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just wondering if theres anyone on here from leicester area? curious where is deemed good riding round these ere parts.. 🙂
Loads of us round here, but beware of the inevitable can of worms that is Bradgate Park!
Check out Western Park, Swithland Woods, Martinsgaw, Whitwick and Cademan woods for reasonable riding.
Yes, Blaby myself, but rarely use my MTB in Leics. I tend to go to Derbyshire, though am open to going out at night if anyone else is interested. There was an informal group around 2 years ago that usually did Whitwick/Charnwood area but I stopped going as traffic was so bad it was taking me a hour to get the 20 miles there.
Used to a regular NW Leics riders thread on here arranging weekly rides. Presume they use WhatTwitFaceAgram now
We now use Facebook as we had at least 2 serial killer chess players turn up, oh and also a member of the trail Gestapo was scoping us out.
We ride Wednesday nights, email in profile if interested.
serial killer chess players
Wish we had the numbers to be do discerning..... 😉
The land agent from Bradgate actually joined STW to infiltrate our thread and issue warnings! Since then a group of riders have naively tried to communicate with the park, but the balloon has predictably gone up in the last few weeks and it is all up in the air again. Basically the park is a NIMBY-run anti anything new/fun cabal. But there are some fun bits to ride. I am told by others. 😉
The best riding is around Whitwick/Coalville/Bardon. Just get an OS map and look for the woodlands with the tightest contour lines in!
I'm in the same group as Scandal. We are a social-standard mixed ability group who go out once a week for about 2 - 2.5 hours on a Wednesday then talk shit over a pint and a bag of crisps. Cross country whippets may apply, but they will end up opening a lot of gates. Email him if you are keen and a relatively normal person and we'll see you on a Wednesday. Other desirable skills are bike maintenance and rudimentary first aid given recent rides. 😐
Don't put yourself down dannyh, you did at great job in getting me off the trail and your sling tying skills are second to none in my opinion.
I am also in this group, as dannyh says we are a right mixed bag. Some of us have great skills and others myself included have none. One thing we all have in common is that we look out for each other.
You've picked a great time to consider joining as winter approaches, the local area becomes a real mud feast. But there's always a good pint at the end of the night as a reward!
We are a social-standard mixed ability group who go out once a week for about 2 - 2.5 hours on a Wednesday then talk shit over a pint and a bag of crisps. Cross country whippets may apply, but they will end up opening a lot of gates. Email him if you are keen and a relatively normal person and we'll see you on a Wednesday. Other desirable skills are bike maintenance and rudimentary first aid
If we ever go online to attract more riders, I'm stealing that!
The joys of the opening of the Erewash Trail and the councils decision to resurface most local bridleways over the last 2-3 means that the West Hallam Massive's mid week routes are pretty solid all year round.
Dull, but solid. We are thinking of having the pint before the ride just to liven it up a bit!
Don't put yourself down dannyh, you did at great job in getting me off the trail and your sling tying skills are second to none in my opinion.
My seemingly pedantic insistence on tying a reef knot (as learnt at cubs circa 1987) was actually a slightly cunning ruse to keep everything calm. However, had I been half as good at recognising a broken collarbone I wouldn't have stopped for diesel on the way to the hospital.
The joys of the opening of the Erewash Trail and the councils decision to resurface most local bridleways over the last 2-3 means that the West Hallam Massive's mid week routes are pretty solid all year round.Dull, but solid. We are thinking of having the pint before the ride just to liven it up a bit!
We're a bit the other way as most of our stuff is woodland and quarries, so there are one or two quite hairy bits (but not life threatening) if you choose to ride them (no shame in not). Winter rides are proper shit fests, though. At the moment our stuff is in mint condition, still dusty in places, a bit of mud in others but mostly firm and grippy. The combination of nights drawing in with trails still running fast might have something to do with the last couple of months being quite 'crashy'.
I'm always 'quite crashy' 😀
But it's alright, I'll be going into hibernation soon!
think i may need to lose weight... get some kind of fitness level.. (in fact ANY fitness level,,lol) before i start going out with a group.. nothing worse that pitying looks... lmao 🙂
plus.. your seriously not expecting me to get my new beasty DIRTY? 🙂
the first 12 months are surely just for having it your living room to smile at every morning as you come down the stairs? lol 🙂
Dude, I'm fat (man and bike) and slow. Always wanted someone as shit as me to bimble around with, as the pitying looks of a group are too much for me too.
Email is in my profile if you want to go for a ride round Charnwood at a leisurely pace.
Bloody hell there's literally dozens of us!
Who would have thunk it.. Leicester.. The new mtb capital of Europe..
Dude, I'm fat (man and bike) and slow. Always wanted someone as shit as me to bimble around with
@Fin25 where have you been all my life! 😀
@Fin25 where have you been all my life!
Like I said, bimbling around mediocre trails and bridleways in the East Midlands. And when I say I'm slow, I mean glacial.
Definatly fin.. Im not on for trying to get from A to B ASAP... I tend to enjoy stopping at places where I can mess about with jumps.. Or some life threatening steep decline and just have a play.. 🙂
Unfortunatly as my boys live with me.. Weekday evenings are out.. So limited to just weekends.. 🙁
Bloody hell there's literally dozens of us!
Everyone in fact.....
Weekends are doable for me. I work shifts and only get 1 in 3 weekends off but am always available at least one weekend morning or afternoon/evening a week. Not available this weekend though, going to Calais.
and you said you wernt fit! 🙂
Having lived in Rutland, it's either Chicksands or death by boredom.
Yeah, but Rutland isn't Leicester, we have a couple of hills to the north of the city 😀
I'd be up for some slow bimbling round on a fatbike as well, can do evenings or weekends with enough notice to get a pass.
I'm in Newbold Verdon and finding some new riding nearby would be great.
Now we've got the numbers I'm going to set up an event.
Red Leicester Rampage
That new development at Bardon Quarry looks ideal.
Do you not think the word rampage might raise expectations slightly?
Also, even the angriest nimby would never use the word rampage in regards to my riding.
That being said, I'm in...where do I sign?
scandal42 - MemberNow we've got the numbers I'm going to set up an event.
Red Leicester Rampage
That new development at Bardon Quarry looks ideal.
No! no! no!
You're falling into the CharnwoodMTB trap of thinking that because mountain biking is relatively popular, healthy, fun and doesn't do any real damage to the environment that you can go above the radar and organise some kind of 'scene'. The NIMBYs simply won't allow that. I know you are joking, BTW.
On a slightly serious note, if recent events are anything to go by, the best course of action is what it always has been - keep it low-key and under the radar. By all means organise rides on here, but don't discuss the 'Park that cannot be mentioned'. Otherwise you might want to use more covert means to organise rides(!)
Peter Tyldesley (the aforementioned land agent) is probably scoping this thread right now, looking for incriminating evidence. Whilst, at the same time, supposedly offering limited access on the other hand.
Don't underestimate the NIMBYs.
If you want to keep it under the radar, maybe best not to mention the "everest of Leicestershire" on an open forum.
To the op. Do a bit of research and go hunting, there are some fun trails to be had in a number of locations. And Much less contentious than Leicestershires premium chav park.
Darn Leicester riders, they were all over the place last season, strutting around in their underpants.
They are a bit quieter now 😉
So we're all agreed...none of us really exist and all this mountain biking chat is a figment of our imaginations. 😉
I'm in Melton Mowbray. The only place I go is Belvior loop which is ok for xc, but mostly we end up in the peaks, Cannock, Llandegla or further afield.
So we're all agreed...none of us really exist and all this mountain biking chat is a figment of our imaginations.
Based on how little I've ridden over the last few years I'm not sure I qualify as a cyclist anymore 😆
Pjm . i was looking at that belvior loop on mountainbikerides .. gets good comments!.. 🙂 its about 17 miles yup?? is that supposed to be ridden all in the same day or can it be spread over a month or so 🙂 my fitness aint like it was... 🙂 😀
The Belvoir Loop is a nice ride - as said above, it is farmland hacking mostly, but with some nice trails - especially in the bits nearer the castle. It's a 'scenery / wildlife / nice day out' ride - nothing even remotely technical, but then that's not always the point, is it?
I've ridden it a couple of times and also ridden lots of bit of it doing a few of the Viking Challenges.
If you are feeling your way back into fitness/riding, don't do what I did about three months after getting my first vaguely capable mountain bike. After three months of rattling round the local woods once a week for max 10 miles at a time, I saw the Hollins/Rushup/Roych/Jacobs route on mountainbikerides and saw the comment 'rite of passage'.
I tooled myself up (March 06)with what I thought was 'the kit'. Trackie bottoms, free rucksack from WHSmith with a camelback bladder in (tied onto the strap with string), an OS map, compass, and a few spares. Lunch at the chippy in Hayfield, I thought. It was a marginally windy, but mostly misty and rainy day.
It was a rude wake-up call. There were many fallings off, including into a particuallry nasty bog on the top of Rushup and a nearly getting lost incident at Kinderlow End. Granted I did get all the way down Jacobs at the end without dabbing, but it was at a truly glacial pace. I must have looked like a Vietnam Vet as I arrived back at Edale after about 7 hours.
From a sensible 'not becoming a statistic' point of view I wouldn't recommend it in trackie bottoms, but it is one of the most memorable rides I have ever done!
@ dannyh.. I love your spirit of adventure and you made it back safely. What's your problem? 😆
So anyone slow unfit pal out tomorow.. Lol.. Weathers looking Good!.. And I've still not ridden my new bike.. Lol.. Sacrilege...
Thread resurrection - so I moved to Leicester last week from the rolling Oxfordshire Chilterns & Cotswolds. Am a keen xc racer, happy to head out on all day xc rides of up to 100 miles. More than happy riding into rolling countryside and natural terrain, doesn't have to be mega tech or anything to put a smile on my face, am fairly easily pleased! 😉
Which STW riders are still on here? Any Leicester mtb club rides I could join to get some local routes and riding buddies?
Dunno about any of that but hi from glen parva. *waves*
I suggest you checkout the email addresses in some of the most vocals profiles. Not me though, I'm still out of action.
My lips are sealed, I'm not giving anything away..!
Bennyboy, where are you based? I'm in Anstey, of XC racing persuasion and looking to get out a bit more often off road now it's drying up. Mojo has been missing of late.
Also check out the FNSS races starting soon. great little series on a Friday night.
bennyboy1 - Member
Thread resurrection - so I moved to Leicester last week from the rolling Oxfordshire Chilterns & Cotswolds. Am a keen xc racer, happy to head out on all day xc rides of up to 100 miles. More than happy riding into rolling countryside and natural terrain, doesn't have to be mega tech or anything to put a smile on my face, am fairly easily pleased!Which STW riders are still on here? Any Leicester mtb club rides I could join to get some local routes and riding buddies?
POSTED 1 HOUR AGO #
As asbrooks said, Scandal on the first page of this thread has his email in his profile, so drop him a line if you are interested in a very mixed group for Wednesday night rides. If you are a super-fit whippet you might find waiting for the rest of us frustrating, but we can show you the good bits and you could use us as a bit of a stepping stone if you like.
Anybody know of a good 30mile ish off road route in Leicester that would be good when dusty on the gravel/fully rigid bike?
Drop bars to make good progress and make the singletrack a bit more technical feeling
bennyboy1 - Member
Thread resurrection
Used to live in Leicester for 3 years but thanksgod moved to some more joyful area - Sheff/Rotherham.
Try Godiva Trailriders. They are Cov but they are riding quite a lot around Nuneaton.
To be honest Leicester is not the best and most challenging area for riding, but if you will turn into single speeding all the sudden it start to make much more sense...
Used to ride a lot one loop starting in Groby, next to school play filed, around Martinshaw Wood, over to Lady Hay Wood, across the field, up and down to Newtown Linford, cheeky path along Bradgate Park all way up to Hunt's Hill carpark, down the hill along Bradgate on the permissive path to Hallgate carpark (that is probably the best downhill in the closest proximity of Leicester - over the road to Swithland Wood, around Swithland, into Woodhouse Eaves, permissive path along Beacon Road, Beacon Hill, around Bacon Hill and down to the Thorntree Farm. Then if you are still OK with rather uninspiring road/fields to Woodhouse, Swithland Reservoir, Rothley, bridleway to Thurcaston, Cropston, along Cropston Reservoir, to Anstey on bridle way, up the Bradgate Road and back then to the field you exited from Lady Hay Wood. Returning via already done Lady Haywood and Martinshaw.
It is pretty OK on single speed or crosser.
Cheers!
I.
Yeh the FNSS races are great fun
Also an XC racer, Loughborough based.
down the hill along Bradgate on the permissive path to Hallgate carpark (that is probably the best downhill in the closest proximity of Leicester
That's been blocked by Bradgate Park Trust in a direct action against mountain biking after a cock and bull story about a bike running over a prize goose that belonged to a ranger (I kid you not).
In any case, it was far from the best descent in the area.
dannyh - Member
In any case, it was far from the best descent in the area.
You said it 🙂
Not my headache anymore.
Still shame they blocked it.
Cheers!
I.
In any case, it was far from the best descent in the area.
In the summer months there's some super fun single track. You can go as fast as you like.
Thanks for the ideas chaps. I went for my maiden explore yesterday and ended up out round Indersby/ a few miles short of Hilton on the Hill. Didn't really find any off road stuff but useful in starting to build up my mental map of villages / connecting village lanes. I also saw signs for Cafe Ventoux in Tugby, looks like a nice mid ride stop off.
Thanks also for the FNSS suggestion, looks ace for a local series. Courses appear rather 90's xc from the pics but am certainly interested in giving some of the rounds a try, the ethos of the series looks great!
Tilton, Tugby etc are the East of Leicester. It's more an area of long distance pub rides with nice sandstone villages and cracking on and getting miles in. Nice in a scenic and 'covering the miles' way.
NW of Leicester is more where we are based. Woodlands, quarries and granite are the order of the day in our patch, so actually amazingly different to east of Leicester in geological terms!
There's nothing to rival rampage, but there are some nice techy bits in some of the woods.
dannyh do you ride with dirtlab?
Dannyh-useful to hear, I will get round to NW Leicester to check some of that out, sounds good. I enjoyed the Houghton on the Hill location from a scenery point of view but agree with you, somewhere more to get the miles in.
Am planning following NCN64 to Melton Mowbury and back at the weekend, again to familiarise myself with the area really and enjoy the views along the way.
South Leic' rider here (Lutterworth atm)
Only recently signed up on here so thought I'd say hi.
I’m more of a trail/enduro rider than XC whippet but I'm planning on doing some more FNSS this year after a 3 year break. They're a good craic and the courses can be quite varied.
As everyone else has said, the best riding is really NW Leicestershire. I had a nice XC ride exploring between Bardon hill and Thornton Reservoir last weekend.
If your south of the city you can do some good hill training sessions on Croft Hill.
My usual riding buddy lives up in Newtown Linford so we know the Bragate Park situation well. Its just not worth riding there. Everyone connected to the place seems to have a bee in their bonnet about us “lethal, maniac” bikers.
Benny,
There's also a Midland Bike Orienteering series that runs nearly year round.
If you can read a map its an enjoyable alternative to racing around XC tracks.
The top boys are properly quick. Last one I did I think the winner covered 65km in 3hrs!
There are also humans to compete against too though.
Good way of exploring new areas.
http://www.midlandsmbo.co.uk/about.html
I'm guessing you have looked here
[url= http://singletrackmag.com/trailguide/uk/east-midlands/east-midlands/ ]Midlands rides[/url]
The toughish route is worth a go went it has been dry for a while
yes,me
I don't to be the new guy that stirs the hornets nest but how exactly have cyclists been barred from Bradgate Park when there are clearly marked bridleways extending through the location? Even the Westonbirt National Arboretum in Wiltshire has accessible bridleways running through it... How is Bradgate more exceptional than the National Arboretum??!
I don't to be the new guy that stirs the hornets nest but how exactly have cyclists been barred from Bradgate Park when there are clearly marked [s]bridleways[/s] [i]concessionary horse track[/i] extending through the location? Even the Westonbirt National Arboretum in Wiltshire has accessible bridleways running through it... How is Bradgate more exceptional than the National Arboretum??! It's not. It's just ruled by very old very NIMBY people and run someone lacking a spine.
You're ok to stick to the tarmac path. But riding is banned anywhere else in the park.
I might be wrong but I think the tarmac path is the only official bridleway type path.
The other tracks are footpaths.
TBH its no great loss to not cycle there. Its too busy with dozy pedestrians and nervous Dear to enjoy.
I'm on the southern edge of Nottingham if you wanted to come up this way for some xc stuff bennyboy1. Best singletrack is north of city centre but dome loops to south too.
So then a brief Leicester update - I've continued exploring East of the city, had a lovely 45km spin yesterday taking in the Roman road gravel tracks out to Glooston, thoroughly enjoyed it out that way (the lovely bright Spring sunshine helped). The mile munching 29'er xc race bike seems a pretty decent choice for the riding round here.
Also had a family walk round Bradgate Park last weekend and saw a couple of cheeky mtb'er pushing their bikes up the main hill just below the tower, I presumed that they weren't going to push back down! ;-D
Anyway, thoroughly enjoying the exploring at the moment. Will contact some of the Leicester based STW'ers above to see about a local ride (JamesD - in a few weeks I will look to take up your offer of S Nottingham trails). I've also pencilled in the upcoming FNSS XC races so look forward to giving them a try (won't make tonight's though).