Hello everyone!

I have recently (6 months ago) moved from Greece to Thame and I did not initially bring my bike over.

The last 2 weeks though, we’ve had crazy good weather and I am now starting to miss my mountain biking, to the point that made me start thinking of getting a mtb here.

There’s much choice but a Canyon Spectral AL sounds like an amazing package.

I can’t go ahead and spend this amount of money though before I know that I’ll put it to good use.

Does anyone know of any fun places to ride around this area? Flowy singletrack, trails and basically everything except full on downhill level tracks, I consider fun!

It has to be within cyclable distance though as I don’t have a car at the moment. I just wanna pack my camelback, go ride somewhere then cycle home if possible.

I know the Chilterns are around but I haven’t found any specific mtb routes online.

By the way, is there anyone in the area that enjoys mtbiking with friends that would not mind showing me around maybe?

I am not in the best shape I’ve ever been as I haven’t done anything since last August but I’d be more than willing to get back into it, especially with good company!

Thame is pretty flat and claggy, but take the old railway line path towards Princes Risborough and then aim into the Chilterns.

Get the OS 1:25000 map or try http://www.bikehike.co.uk and get exploring 🙂

Thame has a train station you know.

Loads of riding in the Chilterns out of Watlington and Princes Risborough to name but 2 towns.

Get out and explore. Another vote for buying an OS map of your area, you can ride legally on Bridleways. Have a look on Strava heatmaps of your area and see where people are riding off-road. Anywhere with hills and woods will quite possibly have some decent tracks.

Thanks guys. I had no idea about these OS maps. bikehike.co.uk looks really interesting I’ll have a better look after work.

As long as riding to Prices Risborough, riding around there then coming back to Thame doesn’t take way, way too long, it should be good fun.

So you guys don’t think it’s a waste of money to get a mountain bike here, right? I’d hate it if I spent a good amount for a proper new bike only to realize I am in a super boring area.

TBH in Thame I think a road/cross bike would be more fun, but that’s just me. But as others have mentioned there is mtbing in the Chilterns also look at Aston Hill. Without a car it will be trickier to get to the better places.

I did consider a road bike for a while but… I just wouldn’t enjoy it as much if I’m honest. I always loved mountain biking as it helps me change scenery after a long week of work.

So you guys don’t think it’s a waste of money to get a mountain bike here

a hardtail is all you should need/want in the chilterns, probably best to get a 29er plus a set of slicks for when the mud reappears and/or you wanna get out on the road

local shops in Thame will stock the OS maps you need

I thought that this might have been the case…

I ride an Evil Sovereign in Greece and I’ve loved being on a hardtail. However I felt like it’s time to move onto an FS for the first time and see how much better they are after riding a steel AM HT for this long…

I don’t really want to bring the evil here as I want to have a bike in Greece as well. Would a canyon spectral be total overkill for the area here? I have been to Afan once (on a rented bike) and it was superb so even if those trips are not happening often I’d like to have the chance to have my own bike there next time.

I suppose you’re saying all I can pretty much do is mostly XCish long distance riding? (Not that this would be bad as it would help me get back in shape after so long)

From Thame you’d need to ride about 8-9 miles before you hit any decent off Road (at Princes Risborough). From there there’s loads of routes you can take which are great fun. Aston is a blast and will keep you interested for a while but there are some pretty hard elements to it (it’s a downhill place really but it’s all rideable).
Thames train station is 2.5 miles from Thame (it’s actually in Haddenham).

The chiltern’s are great fun but do get pretty grim in winter although they can be great fun then as well.

p.s. I ride a nukeproof mega TR most of the time but I do try to incorporate a bit of Aston’s downhill stuff on most rides round there.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Thame,+Oxfordshire,+UK/Aston+Hill+Bike+Park,+Aston+Hill,+Halton,+Buckinghamshire,+HP22+5NQ,+United+Kingdom/@51.7733181,-0.9179793,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x487692ccccc246a1:0xf5b79ef2a4cccee2!2m2!1d-0.974188!2d51.746997!1m5!1m1!1s0x48765923e791801f:0x6fa5213a69e02574!2m2!1d-0.709176!2d51.782763!3e1

Alright, this looks doable if the weather isn’t crap! 1.30 hour ride to get there. Will probably look into Princes Risborough first though as I’m just by myself.

The old-railway path will only take you 40-45 mins before you’re in the Chilterns – look for ‘LowerWain Hill ascent’ on Strava, you can link up to that, then look at the descents into Sunley Wood.

Pointless bothering with trains.

You can also ride across to the Ridgeway and then hit north to Aston Hill.

Thank you so much guys for all this information. Not knowing the area at all, you’re really helping me get familiar with it.

It would just be way easier if I had a car I guess. I might need to train my opposite site driving at some point soon!