Dalby Forest anyone?

[Chris71]

Hi,

I'm up near York for the weekend with my girlfriend and managed to persuade her to let me bring the bike along! Apparently there's some good mountain biking in Dalby Forest and I plan to give it a go tommorow.

Can anyone suggest anywhere in particular to go? Which trails to go for? Anything to avoid?

Cheers,

Chris.

[v8 jago]

Just do the plain simple red run. 23 Miles of fun and work, With climbs, decents, berms,drops and jumps I was there a few days ago and it was pouring down and there was some quite boggy bits but if you went for a ride in any woods you would get up to your eyes in st. Its worth a run around. I might of been interested but im going to york raceway for the drag racing. Jap cars on the sunday and gti`s on the monday. So im hoping for some more of this decent weather.. Whatever ride you do i hope you enjoy it and come back for more. Dont know if you know but its £7 to get in. But worth it.

Edited by v8 jago on Saturday 23 August 19:13

[snotrag]

Chris - this is my "local".

Well worth it and only 35 minutes from York, if that.

£7 in, well worth it. People who moan about that want shooting - there'd be nothing there otherwise.

Easiest thing to do is just follow the Red - 23 miles. If you've not got time/energy for the full loop, miss the start, not the end. The last bits are the best.
Best plan is to park at the main visitor centre when you come in and follow the trails from there.

Even in pissing rain its never a mudfest, will be fine tomorrow. Its great fun, and if you ride it fast and plenty technical - I've done the full lot in 2 hours 20 minutes, thats proper head down flat out speed, no stopping.

Enjoy, its great fun.

[v8 jago]

You could always buy a yearly pass £35 Cheap at half the price. I know you wont be at dalby much but the way i see it is the more money goes into the place the more they can put back into the place. I get a pass every year as its only 40 mins from my house and its fun to ride even if you want to go on your own and there is loads of freindly bikes there too. Just hope they dont mind paying to get in or snotrag might murder them

[v8 jago]

If you want a challanging ride (double black) challanging then stainburn isnt far from you ive been twice trying to like it and its too challanging for me but the lads who have built it have done a cracking job and spend a long time making it work as a trail section. Its only a couple of mile round but takes longer than you would expect..

[Chris71]

snotrag said:

I've done the full lot in 2 hours 20 minutes

Doh! Took me nearly four hours!

That was with several decent-length stops, but still... I thought my fitness was getting was returning, but thruought the entire ride yesterday I was acutely aware of how much quicker I used to ride similar trails around Afan, without the wheezing!

It probably didn't help that I started at the bike park, so some of the more technical singletrack and one of the steeper ascents both came within the first couple of miles. In the end though it was only one hairpin and one of the larger rock steps that caught me out - still not sure on the technique for either TBH.

I liked it and I was very impressed at the way it held up in wet conditions. It was soaking while I was there and yet, despite puddles everywhere, the trail remained surprisingly grippy. It definitely feels man-made, but that's got to be a good thing when you get the associated drainage and everything. Also quite varied - in fact there can be some quite unexpected transitions from gentle ride through the forest to rock-step-into-steep-drop-into-hairpin!

I was given instructions to avoid the A64 on a bank holiday weekend too and sent round the backroads across from Haxby. That in itself was great fun - some nice roads and a pleasant change to see people who know how to drive on them. Living near London (where the natives are phased by anything resembling a country road) you almost forget that the rest of the country knows you can in fact exceed 42mph on one.

[snotrag]

Nice one, I should have mentioned the roads. Heading North from York towards the A170 is a favourite round here, many a PH hoon has headed up there.

Glad you enjoyed the trails, and completely agree with the man made comments. Yes, they are very man made - some people moan about it, but its a good thing, when its sheeting down, you just want to cram in an intense ride on a Sunday morning and not worry about maps and such.

[Chris71]

Yep, I went Strensall -> Flaxton -> Thornton Le Clay -> Coneysthorpe for the first bit and then picked up the A169. Quite glad I didn't have a bike rack dangling off the back for that!

I don't get the objections to manmade trails either, but I read quite a lot elsewhere about it (apparently they were supposed to feel natural and some people complained they weren't...) All I know is that I'd have been slipping off bits of slate left right and centre if it had been that wet in North Wales. Instead it rode almost like a dry trail with added puddles.

[PH5121]

A bit off topic, so excuse me, but do any of you Dalby regulars know what the easy stuff is like.

I haven't been with my bike for ages and would like to go with my 15 month old on his seat behind me. In the past I have done the blue and red routes, but I haven't been since they opened the new trails, so my route maps are out of date. The white and green used to be flat and easy, have they changed much?

The wife would not be impressed if I took him (and dragged her along with her bike) on anything too bumpy hilly etc.

[v8 jago]

Chris71 said:

Yep, I went Strensall -> Flaxton -> Thornton Le Clay -> Coneysthorpe for the first bit and then picked up the A169. Quite glad I didn't have a bike rack dangling off the back for that!

I don't get the objections to manmade trails either, but I read quite a lot elsewhere about it (apparently they were supposed to feel natural and some people complained they weren't...) All I know is that I'd have been slipping off bits of slate left right and centre if it had been that wet in North Wales. Instead it rode almost like a dry trail with added puddles.

Glad you liked it. Its nice to have a place like dalby on our doorstep and that it is a place that all kinds of riders will ride and most of the riders like it.. Its hard to see why anyone wouldnt though.

[v8 jago]

PH5121 said:

A bit off topic, so excuse me, but do any of you Dalby regulars know what the easy stuff is like.

I haven't been with my bike for ages and would like to go with my 15 month old on his seat behind me. In the past I have done the blue and red routes, but I haven't been since they opened the new trails, so my route maps are out of date. The white and green used to be flat and easy, have they changed much?

The wife would not be impressed if I took him (and dragged her along with her bike) on anything too bumpy hilly etc.

I think its the blue route that is only a couple of miles round. You start by going on the road on the way back out then cut along past the cottages and follow the fire road round. Its fairly flat.
I would recomend you dont do the red route now with a 15 month child as there are climbs, drops and jumps etc and if you did it all it is 23 miles right round the course. Maybe do the couple of miles course a few times to get a nice ride in.

[Chris71]

v8 jago said:

Glad you liked it. Its nice to have a place like dalby on our doorstep and that it is a place that all kinds of riders will ride and most of the riders like it.. Its hard to see why anyone wouldnt though.

I wish I had it on mine... I live near London!

I've just found some surprisingly reasonable trails near me (at a place called Broxbourne Woods) and I was feeling pretty chuffed about those until I went to Dalby and remembered just how good man-made, well-maintained trails can be. It's very different to some muddy deer tracks in a largely-flat Hertfordshire forest.

I used to live in Swansea and ride at Afan and Cwm Carn which are even better IMHO, but that was over four years ago now. After last weekend it feels like even longer!

[v8 jago]

I like man made tracks. They are made to work very well. Some people knock them but they are a big thumbs up from me. I suppose it wouldnt be fun if we all liked the same thing though.

[snotrag]

PH - the Red is far too rough to do with a bike seat on the back, theres some steep switchback sections, rock gardens and drop offs.

The new trails are infitiely better than the old mud plugging routes. Green and blue will be fine though for a family tootle, and the new visitor centre and facilites on the whole are much improved since you will have been last.

[Lensey]

We went up to Dalby last month, we paid £7 to get in on Saturday but as we were going again on Sunday we were told to get a ticket from the visitor centre for Sunday for an extra £3.00, £10.00 for all weekend was good value.

Had a great time up there, one person in hospital Sat night and another in casualty Sun night

[WildCards]

I'm trying to get up to Dalby in a few Saturdays time if anyones interested. Things are up in the air at work at the minute, but i'll make a separate thread when I know what dates I can do. There'll most likely be 5 of us coming up, but more the merrier if we can make a day of it, perhaps 2 laps at a leisurely pace with a bit of dicking about on the bike park?

[snotrag]

I'm up for that if I'm off work.

[wildoliver]

I'm regretting selling my mountain bike now!