Now Wales has gone back into lockdown and the valleys are being patrolled by terrifying close harmony male voice choirs looking for anyone with an English accent, my usual goto off road trails of choice are off limits to me. I’ve got an expensively assembled new bike and nowhere to ride it ……

Well actually that’s utter cobblers, there’s loads of places to ride within an easy drive of declining cyclist towers, and some of them are top drawer trails. The whole of the Peak District is under an hour away in the car (closer than Llandegla my fav Welsh riding venue) and it’s an area steeped in trails and personal riding history for me.

Back when my knees had fully functional cartilage and my lung capacity had no fear of the shame of failing to blow up some party balloons I remember some truly epic days out on the bike in the Peak District …… bouncing out of control down the Jacobs Ladder descent on my uber stiff Pace RC200 with its 60mm of elastomer travel fork didn’t feel overly crazy simply because that was the norm back then. Full suspension was in its infancy and deemed unnecessary for cross country rides and those with 80mm forks where slightly sniffed at as being just a little bit wimpy. How little did we know how much almost everything was going to change over the next 20 odd years.

The advances in bike tech have I guess been fairly predictable. In the same way that a Tesla would be incomprehensible to the driver of an 1980’s Ford Cortina, I never dreamt back in 1990 that twenty years later I’d be crashing through terrain I’d never have attempted on my beloved Pace astride a dual suspension bike with more than twice as much travel at both ends, tubeless tyres and bars that are both barend less and unfeasibly wide.

It’s the changes in the trails we are riding that to me is the greatest change in the sport. The rise of the man made Trail Centre has revolutionised both where and how we ride. That is a fact that I think few MTB aficionados would debate. Being able to rock up at a purpose built facility, park in a secure car park instead of a wind swept lay-by, ride some clearly way-marked well designed trails all year round in any weather is something I just never considered back in the distant past. I never considered it because nobody had even dreamt it. You rode on bridleways and permitted paths because that’s all there was. You had to both carry a map and more importantly know how to use it unless you were local and knew the area well. Gates (especially at the bottom of long descents) were an occupational hazard, and walkers and fell runners often passed you both uphill and down as you carried or pushed your faithful steed around obstacles that a modern trail bike would laugh at.

Contrast that with the modern Trail Centre experience. Park up, get the bike out and apply body armour as required. Take a leisurely spin up to the trail head cafe / bike shop. Maybe grab a quick pre- ride coffee if your waiting for that riding buddy who’s always 20 mins late…, forgotten your gloves? Fancy a new hydration pack because the bladder on your old one has almost developed it’s own consciousness? Step into the bike shop and partake in some retail therapy. Peruse the enormous trailhead map and select your level of required pain. Feeling super strong and like a riding god? The black run it is then. Might even try those scary double black option lines if I’m feeling really brave! Here just for a good ride without risking a&e? Let’s just do a couple of laps of the red route and try an get some good Strava times on that techy singletrack section that always catches you out. Introducing a new rider to the delights of the trails? The blue will be challenging and fun enough to leave them wanting another taste next weekend. It really is a course for every horse😃

And that’s the trouble. It’s just all so bloody easy. It makes the thought of pushing up some boulder strewn gully that’s unridable because of the rain water coursing down it, then having to peer myopically at a soggy map before realising I’d taken the wrong track 5km back distinctly unappealing.

So have Trail Centres made me go soft? Yup, it’s no use denying it, I’ve had a couple of days ear-marked for Mountain Biking recently and on both occasions when the curtains have gone back and the winter drizzle has been revealed I’ve quietly shelved the planned ride and jumped on the indoor trainer. Had the Trail Centre still been an option I’m pretty sure the new and still largely unridden MTB would have seen a lot more mud under its tyres ………

For this Middle Aged Mountain Biker the end of lockdown can’t come quickly enough……