This time the destination was Chicksands again, which deserved another look, especially on a quiet day where there might be an opportunity to check out the bike park without having to deal with loads of better riders intimidating me.
Firstly the whole area definitely ranks as a good winter riding location as the sandy soil which can be slippery in summer was now damped-down and grippy, making for a lovely surface to ride on. This made the ride over to the park a bit more fun than it had been before.
The park itself costs £5 to ride if there’s anyone to take your money and is almost certainly worth it. With a number of downhill runs, a 4-cross track and dual slalom track, as well as a pump track, dirt jumps and a free-ride area which offers some challenges there’s something for anyone from a decent rider on a hardtail up to a free-ride loon on a big full susser. It’s maybe not as big or hard-core as Woburn Sands, but that, to me, makes it more accessible.
I had some fun on the pump track, rode the 4-cross and dual to see what they’re like and spent most time hitting the short, but fun, singletrack downhill. I also looked at the big gap jumps and drop-ins and decided that really it wasn’t the day to attempt them on my own. Even for someone who isn’t a big-air merchant by any stretch of the imagination, there was fun to be had, and, yes my wheels did leave the ground on the small jumps, but perhaps not as spectacularly as some.
Go there. Take a mate and race and challenge each other for an afternoon. You’ll almost certainly do something you initially thought was beyond you.
A
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