mickc
Summer Biking
Newstead Abbey to Harlow Wood
I woke this morning with the sun blazing through the blinds. Whilst there are plenty of down sides to working from home, there are also plenty of upsides. One is when you fancy a bike out you can just get up and go before work. This was a moment to take advantage. I was up in a flash and ready to set off before 6:45am.
Whilst most other people were getting ready for the next drab day at work I was out soaking in the sun and fresh air.
I thought the best place to head for some sunny views was Newstead Abbey and Thieves wood. I fancied something a bit different, so I merged two of my regular loops and did it backwards. It worked out a treat.
First was the ride through the Newstead estate. The entrance road from the Newstead village side is long, flat, and lined with trees. In the morning, the sun flashes through the trees as you roll along. It’s the kind of the feeling of loads of trees taking pictures of you with their camera’s flash on.
Normally after the Newstead House I make the climb toward the car park and then just after duck left into the trees, but today I followed the road out to the front gate and crossed the main road.
The next section on a map looks boring but is incredibly fun. I followed the route 6 signs through the little suburb of Ravenshead. It’s all road and houses but mostly is downhill, fast and has a cheeky little snake toward the end.
Cross the B6020 and continue to follow the route 6 signs off road and uphill on a singletrack trail between fields. This is obviously better coming the other way as its narrow and fast. Below is the video to prove it. At the top leave the route 6 signs and carry straight on, cross over the lane and start the fast downhill on the other side heading toward Harlow wood. This can be a tricky descent as it’s lovely at the top, but it gets narrower and very sandy. I nearly lost my front wheel a couple of times on the way down. If you get chance have a glance left as the view can be amazing when the sun is blazing.
The bottom of the trail is the start of Harlow wood. I took a left and headed back toward the A60, it’s a straight wood land track and a great place to grab a drink or take a photo. This morning I avoided a couple of horses with their riders to hit a remarkably busy A60. This is the road between Mansfield and Nottingham. As I’d set out so early, I got to cross it in work commuting time, so it took a few minutes.
After crossing I enter Thieves wood. This is a forgotten wood as it has some good short singletrack if you can find it. As I traversed the wood, I always add in a quick flowing singletrack trail on the northeastern edge of the wood. It has some small banks you can flow up and down to make it more exhilarating.
It’s then a left and right to cross the A611, into Cauldwell Forest and down to Cauldwell dam. This time I headed for the fast-straight route through the wood like the video below. No walkers or dogs and you can easily get over 30mph.
From here it’s a mile or so of road home. Time to appreciate the route, the sun and grab a well-earned drink. What an amazing day to ride a bike!!!
