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Hello
I've been following the forum for a few years now. I've laughed at the thread about the gents toilets at Fleet services, smiled at the new dog threads and been sadden by the news of dogs passing away. But, this is my first post.
I've never had a girlfriend called Louise but I've had an Audi SUV, still have a log burner, and I'm the unofficial IT guy at the family business. On the rare occasion I get to ride, I'm either on a 26" or 27.5 HT. That's the introduction over so now it's time for my cry for help.
I'm looking for a circular, 7 to 10 mile route that is suitable for a 6.5 year old and near to the Essex and Suffolk border. Say, 1 hour drive from Ipswich and 1 hour from Jct28 of the M25. Ideally all offroad but quiet country lanes should be OK. My son has the fitness and determination, but his coordination and concentration is sometimes lacking.
I'll be grateful for any suggestions.
Thanks all
Trumster
Ps for those that are interested, Trumster is one of the names my dog responds to.
Hey
I can't really give specifics, as I don't know the area that well, but you defo want to be looking around Dedham.
Super easy to get to off A12, almost exactly an hour from M25 and more importantly a beautiful place
Have a paddle at the end of your loop, in the river Stour, and an ice cream from the boat hire place.
Have fun.
Easy circular ride would be round Alton Water.
Other than that along the border from memory the offroad riding is rather limited and it can be surprisingly hilly with lots of short but steep criss crossing from the valley upwards and back again.
I was going to suggest Alton water too, it's approx 7.5 miles round. One half is hilly, the other half flat, surface is mostly hard-packed gravel/earth. There's a cafe at the main car park, you can make that a half-way stop by parking at the Lemons Hill car park instead.
Rendlesham Forest has some straight-forward, family friendly, waymarked off-road trails - nothing too technical unless you look for off-piste stuff. There is a "skills area" too which is fun (for what it is) but not massive.
Thetford/Brandon Forest has graded routes, from family friendly to fairly decent XC
Tunstall Forest has a waymarked off-road XC trail, prob more advanced than a 6.5yo would want though.
Twisted Oaks bike park is also local to Ipswich, but again is prob more advanced than a 6.5yo would want.
There's more quiet bridleways and country lanes than you can shake a stick at too 🙂
These guys might be worth asking in Sudbury; www.torquebikes.co.uk They seem friendly and run local shop ride.
Other than that, stretching it from the M25, but there's always Thetford.
Tunstall Forest has a waymarked off-road trail, prob more advanced than a 6.5yo would want though.
Ours did it at that age. Lot's of shortcuts and fun corners.
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Also see Rendlesham Forest FC car park - really easy trail, crazy jump park, nice play area for kids, bike hire, aliens - what's not to like?
Rendlesham village also has Friday Street in the back of Ben****ers Park nearby - some lovely riding around there, follow your nose on tracks and really quiet lanes for a loop.
Many a pleasant evening exploring there.
Thanks, all.
We are going to try Dedham on this occasion as it has easy access for all those going.
I'll keep the other options in mind though as we've still got 4 more weeks of the summer holiday to go and I'm keen to get out with the little man and our bikes.
The Viking trail at Tunstall is actually our go to loop as it's only a few miles from home. It takes longer to put my boot rack on than it does to drive there! The first time I took the boy there I left feeling a bit guilty. There was me on my 27.5 with 1x12, whilst he had 14" wheels and a bike frame that he was quickly outgrowing. He covered 6.1 miles and his legs were up and down like little pistons. He really enjoyed it and loved the berms.
Cheers
Sudbury is about 45mins from Ipswich and just over an hour from J28-M25.
It has the old railway track that can be cycled, but is only 2.5miles. It has Nethergate Brewery and Tap and Melford Country Park (with parking) at the Rodbridge corner end and Friar's Meadow Park at the other, with parking next to the Kingfisher Leisure Centre off Station Road.
There are quiet lanes to the west of the old railway, around Borley, Bulmer, The Hennys and Middleton, but there is a staggered crossing of the A131 at Bulmer Tye.