RIDES
Schools are back, the walkers are gone and the UK’s most spectacular trails belong to mountain bikers once again
GREENUP EDGE, LAKE DISTRICT 41.1km (25.5 miles)
Natural riding in the UK has us thinking about the Lake District every time, the great passes and stunning villages are the symbolic home of the sport in the UK.
Unfortunately a lot of other people think like this too, and you’d be a madman to attempt any of the famous routes at the height of summer.
OS names Scafell Pike as the third-most popular route with walkers, and honestly they can have it, because there are much better options within a mile of it, like Greenup Edge.
With a great percentage of skinny singletrack, you get all the thrills of big-mountain riding, but without the herds of people or overly armoured trails.
GPS download bit.ly/Greenupride
RANGER’S PATH, SNOWDON 20.3km (12.6 miles)
Snowdon is the busiest spot in the UK, according to OS, and the Ranger path is one of the busiest routes down.
Not for nothing is there a moratorium on riding the famous mountain then, which means you can only head there with your bike between October 1 and April 30, unless you fancy a night ride.
Now’s the time to tackle it, there’s still enough light to do it justice, and the chances of good weather are still reasonable.
Why ride it at all? It’s a bike-able summit at over 1,000m which means it’s as rare as a chocolate saddle.
Then there’s the views, the gnarly riding and the fact that it’s there, as George Mallory famously said of a much (much) bigger hill. GPS download bit.ly/RangerPath
BLACK MOUNTAINS, SOUTH WALES 45km (27.9 miles)
Pen y Fan hums with walkers in the summer months, OS reckons its the fourth-most trodden route and that’s more than enough of a reason to leave it well alone.
In fact, even in the summer it’s too wide and well surfaced to recommend as a ride, so instead turn your gaze a few miles to the west, and the Black Mountains.
This loop around Waun Fach is an absolute belter, it finishes with one of the best descents anywhere in the UK, and you’re almost guaranteed to see no one else for the entire ride if you
