大象传媒

I have to say I have always been a little on the negative side - never believing that the trails could match those of Scotland or Wales.听How wrong I was. Last Saturday the final small piece of trail was finished and for the first time I got to ride the whole trail in one go, and boy, I was not disappointed.听

I started in Dalby Village and headed up and up - a good test for both legs and lungs, but worth it because once at the top you get to helter-skelter all the way back down again. Then you climb again before enjoying a lovely piece of swooping single track. The trail then continues for what feels like forever with a听rollercoaster ride swooping single track.

The trail has everything - drop offs, technical down hills, big climbs and lots and lots of lovely singletrack.听By the end of the trail I couldn鈥檛 stop smiling,听although both physically and mentally tired.听听

Even if you've never ridden a mountain bike before, just go and have a go. If you don鈥檛 own a bike, no problem. Purple Mountain, based in Dalby Village, has a huge range of bikes for hire.

As well as the Red route there are also a couple of easier routes marked out in Blue and Green.听However, the beauty of the Red route is you can choose to do as much or little as you like as there are escape routes marked throughout the trail.听

The main thing is to have fun and if you have to get off and push occasionally, so what? Even the best riders in the world will push at some time.听And for you hardened, sceptical听mountain-bikers, come and see for yourself, you won鈥檛 be disappointed in singletrack heaven!

Finally, a big thanks to all the volunteers at Singletrack and the Forestry Commission for all their efforts in making these trails happen.听

See you on the trails and happy riding.

Pam Montague