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Im going on Sunday for the first time in about 5 years and the lad I’m going with is on an Ebike which has a range of about 18 to 20 miles so we have to miss part of the red to make sure he gets back assisted.
Any ideas where it is and if it’s worth doing? Tia.
New section is between visitor centre and Dixon’s Hollow relatively near the start.
It’s flowy, bermy, new school, manufactured trail.
Quite fun, but not long.
Don’t brake.
Unless he really needs the e-bike, I’d find a human powered one if possible though. Dalby is very much XC and pedalling is half of what it’s about.
Think there may be a closure on the first climb away from the visitor centre too at the minute?? If so then I think the diversion is taking you under Go Ape and picking up the Red from there. The new section is after that (climb under Go Ape and then there is a very Dalby-esque "this should be a descent as its losing elevation but its a knackering slog" type bit to the fire road - climb up the fire road and where the red use to go into the trees on the left a few hundred metres up, you pass that and theres a short climb at the top of the fire road to the top of the fun stuff).
If you don't know which part to miss, when you get to Dixons Hollow and hit the road, when you cross and pickup the next bit of trail in the car park, take a right immediately (its signed No Entry but ignore it, I've never met anyone riding it and its wide enough for passing). That runs alongside the forest road to the 90 degree left hander in the road. Pop out there and carry straight on as the road bends left. Through a couple of gates and then you pickup the red again, starting with the swoopy bit past the christmas tree.
Went there once maybe 8 years ago, recall the signs being bad even for a FC place. Was going to head back a couple of weeks ago till I saw the parking is £10 so went elsewhere. Is it worth the fee these days? I am ok with an old style loop.
The red is easily followed - don't know how you'd go wrong these days.
Is it worth the fee? Not sure - I have an annual pass which for me works out loads cheaper as I'm there regularly with the kids riding bits and pieces of the red and blue. In my opinion, the red is OK, has some really lovely swoopy singletrack bits in places but there is a fair bit thats a bit meh. Its also become (like a lot of trail centres) an e-bike race track. The beauty of Dalby is if you know where to look, there are some lovely trails (both proper off-piste, steep tech as well as flowy singletrack) away from the race track. I guess the same could be said of most trail centres though...
Thanks. It's nearly 2hrs for me hence I baulked at the parking on top. Will check it out when passing/nearer though.
I think with a 4 hour round trip, I'd be more inclined to pay a tenner tbh. Take some food though or stop in Thornton Le Dale etc. The cafe at the visitor centre is beyond awful.
I don't normally advise parking outside the forest and riding in (well, not doing what some douchebags do and park in every little layby there is as close to the forest gates as possible!) but if you parked at Allerston on the A170 and rode north up the hill from there, there's loads of great off-piste you can use to pickup the red route plus it means you finish with an absolute belter of a downhill... Alternatively there is a BW from Thornton Le Dale into the forest past Ellerburn. Still need to pay for parking in the village but food options are loads better there and its still money going into the local economy...
interesting thread as i'm off there for a few days soon.
Bike choice.... Kona HeiHei Trail FS or fully rigid 29er. I'm leaning towards rigid 29er for the xc speed kick.
I'd lean towards a lightweight full sus. Its normal trail centre fayre so some fast hardpack bits, some rocky bits, some steep downs in places and the odd bit of techy stuff. That said, I've done it on rigid geared and SS bikes and had a great time...
Take the Kona for me. Its got a fair bit of that 'hardpack but still quite rough' trail centre stuff where some of the top coating of fine dust has worn away leaving a sort of artificial bedrock layer that really begins to smash your wrists after a few miles.
I rode it in May for the first time and I found a real workout. It never really settles down, its either going up or down without any big climbs nor big descents. It's long too. But if you look on Strava or Trail-forks then you'll notice that it winds about a fair bit so you can bail easily enough if you are running low on battery.
I enjoyed it but would take a more xc bike the next time, a lightweight full sus would be perfect.
cheers all, Kona it is. as you were 🙂
Don't get suckered into thinking that the red trail is easy (it rides like a blue at times) as there is some genuinely tricky bits with steep rocky sections c/w drop offs.
The Kona will eat it up.
PSA the chip shop in Thornton Le Dale (just on you right when you drive down into the village from Dalby) sold me a chicken kebab that was incredible. It came in three containers, it was tricky to eat in the car and was a lot of eating but it was a real highlight.
I'd rather ride some of the natural moors stuff, there is some great routes here:
https://pedalnorth.com/north-yorks-moors-mountain-bike-routes/
One of my favourite trails I've ever ridden is the descent into Chopgate. The pub in the village is incredible too, its ran by a German guy who sells several German beers on tap and also sells Bratwursts. Wish I had booked a room as the beer and food was glorious.
This route is similar to the one I did except I pushed up through East Bank Plantation.
Thanks for all the replies guys. The lad I’m going with is, shall we say chunky, and with business and family commitments only gets to ride a couple of times a year so it’s an Ebike for now.
I know where the new red section is from your descriptions so shall give it a go and if the first climb from the car park is closed I shall ride up the road past the houses and jump on the red route on the last swoopy section which is ace and you get to ride it twice into the bargain.
As for the cafe there, a few years ago I bought a cup of coffee and no word of a lie it was that bad you couldn’t tell if it was coffee or tea.
Most of my riding is actually XC on the moors in N Yorkshire but the forecast is showers and I don’t want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere with him and his battery dying.
On a side note - if you like your mushrooms then this time last year we found one part of the trail side was covered in a blanket of Hedgehog mushers. Very tasty soup they made. Not far from this section....
Was there yesterday, the access from the visitor centre onto the trail is closed due to road works.
You access the trail by go ape, finishing back there, no actual trail sections are closed.
The new section was good.