Other Mountain Bike Rides

Battle on the Beach
Having fun on the Shand Tumshie at the Battle of the Beach

This page hosts a collection of GPS tracklogs from some of the off-road mountain bike rides I have done when on holiday or otherwise well and truly away from my home on the south coast of England. You can:

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Ride Description Miles Total Miles off road Climb Feet
Burford Show Map GPX Camping in the Cotswolds one weekend and did a cracking ride at six a.m. A great time for seeing all manner of wildlife 21 13 1350
Crèvecoeur-en-Brie Show Map GPX Clockwise. We were camping here during a Disneyland Paris visit. 18 0 0
Sérignan Plage Show Map GPX On holiday in Languedoc-Rousillon. Took a ride to a local nature reserve using farm tracks through vineyards and along the Canal du Midi which stretches from the Med to the Atlantic. 13 5 0
Pays de Pézenas Show Map GPX This was an official French MTB (or VTT as they say) off-road route near Bessilles. Area 138 at Sites VTT-FFC. It was supposed to be 25Km but I ended up doing around 35Km as I kept on missing the signposts! Stunning views over the fields and vineyards with the Pyrenees forming a beautiful backdrop on the horizon. 22 18 0
Bath Show Map GPX Camping at Newton Mill. After looking at the monster hills north west of Bath, I decided to go anti-clockwise and do the tough stuff first. Fabulous views for miles around on the outbound leg with rocks, streams, mud and some amazing tracks, Pus an easy run home along the old railway. 25 16 1600
Clumber Park Show Map GPX Visiting family in Lincolnshire, so Clumber Park seemed like the nearest point to get an off-road loop. Very pleasant area, albeit rather flat. I rode anticlockwise to take in the Robin Hood way. Easy going ride with not much excitement. 28 22 1320
Barbury Castle Show Map GPX South of Swindon anti-clockwise. The Ridgeway scenery looks to be stunning on a good day, but this wasn't a good day. It rained the whole way round, varying only between light and heavy. Still a good ride with plenty of potential for some fast downhills in better weather. 24 20 2120
The Beast at Coed y Brenin Show Map GPX To Wales for the real deal. Came off good style and gained some impressive the bruises to prove it. Monster adrenaline rush. The site info only makes the climb 2560 feet for some reason, but the GPS (and my legs) reckon almost double that. 23 23 5020
Marin Trail at Gwydyr Forest Show Map GPX Excellent ride. Not so extreme as the Beast but still plenty of fun with even better views, if that's possible. Long initial climb but well worth it. Hampshire will never seem the same after these two amazing rides. Again, my recorded climb was much more than the site info (1476 feet). 16 15 1875
Nizas Show Map GPX Languedoc-Rousillon for summer hollies once again. Area 138 at Sites VTT-FFC once more, but this time the route from Nizas. Mainly XC with a very nasty rocky descent just. Got off and walked for that bit, but otherwise top quality ride through vineyard slopes and hot hard-packed hillside with a glorious single track descent. 22 ? 1485
La Salvetat Show Map GPX Area 55 at Sites VTT-FFC. Red route with tough climbs up the hills around the beautiful Lac de la Riviege. Parts of it were on a pilgrim trail footpath, but I got lost near the start. I'll take a proper IGN map next time. Views to die for once I had got up the steep lakeside climbs. 19 ? 1610
Standlake Show Map GPX Camping at Lincoln Farm Park near Oxford so took the oportunity for a ride. What a flat part of the world! Not a classic ride but pleasant enough to keep the legs moving. 23 16 780
Edale Show Map GPX To the Peak District! Did a loop of 14.6 miles from Edale including Jacob's Ladder. This is MTB heaven without a doubt. Long killer rocky climbs with monster rocky descents, many of which I baled out from. Made the Beast at CyB seem tame. Still, I loved every minute of it! 15 15 2990
Horncastle Show Map GPX Up at Billinghay in Lincolnshire seeing family. Not many bridleways around here, but I found a decent loop north of Horncastle for a Sunday morning blast. Not as flat as I'd expected—a fine ride with good scenery and some decent climbs. 18 12 1240
Alderstead Heath Show Map GPX North East of Reigate. A weekend camping so I sneaked out for an early ride. I was surprised by how much off road I could get this close to London. Much of the North Downs is footpath-only, so I struggled to find a loop. Decent hard pack allowed me to do more mileage than usual without getting tired. 30 19 2300
Dalby Forest Show Map GPX Camping in York so I tried out the red trail at Dalby Forest. I had to cut out a bit of the north east section (points 19-24) as I was worried about it getting dark. Excellent fun —it was fast, flowing and perfect for my (not very high) skill level. 23 23 1960
Holmbury Hill and Pitch Hill Show Map GPX Met with old riding pals. I didn't know stuff like this existed so close to London (other than Swinley Forest). Proper singletrack, good descents, tough climbs and brilliant weather. Couldn't have asked for more! 15 14 1980
Alicourts 1 Show Map GPX Anti-clockwise Loire Valley ride from our campsite. Flat and heavily wooded area. Would have been lost without the GPS as there are virtually no landmarks. 12 11 840
Alicourts 2 Show Map GPX Anti-clockwise as above, but longer. Saw no-one the whole ride, a very quiet area indeed. Did a few miles along the very odd Canal de la Sauldre—a long abandoned canal which goes from nowhere to nowhere as it became defunct before it was completed. All that's left are abandoned locks and wildlife. 30 27 1540
BHF London to South Coast Offroad Show Map GPX BHF charity ride. Got a bit lost a few times which caused me to do a lot more road work, but it all came good in the end. Fabulous day out, recommended to anyone thinking of doing a long ride for the first time. The track joining the North and South Downs is on a disused railway line which lets you eat the miles in top gear, and the only tough bits are crossing the Downs. Got a great reception on the seafront at the finish. 75 55 2775
Sherwood Pines Show Map GPX Followed a clockwise route. Sherwood Pines is very similar to Swinley Forest - dry twisty trails, no rocky stuff. Great Boxing Day morning out, a perfect antidote to Christmas idleness. 13 13 1480
Brecon Beacons Gap Show Map GPX Classic ride last done many years ago. It's still a fabulous ride. The wind and rain at the very top blew us sideways but that was forgotten the minute we got the reward of the long downhill blast. The canal towpath makes for a pleasant start and finish. 26.7 24 5942