Ride Bristol
Ashton Court Estate, February 2022
Some had been sat unused for years. Others were taken to the pub or office but rarely further. But when the UK Government put the country in to full lockdown measures suddenly a bike was a ticket to freedom. The official advice was to limit yourself to "one form of exercise a day" but there was no stipulation as to how long this could be. Bicycles sales took off with most suppliers struggling to keep up with a 15% increase in demand - over 3 million bikes were sold in the UK in 2020 - and those sales translated to 1.6m new bicycle journeys.
Ashton Court had always had popular cycling trails. The estate sits above the west of Bristol and from its peak offers views stretching from Clifton to the eastern stretches of the city. Following a long but steady climb up a gravel road cyclists can pause and take these in before heading in to the woods and on to the managed trails. Although 'managed' for a time was perhaps an incorrect term. Architrail designed and built the original trails for Bristol City Council but maintenance was overseen by various groups - individual volunteers, Bristol Trail Group and Pedal Progression (who run the bike shop and cycle hire in the estate). As a result there wasn't a coherent plan so in early 2020 Ride Bristol was established to try and take over this task as well as develop mountain bike trails around the city. Prior to their involvement it had been nearly two years since any work was carried out on the trails in Ashton Court. The charity works alongside landowners, in this case Bristol Council (Ashton Court), The National Trust (Leigh Woods) and the Forestry Commission (50 Acre Wood), with volunteers to help maintain and build trails.
Despite starting up in March 2020 the group didn't have its first dig day until Easter 2021 due to continued lockdowns and restrictions. Since then 128 volunteers have helped dig, smooth and fill in trails, with regular dig days taking place since August 2021. Trustee Sam Burroughs explains that "each dig day we fix and improve two to three features" and their goal is to "create a network of trails around the city that are accessible to many people". Currently a lot of the popular trails are situated in a small area to the west of the centre. With rider numbers doubling through Ashton Court in the first lockdown to 140,000, it's crucial the trails are kept in good condition - especially as, unlike a lot of bike centres, it's popular with families and young children. Nova is the main route of moderately difficulty, a smooth and undulating loop through the north of the park that benefits from an established gravel trail making it accessible to most riders. Super Nova, an offshoot of Nova, is a more technical descent more in keeping with traditional mountain bike trails.