You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Travelling from the SE to Weston-super-Mare for a few days for work but will have plenty of time to ride! Where’s good? Already planning one ride in the Quantocks as I’ve been there before & have a route in mind. Mendips? Could also ride somewhere on way back... Cranborne Chase or North Wessex Downs (just looking at green areas on the map!) Or somewhere on the South Downs that isn’t QECP (as I’ve been there loads)? Ta!
bump!
Ashton court and leigh woods on the edge of Bristol are good for a quick no-planning blast
I live in BS22.
This is the dead of winter. Everywhere is wet and this is the worst time to choose to ride in this area. I've recently come back from CyB and brechfa in recent weeks, just to get a break from the slop.
Quantocks will be best for trail condition and rolling.
Depending on your available time, there are a few hours of decent Singletrack in Weston woods/sand bay/sand point. Local knowledge is the best way to get the best bits.
Weston woods is hard stony rooty limestone with slippery mud on top. You rarely bog down, but you won't be going in a straight line very often either. Dog shit roulette is a fact of life in the woods too.
Mendips are pretty much saturated. To stand a chance you really need at least 4 dry days prior to your ride. Even then, all the fun runs under tree cover will be a mess. Blackdown and Burrington Ham singletrack is all hammered from excess traffic in poor conditions, and overwintering cattle. There is much more sandy clay on the Mendips and the going can be slow and totuous on the soft bits, and terrifyingly traction free on the wet limestone. Expect to change when you get back to the car.
I'm making it sound great aren't I?!
An hour drive down over Exeter you've got Haldon Forest too. The official trials are weatherproof.
Or an hour up the road to the FoD?
Much better official trails than Haldon, and the off-piste stuff at Haldon is hammered at the moment.
Shipham MTB ride the Mendips on Thursday nights leaving the Swan at 8pm - contact them on fb - they're a friendly bunch and there's some great riding (and it's gradually drying out now).
Perhaps take a fat bike for some sand riding?
Never ridden the Mendips when is wasn't axle deep clag - in the summer! (may have just been unlucky)
Maybe ride a different route from a different start point on the Q's? Although it was pretty muddy last weekend I'm afraid (ahh I see you don't say when you are coming down)
Great, thanks guys, gives me a lot of options! I'm coming down at the end of the week, don't mind a bit of mud but sounds like it'd be a good idea to save the Mendips for another time!!
There's loads of good riding in the Mendips but it does suffer badly in the winter. The idea upthread re the local group is a good one, as they can show you the off piste stuff that doesn't get as churned up.
Sorry to report but just come back from the Quantocks Christ it's a mess ! The Combes are either running with water or a mud fest , better than the Mendips but not much 🙁 Lydeard Hill to Triscombe was more of a mess than I've seen for ages , Forestry have been tearing Great Wood apart so that isn't an option until about August . Finding any dry stretch is a hell of a mission .
I'm a peripheral member of Shipham MTB.
Although, I rarely ride with them, we all ride the same off-piste and it's just as tired as the ROW network on the Mendips.
The only dry areas right now are double track exposed to the sky.
If it stays dry from now until the weekend, it will be improved, but will still be filthy under tree cover.
hmmm... I could always take the CX as well in case the mud gets too much to handle! Any nice scenic gravel routes, e.g. round the coast?