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Loving the Border' 😀
The perfect ride locally has to start on the Darwen Moors ride over to Rivi do the local trails, climb up to the mast fly down the other side then ride back over to Darwen for one of the decents from the tower 😀
Bolehillz.
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or the peak?
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one of my local trails, literally 15 min ride from my doorstep - mucho fun
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freeridenick - Member
one of my local trails, literally 15 min ride from my doorstep - mucho funSooo many line choices 8)
DaveyBoyWonder - Member
Norland Moor and North Dean Woods, Halifax. Contains every type of riding you can imagine in a small area. Moorland singletrack, rocky singletrack descents, smooth light speed fast singletrack, technical climbs, rocks, roots, steps, jumps, super tech stuff, steep stuff, mellow stuff, woodsey stuff, wide open multi line stuff and lots of places to just sit with amazing views and watch the world go by beneath you in the valley.
Amen! Just up the hill from me, a great playground! First place I head for some bike fun.
another you can really put the hammer down
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Living at the foot of the Quantocks, why would I ride anywhere else?
Same place as this
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and this
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and this
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If I told you I'd have to kill you!
Aye Yair although 1hr 45 wouldn't be enjoyable 🙂
How did Moorland come about? surely its not all the product of fuel burning and ship building?
Not a fan of moorland. Desolate always springs to mind. I remember the thorn/scratches on my arms for summers riding in Surrey.....singletrack sooo close..
Darn you miss it when its gone 🙁
footstomper - thats one of my very regular afternoon blasts too. Its a belter isn't it? 😀
For me it has to be Blacka Moor as part of my from the front door loop, always plenty to choose from depending on my mood at the time, after that it would have to be Lady Bower
Western Park in Leicester, although I can't really waste hours there unless I'm with someone - gets a bit boring riding by yourself
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Haven't seen it that green and dry for ages though!
Cannock Chase is my 'playground' on the MTB, generally stick to Sherbrook and Severn Springs area if I'm just going for a quick blast around since I can ride to Milford/Brocton in 10-15 mins, but good to link into the 'official' trails or even a bit further afield for a longer ride!
Loads of fun little areas once you know a few of the main 'landmarks'
Sunny Pic just after popping out of some woods before a long drag upwards to the next little spot!
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cleeve hill, some great descents!
Proper Bo on Pitch Hill is my favourite playground. The trail that just keeps on giving - short but great fun.
Speaking of deliverance, here's my first attempt at it back in 2007:
Cannock Chase as a favourite playground? You need to get out more.
+1 hora - woods over moors any day.
hora - MemberDeliverance is deceptive- its got a steeper first couple of metres with roots etc and its very very loose fine earth with along (steepish) straight roll in. Its the fine earth etc that catches you out.
Obviously I wasn't there, but I'd say a riders biggest enemy on that slope is himself. Commit and it'll be piss easy, falter and it will hurt you, as with most technical features I suppose, he says stating the obvious.
The nearest I've got to that I suppose is Glen Tanar.
Riden it in all weathers and all times of the year.
Has short 1 hour loops to 5-6 hour epics going over the Firmounth and down the Fungle or even bag a monro (and a snakebite puncture or two) on Mount Keen. Usual route has a proper river crossing which can be halfway up your thighs after rain.
Other than that I guess Kirkhill.
Oh, lucky bugger that lives at Yair. I remember an ace race course from there from back-in-the-day...
I used to live near Rivington as a kid and know the area very well having walked and cycled the hills for about 18 years.
I used to live near the Quantock, I'd like to tell you there the best place I've ever ridden a bike, but to be honest they're rubbish*. 😉
I now most like to ride around Northumberland. I'm loving the road biking. Nice big climbs, stunning wild scenery and proper local villages. Mountainbiking is good but it's taking me longer to find the right places as they're spread out. Kielder is probably the place I've ridden most, I'm liking the long routes out onto the hills rather than the main trails.
Cannock Chase as a favourite playground? You need to get out more.
Depends what tracks you ride and how you ride them I guess. Like I said, 10mins ride from my door, playground ain't gonna be a 6hour drive away is it?
Also have some good BMX trails but as this is an MTB site I mentioned where I play on my MTB.
Mike Check- by BMX trail do you mean Wildwood ?
Scruff - Haha yea I do, spent a lot of time digging there in the past! You go down there?
Not necessarily my favorite trail but my local 'playground' is Gisburn Forest. Its ace for an afternoon bomb around. There is a fantastic community spirit feel as well what with all the buzz surrounding the new trails and volunteer built sections.
I love it up there. 8)
Tracknicko - that 1st picture wasn't taken in Holehills, beside the 'sporty', was it?
Bolehills (as it's 100m from my door) and Loxley Common are my favorite play spots.
Soon to be more so, as Bolehills is in the middle of a giant refurb
Mike Ive been over but there too steep for me these days, unless any mellower stuff has been dug ?
They are mostly a bit mental now, the new kids have taken over diggin duties! But there's a lot of new stuff gone up over the winter and they kinda start a bit smaller right up into the woods and get bigger as they work there way down to the bottom.
The big sets now are way too big for me nowadays though!
mike_check - MemberDepends what tracks you ride and how you ride them I guess. Like I said, 10mins ride from my door, playground ain't gonna be a 6hour drive away is it?
Also have some good BMX trails but as this is an MTB site I mentioned where I play on my MTB.
I'll admit I've never ridden the 'good stuff', but ffs, I used to almost drive past there every day (from Wolverhampton) on the way to and from work - home being the Peaks. It can be done in less than an hour (just) - disclaimer - if anyone (associated with the feds) works out the miles per hour average, then I'm quite obviously lying.
However, I digress - Peaks an hour away / Cannock's fave place - still doesn't compute, sorry.
Mine is probably glentress. Sorry! But it's ace, and I ride there so often that I've really got to know it and appreciate it, in a lot of ways it's where I learned to ride again but it's still a blast, every time.
Locally I've got a couple of spots that I can just go and knock about in, paths and reservoir banks at Harlaw, the DH trails at Bonaly, and a thing that nobody else ever seems to acknowledge even exists, 1 mile from my house with a load of short rooty descents and climbs, a "stepping stone" stream crossing, all sorts of interesting features. I've spent a load of time in these wee spots but still, I'd rather be on Pie Run 
Nowt wrong with Glentress- I like it.
Devs i recognise those places from my youf 😀
The routes from my house - if it involves driving it's hassle...
so that means anywhere on the South Downs between Chanctonbury (particularly the Upper Horseshoe followed by Woodman's Drop) and Blackcap Hill.
The Bombholes by Keymer Post also deserve a special mention.
TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR
I can kind of see where you're coming from, but I think my definition of 'playground' is differing from yours! I can get out the door and be riding by the time I've got my wheel off and got the bike in the car ready to go!
Woods, singletrack and hills that don't take me forever to push back up along with the fact I have a map of the place inside my head make it perfect for me to thrash about for a couple of hours whenever the mood takes me!
obviously my fave is herts shore. its a mix of north shore,alpine and bmx influences that mkae up a technical challenge that changes every ride 🙂
For me it's Drumlanrig, battered out a lap of the red with the dug before work yesterday and was set up for the whole day - still buzzing now. Trails you can't get bored of - that would be a good thread. It was the first time I'd ridden alot of the recent rebuilds and it all flows just how I wanted it to.
Devs i recognise those places from my youf
then you'll know what a gnarly uber riding god I must be to get air off the rock in the first pic! 🙂 Took me 2 years and a Nomad to build up the courage to do that after watching my pal's son do it. Now I do it on my On-One Singlespeed at night in the snow. Still bottle the big drops into that bombhole though.
underground i've no idea what your Q actually is.
but thats bolehills mate. soon to be ULTRA-bolehills. or megatron-hills or something.
Hudu is down with the digger and its going off!
Out of the door, onto the canal, left turn down the steps, cross Strines road, down the bridle way, over the Roman bridge at the river Goyt (saw salmon and sea trout jumping up the weir there last October). Follow the river, past 'windy bottom farm' ( that name always makes me giggle). Sharp left, climb up Shielan.
First left again up the steep bit of 'bottom of the Banks'. Breather.
Then a lovely sandy track, with great views over 'that Manchester'. up the lane and down into the Hamlet of 'Brook bottom'. Up the lane, first left up rocky path passing New Mills golf course. Breather at the top, taking in the views of Hayfield and Kinder Scout.
Along the lane and down the rocky 'zig zags', back up the lane, left turn onto BOAT. First right up track past lumber yard, first left up 'Black Lane'. Can play in the quarry just below if there's time or straight down. Whoo hoo time as it's mostly down hill now to the Roman lakes. The little descent down 'the Banks' is legend and makes me feel like a trail God ( even though I ride it very cautiously). Turn right at the bottom, along the bumpy lane leading to 'Mellor and Townscliff' golf course, onto fast downhill rocky descent-Linnets clough. Turn left if for a cafe stop or right for horrid climb back home. That's the price to pay for living up a hill.
All before me tea!
Rivvy for me as well, being local helps a lot.
For me it's Afan.
A 5 min drive in the car and I'm there.I love it now its starting to dry out and get all dusty again.Some of the hills around that aren't on the trail routes are well worth exploring.
Foel DH is right by there too, even though its been trashed by bikers at the moment
For bog standard, easy accsible fun it is Standish, Gloucester for me (ok Haresfield) I have only done a few of the big trail centres and only once so I cant count those!
Standish is cool; lots of little bits all in one tiny place. I use it as a training ground and a confidence builder. The dogs come too, and are not in danger of getting run over etc (mind you if the downhillers are flying about, I tend to bugger off for everyone's safety)