So i'll be needing some nice trails to ride (DH, short XC, 4X, and just fun stuff to play around on) and some folk to ride with and show me where to go. Should be shifting my arse and gear down next weekend as I start new job on 15th march. Hope to ride somewhere good soon.
Which part of London?
North east around the Ilford area, though my new job is in Hertford
Why move to London then?
Damn! I moved to West London (Ealing area) in November and haven't ridden locally yet... Good luck moving, bungalistic, and e-mail in profile if you want to ride.
[b]So i'll be needing some nice trails to ride (DH, short XC, 4X, and just fun stuff to play around on...[/b]
Wrong part of the UK for that then, no matter what others may try and have you believe. No *proper* hills = no decent riding...
Girlfriend also lives and works in London so i'm in flat with her, i'm aware it's not the hilliest of locations and I am kinda spoiled with currently living where I do, but i'm sure with the right folk to ride with I can still enjoy some bike fun in the woods.
That's not entirely fair: You have Woburn, Aston Hill, Surrey hills, Esher Shore (woodwork and new pump track), Chicksands (short dh, dual slalom, xc and 4x) Rogate, all within a reasonable distance.
Yeah we don't have the elevation but that just means you need to be more creative ;0)
Check out www.thetrax.co.uk
Thanks for the link [b]duntmatter[/b] i'll be sure to check that out.
I've been to Esher and Chicksands before so it's somewhere i will be visiting again, just need some folk to ride with.
Damn - all these years I thought I had been enjoying myself, turns out I wasn't. Wonder why the Surrey Hills seems like such decent riding to me? Must be an illusion.No *proper* hills = no decent riding...
.Damn - all these years I thought I had been enjoying myself, turns out I wasn't. Wonder why the Surrey Hills seems like such decent riding to me? Must be an illusion
i was just thinking the same thing 🙁
Bungalistic: Let me know where and when and I'll see if I'm around.
Chilterns ain't far
Epping Forest won't be too far from your place. There's some very good riding there but you need to really know your way around.
Drop me a line if you want to go out round Hertford way, email in profile.
My condolences... 😉
I've lived in the Ealing area a couple of years now and my riding has suffered compared to when I lived in Sweden and had the forest on my doorstep, or Manchester before that, or mid Wales before that.
In the last year though I've started to get out and about near to where I work (Chilterns, round Chesham way), plus the odd ride in the Surrey hills. Not really comparable to what I had access to before moving to London, but OK (bits of Surrey hills are more than OK in fact, just harder for me to organise getting to).
There is a surprisingly large amount of decent* riding to be had around Hertford if you know where to look. It’s Classic XC - field/bridleway riding with a few tricky singletrack sections in the woods. Most is best saved for the summer though; as it's rather muddy out there at the moment!
I'm looking to set up a casual mountain bike ride on Sundays starting from Hertford North Station if I get enough interest. Email in profile.
*Yes I know it's not the Peaks, Quantocks, Highlands or Llandegla but it makes me smile.
{Link removed as it seems to be a bit dodgy...}
when this place opens in a few? months time you will have another option, bit of info in this months dirt
there is loads to ride though...... west you have swinley, surrey hills, north you have woburn, chicksands, aston, the chilterns, east you have epping etc etc
kimbers, that link crashes Firefox for some reason.
Yeah plenty of riding around here, you may have to do a little bit of travelling and it's not Wales or Scotland but there is good stuff.
if you get the option relocate from Ilford (shitehole) to Hertford (nicererist) = 0 commuting and trails from doorstep (all be it muddy and foul mid winter)
Chicksands has a national 4X course & freeride area
Woburn (heard good things but never been)
Wendover Woods (hilly n rooty)
Epping Forest (mudtastic clay that bakes hard)
Herts Shore (if your 'core)
If you are stuck in Ilford then SERIOUSLY consider buying a BMX and get your arse down to Rom Skate Park - its a great place - i've rolled round there a few times and fun can be had regardless of skill level
http://www.thetrax.co.uk looks like they've got some cool stuff going on down there, it a shitty area though so take a damn B I G padlock with you
i'm North London based - email in profile if you wanna hook up
PS: (not my thing but i could intro you to a local DJ spot thats off the radar)
!!!!!!!!!K-I M-B-E-R-S!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOUR LINK TRIGGERED A VIRUS ALERT ON MY VIRGIN PC GUARD
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kimbers - yr link put some nasty ransomware on my PC.
Please pass that on to whoever's site it is.
Just cost me most of an afternoon's work!
I love Epping- it gets v.muddy in the winter tho. It's mostly an XC kinda place to be honest...Happy to show you around some time if you're interested....
I've been down here since July last year, living on Stamford Hill (N16) to be honest I didn't even contemplate bringing mountain bikes down with me.
Instead I commute 9 miles each way every day on a SS and now ride alot more road than before.
I only ride off road when I go back up norf for the weekend
hi bungalistic,
i too have just relocated to east london from a more hilly place, anyway i'd not bought my mountain bikes with me just choosing to head out when i head home most weekends. i would consider bringing my hardtail down and just leave my DH up north if i thought it might get used.
so if you fancy trying to find some places to ride then email me, i tend to ride DH, session fun sections, some trails/xc and have night lights.
democove at googlemail dot com
James
I'm a member of thetrax - it's a young club but we are getting things together.
Importantly there's a good bunch of people all into biking. Come along! Details on the website.
www.thetrax.co.uk
They ride at Epping, Chicksands, Swinley, Hog Hill, Esher Shore, Surrey Hills, Aston Hill..........e.t.c
Cool dudes too, I started riding with them all when I started up riding again and living in Hackney thinking London was barren. Couldnt have been more wrong!
hertford is where its at 🙂
Cheers for all the replies, I will be in touch with a few folk shortly once i'm down and settled. Ilford didn't seem too bad an area when we looked around (so I hope it ain't all that bad) as i'm there for a bit now I reckon.
if you want to ride herts shore shout me a holla 🙂
Cheers [b]jedi[/b] i'll be in touch once i'm down 🙂
ooops
seemed to be working fine the other day
ive contacted one of the guys running it!
its legit though.........
http://dirt.mpora.com/news/gravity-project-overspill-photos.html
There are some fun little tracks in whippendell woods in Watford, and some really good xc in ashridge near Hemel hempstead...