I work in Cheltenham and am looking for a ride that can be done early evening that is about 20 miles.

I can't seem to find anything decent when I have been up there and find myself riding round the golf course and pilons aimlesly looking for trails.

Can someone point me in the right direction please ideally with directions or a map.

Cheers

Tracks round Cleeve a very much down to local knowledge
you could always join up with a cc-cc ride.

local knowledge, there is plenty of trails to ride, most of the good stuff is under a foot wide and hugs the cliffs, steep slopes.

Sorry can't do a map. It is really is ride and explore. If you follow the major tracks, look for the narrow tracks disappearing off the sides, those are the ones to follow.

As a starting point start at the golf club head towards the masts but keep low, when the cliffs start to appear start looking left and explore.

Or had for the washpool and explore around there.

how fast are you? i could always do a quick guiding service sometime?

I can do you a map later

Define fast!

have a look here;

http://www.ashtonmtb.co.uk/

do you have trouble climbing Aggs hill? er is your average ride 5mph, 10mph or 15mph? can you climb the bastard steep bank in cranham woods, start at top teachers heading away, turn right and on the right is the bank about 100-200metres away….

er…

i can clean that bank, wouldnt say im fast. lookmanohands did it on his ss last time out !!! he is fast…..

Get to lecky though if you want some funner trails

i can clear that bank just using it as a guide of ability, i know Dimadan rides Cranham, and i am well aware of how fast Ian can be,

ooOOoo, some very nice stuff on cleeve just alot harder to find than on lecky.

Did I hear someone mention my name! I'm always more than happy to show anyone around, used to live in BC so I know cleeve well! Tang got a price for ya (wink) how's the body holding up?

mrmo, the bastard climb is easy at the moment. Aggs hill is a slog but doesn't kill.
I can ride from the Kings Headin Upton St Leanords to the car park in the middle of Painswick Beacon in less than 15 minutes.

Portway takes about 9 minutes from the bottom all the way up to the muddy carpark.

Um, average ride of 13.5 miles up from Abbeydale to Painswick beacon, down to Popes wood, over to Cranham corner, through Bluebell wood, down to the dumping car park, over the road, past the steel gate, up to the bomb holes over the road to the to Shrine dips then on to the main Shrine run, back down to the bastard climb, up to the wall back to the beacon and back to Abbeydale is about 1 1/2 hours so average of 7 to 8 mph normally.

And I dont find Lecky that enjoyable as I don't think it flows very well.

if you want a guide let me know, can think of routes you should be ok fitness wise. That was the reason for asking.

ian – still sore docs tomorrow check ive not damaged my lung again! so pissed off, the trails are ripe. mail me with the price! leigh is rubbing it in by telling me hes out twice a day atm, i think hes worried about wales 😀

Ah sweet cheers.

Me and a mate start at London Road and work up way up to GCHQ then up to the pilons via the motor bike quary that has erroded something cronic over the last 12 months.

Normally at 5pm on a Wednesday (in Cranham tomorrow night) so yeah would be good cheers

let me know if/when, can't really do evenings during the week I work in Tewkesbury, probably Chester in a few weeks. Weekends are fine though.

Sweet, may be a Sunday afternoon then.
Cheers

Does it have to be all techy? I often do a ride which involves going North over Nottingham hill, via a nice BW along the edge of Oxenton hill, then back over Stanley Mount to Winchcombe. Finish off climbing up past Belas Knap to the far South edge of Cleeve common, then back via the transmitters and under the cliffs back to the golf club. All sorts of variations on that if you want to make it longer or shorter.