Going down there next weekend for a family thing and gonna do an uplift day at Cwm Carn on either Friday or Saturday and looking for something else to do in the area. I have looked at going to the Forest of Dean: Are all the trails open at the moment?

Is there anything else in this area? Please note that I will most likely have my super tacky dual ply dh tyres on and therefore pedalling uphill should be kept to a minimum.

Thanks folks.

Have a play in Leigh Woods / Ashton Court. It's only a couple of miles from the centre of town.

Where? Are the trails easy to find?

Take a quick look here http://www.bristoltrailsgroup.com/Trail_info.htm

Use Cwmcarn DH as a warm up and then see if you can clear the tougher DH trails at Leigh Woods, you'll be doing well especially in these conditions.

Serously though, it'll be a bog fest up there now and will sap your skills, you'd be better of on the Mendips or Wye Valley / FoD area.

Yeah, in the current weather the local trails will probably be pretty horrid. Best sticking to the trail centres – Cwmcarn is great and FoD is worth a look, not sure if the trails are open, but you could ring 'pedalabikeaway' shop, which is on the site to check.

Would suggest Mendips Mike but after all this rain hmmmmmm .Quantocks would be better but a bit further , might be around if you want someone to show you around .

I went for my first Mendip ride for a long time on Wednesday and all round Burrington Combe (Beacon Batch side) was covered in mud and puddles. It's rideable if you don't mind these conditions. The woods were wet but still fun.

Hijack time, where else should I have a look next time I go? Is there anything to the north of the Burrington?

was in the Wye valley yesterday, it was almost entirely underwater (the whole valley)

AWH – Did you ride over on Burrington Ham? There's some great singletrack there if you know where to look.

I'm local and tend to avoid certain trails on Blackdown/Beacon Batch as they need a rest when it's so wet, unfortunantly others don't! The bridleway around the edge of Blackdown (the one through the gullys that meets the top of Link Lane) is the one i avoid for most of the winter.

I rode up to the masts, over Black Down/Beacon Batch to Rowberrow Warren then back along the bridleway that round the edge of Black Down. It did looked like it had taken quite a lot of bikes recently. Burrington Ham doesn't look huge, is it easy to find the singletrack if you know what to look out for?

might be around if you want someone to show you around .

Thanks mate, but as I said my bike would be in dh mode and therefore I'd only slow you down on the ups. Also, I am just getting over the flu and not ridden for a couple of months so need a bit of mojo-regaining, which I find is often better done by myself. I will defintely be interested in meeting up for a ride some other time, once my fitness has returned.

Not a problem Mike getting yourself fit and well is most important .

awh – The Ham is indeed small, i always end my ride with a section of singletrack up there as i usually park at the old garden centre car park at the bottom of the coombe.

The trail i'm referring to is pretty hard to find as it's nowhere near the bridleways, it does involve being cheeky or using an almost impossible to describe alternative to get the start of it!

It's honestly easier to show you! Would be happy to show you sometime, we ride up there most weekends at the moment.

nickegg – a guide would be cool. I'll see if there are a few more STWers round here that are interested. My email is in my profile.
Cheers

I'm sure most of the mendip locals/regulars will know the trail too, fresh tyre tracks suggest others use it.

I personally have only shown a couple of people it.

Will be heading up there this Saturday morning or afternoon as we need to get a few more rides logged for our TCL training weekend coming up.

Hill fort 'goat track' and drop to bridleway on the back of the Ham by any chance?
8)

You were one of the 'locals' i refer too, despite never meeting you!

Got it in one, do you know the non-bridleway/non-footpath route to the fort though? I'm sure you do!

Which one? 😆

The hilltop is the usual mess because it's slow to drain, but the woods are good. Some good outlying trails too.