So im going to be in bristol for four week training for a new job in january. Ill have evenings free so hoping i may get some riding in to avoid hotelbod?! And hopefully a bit of training.
Any good riding in bristol? Ill be in stoke gifford area. Road/cx/mtb?

From the door step there’s plenty of good road riding to the north and east, heading out towards Castle Combe. A bit further afield and there’s the Mendips.

MTB wise, Leigh Woods and Ashton Court are just south west of the centre. Decent fun, easily marked all weather trails in both and some good off piste stuff if you know where you’re looking but that’ll mostly be gloop this time of year.

+1 to the above, check leigh woods and ashton court as they’re really close to town. Good stuff in the mendips from Rowberrow a short drive away.

It’s also pretty easy to hop over into South Wales on the road bike, over the old Severn bridge at aust

Plenty of trails on the Mendips/Rowberrow. These don’t drain well, though, so personally I don’t ride there much in the winter. If you don’t mind a 40 minute drive, Wind Hill is excellent, and the trails (especially the blacks) drain really well, so are rideable even during the wettest months.

Of the stuff in Bristol, Ashton Court is all weather, but very tame unless you’re on an xc bike. Leigh Woods is similar, although there is some off piste stuff which is much more technical. Gets very muddy in the winter, though.

Bike Park Wales is only an hour away and now the bridge is free of charge is a bit cheaper overall.

There are a couple of decent pump tracks in Bristol if that’s your thing as well.

JP

Head out towards olveston and across the bridge for some good rides (road)

Mtb – easiest options are ashton court and leigh woods. They’re pretty all weather with built trails and a number of sections have been redone by Architrail / Pedal Progression / Volunteers. Nothing to blow your mind but they are good fun especially for a night ride. I’d say they’re better on a hardtail than a capable fs bike as they’re very much flow rather than technical.

Off piste in Leigh Woods is much more technical but will be trickier than normal as covered in leaves and quite muddy at this time of year.

As others have said, Windhill is good and not too far away for a weekend visit. Flyup 417 is a similar time away. Cwmcarn rides well in the wet too and is about an hour drive normally.

I would say Bike Park Wales is more than an hour from Bristol in my experience – at least an hour and a half minimum.

I always enjoy riding Cwmcarn. Good XC trails with enough interesting features to engage a decent rider, flat out and fun descents and fairly big climbs.

The new surfacing of the Ashton Court trails has made them pretty flowy, which is fun though it’s dumbed them down a bit. They’re well made though and you can hit the berms as fast as your confidence will allow. They’re not as slippy as they were though, which is a bonus in the wet.