I’m soon to go on a course for a few weeks in Buckinghamshire. As is usually the case, i fired up t’inters so see if there is any local riding to be had.

Fortunately, it seems i’ll be within riding distance of Aston Hill!

I’ll only be able to get out after work, so is the area suitable for riding on weekday-evenings? I gather there is a charge to pay, and they shut the car park out-of-hours…

Alternatively, is there any natural riding to be had nearby?

http://www.rideastonhill.co.uk/about/times/

They close the gates at 4:30 and I’d imagine would get pretty pissed if you went and rode out of hours as there has been years of wrangling to keep the place open .

Worth a trip though mate, the red route is great fun, the other trails are pretty steep and tech and very slippery when wet. The xc loop though short is tough, again mainly due to the steepness of the hill.

As Amos says but there is loads of natural riding to be had in the Chilterns see http://www.bucksmtb.co.uk/trailguides.htm for some ideas!

There are a number of groups night-riding in the Chilterns during the week.

http://www.aylesburycc.org/

These guys have a Wed MTB night ride.

And we’re out at least once a week – happy to show you around – EIP

Aston Hill is not really an option.

Thanks for the info. Looks as if Aston Hill is out, unless i find myself with free time during the day.

@ b r – Thanks for the offer. I’ll bear that in mind. My course is in May, so stand by for a PM around that time.

Ah didn’t realise it was May! Aston hill normally open a couple of evenings during the summer months so you could be in luck

As long as you have paid (and that’s if the wardens see you; you don’t have to go searching them out), you can ride after they have locked the car park gates. I’ve been in the evenings quite a bit and tend to park down the hill slightly in a rough lay-by.

Remember the golden rule. If it’s south of Stoke, take the CX bike!

Stopa… please stop doing that.

that is not a rough layby, illegal parking is still an issue for AH.

still thats exactly the sort of attitude i would expect from someone suggesting avoiding the wardens, can i assume that you also like to ride on closed trails too.

really, very well done

*slow hand claps*

OP – if you are after some DH then AH might accomodate, as stated above they try to open later in the summer with a couple of weekly evening sessions. If you are after some XC, then there is plenty of riding locally.

Right, the time is upon us! My course starts next week.

By cross-referencing this with this, it looks like the trail centre is open until 2030, so that’s a real possibility.

Alternatively, can i persuade anyone to show me round the local area? Beer will be provided, obviously!

@ b r: is the offer still on the table?

give us an email of when you are here and where and we’ll set something up

EDIT – and remember your mudguards…

Thanks mate. I’ll hopefully have my susser repaired by next week. Otherwise it’s the Singlespeed for me!

Oh, and i don’t own any mudguards…

Don’t worry, mudguards won’t help you, if it doesn’t stop raining soon 2 weeks ago you’ll be sliding down the trail on your face/bum by the time you reach the first corner. It really is hellish in the wet at Aston Hill.

Have fun 😀

Is it worth putting my Swampthings on?

It doesn’t really matter what tyre you use, they all clog up with clay pretty quickly.

Swamp things have served me well in the past, but I’ve never had to ride back up.