since i started having to wear glasses to read, trail centres have become a more attractive option 😉

i’m not looking forward to Swinley forest becoming a mountain biking M25

Myself and a lot of other people had similar misgivings about the new trails in Bristol, then after the rainapocalypse last summer all the critics have mysteriously gone quiet. I think personally I’d have sold my bikes and taken up crochet if there wasn’t a fast, fun weatherproof man-made trail for us to ride while the rest of the South West was turning to mush.

Just to add to an already long thread. I think, if pigeonholed, I would fall in the outdoorsy camp. I can map read and just love being outside, particularly in the mountains or by, or in, the sea. I have enjoyed creating numerous local routes over the years, map in hand, trial and error, getting lost. But, my trips to the myriad different mountains and hills of Britain are the highlights of the year – wether climbing or mountain biking.

However, I also do a fair bit of trail centre riding, such as W2 last Saturday with some club mates. It was a really top day. Trail Centres are great for a mud free, relatively logistically straightforward few hours or full day out. Plus, they offer a very different type of trail experience. E.g. you don’t get many flowing, bermy natural trails.

But, I would be very frustrated, or would become a perpetuial law breaker, if mountain biking was confined to fixed trail centres, or even fixed routes.

I find it interesting that there is so much snobbery on here about trail centres lacking adventure, route finding, the sense of adventure etc YET every thread about a trip abroad features a request for the best guiding company.

And most of the trails are man made……..

I generally prefer trail centres to natural stuff mainly because natural is often a load of slogging through muddy fields and gates to get to one alright descent, then repeat. I don’t really like rocky tech stuff either so trail centres usually offer something more my style of riding. Saying that my favourite place to ride is probably the dh stuff at Woburn which isnt really a trail centre as such! More a selection of loads of mini bike park style runs which is my favourite kind of riding

My sentiments too.

Wilderness riding to me – slogging for hours for mediocre descents

I ride to leave the ground and do bike wiggles, not pain my lungs and kid myself the view is worth it. Though occasionally when it’s hot and sunny, when out with the “boys” natural riding can be better than ok.

I’m relatively new too, both to stw but to mtb’ing too. I don’t think I’ve come across any such ‘anti’ trail centre type tbh. I have, however, met people who just genuinely don’t care for the trail centre type of ride! I’ve never found a ‘snobbishness’ to them though 😐
I’ve been extremely lucky to find friendship with people who ride around the peaks a lot and don’t mind me trying to hang on!! Of which i am very, very grateful because i love riding these ‘natural’ trails. But in addition, a recent trip to Gisburn taught me two things: 1) I prefer natural trails and 2) TC’s are ideal for noobs like me to ‘push’ their skills a little but in a slightly more contolled/predictable manner!
It’s a shame you’ve met such shallow people with regards to this type of riding. Like lots have said already ….different folks, different strokes!
I say go have fun! Doesn’t matter where you’re riding, as long as it makes you smile! 😀

I quite like riding slowly. And I quite like deep mud, it’s just another trail obstacle. I enjoy the challenge of clearing a churned up section of muddy bridleway. I also much prefer riding uphill to down.

Yup

I have, however, met people who just genuinely don’t care for the trail centre type of ride!

Hiya! 🙂

“Natural” always makes me laugh, too. Had people talking about how great it is to ride natural trails not all that manmade stuff, on trails that I helped build… Had another chap say much the same when we were on a roman road.

Not a fan Of Trail Center’s for riding! It’s just marketed Mountain Biking! Create’s spending for the Industry which is good! But makes something that I’m passionate about in to something that can be ridiculed by a lot of people it seems!If it keeps the sport alive? great! But it still feeds my self indulgent attitude of ‘If they haven’t been riding for more than 20 years on natural trails how the hell can they understand what it’s all about’! But then I’m a Belligerent old ****, and it comes with the “Time served badge”!
I do forget a lot of stuff these days! Like that ‘Mountain biking is also all about Acceptance and sharing’… It’s usually when confronted by someone with about 3 grands worth too much of bike for a 2 hour trip around the 8 mile red route so they can have a bacon sandwich!…. but hey if it get’s them off their arse and they love it? Great!
And Yep! I can be that judgmental! … It takes a lot of hard work to be this conceited… but wtf! There’s a lot of ego’s that need winding in a bit out there these days, mine too sometimes! I Love great bikes, I just hate trophy bikes! some never even leave the car park! 🙁

But it still feeds my self indulgent attitude of ‘If they haven’t been riding for more than 20 years on natural trails how the hell can they understand what it’s all about’! But then I’m a Belligerent old ****, and it comes with the “Time served badge”!

There are plenty of us at trail centres who have been riding mountain bikes for 20 + years and are “time served”

We just find it a good place to meet up with a few mates and have a ride and a laugh. Nice and easy to navigate and good fun places to ride.

some never even leave the car park!

🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄

Don’t understand the attitude Timax, you appear to be “against” people enjoying themselves. How odd

My favourite and most memorable rides have all been on natural trails – Lake District, Yorks Dales, NYMoors, Weardale etc. I love being away from populated areas in a wilderness type setting and trails centres are the absolute antithesis of that.

I have no problem with trail centres and ride Hamsterley a fair bit and have visited Dalby, Glentress, Whinlatter, Grizedale, Gisburn etc but I’d get bored rigid riding the same trails week in week out (which a few friends do – every Saturday or Sunday).

It does seem that some riders hatred of trail centres stems from an envy of other peoples bikes. That other people somehow don’t deserve their high end bikes as they are not ‘real’ mountain bikers. What a crock! People can ride what they like how they like.

nickc – Member
Don’t understand the attitude Timax, you appear to be “against” people enjoying themselves. How odd

Don’t agree with you nickc – he’s not saying that he is against people in trail centres enjoying themselves – quite the opposite – he says that its good that they’re getting of their arses to ride a bike

However, I am confident that i am interpreting him correctly, when he says he isn’t a fan of TCs

That’s very different from saying that he is not a fan of other people enjoying themselves at TCs

‘If they haven’t been riding for more than 20 years on natural trails how the hell can they understand

This.

It’s a statement disparaging people who don’t ride bikes in the same way the he does.

I’m a 30 year+ rider and my badge is bigger than yours! SFU! 😀 … Truthfully? Trail centre’s are convenient! And as long as I’m with my mates I couldn’t give a ****! … I just find it all a bit safe,sanitized and not in the spirit of what I remember and recognise!

I know it’s never going to change back… But it won’t be blimmin long before that’ll be the only place we can ride!….

I just look at some of these guys (not you of course, you’ve got a badge) and just think ” You just don’t get it do you”… But as I said? I am that judgmental! … It’s probably down to me being more worried about them thinking ” whose the old tramp with the old filthy bike and why does he keep staring”…

We used to do a really bizarre thing “back in the day”… we used to just go up to complete strangers and talk to them and say Hi! maybe I should start doing that again?… then again! I hate disappointment! and people thinking your after summut!

There’s a lot of inflated ego’s in them trail centre car parks! Mainly from spending an inordinate amounts of money! Yet all I’m really frustrated about is I want them to understand all of it (mountain biking) not just the Trail centre bit! And the more candid bit about that! is that it will keep what I know, love and understand relevant and not make me feel so dated! God forbid we lose sight of where and why it all started! But if it is what gets them out on their bikes? it’s good!

8)

I quite like riding slowly.

Slow techy stuff is great, yeah.

And I quite like deep mud, it’s just another trail obstacle.

Each to their own, it can be fun at the time. (Just not at cleaning time. 😆 )

I also much prefer riding uphill to down.

BURN HIM!!!

Some people “mountain bike” in order to ramble but go further, a trail center has nothing to offer them. Proper, err, I mean other mountain bikers are looking for an exercise in machine control. This can be found in natural terrain, and in trail centers. I’d like a trail center made entirely of combes, I love combes.

Some people “mountain bike” in order to ramble but go further, a trail center has nothing to offer them.

Hi there.

Proper, err, I mean other mountain bikers

Easy there hotshot, don’t make me strangle you with my map case 😉

There’s a lot of inflated ego’s in them trail centre car parks!

One of them appears to be yours…

I love ‘natural’ trail riding for the navigational challenge. A trail centre can never emulate the kind of self sufficiency you need to ride Mastiled Lane, Gatesgarth or Doctor’s Gate.

There’s a lot of inflated ego’s in them trail centre car parks! Mainly from spending an inordinate amounts of money!

The bit in bold should read……

“Mainly from people who think their opinion of what mountain biking should be is better than everyone else’s”

Im a chatty sort of person, plus I’m always ready to roll at least 15 mins before my other half, so I always end up chatting to people at trail centres, from families to bunches of mates and old buffers on 25 year old bikes wearing ron hills and brasher boots, and always find people perfectly agreeable and nice.

I’ve certainly never come across anyone like you describe.

There’s a lot of inflated ego’s in them trail centre car parks!

First thing i do when i roll up, even before im changed or got pads on, i grab my 5k bike, manual the length of the car park, whilst looking everyone i see square in the eyes, turn around, head back to the car whilst bunny hopping every obstacle i see, making sure it’s a sufficiently skillful display, all just to demonstrate i am THE dominant male. If anyone attempts to say hello, i blank them.

That’s how you win at MTBing, right?

There’s a certain sort of old skool rider who’s never happy with the idea of a sport that’s open, accessible and welcoming.

With respect, Mr A, I think you’re conflating a couple of things here. Leigh Woods is a classic example: when I see kids rolling down what used to be a techy bit of singletrack, I am genuinely & utterly delighted, both for them and the future of the sport. The veritable explosion in numbers (including entire families) out & about in LW & AC is one of the best things that’s happened to Brizzle biking in recent years. And the construction of an artificial network was a necessary development if mountain biking was to continue in both areas on a sustainable basis. But not for a moment am I going to p r e t e n d that I enjoy that particular section (to be specific, the bit of the old Rim Trail that runs along the bluff*) in the way that I used to. Especially now that I can’t climb up it. 😉

It’s got nowt to do with my attitude to other riders, be they newbies or not – all are welcome & the more the merrier. It’s about personal taste. I like ba’stard roots & awkward stuff, much in the way that I like Earl Grey tea and steel frames – AFAIK, this is not a thought crime.

(*FWIW, this was the only bit of the LW new-build that upset me – although not asmuch as BRT2, obviously.)

I’d get bored rigid riding the same trails week in week out

Me too. Not sure what this has got to do with trail centres though.

navigational challenge

Doctor’s Gate? Mastilles Lane? If you think they’re navigational challenges you’ve spent too long riding those pesky sanitised trail centres 😉

I’m talking about the blanket dismissal of “trail centres” that floats up on here from time to time, accompanied by the STW Trail Centre Thread Bingo of “sanitised”, “not proper mountain biking”, “posers in car parks”, “they’re for people who can’t read maps” and the like. If a particular bit of trail isn’t to your tastes, fair enough.

As an aside, in my few years of maintaining trails I’ve had people moan when trails are in a bad state, moan when volunteers repair them, then moan when they wore out again, then moan even louder when properly built trails replaced them. The conclusion that I’ve formed is that people like to have a moan. 😉

I’m talking about the blanket dismissal of “trail centres”

Oh, I agree. IMO, even “posers in carparks” should be a cause for celebration – anything that has people spending money on bike stuff is a clear win. It’s one of the few occasions when I believe in trickle-down economics. As for trail centres: if you don’t like ’em, don’t go there!

(I should apologise for latching straight on to your post – much like the Vietnam War, some of us are still fighting the great LW trails debate in our… minds. 😀 )

The conclusion that I’ve formed is that people like to have a moan.

There’s no pleasing ’em, to be sure (and let’s face it, moaning about stuff is the very lifeblood of STW). On the subject of repairs, work has prevented me attending the BTG dig days, but I’ll try and remedy that.

ride the trails you like riding, have fun, enjoy yourself?

ride the trails you like riding, have fun, enjoy yourself?

How dare you suggest it.

sorry, my bad 😉

No no fuzzhead, that’s not the right attitude, you have to be dismissive of any one ( other than yourself of course) at a trail centre, as they are clearly try hard wannabies, who just don’t get it, and need to go to real trails to do real mountain biking. It’s no use just buying a nice bike ( that you clearly somehow don’t deserve) and having fun, no you have to pay your dues first*

Ok?

* which appear to be at least 20 years of cycling before even thinking about daring to go to a trail centre

I’ve never been a fan of trail centres myself, I don’t enjoy the way they ride or the “manufactured surface” that they have to use to cope with the masses etc, I’ve always preferred the feel of pine needles, roots, rocks, mud and peat etc but again its just a personal thing.

I can see the attraction of them as they’re a “quick fix” for many plus its an easier way of attarcting many to MTB rather than facing the scary thought of naviagating and piecing together your own rides.

Llandegla is only a 40 min moorland ride away from the door but holds no appeal to me (although we had some cracking loops in there pre tail centre days). Locally within the Llangollen/Wrexham area there are some of the best riding to be had in Wales but again I prefer to build or search out that special bit of trail.

I’ve always preferred the feel of pine needles

It’s the best kind of magic carpet.

I’ve never been a fan of trail centres myself………..I’ve always preferred the feel of pine needles

You’ve been visiting the wrong trail centres then 😉

I’ve always preferred the feel of pine needles, roots, rocks, mud and peat

It’s true. Trail centre trails are made out of plastic, silicon chips and broken WKD bottles. Then they paint them brown and green.

I have to say, if trail centres existed 25-odd years ago when i was “paying my dues”, i’d have been first in line 🙂

^ best post of the thread 🙂

I’ll ride anywhere. Au naturel and trail centres. It’s all riding to me.

What I do like about trail centres, is not bumping into self-righteous walkers.

Mr agreeable. That bit of trail is fantastic. Right on my doorstep too