Kids want to go out riding today. Can’t really take them on the local gnarr stuff as the climbs make me want to cry so thought we’d give pines a try.
11 and 8 both on 26″ good bikes and have completed the Vederrrerrreees at Forest of Dean but on a quiet wed afternoon.
Are we gonna piss loads of folk off if we head on to the red? And if we do the blue will they find it boring?

My mate Chris will be there today in his white yeti. He can hold a very respectable speed around the red. However, if you bump into each other, he’ll slow down and chat rather than being a bellend about it. Ironically, they’ll be someone there slower than him who will be a nob when he catches you up.

You’ll be fine. If someone upset a family is using the red on a sat thats their problem, they should pick a time when it’s not busy.

Don’t want to spoil the day for others, we usually break apart a bit anyway as the 11 yr old girl is starting to show some potential on the pedals.
I’m sock between Cannock and pines but have never ridden pines so I’ve no idea what to expect. Cannock had some right grumpy fookers there the other week, probably the reason I haven’t rode it for nearly a year.

The red at sherwood is more like a blue anyway. Fine for kids, mine are 7+9 and enjoy it.

Never encountered any attitude there. Have a good day!

The blue route at Pines is ok for pottering about on.
You could do a lap of blue followed by red quite easily.

Yeah, you’ll be fine. Most of the trail is wide enough that people shouldn’t have any issues and you should have a nice ride!

I’m meeting a mate there at 10. I’ll be on my FSR and my mate will borrowing a Sortie 29er full sus.

My mum rides around Pines with my lad. She’s 70ish and has no problems. Good for the family.

As above. The red is a non-tech trail with some great bits for fast pedally stuff, but if you go there on a weekend you expect to see families out and about.

Besides which trail etiquette suggests that the person in front has priority. If they want to slow/stop/let you past, that’s up to them. The thought of screaming up behind a family out to get a bit of fun and experience and then behaving like a nobber ‘cos they hold you up is so alien to the whole reason I go riding in the first place.

My point is, don’t ever go to a trail centre ready to apologise to anybody because they’ve been inconvenienced by you or your children. If you worry about what others think you will do one of two things. You will put your kids off from riding where there are other people for fear of spoiling someone else’s day, or subconsciously endorse the ethos that it’s OK for more experienced riders to act like tossers.

^ Fair point, put well ^

Any half decent mtb’r would be pleased to see kids out on the trails. We were all young once. The occasional nobber is just that. Have fun.

Took my 11y old daughter to the Pines a few times as its nearish to the in laws

She rides a rigid kids bike and easily cleaned the blue at the first attempt
The red is fine, there are one or two singletracky bits where its awkward to pass but most people are patient and polite, and she loves it

We have only ever got low grade whinging about being blocked once from a group of guys on Orange 5’s wearing full face helmets and body armour who really should have known better and on the fire roads you get the occasional fat bloke riding far too fast on a Halfords special

On the whole its a good day out
Go for it

If I want an unimpeded lap of Pines I’ll start early doors as I know it gets busy after weekend breakfast time. It can get annoying when people don’t check after a section to see if anyone has caught up though.

Well that was a total blast. Kids loved it therefore we loved it. They even got a few plaudits from the folk who passed us which was nice. Id have loved stuff like that when I was their age!

Glad you had a good time. We try and take the kids when we can, and we are in norwich! My boys both love it.