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Applying to University soon.
Already ruled out Cambridge, I hear its flat there.
Thinking of going to Oxford instead, hear its hilly - but whats the mountain biking like there? If its rubbish, will probably end up going to somewhere in Wales instead..
depends what you're used to at the moment... it's not exactly what i'd call hilly living next to the peak district, and they're not exactly huge hills!
what do you wanna do at uni? Sheffields uni's are pretty good, and a great place to be 🙂
Who told you Oxfordshire was hilly?!
Gently undulating, perhaps - very pleasant for road rides. Head a little south to the Chilterns and you'll find plenty of trails.
Not sure who told me.. just word of mouth I think..
How far is a "little" south?
Going to do maths.
Grew up round there and went to school in Abingdon - so a lot of my formative riding was in Oxfordshire.
There's great riding in the Berkshire Downs, endless bridleways - head towards the Ridgeway and Lambourn area, about 15 miles south of Oxford.
Not far north of Oxford you have the Cotswolds - again good riding.
Oxford itself has Shotover hill, which is a good place for blasting round of an evening.
Get on the A40 going west and you're in the Forest of Dean in 1 1/2 hours.
The good thing about Oxford is it's central location - some good riding nearby, and also fast road links to other good areas.
Actually it's more like South East.
Fewer than 20 miles.
A beautiful city to live in too.
Thanks, very reassuring.
I understand the benefits of going to uni at oxford, and my parents have both been telling me
NO, "THE MOUNTAIN BIKING WONT BE AS GOOD" IS NOT AN EXCUSE TO GO TO SOME RUBBISH UNI IN WALES INSTEAD OF OXFORD
and I was having a feeling that they were at least a little bit right.
Perhaps you should look into whether Oxford Uni has a decent mountain bike society? Most Unis do, and will typically organise group trips to Wales etc.
Chilterns are v close with excellent trails.
As above - Oxford itself fairly flat. Shotover wood apparently good for a blast. I used to work in Oxford and live in Watlington - about 12 miles away. Lots of good riding around there (base of the chilterns). I originally went to Loughborough Uni - realised the riding was rubbish around there and (perhaps more significantly) realised that riding was actually quite important to me so left and went to Leeds. Turned down Cambridge too ;).
10 miles out of Oxford is Benson, some cracking trails around there, no huge hills, but lumpy enough. If you want more details, just PM me.
Lots of good trails around Watlington ( I would say that I live there !),
also Aston Hills not too far if you want some downhill.
Cotswolds around Stanton/Snowshill also good and within an hour.
The Chilterns is not extreme riding but good trail riding, rolling hills/valleys and beech woods and lots of bridleways to choose from.
I have a van and can drive anywhere for a bike ride, but often choose the Chilterns. Thats because the hills wont kill you, the singletrack is endless and there are more trails than you can shake a stick at. Plus there are great pubs in the villages to finish the ride on.
Ive been riding them for 15+ years and still enjoy new trails there.
Oxford's a lot better than people make out. Like others here have said, you have decent access to the Chilterns, Cotswolds, Swinley and the North Doans. Unlike other places it's also possible to do some proper riding out of the city centre. Trimix and I are part of a group that rides every Tuesday evening and most weekends. In the evening's we're normally out on Shotover or Boars Hill. There's a surprising amount of stuff up there. Plus you can follow cheeky singletrack a lot of the way from the city centre up onto Shotover if you know where to look. If you make it through the interview process (and don't necessarily count on that) and get in then be sure to drop me a line and join up with us. As long as you can keep quiet about what this history lecturer gets up to outside of work...
I was a student in Cambridge. Talk about a barren desolate mountain biking wasteland...
I ride in Oxford / Chilterns / local area with Trimix & Mattie_H above and would echo exactly what they have said, a great deal of good riding nearby! 🙂
I was a student in Cambridge. Talk about a barren desolate mountain biking wasteland...
How can you have forgotten about Thetford forest?!?
Agree with the those above though, lots of excellent riding in and around the Oxford area.
[i]"RUBBISH UNI IN WALES"[/i] Not that I every went, but surely they aren't all rubbish? (know where I'd prefer to go...)
Back in my day Bristol & Durham both had a good rep for maths (perhaps better than Oxford) Dunno what the riding's like round Durham but Bristol must tick the boxes as long as you can keep your bike long enough to ride it
Students.......arent they too Stoned/Drunk/Hungover/Lazy etc to go mountain biking ?
Exactly how much mountain biking did you do when you were in Cambridge Crispedwheel?!
No Trimix--they're too stoned / drunk / hungover / lazy etc. to do any work. *
* Disclaimer: this is not necessarily nor entirely true.
I'm also in the Oxford singletrackers group that Trimix and Mattie H ride in, we all found each other through singletrack. I used to think it was rubbish but these guys have shown me there is more out there. Okay it's not awesome like it would be in Cardiff or Peaks but it's enough to make it worthwhile that you'll enjoy uni but get the benefit of going to Oxford. There is a large MTB/cycle scene at the uni as well (my brother was part of it). Feel free to e-mail me, Trimix or Mattie to join our crew. Had a top 4 hour ride a few weeks ago in 28 degree heat around local hills about 13 of us and ended in pub for sunday roast! Top day out.
Exactly how much mountain biking did you do when you were in Cambridge Crispedwheel?!
Hmm - might be a grain of truth in Trimix's point above.
I grew up in Oxford and cut my MTB teeth on Shotover, Boar's Hill and the Chilterns. It may not be mega challenging off-road, but the mass acceptance of cycling as a credible form of transport gives riding in Oxford more appeal than it would have in almost any other city. I miss it.
If you get in you won't regret it. I've heard the Uni isn't bad either...
😉