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Sister's birthday is this weekend, so at a hotel in Reading to celebrate. Looking for some advice of good MTB routes, or quiet road rides which are not too far away.
Are you happy with an OS Map? Head north or north west into the hills. Good stuff abounds but it takes a bit of exploring.
It'll be very muddy though. VERY muddy.
Swinley Forest just south of Bracknell.
Park, pay and ride.
Firetracks and man-made armoured singletrack are all fine....unmade tracks are a bit squelchy tho'.
PaulD
Oh, and quiet road rides, loads of it. Chilterns to the north, endless nice rolling hilly road riding. Out west beyond Goring is the Berkshire Downs, again very nice. South is flat. East is commuterland.
Swinley would probably be the best off road option in these conditions, that's true. The Chilterns will be muddy enough to sap your soul.
If you're happy playing in the mud off road, or for future reference, then there's good foresty singlestrack riding from the doorstep in Reading. Map link for starting points here: [url= http://www.streetmap.co.uk/idld.srf?x=467500&y=176500&z=120&sv=467500,176500&st=4&mapp=idld.srf&searchp=s.srf&dn=559&ax=467500&ay=176500&lm=0 ]Streetmap linky[/url]
Lots of singletrack in the woodland sections between Mapledurham, Woodcote, Checkendon, some cheeky, some bridleway. The Thames Path from Whitchurch to Goring is a swoopy blast. For hillier off road stuff scroll a bit further North to the area around, and to the north of Nettlebed. Hours and hours and hours of fun.
Whenever I look at those maps I realise we're fairly well provided for here. But yep, Swinley might be the best bet for you
Thanks, as the missus is coming with me best to avoid mud. Trying to convince her that MTB is fun, and mud (lack of control when riding, rather than washing) is a bit offputting for her at the moment. One day at Swinley and one day exploring on road or MTB's sounds good.
for a nonish mtb/explore
N over Cav Bridge, W onto Warren/River NWish to Pangbourne, S into Pangbourne, S on yellow rd on E edge of Pangbourne (Sulham), S on bridle, over foorbridge over M4, Theale, thru SE ish to Canal, follow E, stop at Oracle Centre, buy trendy coffee, sit in blazing sun, follow canal and over blue bridge onto Thames path and W back to cav bridge, stop at Gorge Cafe for a tea
*edit (or add on from Reading on Thames E to Sonning bridge and back, meadows, riverside (*pensive) pub and thats about as far as decent path on S side goes
The trendy coffee should be bought at Workhouse on King Street, not at the Oracle. That way it'll taste of the best coffee you've had in ages.
We have biblical mud around here in a normal winter, and so far this isn't even a normal one 😀
Roadie riding in the Chilterns is lovely too, though. Red kites everywhere, beautiful autumn scenes in the woods right now.
The chilterns north of caversham are great fun. But as others have said you might encounter rather a lot of 'orrible claggy mud this time of year 🙁