On an usually sunny May bank holiday weekend four of our 2018 women’s MTB race team got together with two of our sponsors, MTB Instruction and Glower Clothing, for a session at Chicksands Bike Park.
Chicksands Bike Park is situated in the Forest of Rowney Warren, in Bedfordshire. There are 5 main areas to the bike park; 4X, Dual Slalom, Downhill, Dirt Jumps and a skills area with drops, pump track, berms and tables. It’s the perfect location to try a new discipline and improve your skills. There’s no strict operating times and the all-weather trails are open all year round, making it a good option for winter riding. Day pass to ride costs £5.00
Dual Slalom
The Chicksands Dual Slalom = fun fun fun! The course is suitable for all levels of rider and is ideal for anyone wanting to improve their off road bike handling skills to an expert who just wants to shred down it as fast as they can. It’s not too steep, with sweeping berms and learner friendly jumps with landings rolled into transitions.
Skills Area
The skills area includes a pump track, 4 drops that you can progress on, a berm line to practice your cornering techniques and the Flow line which offers tables, doubles and a step up.
4X
The 4X course at Chicksands is a National Standard 4X course built for those of you who can’t ride alone or enjoy a bit of a hustle on the way down! With high speed doubles, tabletops, speed humps, big berms in the corners that you know you can trust in, a triple jump and a step up to step down near the end. All this you can do with or with out your mates, at high or low speed as all of the jumps are rollable.
Downhill
Chicksands offers 2 downhill runs The Bull Run and The Snake Run. Both starting from the same place they’re high speed technical courses that take you through bomb-holes, gaps, roots and berms and are enough to challenge all levels of riders.
Dirt Jumps
There are 3 sets of Dirt Jumps in the bike park ranging from 2-3 foot high table-topped jumps to a middle set of 3 doubles and a gnarly set of 4 -6 foot with gaps of 10-15 feet!
2018 race team: Anna Fletcher, Emily Beckett, Emma Reader, Rebecca Smith, Heather Kay, Michelle Muldoon
2018 team sponsors: MTB Instruction, DHaRCO Clothing, Glower Clothing, Corley Cycles, Dexshell UK, Decade Europe, ION Bike
Video credits: Bluetak Racing Productions, Rock and Water Adventures
Photo credits: Tony Lovatt Photography
Kit: DHaRCO gravity jersey flamingo sleeves, DHaRCO gravity jersey leopard leaves, DHaRCO flamingo gloves, DHaRCO baby blue gloves, DHaRCO ruby stars gloves, 100% Accuri goggles, DexShell socks, ION softshell trousers, Dakine stealth waist bag.