How did the XC routes that existed before Beds Fat Trax (or whatever its called now) suddenly become theirs to charge for the use of (those that still exist of course)?

if you ride there regular its not such a bad deal is it?

seams so

sootyandjim – Member
How did the XC routes that existed before Beds Fat Trax (or whatever its called now) suddenly become theirs to charge for the use of (those that still exist of course)?

When they leased the land from FE? I wouldn't be surprised if day membership is one of the conditions of their insurance.

Its a bit harsh to charge £5 a day for the currently unexciting and badly kept XC trails but then again, its not really an XC venue at the moment, and the dual track is worth the price of admission on its own.

It needs serious work before they can charge for the XC routes in my opinion, I thought it was dreadful last time I went there. Was going to walk over to the jumpy bits to watch and got totally pounced on for not having a day pass aswell.

That being said if it was improved hugely I might consider a visit in the future.

woburn i think is much cheaper too. much more xc and to be honest the dh stuff is more fun too.
Only reason I go to chicksands is because its half an hour closer after work

Shocking on every conceivable level. I'm a local who rides up to Chicksands most weekends for a canter around the xc routes. I call them 'routes'. Only reason I can go round is because I know them from when they were actually waymarked. They are currently unmarked and in a shocking state of disrepair, plenty of thorns to scrape past in many places at the moment.

If the XC routes were a) marked, b) looked after, and c) far more interesting and enjoyable then they would be worthy of a fee. Until then, well, looks like I'll have to cross my local off my ride list.

have emailed them for an explanation – perhaps you should too: info@chicksandsbikepark.co.uk

…I wonder…

…if its a segregation issue?

As in – there are probably plenty of "xc" riders who turn up, ride round the woods a couple of times, then have a quick blast down the duel or whatever. Now to ride that, under the terms of the lease they need to have paid for their day ticket. As the bike park isn't fenced off from the rest of the wood, they've probably been told that the only way they can be fully covered is to make everybody pay to ride. That way there's no issues with people riding the bike park for free and (shock horror) uninsured.

As others have said – its free to do what the hell you like during the week!

chunky lads on a DH bike
Darren ain't exactly chunky… 😉 And given the poor sod is still waiting to find out whether he's going to lose his foot or not, frankly in his situation I'd be a damn sight less upbeat!