Have you ever wanted to try mountain biking in co. wicklow but dont know where to go?
As a beginner to the sport it can be confusing of where you can actually ride your bike in the wicklow mountains area. There are many coillte forrests that are out of bounds to mountain bikers and can only be used if a permit is required for various races and events. There is only one permitted public mountain bike trail in co. wicklow which is the very popular, ballinastoe mtb trails, located outside the village of roundwood and covers over 14kms of offroad singletrack for everyone to enjoy for free.
If you like funky fun singletrack trails, then ballinastoe trails is the best place. Forest road climbs lead you into tight twisty singletrack with loads of ups and downs, tight turns and technical rocky bits. The waymarked loop includes long climbs and descents over a wide variety of sometimes difficult terrain on trails that are only suitable for mountain bikes i.e. bikes with 26inch wheels, knobbly tyres and flat handlebars.
Roughly 9km of the waymarked loop is singletrack and these sections are narrow, sometimes steep trails of not more than 1m in width. On these sections, you will also experience variable surfaces including rocks, mud, roots, loose stones and gravel and they may become slippery in wet weather.
The remaining 5km of the waymarked loop are forest roads, which are wide gravel roads and tracks with variable surfaces including loose gravel and pot holes. You should expect to encounter vehicles at any time on these parts of the loop. The waymarked loop accesses high and sometimes exposed ground in remote situations and both bike and rider should be prepared for any eventuality. If you dont have a mountain bike with front suspension and in good working order thats needed for the ballinastoe mtb trails there are local biking companies that offer bike hire and beginner coaching sessions to help you to the next level.
We at TrackandTrail.ie are mobile adventure sports company specialising in mountain bike lessons and bike hire in the wicklow area so we deliver bikes to you!
As part of our week long mountain bike skills programme we had 19 youths involved in bike maintenance, bike handling skills, as well as social skills for each youth. Students were presented with a certificate of merit for their hard work and dedication to this course.
Have a read of our article from the Wicklow People newspaper!
Just some photos from Kippure Estate XC Summer Series Round 4. These development races were a great success and this is down to the competitors who made it worth while and we will hope to build on these races next year. A big thank you to the I.M.B.R.C. MTB club, CYCLE INN and all the staff at Kippure Estate who made these events possible.
If anyone has anymore photos of these races, if they could email them to me info@trackandtrail.ie that would be great.
Just a quick one for those who might have missed a recent program shown on RTE called “Tracks and Trails”, in RTE’s own words..
“Tracks and Trails is a new series about walking in Ireland. The programmes will feature spectacular walks and cycle tracks in stunning locations all over the country. The programmes will be presented by a different personality each week.”
The most recent episode sees TV presenter Aidan Power and Hot House Flowers musician Fiachna O’ Bhraonain team up to go off the beaten track on a first-time mountain bike trail on a grade A trek on the Ballyhoura Mountains in Limerick by the Cork and Tipperary borders. Aidan and Fiachna also discover the beauty of the Glen of Aherlow as they undertake a 40k section of the Ballyhoura Way by foot, crossing the Tipperary border to the spectacular scenery at the base of the Galtee Mountains.
Ballyhoura is a fantastic amenity and a great location for mountain bikers of all levels, more information on Ballyhoura and other MTB trails here in Ireland can be see here in our trail guides section.
If you and your friends would like to have a fun day out mountain biking at Ballyhoura why not contact us and we can provide everything from guiding right the way through to Bikes / Helmets and pads. With the combination of our experienced guides and our brand new fleet of Lapierre mountain bikes you can be assured you’ll learn loads in a fun and safe environment.
The weekend just past saw the 3rd race of the Kippure Estate / IMBRC Mountain Bike Development Summer race series. Wow that sounds like a huge mouth full but what it is a bunch of event to give those who are only new to MTB a chance to bike in a new location / meet some new friends / take part in a no pressure race and all in a safe an fun environment.
The event saw a good turn out in numbers ranging from those who have just taken the stabilizers off right through to those that have many miles under their saddles and included lots of first timers.
There was a great set up on the day starting with the IMBRC guys handling all the registration work like pros getting everyone sorted & numbered up in no time at all. Also having a coffee shop and some music at the start / finish kept the spectators entertained and gave the riders some much needed encouragement as they made their laps.
For those who have never been to the ~3km looped course at Kippure we caught up with Gar from IMBRC who gave a nice out line of what the riders could expect (map below).
The racing was thigh throughout the whole day but there was still a great atmosphere amongst everyone who took part and the smiles were to be seen all round the track.
In all it was a savage event every one was saying they are already looking forward to the next (and finial) race of the series which takes place on the 22nd of August. For more information on these events you can check out Kippure Estate’s web site HERE and Irish Mountain Bike Racing Club (IMBRC) site HERE.
There are also loads of photos from the day on the IMBRC facebook page HERE. It’s events like this that ensures Mountain Biking is one of the worlds fastest growing sports.
We can’t wait until the next one and hope to see you there.
Track & Trail
Testimonials
'Had a great time on the Ergo outing. Interesting challenges and great to do some orienteering once again. The bad weather might have dampened our gear but not our moods. It was a great day out!'
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www.ergogroup.ie
