Just how busy are purpose built trails these days?

GhallTN6

So apart from a Blast around Bedgebury every month or so, (early morning so it’s empty), we haven’t been to a proper trail centre in about three years, tending to stick to making our own way around the Lakes/Peaks/Quantocks and local stuff. But we thought it would be great to get back to South Wales over the coming months to give us a bit of a change from the norm, and to put some recently purchased bikes through some different terrain.

But from what I’m reading on here, it’s going to be a nightmare, is sounds like if I’m not trying to take over some 10 year old without scaring him, his father or his twin sister, or pissing some guy off because I’m on his back wheel on a climb (or vice versa), I’ll get some DH bloke behind me telling me to get the f*ck out the way.. TBH, some of the people on here really put me off with some of the comments that are posted.

Last time we went to Afan we had a really good experience, but as said that was over three years ago, have the trails really changed that much in that time?

We’re mostly fit, experienced riders, no slouches when it comes to pointing down the hill, so I’d class ourselves as average to above average riders.. I know the riding is great, but is it going to be worth the four hour drive or am I going to come back pissed off.

cheers

Herbie The Dog

I tend to avoid trail centres for many reasons you have stated above...plus the fact that I actually find most of them sterile and boring.

Stick to nature's trails...much more fun, less crowded and only a small chance of bumping into one of the tosser's mentioned above.

While I appreciate living between Dartmoor, Exmoor and the Quantocks I know not everyone has this luxury. Having the same guys coming down from south Wales for guided rides month after month I know where I'd rather be living.

**waits to be flamed by some trail centre backyard hero**

njee20

I've personally never had a problem with trail centres being busy, although I've very rarely been in the height of summer. I've never really experienced anyone being rude either, think it's probably the testosterone on here!

Edit: I should add that I don't live near a trail centre and only really visit them a couple of times a year at most.

.blitz

Can only comment on Cannock and even with the opening of the new trails in April, it's quiet outside peak times. There are more MTBrs about but we're not tripping over one another.

Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon night it's dead

neninja

Hamsterley is our closest centre - we try to ride there in evenings or weekday daytimes.

At these times you can sometimes not see another rider for the entire visit. I avoid weekend daytimes for exactly the reason that it's much busier.

GhallTN6

It's just an excuse for a nice easy day out, drive, park, ride, food, reminisce, drive home, instead of the planning and map reading, stop/start etc that we usually do with natural trails, not that I don’t enjoy that, but we’ve done a fair bit of that recently and just fancy an easy option, like they say, if you have steak every night, sometimes you just want Sausage and Mash.

And yes, after riding the Quantocks and Exmoor last month, “Hebie the dog” is a very lucky bloke.

Of course if I see a group of girls riding, we don't mind sitting behind them all day, now that is like rocking horse crap on the trails we do!

shm_uk

GhallTN6 wrote:

from what I’m reading on here, it’s going to be a nightmare, is sounds like if I’m not trying to take over some 10 year old without scaring him, his father or his twin sister, or pissing some guy off because I’m on his back wheel on a climb (or vice versa), I’ll get some DH bloke behind me telling me to get the f*ck out the way.. TBH, some of the people on here really put me off with some of the comments that are posted.

I think it's important to remember that people are much quicker to mouth off about a negative experience (especially when there's a band-wagon to jump on with their pennys-worth), and the positive stuff that doesn't 'offend' them or annoy them gets forgotten.

So in relation to the above, what people aren't posting on the forum are comments about the other 99% of the time when they go to a trail centre, meet loads of other friendly bikers and have a great ride.

Sure, very occasionally you'll meet one of the muppets who seem to think the trails are for their own use only, but these people are a tiny minority (which is the perfect complement to their tiny minds )

My experience of trail centres is nothing but positive.

Anonymous

Most of the comments (I hope) are in humour about the other trail users being too fast, or too slow, or being on the wrong bike.
Although it is worrying how many seem NOT to be joking :shock:

Anyway, The only stupidly busy trail centre I frequent is Llandegla, but it's still good fun. There's a sense of "togetherness", as everyone there, is there for the same reasons. It's like being surrounded by like minded friends.

Apart from that, Coed y Brenin, although very crowded, is also huge, and only infrequently do you bump into others. it's not really like a motorway, in any sense of the word. In fact, I'd say that if you ride the natural terrain around here in Snowdonia, you're likely to come across just as many people whilst out riding.
Of course, the packed car-park makes it FEEL overcrowded.

Innerleithen in Scotland was very "remote", we saw some riders at the very start, and very end of the trail, in the car park, and that was it.
Glentress was sort of half-way between Coed y Brenin and Llandegla, and again, all the riders were friendly. We even grouped up with some locals to session the freeride park one afternoon and had a great laugh.

But then on the other end of the scale, you have waymarked trails like Penmachno or the Marin trail, which have no facilities at all (similar to innerleithen), and you might ride there week after week, and not come across a single soul.

So, essentially, iny my experience of my local trail centres, and ones i've ridden recently, no, overcrowding is not a problem.

.blitz

GhallTN6 wrote:

It's just an excuse for a nice easy day out...

I was riding along the ridge towards Cadair Idris on Saturday and although the views were awesome and I hardly saw a soul all day etc etc, more than once I wished there were some do-able rock steps, a few rollers, some berms and a nice bit of woodwork along the way.

GhallTN6

Nice one, thanks for restoring my faith in purpose built trails and the people that ride them, I'll be making a trip over in the next couple of months to get my fix.

Silversladey

I mix my riding with remote wilderness trecks and the South Wales trail centres, like you say sometimes it is nice just to point the bike folloe the trail markers and just go for it .
I have not had any bad experiences with people around Cwmcarn or Afan and Glyncorrwg people are friendly, chatty and all share a common interest. I am sure the idiots are out there but I have yet to encounter them.

slowslowslow

i echo most things. Places like Arfan and Brenin have the distance and the climbing to naturally stretch people out, we saw hardly any on The Dragon, and 1 other on Penmachno.

But as others say, a lot of stuff on here is crap, and most riders you come accross are fine and just out for a chiled day on the bike.

stubs

Llandegla is the busiest I have ridden it gets stupid busy at peak weekend times and some sections can so busy I have had to queue for my turn on a few occasions. Pick your time and even at Llandegla you can virtually have the place to yourself. Monday and tuesday outside school holiday time and you could think everyones got bored with MTBing and taken up another hobby.

My favourite time to ride a trail centre is about an hour before sundown strap on a headlight and mostly have the place to yourself. Even an easy red route can become a challenge in the gloom.