Thetford Forest "Mountain" Biking

So, last weekend was another long hot one and begged for more riding.

This time my selection might surprise you, but to fit in with a trip to a tucked-away cottage in Norfolk I was determined to see if East Anglia was really as flat as it was rumoured to be. The best bet seemed to be Thetford Forest which boasted a proper trail centre set up and was right on our way.

Feeling like the sort of hard-core rider who can handle a bit of black-route action I elected to hit the highest graded route at the centre. Now, I’m not one to boast, but I’ve ridden black-graded trails at places like Afan and Glentress and to describe this one as an equal to either of those is a massive stretch. The route is almost entirely flat, with a few bomb-holes to add excitement, and mostly winds between coniferous trees on a rolling juddery surface which seemed to ask to be pumped if you could keep up. I was on a hard-tail and the hammering did wear me down in the end in a way that a guy riding a full-susser in front of me at one point didn’t seem to suffer with. There were sketchy moments mainly in the shape of sandy corners where grip was non-existent and one down to my loss of concentration and a near miss with a tree, but nothing to write home about. The trail was also full of small children and family groups, even on the notorious “Beast” where the action does hot up a touch if you’re able to carry enough speed round the tiny-bikes.

Overall the trail is almost all singletrack and flows at its best points. providing a good forty-minute blast if you’re breaking a journey, it’s not tough, or scary, but it begs you to hammer it to get anything out of it, as long as you are lucky with the masses of people in jeans and supermarket bikes along the way. I rode it on a dry and hot bank holiday but I bet there’s more to do on a soggy January afternoon, or just off the main trails. My one foray off the beaten track revealed more flowing singletrack, and even a hint of some fun.

Finally, don’t ride this, think you’re a black-route standard rider, and then take your £100 bike from Halfords off to Wales. You will probably end up in A&E.

If you’re off that way definitely have a stop, but then save yourself for a nice family, or couple, cycling day out around the Broads enjoying relaxing back lanes which stay mostly flat, and find a nice water-side pub for lunch. We did that too.

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