Hiya

So I recently moved to didcot and I’m finding my way around, and its great for mountain biking in a way, there are miles and miles of bridleways and trails to follow through stunning rolling countryside. And thats all well and good.

I find myself longing for more technical features (read drops, jumps, berms, rocks, roots and complicated descents). Theres enough bikers about that I bet theres plenty of them about natural or otherwise I’m interested.

I’d love to receive maps links for any sections anyone knows of.

I chanced upon a berm into jump section on the trail that connects the Ridgeway to West Ginge, I’m sure there are more about

If you fancy a change of scenery then Swinley is just down the road.
I live near Compton- would happily meet up for a ride sometime.

there are miles and miles of bridleways and trails to follow through stunning rolling countryside

Time for a CX bike 🙂

The stuff by Ginge is about as good as it gets here.

There’s another at East Ilsley which isn’t far too… but you’ll struggle to get anything ‘exciting’ round here my

I seem to be walking distance from Ska-49 … which is kinda scary

If you fancy a change of scenery then Swinley is just down the road.

Must be about an hour away, and still not exactly the sort of technical stuff the OP’s after. Great fun though – worth an afternoon sometime OP!

I can’t speak about the area to the west of Didcot, but to the east, between Didcot and Reading there is *some* (although I’m actually looking at getting a 29er due to the majority of the riding around here being bridleway/non-tech).

Areas to look at if you want berms/jumps/roots (no rocks to be found really) are: Goring/Streatley, Pangbourne, Sulham woods, Mapledurham.

There’s a cracking cheeky jump section just on the way up from Goring, although I worry you’d bang your head on some of the overhanging trees at times.

Bit of a cycle from didcot though to Goring.

As a Reading local, i can also attest to the lack of technical features. To an extent you’ll just have to learn to live with it really, and there is plenty of great riding. There are no rocks though, just large flints which are best avoided. I’ve not come across any berms or jumps, just natural features that might create a jump. There are lots of woods, so plenty of roots to be found in the chilterns to the east of Didcot, and a loop around Grims ditch seems to be worth a go (haven’t been yet myself though – will be this week!) To be honest though, if you want long and technical descents, then you need to do what I do to get my fix: go to Wales every now and then! Swinley isn’t that technical, or hilly, so may disappoint.

It’s great for road riding though:)

How is Didcott and nearby? I’m working in Newbury and seen a place near Didcott (Harwell) that I’d be tempted to buy but my job is only a short-term contract unfortunately so can’t justify movin.

To be honest I previously lived in wokingham and Reading so I’m quite familiar with swinley forest and allot of the stuff out beyond MapleD etc.

I also get out to wales and Fod quite regularly, back out there for an uplift day at BPW on the 25th of Oct.

Can anyone give me any details on the East Ilsley section.

Also there seems to be various sections of “Grimms Ditch”

I took in some “Grimms Ditch” in this route on the other side of wallingford
http://my.viewranger.com/route/details/NDkwNDU=
Theres some awesome decent down toward the cart gap but it’s tecnically footpath and someone has put gates in it it 🙁 otherwise it would be a long and amazing decent.

The section after that is quite good fun at speed.

I’ve also seen some grimm’s ditch marked on maps next to the ridgeway, when you say look around grimms ditch can you suggest what this route should contain?

Weeksy:
I think i know the one you mean, I’ve ridden there a few times.

Mudshark:
I quite like it, the town centre is a bit lacking but.. Didcot is basically south oxfordshire sole housing plan with huge house sites planned around the outside of didcot to complement those that already exist. Didcot is a bit rough round the edges and does have the downsides of looming power station and its associated Pylons running in a star outwards from the power station. However as Reading is now saturated for commuters (prices are soaring, difficult to get houses close enough to the station to make commuting worthwhile) I’ve already met a few people who’ve moved outwards that way. I think the new housing and influx of commuters will bring money and gentrification to didcot which will cause services and atmosphere to build. Didcot is not the prettiest but 5 mins ride/walk from my door I can be in rolling countryside, and I can be at my desk in the square mile in just over an hour. I’m in the process of signing my life away to the mortgage company to buy a house there.

Didcot itself has the reputation of being a bit of a dump although the face lifted shopping centre gave it a bit of a new lease of life. Some of that may have been due to the twin attractions of a main line train station and a power station. At least one of the big housing estates is built on a flood plain. However, it is a bit smaller and cheaper than Abingdon which is just down the road. Be wary of many of the local villages as they can tend to be a bit stupidly expensive while managing to distance themselves form any useful amenities. I would argue that Abingdon is probably the nicer of the places to live but has worse shopping variety and is correspondingly more expensive to live in. Having said that, it all depends on what you want from area you live in.

There really isn’t very much in the way of technical riding in the area and Oxfordshire as a whole is notorious for being as flat as a pancake so you don’t even get all that many hills. However, you can do long distances on the various bridleways and some very nice rides along the river. If you want to work on hills then do repeated loops of Wittenham Clumps or get yourself over to the Ridgeway. If you go closer to Oxford then you have Boars Hill to do repeated loops around and over.

Throughout the Chilterns there is a lot of good riding, both on and off piste, but it is quite XC really, and the trail ‘features’ tend to be short sections of existing bridleway. What makes the Chilterns good is the tight, windy woodland singeltrack, not technical descents. Its very pretty though and everywhere is riding fantastically well at the moment! Grimm’s Ditch is probably as technical as it gets, and its not one to advertise- footpath and national trail make it one for selective nightime riding…!

Drop me a line if you want to go out sometime, or any tips.

While I agree there is not much tech riding near Didcot, the Chilterns is still a good spot for natural trail riding. Certainly kill a good couple of hours and some of the climbs and descents are interesting. Suggest starting out from Watlington, climb straight up to the top of the ridgeway and then start exploring from there.

Aston Hill is not that far away for a more gnarly experience. Swinley is good too for more dedicated singletrack – one of my favourites actually.

You can cycle from Didcot town center to Upton (route 544 I think?) at the recreation field in Upton there is a small pump track that is a bit of fun.

I don’t know what its called but I’m about 100m from the start of the old line to Upton if any of you guys are passing through…!
OT but regarding Abingdon being more expensive, a couple of friends who were looking to buy in Didcot wound up on Abingdon as it is cheaper there. Slightly lower commuter tax due to no train station I guess…!

I’m about half an hours drive north of you guys..if you want an extra set of wheels to go on a discovery mission then drop me a line ( email is in my profile) . I’m not adverse to going to Swinley/Wales either

Snowdon anyone?

Loz,

At east ilsley ride out towards bridge over a34, continue 40m, then on the other side of the roads on you left, a path goes up the hill, follow that up the hill. Over crest, down along and take the 2nd right, fast floey but due to MX bike abuse needs to be dry,
Other one is to follow that path straight instead up last farm, on on, then a sharp right, follow to fire road/road, cross, through a little wood section, back onto same path, then next right, long fast with some good bits. That then comes out back on what would have been the 1st right earlier on.

Just did a great ride from Pangbourne on Sunday. 30 miles of lots of singletrack, fun decents, nasty climbs and , lets be honest, its not Wales for long descents, but its a good bang for your buck riding. We ended up at the back of Stoke Row, towards Nettlebed way. 2400ft of elevation in Berkshire/ Oxfordshire is not a bad deal.

Hey Weeksy, Didcot to Goring is an easy ride. Best fun is via the Ridgway. I’m just moving from Didcot to North Moreton and that means easier Chilterns access but Swinley is a very quick cycle and train ride away.

loz: check out the “Up to no good” route as well.

Keep it under your hats but there has been some building/rebuilding at sulham woods lately…

Shhh…

There ttails at Streatley and there’s a very small amount of cheeky near mapledurham, nowt to get too excited about, you’ll have to head south of the shire from didcot for anything more interesting TBH…

Weeksy:
I’ve tried to plot your first suggestion, is this correct:
http://my.viewranger.com/route/details/NDkwNTc=

Not quite sure I understood the other one, sounds like that area is definetly worth an explore

So my normal ride time is saturday morning, the Girlfriend is fitness instructor so is off teaching classes in the area and I get to head out on my bike, so if you fancy meeting up first thing on a saturday let me know.

Looks right mate, there’s a couple of rights off that trail, but pretty sure it’s the 2nd.

On your map where you turn right, carry straight on for approx. 1mile. Essentially straight on anyway, then loop back round to the right… A lot of it will make more sense when you’re out there.

If you’re about Thurs Arvo I could show you.

If not, there’s a Charity event for Compton Primary school that will take in 25 miles of the local trails including several of these we’ve gone through, Saturday morning, 10am start £15 entry

My lad goes to the school, so obviously I’m riding. I’m also out route marking Friday evening/night with a couple of the lads.

Takes in a nice twisty section I’ve not ridden myself, over by Ginge, seems to be loved by the locals. Takes in a couple of bits over by Upton, Ridgeway, Harwell, then over toward Ilsley and then back to the park in Compton. There’s BBQ/ Beers and 5 miles kids/family ride in the afternoon after the mornings ‘race’

ok weeksy, I’ll be at the Compton primary thing, do i need to pre-register or just turn up about 9ish?

What’s the date for the ride Weeksy? Wouldn’t mind coming along, plus it’s for charity.

Weekly, I have another mate who is interested too… Need some more info

Sorry, missed this guys.

Compton, This Saturday. 10am start at the Park.

Hi guys,

I am sure most of you are aware of this already but for those who may have missed it.

There should be something for everybody.

A 25 mile MTB ride – http://gb.mapometer.com/mountain_biking/route_3554958.html
A 5 mile off-road route for families (a few of us are doing this with our kids when we get back from the 25 mile ride)
A few laps of the park for the smaller kids
A BBQ with Vicars game burgers/sausages and a beer tent. Feel free to come along with the family, even if you don’t feel like cycling!

Please pass it on to family or friends who would like to attend.

Lastly, if anybody would like to help on the day, please let us know – could be marshaling, manning the BBQ, putting up route markers the day before or taking them down the day after.

All funds go to the Compton pre-school which is a registered charity.

Thanks,

Dan.

email comptoncycle@hotmail.com for entry guys.

I’m laying out the course Fri night and of course riding it Sat.

If you guys want someone to chat/hook up with before hand, throw me a mail and we can meet at the Compton Swan (and park there if you’re driving over)

Weeksy,

Cheers for this, I’ll see you down there.

I’ll be the balding guy riding the white Lapierre Spicy thats making the annoying clicking noise.

I’m the scouse bloke on a green meta am29

I’ve created a custom map which is open to editing by everyone. Feel free to use the trails I’ve already marked, or add to them if you’re local!

Didcot Local Riding

About 20 miles to badbury clump then. Which if you haven’t been isn’t technical but is a great giggle on a small bike with lots of jumps and berms. I’d take a look at that.

@ motivforz. ..just clicked on your link on my phone ( android ) how/ what to do to get the info onto a garmin?

Trails aren’t that exciting but the road riding is great. Lots of quiet country lanes and a decent mix of flat roads and punchy hills. Didcot Phoenix is a pretty friendly club too.

Unfortunately I have no idea how to get the marker lines onto a Garmin. You can export to a kml to read them in google earth, and then perhaps convert in google earth to something else to load onto a garmin?

So who in Didcot has the belt drive bike – must be somebody on here? I recently saw a green frame locked up with a rohloff belt drive “chainset” locked up to a Day 01 alfine. Looked really nice!

Bumping up an old thread here I know.

Is there an official website or facebook page for the Compton ride this year? Someone mentioned the ride a couple of weeks ago, but I cant find much on it.

Riding round Didcot area you’ll get to know The Ridgeway very well! Theres lots of good XC riding, there are miles and miles and miles and miles of bridleways and byways, with a small splash of singletrack here and there. Sadly there isn’t much in the way of shredding gnar 🙁 Theres a few hidden gems, mostly they require plenty of miles in between to string together.

Checkout the http://www.Uptonogood.org.uk routes as a good example of the better riding around Didcot. They also have a group ride on Thursday evenings leaving at 19:15 from the George & Dragon in Upton – it’s a really good way to find new trails you might have missed or over looked before, and to meet some good gents too … plus a post ride beer or two. Heading in to the right time of year for bike rides and beer garden 😉

If you’re fitter you can use the Ridgeway to ride over to Streatley and get into the Chilterns which has steeper hills and more “singletrack” and more interesting riding. Also there are some woodlands just south of the M4, I havent had a chance to properly explore them yet, though here looks like some possible good riding there.

Its also worth looking up some other local ish events too:

http://www.trailbreak.co.uk/trail_rides/reports/risboro_apr15/index.php?go=info

http://www.trailbreak.co.uk/trail_rides/index.php?go=eventinfo&event_id=150801

http://goride.summitmtb.co.uk/

http://www.evanscycles.com/pages/rideit-reading-mtb-ride-9th-may-2015

Failing that get out and ride, go explore with an OS map or use opencyclemaps on a smart phone, after a few good motnhs of riding you’ll know the bulk of the main routes and be able to explore even more and further away.

Enjoy!