Trails and Bike Parks Trails England Chicksands - A Haven for Biking

Chicksands - A Haven for Biking Hot

User rating

4.6 (1)

Written by stumpy_dan October 22, 2007 2620 0Add

Trails

Rider Level Suitable For

Type of Trail(s)

Trail Centre

Chicksands

Website

http://www.chicksandsbikepark.co.uk

Location

Country

England

County/State

Bedfordshire

Address

Northwood End Road

Chicksands is one of the best biking centres in the South of England. Situated in the forest of Rowney Warren, it is just off junction 10 of the A1 and is managed by Beds Fat and Trax.

One of the reasons for it's popularity is it's immense diversity. From 4X and Dual slalom to Shore, Dirt jumps to xc what it has, is all quality,in it's own field. A haven for all bikers and abilities.

ets talk them though one by one:

Dual Slalom.

I start here as frankly it's harder to find more fun racing against your mates in Chicksands Dual slalom. All is rollable and there is only one drop in the mix to watch out for. It starts with a steep descent into a double followed by doubles and tabletops galore with fun berms that you really let you dig your wheels into. 5 minutes walk up and you are off again. The problem with the dual is it is hard to stop. If you are looking for a good environment to work on your tabletops and doubles this is the place for you.

Four Cross.

A really steep entry descent followed by doubles, tabletops ans an awesome triple with berms and all you would expect from this place. I'd say a bit more technical than the dual but also rollable if needs must as they often do.

Dirt Jumps

At the bottom of both these runs are some great dirt jumps. Set in three rows they allow you to move your ability up bit by bit over time. This place is often rammed with teens getting higher and higher air with trick after trick. Awesome to watch.

Shore

This was my first taste of shore. There is a lot here and I don't have a lot of comparisons to make. I can say that it is spread wide and the skill level you can see is varied from beginners (me) to some pretty skilled riders. There is a big section on the flat and then it starts off down the hill. It is great for building confidence and again really awesome to watch others who really know what they are doing.

Downhill Runs

No great heights but with what Chicksands has in it's geography there are a number of small runs that take the breath away and test the most technically advanced of riders.. Some have enormous drops (we are taking big) followed by kickers that look as big as a small car (slight exaggeration admittedly). Some though are entry level and just enormous fun and of course it is always just a short walk up to do it again at Chicky.

The small xc loop (there are two here one red and one blue) are sweet. Lots of little up's and downs. A lot of effort has gone into building along this trail so look out for some of the coolest fun bits that are there off the corner of your eye. Takes 40 minutes odd to go round if that and worth doing twice. Lots of fun.

Tons of armour and full face helmets advised. This trails-centre runs well all year. It is built for all weather.