Epping Forest

Phinx

Planning to hit Epping forest in the near future to test out my Yukon. Is it possible to ride without getting muddy neck high?

And just an a bit of off-topic. How far can my Yukon FX 3 take me in stock condition? I know it is aimed at XC, but how hard can i go on it without breaking my neck?

rocketraz1982

Hi mate dont bother i gave up on Epping forest in the Winter along time ago its a complete mud bath from October to May.. The fire roads are a mess due to heavy horse traffic and the singletrack has very poor drainage and can be even bad in the wetter summers we have had.Its a great place in the summer just a shame no money has ever been invested into some kind of trail up keep i know live in the Caribbean and have a mountain range to my self

Phinx

Thats a bummer...i wonder what else can i find not to far away. I live in Colchester

rocketraz1982

Yeah real shame as it has great potential being so close to Uber urban London and with a bit of investment they could have a year round trail system for the capital but it will never happen sadly:(

VWsurfbum

Phinx wrote:

Thats a bummer...i wonder what else can i find not to far away. I live in Colchester

loads around essex, or even suffolk(thetford or ipswich) not too far away. chelmsford has danbury and here in brentwood we have thorndon.

Jedi

look on the eppinghardcru forum too. friendly bunch there

LDNTrailRider

rocketraz1982 wrote:

Hi mate dont bother i gave up on Epping forest in the Winter along time ago its a complete mud bath from October to May.. The fire roads are a mess due to heavy horse traffic and the singletrack has very poor drainage and can be even bad in the wetter summers we have had.Its a great place in the summer just a shame no money has ever been invested into some kind of trail up keep i know live in the Caribbean and have a mountain range to my self

The fireroads are fine to ride. Just not very interesting. Obviously you have the odd pile of horse dung to swerve just like any other bridelway. The singletrack is a mess. It's only really rideable after 3 or 4 weeks of dryness or when its frozen over. Then it's ace!

robertpb

I only draw the line in mud when I have to get the snorkel out.

Over Thorndon we've been riding all through the snow, mud and rain without bother, in fact it's been a great time.

Rides are organised under "a regular ride in essex" in the rides forum.

dodgyknees

Plenty of us ride Epping all year round.

Sure it's real muddy at this time of year but then that's winter riding in the UK.

LDNTrailRider

dodgyknees wrote:

Plenty of us ride Epping all year round.

Sure it's real muddy at this time of year but then that's winter riding in the UK.

That's why the trails are so badly churned up.

dodgyknees

LDNTrailRider wrote:

dodgyknees wrote:

Plenty of us ride Epping all year round.

Sure it's real muddy at this time of year but then that's winter riding in the UK.

That's why the trails are so badly churned up.

You should probably wait for the summer weather then.

nwmlarge

i went for a lap round epping forest at christmas and it was a mess the only rideable bits were the fire road/ briddle path bits
i'd fully recommend goggles or glasses if you are planning on riding at the mo

ian220476

Phinx - get a map of the colchester area, theres loads of good stuff if you look around.

I live just north of the town and have a number of training routes including single track, bombhole type stuff, bridleways, hill climbs etc without hardly touching the road between them. Range from 10 miles to 25 miles of good training rides which give you a good mixed bag.

Have a look around nayland/dedham etc for good climbing material; horkesley areas for bridleway and single tracks; Bergholt for woods with single track and drop offs etc. Aside from Thetford which is only an hour away, Rendlesham is another good alternative and the final round of the Thetford Winter Series is being held there at the end of Feb.

scotty13

ian220476 wrote:

Phinx - get a map of the colchester area, theres loads of good stuff if you look around.

I live just north of the town and have a number of training routes including single track, bombhole type stuff, bridleways, hill climbs etc without hardly touching the road between them. Range from 10 miles to 25 miles of good training rides which give you a good mixed bag.

Have a look around nayland/dedham etc for good climbing material; horkesley areas for bridleway and single tracks; Bergholt for woods with single track and drop offs etc. Aside from Thetford which is only an hour away, Rendlesham is another good alternative and the final round of the Thetford Winter Series is being held there at the end of Feb.

The woods your talking about are they out the back of bergholt down by the anglian water site?
Would be very interested to see your routes as I live in bergholt, usually go to the woods at halstead road/ eight ash green then hilly fields.

ian220476

Hi Scotty - yes I go round those areas but then also you have the tracks and runs across the essex way (rolling hills in horrible sticky mud - good leg burners!); Hill house; Wivenhoe run from Horkesley through Highwoods; nayland etc.

Would be happy to meet up at some point if you fancy taking a ride? Bit tied up this weekend coming but happy to do an evening next week or the weekend after as an initial suggestion (need to get a pass from the wife!!)?

In the meantime I'll knock together some details and put another thread on here for you to take a look at

scotty13

Cheers for the reply ian, would be up for meeting up for ride, going to be a few weeks away tho as just had a minor op on my knee so off the bike at moment.

When I am back riding i,ll send you a message if thats ok as it's always good to find new routes around here.

As for putting a new thread with details that would be really helpful.

Cheers

ian220476

No probs - I'll hear from you soon and hope the knee is better