practicing in a flat county? (warwickshire/west midlands)

Toblerone1

Where can you take a mountain bike in the coventry/warwickshire area? I want to build my ability to endure a lot up hill etc etc, but er, well, it's pretty flat around here! Ideas for developing technique?
Any ideas for any decent rides? Seems that everyone around here has road bikes, maybe for good reason.
I really want to get practice and experience on the mountain bike so i'll be better prepared when i go off cycling round some place called blair castle (this is a friends favourite trail) and Coed-y-Brenin.

passout

Try sprint work or even weights in a bid to build up strength. Just putting in lots of miles is important, general fitness will always be key.

maximus69

what did was ask the boys in the lbs where they practice in the evenings and weekends. get out there and you will bump into people in the know. if there isnt think about venturing into building a track then charge stupid money to get in!!

ybot

I live in kenilworth mate and take the mountain bike to leamington- there's a good trail near the bmx track, kenilworth common has some good hilly tracks.. but its crap around here tbh.

As other people have said, do some distance- try going cross country- just pick a direction and go- as its mainly countryside you won't find too many limitations

What you need to do is drive to cannock chase in birmingham .

Mrs Toast

Yep, Mr Toast and I drive out to Cannock Chase every weekend. Except this weekend, as my car is dead.

Failing that, there's always the ever classic 'mountain bike challenges' listed on the Warwick council website:

Mountain bike challenges! *cough*

The fact the one mountain bike challenge is described as "three cycle routes following quiet country roads" probably gives you an idea of what to expect! Burton Dasset isn't too bad for a roll around, and is fairly hilly (and often covered in sheep), but there's no real lengthy off-road loops that would build up skills.

mellex

Get yourself up to The Welcome Hills just outside Stratford upon Avon. There are some brilliant trails hidden away.

You could also try the canal towpath. If you take it from Stratford and head towards, Wilmcote, Hatton locks and ultimately the Birmingham Junction, it's pretty much up hill for 30+ miles. That should give you a fair workout.

toasty

Ooh, Welcome Hills? Is that anywhere near the "Welcombe Hotel & Golf Course"?

It's pretty bad around here, I generally go up Burton Dassett and play around, not a lot there though. There's the Centenary Way which is a long bridleway, it's generally bog at the mo. though due to all the rain. The top of Leamington has a 4X track, this always used to be in pretty good condition, anything else of interest there Ybot?

I've done the lap around Ryton Pools a few times as well, from Leamington, along a disused railway then about half country roads and half bridleways. Not a bad day out if it's sunny, certainly not trail riding though and it'll be a swamp at the mo.

I've heard a few people mention Edge Hill a few times as well, I've been up there though and didn't see much riding. There's a few nice villages, short unridable bridleways and an insane road hill.

SDK2007

Toasty wrote:

The top of Leamington has a 4X track, this always used to be in pretty good condition

Where exactly is that?

chrisga

I guess Mrs Toast means the old BMX track up behind the golf course on Newbold Comyn.
We live int he next village to Burton Dassett and head there, but other than that there isnt much ofroading to be had. We have managed a few rides linking up bridleways so i'd say get yourself an OS map and make them up. There is a disused railway track from Rugby to Leam which is rideable and mght build up stamina if you rode it as fast as you could but its not hilly.
I recently did something I vowed I never would and got a road bike. Nothing special, in fact its a shed but my friend emmigrated to Aus and donated it to me for the price of a beer! I have actually found it more enjoyable than I thought I would but please don't tell anyone.
Otherwise Cannock is a good bet - dont try Hopton Woods near Ludlow as we went on Sunday as an alternative to Cannock and it was rubbish.

Chris

toasty

chrisga wrote:

I guess Mrs Toast means the old BMX track up behind the golf course on Newbold Comyn.

Well, sort of, they literally race 4X there occasionally to the best of my knowledge. You head up the top of the Parade (the high street in Leam), turn right at the top and follow that road along, it loops up a hill after a while. Secondly I'm Mr Toast :P

I was very tempted by a road bike for training as well, I use slicks on my Stumpy quite often. There's a couple of cycling clubs around here too.

On the way into Warwick there is also a park with a big BMX jumps area in. They're all fairly steep though, not really ideal 21" Stumpy territory

chrisga

Sorry Mr Toast.... Didnt read the thing on the left properly, my apologies.
Soz yep if its the one up by the mast it was def a BMX track when I used to ride it back in the day, but i guess there are more mtb's about these days.... Had a few nasty crashes there, probably still got the scars!
And St Nicholas Park in Warwick is the one by the river with the flattest BMX track you have ever seen but it did have some berms and bumps like mr Toast said. My other half put herself in hospital over the table top there when she should have been at school sports day!

warwickbiker

i live at warwick uni and dispair at the lack of mountain biking of any sort
so i bought an os map as inspiration and after studying for ages have found no hills of any significance.
so i just go out on the rights of way and make a loop out around Balsall Kenilworth ect
there are lots of boring routes but will involve stopping about 50 times to navigate styles or kissing gates! curses.
oh and also angry looking cows with calfs and also a bull, so i turned around and found another route

ps watch out for those mean horseflys one gave me a fat lip yesterday by Rudfyn manor!

toasty

chrisga wrote:

the flattest BMX track you have ever seen

Ahh, perhaps. I strangely had memories of it having some quite big jumps I went there once and it was a good 5-6 years ago.

warwickbiker wrote:

oh and also angry looking cows with calfs and also a bull, so i turned around and found another route

Yeah, there's some up the side of Burton Dassett, used to enjoy riding up that hill. The calves run at you curious, mother cows get concerned then the bulls start running around. Not fun. I go up the other side now, another grassy hill from the village at the bottom (Northend?) not a fun hill though.

I've seen lots of mean dragonflies recently, in the garden and while out and about. Massive things :S

warwickbiker

yep there were loads of dragonflys around as-well, i'm not sure whether it was a horse or dragon but what ever it was it flew into my mouth and stung/bit the inside of my lip, it stung like hell i leapt off my bike, but now its just a hilarious cycling injury

mellex

Hold up folks. What's all this 'no hills' talk? The Midlands might not be quite on par with Wales or Cumbria but they are there.

As I mentioned, you have the Welcome Hills are home to the Welcome Hills hotel and golf course. They aren't massive rocky downhill loon affairs but there are some good, close trails to be ridden, nice natural bomb holes and drop offs' coupled with great scenery and easy parking.

Then you have Sunrise Hill. This has some great single track and woodland features.

Edgehill is a little gem if you know where to look. Drive up to the Castle pub and hotel right on the crest, park in the free carpark, walk 20 yards to the left and you've got a decent that will open your eyes.

toasty

Interesting, I know the pub you mean on Edge Hill, I went up the other side and came down past there. I'll have to go have a look as soon as it stops raining

Same goes for Welcombe Hills, it'll be a 30 mile round trip along the road to get there and back from my place though. I'd class a 30 mile ride for a hill to be a bit crap, I lived in North Yorkshire prior to moving here, far more choice

Where is Sunrise Hill?

mellex

30 miles might seem like a slog but you might be presently surprised. Park away from the hotel and golf course, on the Clopton Hill side of the range, try to find a space on the Clopton Road, it leads right up to the start of the trail.

Head towards the Monument (a huge stone obelisk) and you can pick a route or make your own.

mellex

30 miles might seem like a slog but you might be presently surprised. Park away from the hotel and golf course, on the Clopton Hill side of the range, try to find a space on the Clopton Road, it leads right up to the start of the trail.

Head towards the Monument (a huge stone obelisk) and you can pick a route or make your own.

toasty

Ah no, 30 miles is fine, I'll go have a look this weekend

I'm just trying to ponder somewhere to bike after work, I normally get out by about 7pm, 1 hour either way means it'll just about start getting dark when I get back. Edge Hill is a bit closer, I normally ride around the other side of the M40 though, Burton Dassett, Avon Dassett, Farnborough etc.

I'll have to go see if I can find that decent the next night it stops raining.

mellex

I'll get back to re: Sunrise. I always manage to give people the wrong directions :roll:

jayson

Try biking to work everyday, even with small hills it surprising how much it helps ur legs when u ride them twice a day atleast 5 times a week.

Added to what u ride after work or on the weekends ur legs and general fitness will soon increase.

Mrs Toast

God, don't get him started on biking to work - he used to do it quite regularly, until four people had their bikes nicked from the lockup area. The thief cut through all the locks, including one of those massive Kryptonite locks, and proceeded to ride off on one bike, pushing another, and his girlfriend riding another (think they came back for the last one).

Apparently, the police knew who it was immediately, and the same person had also been spotted on CCTV nicking bikes from Sainsburys. The police didn't get around to arresting him until two weeks later though - apparently his flat was 'like Halfords', but the bikes from our workplace were nowhere to be seen.

Mr Toast's biked in a few times since then, but gets into trouble with HR as he tries to hide his bike in the staff room (admittedly, not an easy task with a 21" bike). They've told him that it should be fine in downstairs, as people should 'hopefully' be locking the gate now, and that he can't bring it inside the offices.

Given that he keeps his bikes in our living room and kitchen, and that he has a habit of chaining them to the furniture 'Just to be on the safe side', it's not a great situation!

toasty

mellex wrote:

Edgehill is a little gem if you know where to look. Drive up to the Castle pub and hotel right on the crest, park in the free carpark, walk 20 yards to the left and you've got a decent that will open your eyes.

Ahh, now I know what you mean. I found some fun little trails there last night. It was about 8:20 though and pitch dark in the trees. Fun little singletrack with a few descents off the side. There was an entrance to something called the "Battlefield Trail" next to the pub, big rocky steps down the start. Is that where you go or do you mean a bit further along behind the road?

Sadly all this requires a 25-30 mile circle after work to get to Always a fun loop though.