Looking to go for a ride tomorrow or new years day, however with the reports from Swinley being a tad muddy I thought I’d try somewhere else.

Any ideas?

I’m based in Reading, so anywhere within an hours drive preferably. Maps or routes would be helpful as I’m unfamiliar with the area. But if you point me in the right direction I’m not afraid to do a bit of exploration.

Also, if anyone else fancies it, you’re more than welcome to come along/guide me.

could try tunnel hill down frimley / farnborough way

might be out on new years day (though feel a cold coming on, other half is already a mucus generator.. so must be coming my way) – will let you know happy to show you a few routes etc

are you young, sexy and in possession of boobs? (if the answer is yes to all 3 i’d be willing to meet you in the woods) 😈

If my new disk rotors arive I’ll be out over the weekend 🙂

Plenty of trails around Reading with no need to drive. They’re probably super sloppy too though.

there any singletrack type stuff in reading or just cyclepaths and canals? got a patient who loves riding but doesnt know of anything in the reading area other than the canal…

http://www.bucksmtb.co.uk/trailguides.htm

there are a couple of routes on there from henley and goring which aint too far away

local knowlege is the key at this time of year as some routes will be close on impassable, and a long way from fun

Lots of bridleways/and cheekier stuff. All of it to the north/west or further up in to the Chilterns.

It’s not THAT close to Reading and you could probably do with a guide for some of it but it’s worth a visit if you can get down to the North Downs or Surrey Hills. Now I’ve got my car back I’ll probably do something around the North Downs or SH tomorrow myself… Then again, I said I was going to get the road bike out today and I didn’t so who knows

Just back from Swinley. Snow has completely melted which means that it’s muddy, actually wet sand. Some of the aggregated trails are becoming muddy and slippy in places.

Surely the Chilterns is closed for the Winter? If not, I would be interested to hear of the conditions there.

soobalias – thanks for that link, more exploring to do. 8)

An hour away are the Surrey Hills park at Peaslake and go from there. I expect it will be muddy but it’s never a swamp like swinners. I’m off there tomorrow AM myself.

havent been out for a while, but you can make nice loops round the back of mapleduham, whitechurch, sort of way…… bit of a slog to get there though in some ways

Was at swinley also today, echo C G’s comments, like riding in treacle.

Cheers soobalias, that link is great. Plenty of rides to be having a go at there.

After a bit of internet searching, I think I’ll try exploring around Goring, Whitchurch and Mapledurham, seen as it’s only 3 miles from my house.
Thanks viv, I’ve been here 3 months and didn’t realise there was something so close.

Not sure what the riding will be like, but at least I’ll be out on the bike.

-If you are close to that area, Mountain High in Pangbourne head out Tues evenings and Sat mornings (although there’s nothing until after the new year). I don’t make it out with them as often as I should, but its a great way to learn the area. It is a bit sticky up there at the moment though….

mon the biffy – last summer I managed to string a good loop together around there…taking in the best trails I knew…mostly illegal with a few jolly trespasses but good……. send me an email if you want to hook up sometime, not this weekend though, im going to the mids to try icy cannock

Turbo Trainer 😉

Been to Swinley today, yep fairly clagy. Ok if you keep off the close to look out single track get out the back and its not to bad.

The corkscrew got my heart going a couple of times, wet roots!

Good fun.

where’s the corkscrew? it sounds fun

Hard explain, I’ll try and find some reference/map

phil – you are kidding right? Near to corner of Nine Mile Ride/Foresters Way. Not far from Caesar’s Camp.

CG yes that sounds about right

not kidding…. i know the seagull run, the labyrinth, babymaker…. thats about it, whole 9 yards but wouldnt be able to find the start of it unless following someone else as only done it 2 times and both was following a larger group blindly

phil – give me a shout if you want to be shown some other trails!

you’re less than a hundred almost all motorway miles from cwmcarn.

ohhh i will 😀 gotta get my fitness up again after christmas fatness before heading out with real life humans again though.

Phil, from the end of seagull (if youve done it from the tank traps end to the lookout end) head back allong the fire road towards the lookout (i.e. straight ahead out of seagull, keeping the gate on your left) keep going untill a trail crosses the fireroad, turn left, then inmedialetly right so your going parralel to the way you were going, bear left onto sinlgetrack behind the bench into the woods. Follow that and if your lucky it pops out at the corkscrew.

Also, Satans Grotto (which will be unridable arround now) is on the righ hand side allong that initial bit of fire road.

mon the biffy – there are lots of trails out on the north side of Reading that stretch from Goring on the west to Henley on the east and up to and over the M40, which are mostly singletrack bridleways on varied terrain.

as said above the best way to find them is to go out on a ride with some locals. I know of 3 or 4 shops that do night rides during the week.

i was out last weekend and it is muddy in most places and not too bad in others.

so what are the corkscrew and satans grotto like? i’ve managed to dig up a map that show me where they are, a bit of exploring on my part would help instead of doing the same couple of routes each time me thinks

Satans grotto is slow/twisty/rooty/muddy singletrack, ace in summer. just about passible in autumn, but at this time of year it’d be impossible.

Crokscrew is a bit like the end of tank traps (the ditch bit), but spread over 2 ditches and a bit longer. Supprisingly easy to ride, supprisingly hard to get it ‘right’.

ohhhh i may have walked past the corkscrew early in the year with mrsconsequence one evening… definitely going to print this map off and go exploring next time. filming one of the runs next to the labyrinth (if you’re looking at the entrances at the top from left to right its 2nd from the right.. not sure if its got a name but doesnt link up with the labyrinth, jsut spits you out at the bottom of the hill) on sunday so might see if i can get the guys to find some new stuff on the way home

vinny – normally I wouldn’t think anything of a 100 mile trip or more to ride. But fuel costs are really prohibitive so am very much restricting myself. However, within an hour’s drive of Swinley is a huge variety of trails.

thats a point… do all the different runs have names up at the labyrinth… off the top of my head im imagining 4 runs… (left to right) the 2 on the left join into the labyrinth and the second in from the left is the babymaker, then there’s the 2 on the right which both eventually join up near the bottom as it ends at the bottom of the hill…

as i’m most likely wrong… please start correcting me 😀

hello,

For the OP my opinion would be to head to Holmbury hill / Leith Hill/ etc. They are near Dorking in Surrey, whilst I only know a few short routes there are some decent fun all weather singletracks on Holmbury hill (barry knows best etc) as they have been resurfaced etc so they whilst they arent the best trails round there they hold up well in winter.

However, within an hour’s drive of Swinley is a huge variety of trails.

Within 20 minutes ride there’s more than you can ride in a week….

It’s possible to do a 50 mile ride, then do another (And then probably another) without touching the same trails twice if you know where to go…… 🙂

I’m in Reading plenty of little cheeky bits heading north/west around sulham mapledurham and out towards Goring heath… you can easily stitch together a good 20-30 mile loop without too much trouble..
Like you I’m looking a bit tubby and post christmasy a few more local loops may well be in order..
Took a trip to Aston Hill yesterday was a shitfest with the snow melt I reckon swinley would be relatively OK it generally drains better…

Pete, any chance of sharing roughly where is good close to Swinley? Im happy to get a map out, just a nod in the right direction will do.