After a soggy winter, Max brings you three routes that ride well in wet, off-season conditions
Our first destination is the Quantock Hills in Somerset, not far off the M5. The ride starts in the village of Holford, close to a pub where you can warm and feed yourself after, and begins with a climb up a wooded valley past babbling brooks and twisted oaks. Depending on the weather, the atmosphere in here can vary from idyllic and peaceful to sinister and spooky. At the top of Holford Combe are great views and a flowing singletrack trail off the open moorland top, down Stert Combe and into Somerton Combe. Continue this fun descent along Hodder’s Combe to return to the car park for a pit-stop. Next, a steep climb on the Dog Pound trail sends you back onto the moors, where the popular Smith’s Combe awaits. The top section of this trail is fast and grassy, so can be slippery, then it turns rocky before becoming weaving singletrack, which is great fun, and you’ll enjoy splashing through the stream crossings. I tend to avoid the Weacombe descent in winter, so after warming back up with a climb along The Greenway trail, back to the views at Bicknoller Post, it’s all downhill to the finish. Dropping into Sheppard’s Combe and then into the trees along Lady’s Edge, these fast, flowing trails lead you back to Hodder’s Combe to finish.
The next route starts and ends at Yorkshire’s excellent Dales Bike Centre. This destination is great all year round but especially so in winter. Not only do the rocky trails drain well, but the DBC, run by bike (and cake) fanatics Ste and Bren, has parking, a bike wash, bike shop, rider-friendly accommodation and a fantastic cafe. This winter-ready route provides a gentle warm-up for your legs, before it turns south to climb up onto barren moorland peppered with grouse butts and abandoned mine shafts. Enjoy several fast, fun descents before heading to the northern side of the valley, where green fields and drystone walls lead to the lovely village of Gunnerside, with a tearoom and pub for a welcome break. Heading back along the valley bottom on the Swale Trail, the path eventually climbs onto the high moors again. Old mining tracks offer some good going before you cruise along the hillside overlooking Grinton and plunge back down to the DBC on one last fun descent for some well-deserved local coffee and cake.
For our final ride we head to the Lake District. This wild, flood-prone place may not occur to many as a great wet-weather destination. However, the steep, rocky terrain s
