With work starting on the mountain bike trails at Ashton Court plus the recent news that Cumberland Basin's pump track received planning permission, mountain biking in Bristol looks like it's gearing up for a bright future.

Here's the latest on both these projects:

Remodelled mountain bike trails for Bristol

As Better By Bike announced earlier this year, the Cycling City (Bristol City Council) and 1SW projects (Forestry Commission) are investing £400,000 to improve the mountain bike trails at Ashton Court and Leigh Woods, making them 'weather-proof' and suitable for everyone, from beginners to advanced mountain bikers.

Trail designers Architrail are working with contractors DMS to remodel the trails at Ashton Court. Diggers started arriving on site on Tuesday 3rd May (pictured right), with the Upper and Lower Quarry sections the first to be revamped.

Work at Leigh Woods is expected to start in June with contractor Clixbys. Work at both sites should be finished by October. During this time short sections of both trails will be closed although other parts of the trail will remain open. A piece on Architrail's Facebook page explains more:

"We're planning to work our way around the trail in stages with rolling trail closures, meaning that you'll still be able to come and ride parts of the Ashton Court trails during the build, just not all of them! We don't see there being a point where everything is closed, although the exact closure rate will depend on the prevailing weather conditions and their effect on the bedding in process.

"At least every Monday from now until the end of the build and bedding in period, we will be sending out updates on which trails are closed at that particular week. You'll be able to find these updates by looking on our Facebook page or by following us on Twitter. Search for us as @architrail or the hashtag #ashtoncourtmtb. We'll also be giving local bike shops the latest trail closure news every Monday, in case anyone asks them.

"It is vitally important that riders stay away from the closed sections until they are officially reopened. There are a few reasons for this; from a safety point of view we'll be working with heavy machinery such as diggers, dumpers, etc. Members of the public need to keep away from these as they would with any construction site. Secondly, the newly built sections of trail are quite delicate, until they've had a good chance to bed in and solidify. Any rider using a section of trail before it is officially reopened will damage the newly formed trail leading to lasting damage and reducing everyone's enjoyment of the Ashton Court Trails in the future."

Organisers have been in touch with organisers of Ritchey Bikefest (June 4th-5th) and Oktoberfest (October 15th) to ensure these events can go ahead without any disruptions.

Sponsorship

The Forestry Commission are currently looking for corporate sponsors for both Leigh Woods and Ashton Court trails. Interested parties should make contact with Paul Hawkins via email (paul.hawkins@forestry.gsi.gov.uk) or telephone (07795 427 660). A sponsorship pack with more information can be found at the bottom of this page.

Keep in touch

Follow Architrail on Twitter or join Bristol Trails Group's Facebook page for all the latest on these projects.

New BMX pump tracks

During December 2010 we published a news item about the Cycling City proposals for two pump tracks in Bristol.

The site proposed at Cumberland Basin recently received planning permission and should see work start by September 2011, pending several secondary planning issues. A planning application for a proposed site at Eastville Park is currently live on Bristol City Council's planning portal. The council would like your views on this proposal.

For more about these projects please visit the Cycling City project information page at: www.betterbybike.info/bmx-tracks

Not sure what a pump track is?

Pump tracks are designed to get riders used to more advanced bike handling techniques, using berms and rollers to generate speed without the need to pedal. "Pumping" down at the right time turns riders' gravitional force into horizontal momentum.

If you'd like to see how it's done, professional mountain biker and pump track evangelist Mark Weir gives us a demo on his pump track in California, USA: 

We'll have more news about these projects as work progresses throughout the summer months.