Kent lanes MTB routes required

[Deleted]

Hi All,

Does anyone have any off-road routes suitable for cross or MTB around our lanes you can send me?

Distance is largely irrelevant whether its 30km or 100km.. As long as the route is known to be a good one I'd love to see it. GPX or KML files would be perfect. Only caveat being they can be reachable from Palace or Elmers End.

Thanks

[rhys keepence]

Hope you are healing up Michael.

Here is one that Jon took me on last year: app.strava.com/activities/99036307
I wouldn't recommend following it verbatim -
1. Frylands Woods is private property and we were told off.
2. We missed a turning just after Rowdown Wood

But it might give you a flavour and you can make up a route based on it. Once in the woods you can just ride around until you get bored rather than follow a set route.

[Deleted]

Another one worth thinking about is up at Lee Valley Park, they have around 5 miles of singletrack trails up there, starting at the Velopark itself. I've looked around the Lee Valley site but there's no real maps on the trail - I've seen them set off from the middle of the Velopark circuit, and I think it's all fairly well sign posted.

May be a bit more of a slog to get there if you're cycling up there though.


Alvaro

[stuart lynn]

app.strava.com/activities/196878118

[Deleted]

Thanks everyone :-)

I also found an Evans Cycles MTB sportive route which starts down Layhams.
I've tidied up the footpath lines so it should be easy to follow: ridewithgps.com/routes/6102459

[Deleted]

That looks like a pretty cool route, may give that a go soon.

The girlfriend and I bought a couple of mountain bikes a few weeks ago and headed straight for Afan in Wales, which was somewhat jumping in at the deep end. Trails and singletracks are fun, but they can be a bit on the technical side, it makes you realise how simple it actually is to ride a road bike

We ended up in Peaslake on Sunday, got guided around a few community-built singletracks up there, it was awesome fun if you have something with a bit of suspension: www.strava.com/activities/197589402

[Deleted]

There's good cross practice to be had at Beckenham Place Park.

[AlanStrang]

Cross or MTB Michael - these cross monkeys love a bit of playing field action (yawn). MTB fun is a little harder to find - unless it's snowy or icey. If it's MTB I'll show you some routes when you're back riding.

[Deleted]

Beckenham is equally good for both. I've got a lovely single track loop worked out there with steep downhills, technical, tree rooty bits, gravel, mud, grass etc and it's perfect if your a bit time crunched.

[Charliecod]

National Cycle Route 21 is a good one- pretty much of road to Gatwick and easy to follow, Pilgrims Way in combination with the bridleways through Cuckoo Wood will get you to Rochester off road, again easy to follow. Don't forget the new trails at Swingley, but the best in the area is to race a Gorrick - www.gorrick.com.

[Deleted]

There's loads of tracks once you get to West Wickham. Try buying an OS map take a highlighter to it.

[Deleted]

Sept 25, 2014 16:33:59 GMT AlanStrang said:

Cross or MTB Michael - these cross monkeys love a bit of playing field action (yawn). MTB fun is a little harder to find - unless it's snowy or icey. If it's MTB I'll show you some routes when you're back riding.

I'd rather ride around muddy playing fields than a boring road!

[Deleted]

I had an unexpected good run around Oxleas Woods which are the surrounding woodland to Shooters Hill this weekend, turns out it's quite extensive and it has loads of trails to follow and explore, and on the Eltham Common side of it also has a couple of purpose-built runs including several jumps and banked corners. There's a cafe at the top of the hill that serves food and cake If you do live nearby, it's worth exploring:

app.strava.com/activities/199977922

[Deleted]

There's some really good riding in those woods, but it does get very very muddy.

[Deleted]

Epping Forest, which we did a couple of weeks ago, took the biscuit for muddy, none of it is man-made and it had been raining the day before, so it was a total mud-bath:

app.strava.com/activities/206549148

We had fun, but it took us hours to get the bikes properly cleaned up. We were guided by the guys at Essex Herts MTB forums who meet up there at 10am every Sunday.