Hey, someone earlier told me about chicksands on one of my other posts. Just wondered if it would be suitable for a bit more of a novice rider? Like the XC stuff there. I have seen all the other stuff like the downhill an that but I think that would be a bit too much for me at the minute haha. Just wondering what the XC is like there?
Plenty to ride around in there , very suitable for a beginner with some harder bits as you progress. Its not a big place but you can certainly kill 1.5-2hrs there. See link below for local guys that ride a lot there, friendly bunch........
www.sillygrin.co.uk
Cheers, I live about two hours away so just wondered if it would be worth going as well really. Thanks I will check the link out
The XC is OK, worth riding but nothing special. For a novice the 4X, dual slalom and a couple of the calmer DH runs can be great fun for practising jumps and berms - though personally I'd only want to do that during the week when there are generally only a couple of other people around to see your mincing and you're not getting in anyones way.
Thanks timmys, yeah I wouldn't want to go in peak time and get in the good riders way haha. Also if I fall off a lot, not many people are round to laugh at me 😆
Brad....i was referring to the XC trails there. The Bike Park is a seperate fenced off pay n play concern, i can't vouch for it as i've not been in but some fellow riders seem to enjoy it in there.
If you do both then a good half days riding can be had, worth the drive over 8)
Yeah I know, my last reply was to timmys
Where are you driving from? 2 hours is a long drive for the XC. I would imagine unless you are driving from the East you must drive past some where as good or better on the way. Even then what about Therford
I think there are definitely some enjoyable rides around there.
There are still some signposts pointing to the old red and blue XC routes, but they have not been maintained for many years, and you can't even necessarily complete the old routes since the bike park has grown and changed.
The old blue route was about 2.5 miles, the red about 3.5. I have found you can do a nice 5 to 6 mile XC ride around there, crossing over your path once but not repeating anything.
I am a very basic rider, but if you want to send a mail to mark dot brown 20 at btinternet dot com when you plan to go, I will show you what I can of the XC if I possibly can at the time.
Had some very close encounters with little wild deer in some parts of the woods. I think it's quite fascinating to see a truly wild creature so close up. 🙂
I'm from norfolk and yeah I go to thetford but just fancied trying somewhere new that's all.
And thanks arcane, yeah I will do if I decide to go sometime 🙂 thanks
If you want to try some where other Thetford then chicksands makes sense
the best feature is the thai noodle van which i assume is still there at weekends
Hey,
I am local to Chicksands and tend to ride there most weekends. I usually do a couple of loops of the forest before going into the bike park. There is a GPX of this loop here, although don't tell anyone about it as it features my favourite piece of singletrack.
http://my.viewranger.com/route/details/NDExNA%3D%3D
I can second the Thai curries, the green is awesome and the red for the brave. I tend to ride there and back too, stopping for a nice pint of Doom Bar in Southill.
Ben
I drive about an hour to get there and love it every now and then. If you pay the £5 for the bike park, you can spend half a day there without even trying. The DH runs are all rollable for a novice and the dual slalom and 4X are great fun too, particularly if with a similar paced friend.
Cheers Ben I think I will have to give it a go sometime 🙂 And maybe have to try these noodles and curries! haha.
hughjayteens, oh right is most of it do able for a novice or are there some bits that I probably wouldn't be able to do or even want to try? haha
Cheers
Hi brad93,
We are also in norwich and sometimes travel to ride. We use Thetford, chicksands, Sherwood and Aston hill for day trips and wales for a weekend. Maybe share a drive some time?
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Simone
If you want some XC and seeing as you are coming all that way then you might want to travel that extra 20 minutes and explore Woburn.
Personally I wouldn't go if it was a 2 hour drive away. The 4x and dual are quite fun though but the xc is really bland. Woburn's a better choice and fairly close.
brad93 - a bunch of us from norfolk are going across later in the month. Welcome to come join us, but we'd probably be riding the 4x/dual more than xc.
Otherwise get yourself along to this facebook group where some of the guys organise trips away: [url=
Cheers guys, moniex and prezet. yeah that would be cool 🙂 I shall see if I'm a bit better before I ride the other stuff at chicksands haha but moniex I would definitely like to go to sherwood and aston hill. Had a look at them online and they look pretty sweet
Not sure I'd drive 2hrs for Chicksands. What's there is fun, but isn't incredibly challenging so I think you'd be fine brad.
Depending on the direction you take on the red route (there's also a load of yellow arrows but I've never tried following them), some of the uphills are incredibly steep. Whilst it isn't really maintained most of it looks to be ridden enough to flow reasonably well. There's one very short run with some berms and tiny jumps which the kids love riding.
Trust me, you'd drive 2hrs if you lived in Norfolk!
hughjayteens, oh right is most of it do able for a novice or are there some bits that I probably wouldn't be able to do or even want to try? haha
A couple of the drop offs and gap jumps are pretty 'knarly' but apart from those, it's all quite nice and flowy!
How about Tunstall? There's more XC riding there than there is at Chicksands.