Hi all,

I’ve been fortunate to able to ride a lot in the past few weeks but this creates a first world problem in that I need a bit of inspiration for a route having ridden the same trails quite a lot recently 😀

4-5 hours (~40-50 miles)
Hillier rather than flatter preferred
As much fun off-road stuff as feasible
XC lycra type stuff rather than baggies and pads
Starting near Temple Meads is ideal (i.e. probably Ashton Court start)
Have GPS

I’m in Bath so would probably get the train to and from Bristol as the bike path home has been a drag for the past two weekends riding home. My trail knowledge around Bristol is enough for about 30 miles- after that I have been adding the ride home to Bath along the bike path to make it a bit longer. Unfortunately odd work patterns mean I am not around when the Bristol bike clubs meet up and ride- Friday mornings are good for me for example which is an unusual time for most people. Happy to tag along if someone is riding tomorrow am though!

My Bristol trail knowledge is limited to Ashton Court/ Leigh Woods/ Plantation/ Failand/ Tanpit/ Snakes Well/ 50 Acre type stuff but would ideally extend this to 40-50 miles around Bristol in unfamiliar territory.

What directions would you recommend heading out of the Ashton Court type radius of trails I’ve previously ridden?

Thanks in advance! 😀

So scanning the OS map the only loop that jumps out is:

Ashton Court area
Failand then lanes past Noah’s Ark Zoo
Bridleway West through Lime Breach Wood
Bridleway over Tickenham Hill
Lanes to Yatton then Wrington (looong lanes)
Bridleway North through Prestow Wood
Bridleway North through Brockley Wood (just West of the airport)
Bridleway through Bourton Combe and in to Flax Bourton
Lanes to Long Ashton then on to Ashton Court or the Plantation etc

Sounds like a lot of bridleway and lanes and reasonably flat for large chunks….

Or just do the bits between Flax Bourton and Wrington where you could ride some North Mendip stuff? Again I’d have no idea where I’d be going around that area!

Get the train to Taunton instead and hit the quantocks?

It’s between just over an hour and 1.5 hours on the train to Taunton from Bath with just one reasonable train per hour and the routes tend to not be super bike friendly. 10 mins on the train to Brizzle I can cope with but for that journey time I might as well ride the South Wales stuff I know pretty well. I’m trying to avoid being out too long with other commitments at home and the time I can be out should be filled with riding if possible in this weather 😀 Good shout though for when I have more time.