Rides in and around Tewkesbury / Cheltenham

clubsport911

I've only just moved into the area so looking to hook into whoever pedals around here on a Sunday / Sat morning basis. Have done Bredon quite a few times but cannot see the fun by a single climb (unless of course, you know otherwise ?)

Malverns are close, but would prefer to pedal with someone of middle level ability (and not the racing snakes of 18yrs old).

Forest of Dean ?

Anyhow, despite being here for a while, it's the "come on it's Sunday who's coming to XXX" I miss.

Any help, most appreciated.

ddoogie

Hi there mate. I've been a Cheltenham rider for years now! I usually ride up Cleeve or Lecky hill. There are miles are routes available. The Cheltenham cycle club is also very active. They do rides every week with different skill levels etc. www.cc-cc.co.uk is the site.

I would love to show you round some routes but unfortunately I'm heading off to uni elsewhere in under a week. The bike shops in and around the area should be more than happy to help you plan a route though.

dirtbiker100

I'm from cirencester a little south but a list of places i've ridden recently :
leckhampton hill
cleeve hill once and struggled to find some decent trails. where are they?
forest of dean
cwm carn

places i want to ride:
bristol
malverns
cranham

ddoogie

Cranham is fantastic. I've tried the Malverns but didn't find much in the way of singletrack. Have yet to ride the Bristol trails.

dirtbiker100

for the bristol riding i've heard this is good and not too far from the M5 if you fancy a little trip.
http://www.forestofavon.org/avontimberlandtrail.html
there are also other trails apart from that one heading off west and north west apparently.

heard good stuff about cranham but still need to get there including popes wood. I just get too excited about proper man made tracks like afan and cwmcarn to stay nearer to home. cyclists are meant to have a low carbon footprint
can you recommend where to start at cranham or cleeve hill so next time I can enjoy myself!

ddoogie

Cleeve Hill rides:

The dark blue arrow points to the top of Gambles lane in Woodmancote. That's where I start the ride. Basically you want to make your way over to the pilons (the 3 triangles on the map) The best way to do this is to head along the hill, towards the golf course. Opposite the clubhouse there is a path that will take you in the right direction. There are a few paths, all of them will take you there.

Once you are at the pilons you should try the green arrow. Follow the fence/wall away from the golf course and the pilons/car park. Go through the first gate and continue through this field. You will reach another gate. Go through it and directly opposite is a trail that meanders through some forest for a few miles. Its fast and flowy. Keep on going until you reach a surfaced road. Turn left and follow this road all the way past the expensive house, up the climb, past the ruined farmhouse and back up to the pilons.

The light blue arrow takes you down through the valley, along the singletrack and back down to the golf course. Its super fast and twisty. There are too many different routes you can take so just head in the direction labeled "Postlip" and you should find some.

If you fancy some more than head back up to the pilons and take the yellow arrow. If you follow the fencing from the pilons, in the opposite direction to the green arrow route, you come to a boulder and a rocky descent. Take this descent and at the bottom veer left at the boulder. Follow the path through the ferns until you come to a gate. Continue down and you will exit at Southam Road.

clubsport911

ddoogie - thanks for the heads up. Brill - a lot of good information here. I'm about to join the Cheltenham Cycling club so that'll be one way to hook into the local scene.

Also, Cranham sounds v. interesting.

Summer is still here, so where (on average) do the locals congregate on a Sunday morning ? Cleeve Hill ?

Cheers

dirtbiker100

ahhhh blooooody lovely. many many thanks. might try this saturday.

LiQuOrIcE

Hi Guys,

the best place in bristol is Leigh Woods which is next to ashton court....a lot more fun and better than the timberland trail (in my opinion!)

Anyway, Here are some maps I did of Cranham from my house and back & Cleeve Hill.

When you follow the link, select satellite & check diplay elevation.

(Cranham is a rough route through the woods I do, cant make out the tracks due to dense woods)

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-ki ... 1139648502

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-ki ... /258931666

If you wanna do the ride sometime, just send me a messege

Joe

dirtbiker100

awesome, thanks to you as well joe.
gotta take a print of these me thinks.

LiQuOrIcE

The cleeve one, you see the start/ finish of the route i do shares the same path, turn right where they split, its a better ride.