The mystery of Thieves Wood, Notts...

I read a trail guide thing in WMB a couple of years ago where the reporter spent a day with the owner of Cotic Bikes up in Thieves Wood near Mansfield.

He raved about the singletrack etc but I did a ride up there today and I found one singletrack trail in amongst the footpaths and firetrails?

Can anyone with any local knowledge enlighten me?...and if they can, are there any other local secrets I shoud know about (that isn't Sherwood Pines (which I love!))?

I'd be interested too as I work up Mansfield way and was looking for something to do in lunch breaks

im not far away but havnt a clue . have you tried having a look with google earth ?

Yes, and I used the contour lines on the OS to find the higest spot but it was all a bit bland

I read somewhere else that you are going from Grantham to Nottingham...Bridleways all the way?...or some road?

How far are you from the Pines?

There you can guarantee some excitement, particularly if you are riding rigid.

Orange 71...I rode from Ravenshead up through the wood on the right hand side of the A60 and then through to Thieves Wood on the left.

It would probably be OK for a quick blast and I found one sweet bit of singletrack but nothing linked together and it seemed to be mainly fireroads.

If you went a bit further past Ravenshead towards the A614 Sansom wood has more potential but I have only ridden there once. I think they have cyclocross races there.

All this woodland is ripe for trial building if I could just be arsed and didn't feel like a freaky loner with my axe out in the woods!!

My office is the NHS PCT headquarters near Rainworth (here, building hadn't quite been finished: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sourc ... 6&t=h&z=17), so Sherwood Pines is pretty much equidistant. Never cycled at either - so any advice/routes welcome

Sorry hijack over...

yep i plan to go along the old canal , i managed to get as far as bottesford in an hour yesterday which included getting a bit lost on a turn where i had to do a couple of miles on a road and went too far

its far from technical , just a narrow gravel path most of the way , some sections are bumpy grass that ill have to gear my singlespeed down for , i think itl be doable once its been sunny for a while and there isnt any mud . im hoping there isnt any chance to get lost following the canal , or whats left of it

hoping to go to sherwood on sunday , i havnt been yet whats it like ?

I love it. I used to ride bridleways etc and be a bit sniffy about 'trail centers' but I was converted about 3 years ago.

It's changed a lot since they built the man made trail last year. Before that most singletrack was widened deer runs and was brilliant. There was this old guy who used to spend his days up there cutting the deer runs (you can tell the ones he cut as he used to mark them with yellow or stripy red tape) but I haven't seen him around for a while and some of the stuff he built has been used by the 'official' trail builders as uphill climes.

I love twisty stuff through trees and once you know the pines you can ride like that for a good 2 hours.

Single speed...18:32 is best and there is nothing in there that really requires suspension.

Lots of people on 6 inch rigs in the carpark with no mud on them

Yeah, the Grantham canal will get you to Nottm, but carry a couple of inner tubes with you as they cut the hedges regularly and you might need to hit the road a few times as you get near West Bridgeford.

Look out for the war memorial farm on the hill and the line of Poplar trees..eerie!