MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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i rode the Summit trail at Nant yr Arian last week, something I used to do with ease,
I've not ridden much this year, the leg burner hurt,
This weekend I'm in Bristol for NYE,
Tempted to bring the bike with me and don't mind traveling an hourish from Bristol to get somewhere good to ride,
With my current lack of fitness in mind and a desire not to get lost, what recommendations do you have for a Trail centre/ route within an hour and a half of Bristol/bath area?
Had Forest of Dean of Cwmcarn in mind?
Either of those or Ashton Court. Ashton is pretty flat but just next to the Clifton Suspension bridge so may be a no car option.
Most natural trails are, as you'd expect, very, very wet.
on-piste, i'd go cwm carn from brizzle. off-piste, i'd go FOD or pontypool...
Mendips or Quantocks ?
Personally (given your fitness etc) I would just go for a spin round Ashton and keep the driving to a minimum / zero
Through the twin tunnels in bath is nice. Not very off Roady but good
Depends on your fitness and what you're after.
Basically just outside Bristol you have Ashton Court and Leigh Woods. Both trail centres for the main, and fairly flat so Fitness wouldnt be an issue. Amusing for a lap or so of each, but no meaningful downhills. There is some off piste in Leigh Woods but I imagine it'll be really muddy. Ashton Hill I've heard is shut to protect the trails as it's all mud.
If it were me I think I'd go to Cwmcarn. Try and do one lap of Cafell and one lap of the Twych. Cafell first perhaps as the climb is a real lung burner. The downhill se too. Is brilliant though. Twych has a nice bit of swoopy jumps / berms at the top that I really love.
I've never been to Forest of Dean to comment on what those trails are like, but a definite option.
Probably too late to get booked in, but if you fancied uplift then Flyup 417 project at Cheltenham is fun. Only 3 trails though, and heard the black one is shut. Has a 4x track and dirt jumps both inside and outside.
FoD is worth checking out, there are a lot of hidden trails off of the logging roads north of the Peddleaway Centre.
It's possible to spend two or three hours riding a relatively small area, [i]but[/i], the trails aren't marked, and they're often just visible as a slight gap in the trees.
There's some decent riding up on the Marlborough Downs from Avebury, which is worth visiting in its own right, taking the lane just across from the pub, signed Green Street, which is the Herepath. This will take you up to and across the Ridgeway, following the Sustrans Marlborough trail then down into Rockley, up a pretty lung-busting climb onto a byway that runs across to Barbury Castle, then pick up the Ridgeway back to the Herepath and down into Avebury.
Watch the chalk, if damp it can be like Teflon.
About fifteen miles or so.