So posts recently have been that Swinley has been horrific, does anyone know if it's getting any better? was thinking about heading there this Sunday, especially since weather supposed to be ace.
Thanks in advance. MC.
Was fine yesterday and a lot drier than the day before. Should be fab tomorrow. Dusty soon :^)
note: there are still some damp bits but I reckon you'll survive (probably)
only slightly sticky in places, far from horrific, ok so its not dusty yet but the wet areas are easily avoidable, a lot drier this morning than it was last sunday, but then i'm off to wales for the weekend so i dont care! Have fun
Okay I didn't make myself clear 🙁 i was jus wondering if it was still as horrific as people had been posting a while back and rideable. If it's muddy then that's fine but didn't want to trek that way if it was horrifically muddy and unrideable. Cheers.
Well worth the trip at the mo. With this weather the trails are firming up quicker than a schoolboy at a cheerleaders convention.
If it doesn't rain it will be fine, it drains fast
was there today. Fantastic. I did have a crash in a boggy spot - but loads of rideable stuff.
Had a whizz round the woods yesterday - improving fast. But still mighty mashed after a sh!t winter - I'm amazed how wide some of the trails have gotten.
Been there twice this week and its good, nice and fast but had an over the bars on a boggy bit, haven't crashed for weeks so it was due. The little downhills at Surrey hill are a bit chewed up too.
Thinking of going tomorrow, but more worried about the harry potter filming restricting access to trails than the boggy parts. Just wondering whats still open now (and rideable)?
The Harry P crew have gone, so we have full access again. Most parts are drying rapidly, only a few little swamps still which you can easily avoid. Go for it!
I don't know Swinley well at all but was there last week testing a few bikes. It drys MUCH faster that the bog fest that I call home but still had a few boggy patches. However, I thought the place looked totally trashed in parts - more like a motorway in width as riders seem to have spent the winter desperately riding wider and wider to avoid their pretty bikes touching the muck. What does more damage to the trail - riding through the existing mucky line making it worse and worse or riding wider? I suspect it is the latter. If riders can't be persuaded not to ride there when trail damage for all outweighs short term personal gain, perhaps the trail fairies could put in barriers to force riders to keep to the line or putting in sections of north shore in known bad sections. Unrealistic I guess.... Golfers manage it though, keeping off greens and tees in the really bad weather.
Was out there last night and it's riding very nicely indeed, the bike was still clean when I was done and much of the ride was filled with my favourite sound, buzzing tyres on hard packed trails!
Some sections have really taken a hammering through the winter though, Whole 9 Yards in particular. I only rode the first section and then detoured onto the fireroads, such a shame as it used to be lovely and flowing.
Has there been any trail pixie-ing yet this year? I've not seen any evidence but then again I guess the bits that need it have been too ropey to work on for the last few months. Let's just hope that some of that HP cash will go towards some extra trail maintenance. If only BOB would open up their trail building days to non members I'd be up there like a shot.
Was there again last night, it's good now, nice and fast and mostly dry. Still a bit peeved that the three little downhills are really gouged out now full of braking bumps where they used to be lovely and flowing, oh well.
Worth a trip though.
Was the recent return of the Harry Potter lot always intended? I hope if it wasn't that whoever negotiates with them held them over a barrel and extracted serious amounts of money for letting them come back in winter to make a complete mess. Probably too much to hope that any of it will actually being invested in the trails though.
"really gouged out now full of braking bumps where they used to be lovely and flowing, oh well"
Pahhh, it'd be boring if it was flat and without that will it/wont it moment as drop into a corner and wonder if the front ends going to dig into the rut and throw you into the bushes 🙂
TINAS - newest Swinley fanboy
Agree with thepurist.
Mountain bikers certainly haven't seen any benefits from HP money despite trail closures and inconvenience we were subjected to yet again.
£20 for an annual permit is not value for money IMO.
But it is a luvverly shade of baby blue this year CG!
Haha 😆
Popped over there yesterday for a little pootle, first time for yonks. Trails drying out nicely just in time to get trashed by racers. 😉
CG causing trouble shocker. 😯
Yep agree that is high time more folk were able to get involved in building and maintaining the trails up there and wider interests served. Also agree that as paying users of the forest a bit of cash from the HP efforts could be diverted to at least fixing some of the mess they created if not improving the trails and adding more stuff.