Another option is to ride along the Thames, I need to check if the tow path is present in the Reading area first, this should be traffic free.
As an alternative I can bring a 26" and a 29er then the ride can be more towards Muni, possibly at Swinley Forest?
Tom what would you like to do? I think you mainly ride 29er & 36" based on memory of your ride reports?
Keith
The tow path is okay at Reading but there are some bits you can’t legally ride (and aren’t fun cos they have stiles on anyway) once you head towards Henley.
To be honest, even on a road 29er, I’d recommend Swinley anyway, I’ve ridden it on a big apple and it was cool, it shouldn’t be too muddy right now. If you’re not feeling up to the singletrack, there’s tons of fire roads to ride which are going to be more interesting than the Thames Path.
Keith - do you know Swinley well? There’s some cool singletrack there now, it’s mostly outside the ‘mountain bike area’. There’s a decent loop of a few miles of singletrack coming off the top where the reservoir is, which was fab on a 29er. When I was there just before Christmas it was pretty easy to find, as it was used for the Gorrick XC races, so there were a lot of tyre trails. There’s also the fenceline, which is a fantastic piece of trail, but I can’t describe where it is, you’d have to ask a mountain biker to direct you. Swinley is really cool if you know it well, you can easily get 10 miles of singletrack in without riding anything twice, although if you don’t know it well, you do tend to ride in circles.
The Thames does have the advantage of being a very nice English experience, especially on a sunny day, riding down the Thames to a pub and then returning in a wobblesome manner is one of the most English things you can do.
Joe
Joe,
Even though I drive past Swinley twice a day I haven’t ridden there since training for last years SSMM, I really need to get down there more. The only thing putting me off is mobile coverage is intermittent, I ride alone & it is usually getting dark so I meet nobody. Not ideal if you get hurt…
I have ridden the fenceline atleast once, no idea if I could find it again. The mountain bikers at work ride there weekly, they mentioned the new trails I’ll ask them for the directions if we go there.
I considered the Thames as I was also thinking of the English experience, I thought Reading - Windsor - Reading would be interesting but I forgot how much it looped so this would not be practical.
Keith
All the options listed sound interesting to me. My two primary rides are a 24 muni and a custom 36, and I’d be happy with either the singletrack/fireroad option, or the Thames “path and pub” option. For 2006, most of my miles have been in the woods on my 24. I’m only just starting to get out and about on the 36 again. A 29-er would be a fun change, regardless of terrain. I’ve really only ridden one once, for a few hundred yards.
Let’s see who all we muster up, then we can take it to PM for the specifics. Sounds like Sunday is generally better. I can go any time, although mid-morning might be preferable, as I’d like to try to get some downtown London activities in later in the day.
This will be fun.
Livingstone, Columbus, Hannibal, Sir Francis Chichester, Chay Blyth, and many others, had no mobile coverage. Live dangerously.
That’s right…and if push comes to shove, I can signal passing planes with my glasses-mounted rear-view mirror.
Most probably Sunday, time to be decided with Tom. I think we’ll ride at Swinley Forest as it is an easy place for people to meet at.
Keith
Yes, Sunday sounds good. For me, earlier in the day would be best if possible (mid morning?), but I could do later if that’s what works best for anyone local. I really have no plans, but am hoping to get into London mid-afternoon to see this.
I’m supposed to be having Sunday lunch in Wimbledon, so the only way I could fit a ride in is if we went pretty early.
I had a look at the Swinley Forest website, and it looks like a great place to ride,
so if you guys are going early then I would love to come.
What time do you need to finish by? I will be in Birmingham till 2200 the night before, but should be able to get up relatively early.
Keith
I’m not sure yet, I’ll find out later today. Hopefully I can make it a late lunch!
Just found out that I have to be in Wimbledon at 1pm, so if I go I’ll have to leave by about 11. This would mean an early start if we want to get a decent ride in, like 9ish maybe.
If that’s too early for the rest of you guys that’s fine, if you wanted to meet later I could always just leave early. Some muni is better than no muni!
Oh and Tom, if you’re going to be sightseeing in London on Sunday afternoon keep an eye out for the Great Big Mechanical Elephant!!!
I’m planning on coming but that’s a wee bit too early for me. I was hoping for a later start - 10 or 11. this may suit Birmingham Circus Convention goers too?
Your call Tom - what time suits you?
I’d say whatever time will bring in the most riders, but hopefully not much later than 10. Since I’m flying over from the states today, I’ll be in jet lag anyway. So really any time after 3am or so, which is probably when I’ll be jolting awake on Sunday.
UK/Reading area: Swinley Forest Ride this Sunday
OK time to make some decisions 
We will meet at The Lookout car park and ride around Swinley Forest. It is on the corner of A322 & B3430, opposite Coral Reef swimming pool.
Directions and information is available at:
Parking is free but we need to pay £1.50 each for a day permit which covers liability insurance, trail upgrades etc.
We will try to start riding at 0930, Tom I will pick you up in Reading at about 0900.
I will be wearing a helmet & wrist guards, as a minimum.
Most likely we will ride towards the Upper Star Post and divert onto any interesting looking single track rather than going to the expert area. This means we should also be able to get to the Fenceline Joe mentioned. There is a map on the website and next to the car park.
I should have my mobile on (although coverage is intermittent) if anyone is late.
See you Sunday
Keith (07879 620190)
Edit: There is a Cafe we can visit at the end of the ride, Ape if you need to leave early I should have a copy of the map to give you.
Yay! See you all on Sunday then. Cheers Keg for sorting it out, and for getting up early! I could pick Tom up from Reading if you want a bit more of a lie-in?
The weather forecast for Sunday is ‘light rain’, so Tom you should get a proper English riding experience:D
If you could pick up Tom that would be very helpful, I can then drop him off afterwards when it’s your turn to rush off for a meal!
I have PM’d you the hotel details. Please confirm you’ve got them.
Keith
This will be fun. Thanks in advance to whoever agreed to supply the spare uni. A 29-er, was it?
I can’t say enough good things about today’s ride, or the graciousness of my UK hosts, or the benefits of using unicyclist.com to arrange uni rides when traveling internationally. This is my second great experience doing so, and I plan to continue the practice on future trips.
With little more than a week’s notice creating this thread, I had the great pleasure to meet and ride today with Liam (domesticated ape), Gavin (gkmac), Mike (mikepenton), and Keith (keg). I was treated to a fine couple hours of XC and muni in Swinley Forest, a large expanse of interconnected fireroad and singletrack not far north of London. It is a fine forest, not too dense, and very reminiscent of Highland Forest in my native upstate New York. A nice mix of twisty singletrack with some good ups and downs to get the heart pounding, and very few exposed tree roots, the bane of my riding existance in the Seattle area.
Also through the generosity of my hosts, all I had to do was show up in country with a helmet and some pads. I had my choice of a 26" Pashley muni and a UDC 29" XC machine, neither of which I’ve ever ridden. I got to sample both before the day was out, and now I officially have “I need to get me a 29-er” fever. What a blast that thing was on the fireroads and downhills!
My thanks again to Liam, Gavin, Mike, and Keith…it was great to ride with all of you! Thanks for sharing your home turf with me, and extra big thanks to you Liam for picking me up in the morning even though it was completely out of the way for you in a town you weren’t familiar with, and you Keith for hauling my butt back to my hotel after the ride, even though road closures and traffic “diversions” added an hour to your day that you couldn’t afford. Hope the family wasn’t TOO annoyed!
International riding is the best!
If today was your first experience on that kind of single-track terrain, then I’m even more impressed. That was some challenging terrain…very uneven, with lots of switches between dry and grippy soil, sloggy sand, and slick, muddy puddles. And you didn’t hold up the group at all. In fact, talking to my wife tonight, I commented on how much actual pedaling we did. Our Seattle Area Riders muni rides are punctuated by frequent stops to breath, gab, preen, and perform endless variations of “let’s see who can ride over that pile of logs first without hurting themselves”. Fun, but we don’t cover a lot of distance. There were no gratuitous stops today…we covered a lot of distance. My quads are killing me.
As for the upcoming muni weekend, I’d recommend just practice when you can between now and then, and don’t sweat it either way. The nice thing about muni weekends is what you can’t ride you can hike, and know that there will be other riders hiking with you. My first Moab muni weekend I had just started riding off-road, and the Slickrock Trail completely kicked my butt. I walked most of it, but improved my skills from the sections I was able to ride. It still kicks my butt, but I’m able to ride more and more of it each year. You’ll do fine and have fun at Dartmoor this year, and then be amazed at how much more of it you can ride when you do it next year. Just keep pedaling and have fun!