beginner in east lancs( burnley)

liveforever1982

just been riding a few months,currently living in carlisle and been using the 7 stanes trail routes at newcasleton,but now i've got a new new job which will mean moving to burnley,lancashire,so just wondered if anyone could recommend some route for a beginner in east lancs,thanks in advance gareth

pete higham

there are loads of riders around that area just wait for stumpyjon or dave hill to reply

one question? do you like hills?

liveforever1982

i don't mind going down them

rockylee

hi. bout 20 minutes from you away there is bacup quary , i aint been yet and believe its only small by trail standards but its all been planned out, black and red runs etc. im about to move to rossendale me self so i too am lookin for rides when i get there. you got the pennine b/w just across the hill at the end of the vally and that can take you all the way to derbyshire.

but yeh other more local riders will know all the best spots, and i've heard to go anywhere its a climb :x

scottgeniusltd2005

cloughbridge reservoir to the mary townley loop. park up off manchester rd, follow everyone else up to the boating house but turn right at the top, theres a gate, thru that and follow the tracks left (do not turn right up the hill unless youre experienced it gets technical n rocky n boggy). takes you on some stoned tracks, some slightly muddy tracks but nothing too muddy, there is a wooded section over the hill and across the road. it only adds on 1.5 miles loop but it's ok for beginners. one or two mean little climbs aswell for building up fitness. do not ride round res, the walkers get well p@ss@d off and WILL try to poke you with walking sticks. these little circular routes aren't on any os map tho, well not mine anyway. then when you get fitter try the mary townley loop this guy http://www.idonohoe.com/moorland-gallery.htm has em all written down.

cheers

liveforever1982

scottgeniusltd2005 - thanks for that, i'll be living just off manchester rd so that should be handy, i have a car so can travel,but i'd also like a local route ,so i can have a qucik blast on these lighter nights,prefer to avoid chavs and what not tho! lol. gareth

scottgeniusltd2005

no probs. just so you know...the website id for the beefier routes not the ones i was on about. basically there the ones you can see from the road side of the res. the worst climb looks like a snake from the road. there a few gates but they can be opened when on the bike. no chavs there, in fact not many people at all once you get up the hill away from the res. you can easily spend couple hours without repeating anything. then if you look across from the res you will see the masts on hambledon hill. well there's a tarred road that leads up to it from in between the terraced houses and the old school house, if you can clear that to the top then you're pretty fit, plus the fairy steps from the website are up there.

liveforever1982

all sounds good,like i say failry new to the sport,so need to take it easy to start with.haha

stumpyjon

Someone shout my name

You'd better be ready for the hills oh yeah.

Seriously there are alot of steep hills around here and the sooner you get enough fitness to cope with them the sooner you'll start to enjoy riding here (took me eight years :oops: ) ) and there is some very good riding locally. If you PM me your email address I'll give you a couple of starter routes. I live at the opposite end of the hill from Manchester road (about 4 miles to the east). I have decent evening route around Crown Point which I use in the evening which I reckon you could easily get to from your end. I reckon there must also be a route from the masts on Hambledon Hill back towards Hapton which could be truned into a loop as well.

PM me anyway when you get settled and I'll give you a guided tour of the area (don't worry about fitness, I'm not the world's fittest).

Either way East Lancs is a pretty good area for Mountain biking, see you soon.

liveforever1982

thanks for the info stumpyjon,pm has been sent

scottgeniusltd2005

stumpy, there is and it has recently been stoned and fenced in / off, follow it thru past masts then turn right, takes you down the 'fairy steps', these are amazingly unbelievably technical fun. 3 ft to 4ft drops in places, comes out at the 'lane ends' pub in hapton. just a bit short tho about 3 to 4 miles start to finish but way better fun than lee quarry. look at web link i put in above he has piccies of em

pete higham

stumpyjon wrote:

You'd better be ready for the hills oh yeah.

Seriously there are alot of steep hills around here and the sooner you get enough fitness to cope with them the sooner you'll start to enjoy riding here

stumpyjon wrote:

(don't worry about fitness, I'm not the world's fittest).

cough* bullsh1t *cough

dont believe him! after the ride your lungs will be burning and your head will want to pop off! mine were

stumpyjon

I'll be gentle, promise

dave_hill

liveforever1982 wrote:

I've got a new new job which will mean moving to burnley

Sickener...

liveforever1982 wrote:

just wondered if anyone could recommend some route for a beginner in east lancs

Give us a shout when you get settled, we'll sort you out. There's absolutely loads of viable riding round Burnley, I've been riding round here for over 20 years and I'm still discovering new trails!

Any idea whereabouts in the area you'll be living?

liveforever1982

hey cheers for that dave hill. i'll be living on manchester road to start with when i move down. i'm not totally new to the area live in accrington till the age of 13,but please don't hold that againest me,haha

dave_hill

liveforever1982 wrote:

live in accrington till the age of 13

Could have been worse - you could have lived in Blackburn...!

liveforever1982

funny you should say that,thats where my new job is :?

stumpyjon

Or Darwen :roll: .

liveforever1982

me starting to think,that maybe a move back to lancs is a bad idea,and that i should stya in not so sunny in carlisle.haha :P

dave_hill

scottgeniusltd2005 wrote:

stumpy, there is and it has recently been stoned and fenced in / off, follow it thru past masts then turn right, takes you down the 'fairy steps', these are amazingly unbelievably technical fun. 3 ft to 4ft drops in places, comes out at the 'lane ends' pub in hapton. just a bit short tho about 3 to 4 miles start to finish but way better fun than lee quarry. look at web link i put in above he has piccies of em

...and it's also all public footpath. Not only that but part of the Burnley Way too. Probably best tackled when all the HOHis are tucked up with their Horlicks and Wainright books...