What are the Big Six?
In order to make our trails official, we have to start somewhere and provide a proof of concept.
This lets us to show landowners that we can look after and maintain these trails. Making a sustainable trail network that helps to limit damage in these sensitive woodlands.
Which trails are included?
We’re starting with trails in the 3 most sensitive woodlands – Forest Ganol, Forest Fawr, and Garth woods (Steetly quarry).
The trails we’re starting with are ‘The Big Six’:
- Men at Work
- Slippery Singletrack (into) Rarebit Nutters
- Primrose
- Wasteland
- Bluebell Stump
- Jump track/berm track (into) Holy Sh!t That’s Steep
Why did we choose these trails?
Choosing where to start is always difficult – everyone has a favourite trail and we wanted to make sure there was something for everyone.
We asked riders which their favourite trails were to get a short list. Interestingly, some trails are loved a lot more than others.
By comparing this short list against Strava, Garmin, and Trailforks data we could see which were ridden the most. Then we sense checked this against what most of us ride regularly, and where we see the most people when we do trail work.
And that’s how we picked the Big Six.
This is just the beginning
This is the first block of work in our aim to build a sustainable mountain bike trail network in Cardiff. Over time we expect to carry more momentum into this and have more trails in more woodlands, but you have to start somewhere!