Anyone up for a run at chicksands (beds) this weekend?
Discussion
I haven't ridden in Herts for over 15 years since I left uni, so very out of touch. It would certainly take a recce to find somewhere to ride. There is dunstable downs but it would really depend on what you are after.
We used to use the bmx track at the bottom of Howe Dell as 4x track.
We used to use the bmx track at the bottom of Howe Dell as 4x track.
Just found this on Bikeradar if your interested.
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10...
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10...
Celtic Dragon said:
I haven't ridden in Herts for over 15 years since I left uni, so very out of touch. It would certainly take a recce to find somewhere to ride. There is dunstable downs but it would really depend on what you are after.
Similar thing here in a way. I used to ride off road quite a lot, but I've lived in London for the past five years and not really kept going. A couple of times a summer I'd shove my MTB in the car and head for Broxbourne Woods, which has some decent singletrack if you know where to look, but apart from that I've turned into a bit of a roadie (albeit a fat, slow one). Now I'm moving out to Hertford I'd like to get back into it.Looking for some XC trails basically, but with some interesting downhill sections.
My bike's out of action currently and I might not have time to get out until the move to Hertford is complete, but definitely up for a ride at some stage.
I popped over on Sunday and to be honest I didn't think a lot of the setup.
The XC trails are trashed and badly marked and in places unrideable. The blue tail invisible, I only saw 1 blue marker in the 2 hours I was there. The red is bordering on the boring, badly marked and in places very dangerous. An example of this, is at one point you come down a double dip blind crest, and at speed if you know it. You get to the bottom of the run and look back and there are red markers pointing up, where you have just come from! Then there are the routes that take you over the areas where banks have collapsed and left 10 - 20 ft drops. Good job I was a nervous rider as it was my first ride out there or I would have been over 2 of these.
A lot of the red markers, look to me like felling markers where the FC have marked trees for being felled.
All in all a very crud experience.
I didn't go in the bike park, suffice to say, everyone I saw going in was on a full susser, in body armour, and full face lid. Wouldn't mind a crack at the 4x course when i have my confidence back.
The XC trails are trashed and badly marked and in places unrideable. The blue tail invisible, I only saw 1 blue marker in the 2 hours I was there. The red is bordering on the boring, badly marked and in places very dangerous. An example of this, is at one point you come down a double dip blind crest, and at speed if you know it. You get to the bottom of the run and look back and there are red markers pointing up, where you have just come from! Then there are the routes that take you over the areas where banks have collapsed and left 10 - 20 ft drops. Good job I was a nervous rider as it was my first ride out there or I would have been over 2 of these.
A lot of the red markers, look to me like felling markers where the FC have marked trees for being felled.
All in all a very crud experience.
I didn't go in the bike park, suffice to say, everyone I saw going in was on a full susser, in body armour, and full face lid. Wouldn't mind a crack at the 4x course when i have my confidence back.
PLease don't write off Chicksands on the basis of the admittedly not well looked after XC routes!
The Landowner/forestry lot are apparently a bit of a PITA about the bike park "adopting" the left over unofficial XC routes that exist in the woodlands area surrounding the actually bike park bit. In effect the bike park cannot really properly take over the running and layout of the XC routes unfortunately (the politics of this are too long and tortuous to go into here!).
So, i would suggest two options:
1) go enough times to get to know the XC routes and effectively make up your own route (it's not a big area so you won't really get lost!)
2) just go and get Gnaar in the actual park itself.
Personally, i do both! (well, till i broke my wrist there due to a skill-to-enthusiasm mismatch!)
If you want better, longer (and potentially more technical / knackering) XC stuff, get over to Woburn, but again, there are no marked routes, so be prepared to learn your way around. (or find someone who does know there way around (i'd be happy to "guide" when my wrist is a bit more fixed ;-)
The Landowner/forestry lot are apparently a bit of a PITA about the bike park "adopting" the left over unofficial XC routes that exist in the woodlands area surrounding the actually bike park bit. In effect the bike park cannot really properly take over the running and layout of the XC routes unfortunately (the politics of this are too long and tortuous to go into here!).
So, i would suggest two options:
1) go enough times to get to know the XC routes and effectively make up your own route (it's not a big area so you won't really get lost!)
2) just go and get Gnaar in the actual park itself.
Personally, i do both! (well, till i broke my wrist there due to a skill-to-enthusiasm mismatch!)
If you want better, longer (and potentially more technical / knackering) XC stuff, get over to Woburn, but again, there are no marked routes, so be prepared to learn your way around. (or find someone who does know there way around (i'd be happy to "guide" when my wrist is a bit more fixed ;-)
I'm not going to write Chicksands off just yet, I get the feeling the park itself is popular, but with extreme caution judging by the number of full face lids and armour I saw rolling in there.
I think there is a single track run in the park itself, and certainly a 4x, dual slalom and pump track.
Now looking at armour and full face as I don't think my xc lid will cut it, my bike might be 15 years old, but would cope with 4x etc. I just have a very nasty habit of falling off badly!
I think there is a single track run in the park itself, and certainly a 4x, dual slalom and pump track.
Now looking at armour and full face as I don't think my xc lid will cut it, my bike might be 15 years old, but would cope with 4x etc. I just have a very nasty habit of falling off badly!
Edited by Celtic Dragon on Monday 3rd June 14:14
I've been to Chicksands few times to sample the XC routes. Despite the poor condition of several parts of the trails (I find that the inner loop tends to be worse) it's still a worthwhile trip for me, as trails around my area (Biggleswade) are for the most part quite flat and uninteresting.
Regarding Woburn, the club in the link below ride there pretty much every Sunday and welcome newcomers, so that might be worth a go if you fancied a ride around there but didn't want to get lost. I'll be making my way over for the first time to join these chaps this Sunday fingers crossed.
http://www.cyclonembc.co.uk/
Regarding Woburn, the club in the link below ride there pretty much every Sunday and welcome newcomers, so that might be worth a go if you fancied a ride around there but didn't want to get lost. I'll be making my way over for the first time to join these chaps this Sunday fingers crossed.
http://www.cyclonembc.co.uk/
Celtic Dragon said:
Tell me about it! I'm in potton.
There is the occasional interesting bit of riding if you look hard enough! Have you ventured over to the sand hills in Sandy before? There's not a huge amount as far as proper trails go, but it's fun for a bit of a stop off and play in a ride, with plenty of climbing and fast descending. There's also a few nice bits around the Sandy Aerial, which is pretty much on your doorstep. Haven't ventured around Sandy hills yet. I have been round the ariel and found a couple of interesting routes. There is another path around the ariel I want to explore. I bottled it last time as the entry is a short very shart decline. Bottling it led to my first off road SPD floor introduction 
Celtic Dragon said:
Haven't ventured around Sandy hills yet. I have been round the ariel and found a couple of interesting routes. There is another path around the ariel I want to explore. I bottled it last time as the entry is a short very shart decline. Bottling it led to my first off road SPD floor introduction
Is this the one you mean? http://app.strava.com/segments/2693664Lately I've started combining a play around the sand hills with the trails around the aerial (see the link below for an example, and don't laugh at the slow average speed, I was travelling at a wife-friendly pace!), about the only way to get a 'decent' amount of climbing in a ride around here.
http://app.strava.com/activities/56134040
There's also a fun little trail through Small Wood near the aerial, if you enjoy dodging in and out of trees, and a lovely (but very short) bit of singletrack leading up to the bottom of the RSPB lodge hill.
Don't think so, I'll gps track it at the weekend if the works phone doesn't go off.
Don't laugh, I've only lived here 5 years and only just exploring now. I'll tag up my strava link too.
You should see me following you now, my real name is Simon.
Don't laugh, I've only lived here 5 years and only just exploring now. I'll tag up my strava link too.
You should see me following you now, my real name is Simon.
Edited by Celtic Dragon on Monday 3rd June 22:20
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