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Went on my first ride last week in Thorndon and struggled to find some decent trails or any little areas of the main tracks for that matter.

I parked at the South entrance so was wondering if anyone has some decent knowledge of this particular spot so I can have a bit more a challenging ride tomorrow rather than just staying on the horse/cycle paths for 3 hrs.

Thanks

Go to Danbury instead.... lol

Not tomorrow but next Sunday

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Thorndon Sunday 17th July 09:30 XC Ride

Meet at north

Danbury is not actually that far away . . . . Is it worth the extra miles in the car, or actually could jump on the train come to think of it ???

Ive been a few places and I *cannot* believe Ive only just got into the place.

If you YouTube "Aston hill DH" Danbury is like that just half as long.

Thorndon is defo more XC. If you want proper freeride style action it's a great place to go. I found most of the runs could be broken into parts and this made it easy to session out my skills.

Give it a shot.

Hey Pal,

Went on a ride in thorndon today for the second time with a big group, but i done the same as you the first time! but there is actually loads in there. I would suggest going to the go kart track in Warley where there some good trails and jumps and then just follow along through to south weald and thorndon.

Danbury does sound and look pretty go though! Epping forest does aswel.

Well I have just got back from Danbury, it was absolutely quality.

I got chatting to a local lad who had been riding there for three years so I tagged along and rode the trails with him. Really pushed me to the limit skill wise and very nearly had a few serious wipe outs but thats the only way to get better I suppose. Dropped in to canyon and out for 30 mins getting more confident and taking the steeper drops and loved every minute of it. The place is exactly what I wanted out of this sport/hobby and I can easily say I will be gettig back there as much as possible.

Only downside is that now I have to admit I do slightly regretted my bike choice as I don't think it is particularly suited to What I want to do but it will get me by the next year and then I can look at a full susser maybe.

All in all just a great place to have fun, test yourself and learn how to ride.

Chicksands on the 23rd if you're about.

If you got a hardtail, it's where the pro's learnt an started......

23rd might be good, will check the diary (and of course get permission from the boss).

Went to Hainault today. Not my cup of tea at all. I am starting to see what floats my boat and what doesn't. I Hainault would be classed as XC and I am really starting to think that I will be a downhill/freeride junkie with some fast single track chucked in too, just cycling through the woods was not for me.

Then again maybe I am missing something and it would be better with other riders.

Nah, XC is like going for a 5km or 10km run but on a bike with some hills chucked in. In my very humble opinion I think XC is more achievement based on levels of fitness.

DH and FR is like playing rugby in some ways. It's intense for short periods, there's often a bit of a break between the action and you get hurt occassionally.

I can see the point of XC, though I'll probably save it for when I'm too old to land jumps n drops safely!