Newbie!

TomSharples

Hey everyone,

I'm a newbie and will be investing in a Specialized rockhoper comp disc 2009 in a couple of weeks through the ride2work scheme.

I was just wondering if anyone knows of any good places to ride and build up my skills in and around the manchester area?

Thanks in advance everyone

Tom

John Moore

Peaks

Llandegla

Delemere

TomSharples

Cheers John I'll have to check them out.

simply100

Forest of Dean is meant to have good trails, not been there myself but have good write ups in magazines.

dave_hill

Depending on where you are in Manchester, take the train from Victoria to Todmorden in West Yorkshire.

It's absolutely littered with excellent trails, from the ridiculously easy to the manically technical.

Get yourself an OS map of the areas you're interested in and get planning?

Do you know where you can ride legally?

TomSharples

Hi Dave,

Im on the bolton side of manchester so its not that difficult to get into manchester.

I didn't know that it was illegal to ride in some places :?

Anyways i'll have to head over that way in a couple of weeks when I actually get the bike.

So excited can't wait to actually get it!

Tom

dave_hill

TomSharples wrote:

Hi Dave,

I didn't know that it was illegal to ride in some places :?

Oh, yes!! It's not as simple as it seems - do your best to be a good ambassador for the sport and ride responsibly.

Basically, the rule is - stay off public footpaths. Anything else though is fair game, as long as there is a public right of way (i.e. bridleways, byways, public roads); and any purpose-made cycle paths, such as the ones found at trail centres like Llandegla, the 7 Stanes centres and so on.

When riding on public bridleways and byways, you MUST give way to horse-riders and pedestrians. The best approach to this is to stop and let them pass, unless the trail is wide enough to allow you both to pass safely. That said, horses are monumentally unpredictable so I find it's best to stop anyway.

If you're approaching from behind, give plenty of warning (I find a nice clear "bike behind!" is best), and slow down as you pass, with plenty of smiles, thank you's, nice day's and so-on. When passing a horse from behind, again, make sure that the rider is in full control of the animal (they may ask you to wait, so DO IT!!) and again pass wide and slow.

Most canal towpaths are legit riding, but go to the British Waterways Board website and download a permit (it's free) and keep it with you.

Ride within your limits and responsibly - don't approach blind bends at full tilt, you never know what's round the other side; don't lock your brakes if you can avoid it; leave gates exactly as you found them.

There is unfortunately a "f**k 'em all" attitude amongst an appalling number of riders that does us no good whatsoever - try not to fall into that category if you can avoid it. Remember that we are the newcomers here and we have an image to project.

If you're near Bolton, you've got a good playground not far away at Rivington - just be aware that because Rivington is a public park, you'll often have to deal with horses, pedestrians, small children and yappy dogs. The latter two often get tangled up in the spokes and can make a mess.