Two weeks ago

Do you think the FC will notice? by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Today

Warm Cross Fun – Lunchtime ride by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Not a huge surprise as this is the main trail that gets about 80% of the use. The rest of the (large) wood is very sparsely populated by walkers. Just me and CX bike mostly.

I sort of feel sorry for the kids that built it as it must have taken a while, but just not very bright and the FC ranger I met today was fairly cheesed off about it.

Still I had a lovely lunchtime ride even with only one lung working. The joys of asthma.

Warm Cross Fun – Lunchtime ride by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Warm Cross Fun – Lunchtime ride by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Warm Cross Fun – Lunchtime ride by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Pretty dry out there. Apart from the muddy bits 😉

Bound to happen unfortunately…. Nice way to spend a lunchtime, by the way!

Thank goodness for that. All those logs blocking that nice smooth trail

There are some ace kids – well teenagers – building in another wood North of Ledbury but they’ve chosen a spot that isn’t over-run with people who read the Malvern Gazette and can chart a lack of respect directly with the removal of the birch 😉

I’m sure they’ll be back. Just probably not there. The ranger was funny, he said “nothing to do with you is it?” then before I could answer looked me up and down, looked at the bike before adding “no, I suppose not”.

go back with a full face helmet and body armour on your CX bike an see what he says 😀

The correct answer to that, Alex, would have been “no, I had nothing to do with *those* jumps”.

Keep’em guessing.

Al – once Ive finished building up the pompetamine CX you must show me round those ledbury woods.

As a Malverns night rider, I’m always looking for other local options. Hmmm, will look at the 1:25000 map a bit closer. Any clues?

Any other ideas for bolt on routes on the Malverns? There appears to be Bridleways running North from Croft Farm, West Malvern up through Bank/Cother Wood past Six Acre Wood towards Cowleigh Gate Farm.

Apologies for highjacking the thread!

Good point Jon. Need to maintain my aura of cool. If I had one to maintain in the first place.

Mark – these are near Dymmock, but the woods around Ledbury are pretty good if quite small. And quite bottom-slapping cheeky 🙂

Camster – those woods not really ideal for the Malverns, but lots of great stuff there if you’re night riding. We’re not too bothered about bridleways after 8pm. Mark (stoner) knows the good stuff, and I’d be happy to show you round. Not going to describe it tho!

Cool, thanks Alex. I may well take up your offer and perhaps hook up with Stoner too if he’s ok with that. not sure when I’ll get out next. Missed last Weds night ride through making a special guest appearance at my eldest sons parents evening and am house bound as the wife is away through work. I normally ride with two others and I think they are also struggling with similar diary clashes.

im out a little less than normal as I now have plumbing course 2 nights a week and one other night Im always on my way back from London. But if you find yourself within spitting distance of the common @ Welland, that’s where you’ll find me.

And my local pub reopens on 1st April.

Al – its those dymock ones I want to check out. Are they the ones between Hammonds old house and the Asparagus fields?

PS – from croft farm, stay on the top all the way to the quarry at the end, I know it turns into a footpath and then just into a path with no right of way, but it’s better than dropping off the sides IMO. The path goes round the quarry clockwise, and spits you out on the track that comes out in storridge a few hundred yards back from the hereford road. Bit claggy in winter, hard, fast and rumbly in the summer.

these are near Dymmock

Dymock Wood then? Been running (orienteering) in there, but not biking – I remember it being rather muddy at this time of year.

Sticky ‘m’ key 😉 It can be horrendously muddy especially near the lake, but if you explore a bit there’s lots of lovely dry trails. The NW side is totally trashed (used to be some nice trails in there) after two sets of forestry, but there’s probably 10k of singletrack across the four woods.