Top Ten places to ride (that I have been
to), in no particular order:
Lake Tahoe - If you include
Northstar and the other bike parks around it must have the largest number of
high quality trails anywhere in the world. The altitude isn't as high
as Colorado, so you're not out of breath climbing out of bed, the scenery
is awesome and the riding matches it.
North Downs - Huge amounts of
singletrack right on my doorstep, nuff said
Quantocks- For such a small
area, this has it all, from moorland tracks on the top to woody singletrack
lower down. Steep is generally the order of the day, if it doesn't
start steep, it will usually end up getting there!
Winter Park- masses of high
quality singletrack, fairly quiet and not expensive compared to Vail etc
Moab - Mountain Bike Mecca - make
your pilgrimage!
Luchon - Cross country heaven,
and with lift access you can ride a 20mile downhill!
Les Gets/Morzine - There's a good
reason why so many holiday companies have set up mtb operations
in this area - great riding! A lift ticket opens up freeride heaven,
miles and miles of tracks over loads of mountains, awesome!
Wales - I know it's cheating a
bit to classify Wales as one area, but it's
all so good, what would you leave out? From Coed Y Brenin in the
North, through Rhyadaer in the middle to Afan Agoed (will visit soon) in the
south, the Welsh hills and valleys are truly one of the greatest places to
ride on earth (and I'm not even Welsh!)
Mammoth - If you like storming
the singletrack, this is the place to go. A bit on the Nazi side, but
hey if you can put up with that, miles and miles of top quality singletrack
await
Royal Forest of Dean - Ok, the names a bit
pretentious, I haven't been there in years and it's a bit limited if you are
a good rider, but every UK rider should go there when they are starting
out. It has a great atmosphere, some nice trails (some good technical
ones) and is great for mixed ability groups.
There's so many excellent trails out there, I'm
sure you disagree with my choices - hell I think I disagree! If you want
to comment, or suggest your own top ten, let
me know.
