[Closed] The Guardian Guide to British MTBing

wow she did some serious research into that.

what have they missed there is an adress at the top to submit more

quite frankly id love to see a comprehensive uk trail guide, maybe we could petition to get them linked up off road only!

[i]what have they missed there is an adress at the top to submit more[/i]

There's some huge gaps on the NE side but I think I'll keep it that way.

dont be so selfish drac

Try [url= http://mtbtrailtime.googlepages.com/home ] here [/url]. The site has been put together by one of the BikeRadar members.

Additions I think would be welcome.

Don't forget the trail guide on here as well. 😉

To be fair she is recommending [b]her[/b] top routes.

That "guide" to Barry Knows Best is utter pish!

[i]To be fair she is recommending her top routes. [/i]

I wonder just how many she's ridden.

[i]dont be so selfish drac [/i]

Selfish, not me did a recent route guide for a mag around here.

To be fair she is recommending her top routes.

[i]I wonder just how many she's ridden[/i].

What makes you think she hasn't? As far as I know she's a pretty accomplished cyclist, road and MTB. I seem to remember her doing a report on MTBing in Skye and also IIRC she rode from coast to coast in the US.

So, we've got Swinley and Dorking but nothing on Dartmoor or the Quantocks. I'll be taking her opinion really seriously then.

[i]What makes you think she hasn't? [/i]

Sometimes what you read in the media didn't actually happen.

Not done the mighty gnar-fest that is BKB but her description of the routes I've ridden (Afan, SDW etc) seems to be spot on.

So do you lot normally fall to the ground frothing whenever you read a route guide that doesn't exactly correspond with your opinions and experience?

id love to see a comprehensive uk trail guide

I doubt such a thing exists, but I've just been sent a copy of this as a "thank you" for submitting a photo to it, and it looks pretty good.

http://www.footprintbooks.com/mountainbiking/index.cfm?ccs=128&cs=470

Hardly claims to be exhaustive though, does it?

Don't be such ungrateful swines, I think it's great to read some informed and well-written MTB coverage from a national newspaper.

Sometimes what you read in the media didn't actually happen.

Thanks for enlightening me, it's good to know there are people less naive than me around.

Just as well.

[i]So do you lot normally fall to the ground frothing whenever you read a route guide that doesn't exactly correspond with your opinions and experience?[/i]

Not so much fall to the ground frothing at the mouth but more laughing at what appears to be lazy journalism. It reads to me like it was gathered off promotional sites rather then based on experience. I of course could be wrong.

I doubt the promotional material for Swinley Forest says "we're not as good as Wales but we're better than Dorking".

Maybe but that one does read a little better with it's great review on how to get there.

"It reads to me like it was gathered off promotional sites rather then based on experience"

Phrases like 'East Anglia is flat' just confirm it's lazy journalism. The whole of East Anglia's not flat, not even the whole of Cambridgeshire's flat as anyone who's ridden over the Gogs can tell you. It's not Wales, granted...

I've seen a lot lazier journalism in most MTB mags, tbh.

"Lazy journalism" is a lazier cliche than anything I can see in that content.

And no, I'm not Susan Greenwood and have never met her.

That "guide" to Barry Knows Best is utter pish!

I was wondering how easy it would be to find it given that description? It didn't really describe how I would go there. I'm not convinced you'd even find Summer Lightning let alone get on to the next bits?

not even the whole of Cambridgeshire's flat as anyone who's ridden over the Gogs can tell you.

Surely when describing places as 'flat', most mountain bikers would include in that places with a massive 30m as it's biggest ascent, that tops out at a massive 100m above sea level? Otherwise you'd be saying that somewhere isn't flat because it has a hump backed bridge, or because you can ride up to the top of a multi story car park.

Joe

[url= http://www.singletrackworld.com/trailguide/ ]quite frankly id love to see a comprehensive uk trail guide[/url]

But the singletrack trail guide [i]also has nothing[/i] on Quantocks, Exmoor or Dartmoor!

STW comprehensive uk trail guide

4 routes in the Lakes and 4 in Lancashire is hardly comprehensive 🙁

mine is [url= http://www.bogtrotters.org/maptest.php ]North West only[/url]...

I was wondering how easy it would be to find it given that description? It didn't really describe how I would go there. I'm not convinced you'd even find Summer Lightning let alone get on to the next bits?

the guide on how to get up the steps and over to summer lightning sounds about right to me?

[i]"Lazy journalism" is a lazier cliche than anything I can see in that content.[/i]

A cliché is it ah ok.

[i]But the singletrack trail guide also has nothing on Quantocks, Exmoor or Dartmoor! [/i]

Or the NE but they do intend to work on that.

The whole of East Anglia's not flat

Yes it is

not even the whole of Cambridgeshire's flat as anyone who's ridden over the Gogs can tell you

Some googling later:

Looks pretty flat to me.

Ooops!

Phrases like 'East Anglia is flat' just confirm it's lazy journalism.

You type pretty well for someone with webbed hands. 😉

[i]A really technical steep, rooty uphill birngs you to the tower on top of Leith Hill. Straight down the other side, cross the road, drop down the trail past the farm on your right, go past the cricket pitch on your left, cross the next road and you're at Barry Knows Best[/i]

Got to agree with CFH as I doubt anybody would manage to find BKB based on the instructions above.

I thought it seemed pretty good for a mountain bike article in a mainstream paper to be honest. If they were being lazy they probably would have recommended the NFT in more famous Grizedale, but they rightly recommended Whinlatter as it's much better. Having Lee Quarry in there is pretty good too.

[i]But the singletrack trail guide also has nothing on Quantocks, Exmoor or Dartmoor! [/i]

http://www.singletrackworld.com/trailguide/write-for-us/

[i]If they were being lazy they probably would have recommended the NFT in more famous Grizedale, [/i]

Possibly ridden that one then and realised it's crap.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/trailguide/write-for-us/

so if it's deficient it's [b]your[/b] fault for being lazy :o)

I think some folk will be quite pleased with those directions to Barry's! Cricket pitch on the left? Eh?

anyone seen this?

[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mountain-Biking-Britain-Footprint-Activity/dp/1906098530 ]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mountain-Biking-Britain-Footprint-Activity/dp/1906098530[/url]

[img] [/img]

blurb:
Product Description
Experienced Footprint author Chris Moran (co-author of Mountain Biking Europe and Snowboarding the World) brings you the definitive guide to mountain bike riding in Britain. "Mountain Biking Britain" takes you cross-country, scoping the best trail centres from Golspie and the Kyle of Sutherland trails in the north of Scotland, down through the Seven Staines in Scotland and all the way through to the Mineral Tramways Project in Cornwall. The book features the most picturesque rides in South Wales, where to find the best northshore rides and the top bikeparks of England. Whether you prefer downhill, XC (cross-country), or freestyle/freeriding, there something for everyone. This title includes detailed coverage of the UK's high profile centres, plus all the essentials: top tips, local media and websites, the scene, secret spots and must-sees, and all the best rider-friendly places to eat, sleep and drink. The book also contains a full facility breakdown for each trail centre or riding spot, so at a glance you can see what you're going to encounter before you leave the house. Perfect whether you're a first-time family looking for a great day out and you need to hire a bike, or whether you're a seasoned downhill veteran and need to know where there's an uplift with a bike wash. 'Riders tales' sections include lots of hints and tips from pro-riders and experts in the mountain-biking scene, and the book includes plenty of 5 best lists, from the best day trips, scenic rides, bike parks and family days out. All in the classic Footprint format with hundreds of first-class shots taken at the spots themselves.