anything worth biking around Chester?

counterculture

heading down to Chester for a week or so to visit my g/fs dad, but im gonna try take my bike down as i get a bit grumpy if go more than a few days without my bike, is there anything in and around chester worth a look? i have the option of taking my jump bike but would prefer to take my HT.

-liam-

25 minutes down the road you have the whole of north wales bud.

Llandegla
Afan etc etc

Stu 74

Hi counterculture

Near Chester you have;-

Delamere forest. No official trails worth riding but there is a bike skills area with jumps etc. About 15 minutes away.

Llandegla trail centre. Smooth fast flowy singletrack with lots of jumps if you like that sort of thing. Trail is 21km. 30 minutes away

The Clwydian hills (The Clwyds). Some nice cross country riding with a bit of excitement thrown in if you know where to look. 30 minutes away.

The Berwyns. Some more natural riding but you need to know where you are going! 60 minutes away.

Penmachno trail. Excellent 30km man made trail with a natural feel to it. 75 minutes away

Marin trail. 25km man made trail on the outskirts of Betws Y Coed. Lots of fireroad but some good descents at the end. 75 minutes away.

Snowdon. Big mountain ride. Can only be ridden after 17:00 hours though due to a voluntary bike ban. Make sure you are very well prepared if you want to tackle this baby! It's not an easy ride (up or down) and the weather can turn very nasty very quickly! 90 minutes away.

Coed Y Brenin. The first ever trail centre in the UK! Some great riding here too! 90 minutes away.

Let me know if you need any more info!

Stu

counterculture

cheers for the quick replies, it needs to be local places, local enough to cycle to as we dont have access to a car, was gonna get my bike on the train. i suppose i could do that down there too, so any info that way would help too.

thanks again

Dirtydog11

counterculture wrote:

cheers for the quick replies, it needs to be local places, local enough to cycle to as we dont have access to a car, was gonna get my bike on the train. i suppose i could do that down there too, so any info that way would help too.

thanks again

No problem................................. you can get a train from Chester to Llandudno junction then pick up the connecting train to Betws y Coed, it will take about an hour.

Get off at Llanwrst and your probably no more than 1km from the start of the Marin trail.


You just need to make sure you arrive at Llandudno junction in time to meet the connecting Betws y Coed train.

I regulary make the trip it takes me 1.5 hrs from Runcorn.

Stu 74

Dirtydog's suggestion sounds good to me.

Perhaps another plan would be to persuade your in laws to take you to Llandegla. They could go for a walk around one of the walking trails and have a coffee and cake back at the centre while you rip it up on the bike - everyone's a winner

Check it out:-

http://www.coedllandegla.com/

Stu

scooper

Try this website http://www.chestercyclecity.org/?cat=69

Plenty on your temp doorstep

enjoy

counterculture

coed llandegla could be an option, if we can get a good day or 2 of dedent weather i could even get driven down and everyone can go for a walk while i nail the red route.

any of you fortunate enough to have ridden glentress red and coed llandegla red, any idea how they compare? id be doing llandegla on my own so id be uber-cautious but would be good to have a comparison

elPedro666

Llandegla black is easier than Glentress red!

It's not a very challenging centre - which is not to say it's not fun when you're in the mood (and you mention a jump bike, so you may well love it!).

The black is very fast & flowing, and I honestly think easier than the red so long as you have a little confidence to roll through it.

Definately recommend that as a 'no hassle' day out for all the family

counterculture

im gonna have to hire a bike when im down, not ideal but cant guarantee getting my bike on the train, i tried to brass my case a few times with train people, and its hit or miss, so im not taking the chance.

i cant see anything on the site about the hire fleet, any of you know what bikes are available from the shop on site?

Dirtydog11

counterculture wrote:

im gonna have to hire a bike when im down, not ideal but cant guarantee getting my bike on the train, i tried to brass my case a few times with train people, and its hit or miss, so im not taking the chance.

i cant see anything on the site about the hire fleet, any of you know what bikes are available from the shop on site?

The nearest train stattion to Llandegla is Wrexham. Trust me, you really dont want to be riding from Wreham to Llandegla . Its only seven miles but its uphill all the way!

The hire bikes.......................... I think they changed them recently to Orange G2 or G3s

Stu 74

Yes they are Orange G3s. Suggest you book in advance if you are planning to hire at the weekend. Also will they not let you have a bike without some form of photo ID (e.g driving license, passport)

Stu