Personally, it has to be Whites Level, Afan. What a climb! What a descent! What variety! There’s not a single part of that trail that I don’t enjoy.

The first main climb is nice and technical, yet fast whilst still managing to gain plently of height. The Black run is great fun, love the steep finale to it, especially riding the rock beam at the bottom of the steep bit. The Energy has a great mix of features and the boardwalks are so much fun.

I love it all.

like her sore-kellowna-canada(r.i.p)

Gary’s back passage, Lickey Hills

Schwarzsee, St Wolfgang, Austria

jedi – Member
like her sore-kellowna-canada(r.i.p)

Posted 13 minutes ago # Report-Post
rOcKeTdOg – Member
Gary’s back passage, Lickey Hills

Posted 11 minutes ago # Report-Post
jimmy – Member
Schwarzsee, St Wolfgang, Austria

Hi all. What is it about these trails that makes you look forward to going back to them? Would love to sample so many of the great trails out there, so useful to knoww what it is about each that makes it special. Thanks.

um, short, technical and it’s the trail i fall off most on

i can’t remember, its been 12 years since i rode it. but i still remember the feeling at the bottom and its rarely been matched.

tech and burly moves on one flowy shore trail

Old Webs to Sidewinder, Kingdom trails, Vermont

Tywi track in Mid Wales-
http://www.offroadadventures-online.com/rr049.html
or Google ‘Strata Florida landrover’. Wet, fun, fast in places, technical in others and superb views when you reach the top. And a bothy to boot.

Or the Dan yr Ogof Descent. Mentally fast, super riding, coming as the climax of a LONG moorland ride. Few people do it (to their loss) because of the long approach. 35 km of well rewarded hard work and Beacons views. With a lot of getting lost potential too.

the ride from Geysir to Hvitarnes in Iceland. You ride through the middle of nowhere and then turn off the track onto a smaller even sandier and wash-boarded track. And then later, onto a smaller one still, hoping to be greeted by the sight of a mountain hut close to the glacial lake. 35 km of pure slog and satisfaction.

But for pure mtb-fun. The Ardent loop via Morzine- Zore- Col de Joux Verte- Abricotine- Mosette- Lac Verte- Col de Chesery- Les Linderets- Ardent- Lac du Montriond- Morzine. 30 km of pure fun.

Man made – Golspie. I don’t have the time or descriptive powers to explain why. It kicks ass.
Natural – Carn ban Mor descent. There aren’t many trails that would make the pain of the up worth it. It does and more.

Theres a few that I would say that are Favourites but if I had to pick one it would be the Hagstein Trail in Kitzbuhel, Austria. Theres no way of knowing its there from the top which stops it getting busy with bikers or hikers. It has 42 successive Switchbacks, Vertical change of 1500m, has a great combination of Rocks, roots and drops… has open sections, tight sections, exposure, fantastic view, an Amazing cafe near the top.

And the best part… It drops you right back to the Gondola so you can do it again!!

recently i would say mittagberg, immenstadt, bavaria. very rooty at the top. spits you out onto meadows at full speed, can also stop and have a bierchen or two. tiny bit of road climb. then more roots with rocks. loads of variety with lines. then get a bit scary, riding along a ridge in the woods with 60+m drop both sides. then a nice flowy section where you can really pump the bike in the corners, but having to slow down for the rock with the gap, hard to explain with out a photo, hard to clear – most walk it.
arrrgh! when is the fegging snow going to melt?

basically a nice natural trail. lots of rocky and rooty technical bits. awesome views. good mix of speed and sections where you got to really think about lines.

At the moment i’m loving the local trail down through the five lords…..

Gary’s back passage, Lickey Hills

That’s local enough for me to be of interest – never actually been biking in the Lickeys (never really occurred to me to take a bike), though quite often go there to orienteer. Whereabouts is that?

i remember driving past lickey hills the day i went to get my bike – amused me for hours (still does!) 😆

it’s on the blibury tearooms/youth centre side near the old folks home, but it is very short! not worth a journey to get to, takes me 10 mins by bike though to get there

The next one…

Oh that’s a shame! I would have liked to have said I’ve ridden at Lickey Hills 😆

Penmachno, in north wales because i can ride it from my house and its awesome.

RD’s foot fetish is soo bad he favourite trail location has a related name….

Andrew Gannel Hill because it’s like this for ages..

Another Whites Level fan here.
Just what bikesare4riding said + it has great views.

RD’s foot fetish is soo bad he favourite trail location has a related name….

hehe

Used to work in church stretton and a dry minton batch on a summers evening after a ride up to the top of the glider station, was great! Techincal top section (can you clear the stream), followed by the ‘rock garden off camber bit’ and then the swoopy dusty trail that winds down by the brook at the bottom, a real fast blast with bits of the trail randomly washed out by the stream so need to keep the speed high to do the odd bit of ‘wall’ riding up the side of the trail.

Oh and the cheeky townbrook trail was also pretty special. With the ‘qualifier’ start to it and then the singletrack blast down the steep sided valley was pretty breathtaking…

;o)

I find it hard to choose, favourite dh track would be the French National in Avoriaz. Favourite trail would be in La Grave…

Starts like this…

continues to this…

About half hour later you get to this…

About an hour descent in total with some climbing :o)

Assuming we’re sticking to UK trails for the moment…
Trail centre, it’s the final descent on the Red at Kirroughtree – SO fast and flowing and it just goes on and on. One of thoise trails that flatters your riding, makes you feel faster/better than you really are.
Natural, it’d be Loughrigg Terrace in the Lakes. It’s not the trail itself per se, it’s a combination of the views over Rydal Water, the speed you can get down it and the fact that, at ‘bimbling’ speeds it’s a lovely family trail, at ‘warp’ speeds, it’s thrilling stuff, you’re “on” the bike the whole time and the trail actually becomes quite technical, not least cos there’s a fairly serious penalty if you get it wrong. For best results, do it at crack of dawn or at dusk on a summers day when there’s no walkers around.
There are far better tech trails and far better fast ones and trails with bigger views etc etc but the Terrace is easy to access and combines the best of all worlds.

Lower Sawmill, because it’s technical, rocky snake of a track.
Skyline, very fast singletrack but the trees are very close & the rocks are sharp.
& one from yesteryear;
Mount Fyfe, Kaikoura. 1600m in 8km. Just hold on & try not to go over the cliffs.

RD’s foot fetish is soo bad he favourite trail location has a related name….

which bit is foot related?, anyway i can’t stand feet, shoes on the other hand…..;)

better description is trail starts off the path to the ‘hundred steps’ and comes out opposite the former lickey hills squash club

Hmm probably the red/black at Kirroughtree – perfect combination of great scenery and awesome riding. Really makes the most of all the climbing you have to do.

Not so much in terms of pure riding, but I have to say speeding along the Helvellyn ridge was pretty spectacular.

Edit: I like Loughrigg Terrace too, but there isn’t any big ‘penalty for failure’ really is there? Def not compared to that new singletrack climb at Whinlatter!

it’s local and it’s a FOOTPATH. shhh!

Im torn,

Nant yr arian, cause ive been SO many times living at uni 10 miles away, and know every swoop and turn like the back of my hand, on and off piste,

But first visit to Penmachno yesterday was insanely good.
why the hell did we waste all that time on the Marin in the past when Pm is only over the road?
perhaps i was just “in the zone” but i think i might secretly be a riding God. I was in my element on those rocky swoopy, scarily fast narrow ledges yesterday
cant wait to go back

Trail Centre: Penmachno – You don’t notice the climbing, it’s very varied, long enough and not too technical – everyone can enjoy it without scaring themselves stupid.

Guidebook: The Bewick ride from Derek Purdy’s Northumberland guide book.
Starts with a challenging climb behind a scruffy farm, crosses a desolate moor, then a stunner of a drop back down to the valley. Don’t forget to visit the church at Old Bewick, and take a camera.

Natural(ish): Dinorwic slate quarries, Llanberis. Horrible road climb up the Fachwen and on through Deniolen, the village that time forgot, but all worth it for the descent through the most spectacular quarry I’ve ever seen.

folllow the dog

the downhill trail from Uetliberg to Zurich

**** ace

if its uk trails then its herts shore by miles

The track along Lonscale Crags after the Blencathra Centre. Great trail and it has so many happy memories of my early days of mountain biking with my wife. Happy days.

UK – Kirroughtree?
Europe – Cresta Run with Switch-backs.com in Sierra Nevada
World – Helibiking off Rainbow Mountain nr Whistler

In memory, probably one of the trails in Sun Valley Idaho – when my wife finally “got” mtb and with her speed came massive grins.

Recently it’s a toss up between the Ultimate in Verbier, gr27 in the Sierra’s and maybe Minton Batch.

cwmcarn, mainly cos i can see it from my house, otherwise brechfa