsite after sampling a few, but there are plenty of great B&Bs for anyone that doesn’t like camping.
For the riding, we have 3 days:
A scenic starter, along the Monsal Trail. Starting at Bakewell Station up to Blackwell Mill and back. This is a former railway line that has been converted into a bridleway, using all the old features, including a number of viaducts and 4 tunnels through the Peaks. This gives us the chance to soak in the gorgeous scenery along the route, as well as a stop to enjoy them with a drink.
Day 2 is an epic XC ride starting in Hope and heading over Mam Tor out towards Derwent Water and back. The views on this route are even more stunning than the previous day, but the riding will be amazing too, with some epic descents – this one isn’t flat! 😉 We will be doing 25-30km with 1200-1500ft of climbing (depending on the weather), but the pace will be relaxed.
The final day will be a trip to the brilliant (but short) Lady Cannings trails, which we will use to end a 10km loop of the local Blacca Moor, which is another Peaks “must do”. That should see us finish at lunchtime, on the Bank Holiday Monday.
If you are planning on coming, please register either on the Facebook group event or by sending an email to adrian@swindonmtbenthusiasts.co.uk – just so we know to keep an eye out for you before setting off anywhere.