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	If it has rained all week, what will it be like on differing terrains at the weekend?. Will the water run off immediately or collect in pools of stagnant stinkers?. You will probably know how the weather affects your local stomping grounds, but where is it worth going when you need a change.

Terrain Mainly high steep and exposed Best riding in forest complexes some at altitude Steep, wet intricate Flat limited off-road biking Surfaces Mainly rocky but peat in hollows Forest, grouse & drove roads Rocky often uneven Lots of mud, even on tow-paths Drainage Good often flash flooding Good usually controlled Good in some places Poor takes ages to dry out Trails Long often long tarmac links Way-marked in forests, many of the trails well trodden Confusing status changes in many places Limited not all tow-paths open to cyclists Signs Fair/poor map skills essential Fair/good Main through routes fine Fair but always take a map with you Poor over-all Best Time Apr-Jun, Oct-Nov Apr-Oct May-Oct May-Oct Pit Stops Spares And well spaced out Ample places to stay Quite spread-out, sparse in some places Ample places to stay Terrain Flat, agricultural Surprisingly hilly, intricate Rounded, often confusing hills and forests Very hilly mainly steep Surfaces Sandy muddier in Suffolk Clay, often very wet Peat and sandstone Mainly rocky occasional bog Drainage Fair in north slower in south Only fair Mainly good, lot's of peaty wheel stopper's Good water run-off's worn- tracks Trails Mainly good many see little use Lots of shortest bridleways Way-marked in the forests, good through routes Well defined Signs Poor map skills essential Very good but will need a map Mainly good Very good should not get lost Best Time All-year but best in the summer May-Oct All year round All year round, summer very busy Pit Stops Sparse apart from the coast Ample very busy in the summer Plenty, busy in the summer Ample places to stay Terrain Exposed plateau Low-hills rolling farmland Impressive ridges, Wiltshire-Kent Very hilly long hill climbs Surfaces Peat, sandstone mix Mainly soft peaty mix's Usually compacted chalk, some flint Lots of peat otherwise stony Drainage Mainly good big pools in places Poor to hopeless! Most wet disappears leaves some big pools Good but lingering pools Trails Mainly straight lines, tarmac links Variable in the extreme Most, well defined heavy use in summer Mainly well defined little used Signs Reasonable good in popular places Only fair map skills essential Generally very good, Kent is excellent Good plenty of national trails Best Time All year round subject to weather Apr-Oct, windy in winter All year round Within reason all year summer is best Pit Stops Ample places to stay Good very busy in summer Book ahead for the summer months Well spread book ahead in summer

Area on the map    In one form or another Chalklands cover a high % of the U.K. They are most noticeable as southern uplands stretching from Wiltshire along the North and South Downs, up into the Cotswold's and Chilterns, then reappearing as the Lincolnshire and Yorkshire Wolds before disappearing into the North sea. In winter the surface can be like ice, easier to ride than walk-but in summer it dries out concrete-hard making rut sapping a difficult technical exercise. Everyone warns of tyre-shredding flints but most of the well-ridden trails aren't as bad as some make out, as long as you have good tread.
Area on the map Sandy ground is a rarity. Norfolk and Suffolk spring to mind, but there are long sandy patches, such as the Lancashire Mosses, Romney Marsh with its pebble-strewn tracks, Tentsmuir in the kingdom of Fife, and Culbin on the South side of the Moray Firth where a whole agro region, complete with villages, was buried by windblown sand in the 17th century. These are strength-sapping areas, apart from the main agro pistes, where the sand has been compressed and often creates huge road-width puddles. These areas may be pretty flat, but are certainly not easy.
Area on the map Hard rock means big hills, occasional mountains and spectacular riding, and that includes most of Wales, the Lake District, the Central and Western Highlands of Scotland and many of the offshore islands. It also means hard going on steep climbs and lumpy descents, which is why you tend to find that riders from these parts are in a league of their own when it comes to the really rough stuff. In fact, they don't even think it's rough. Good route-finding is essential in these areas, because coming down in the wrong valley can involve a lot of extra work at the end of the days ride, just as you through you'd finished that epic trail, take it from the Bicyclemania.co.uk team they know..!.
Area on the map Peat is part of the hard rock scene too, but usually figures large where an ancient layer has covered granites, Volcanic rock or the great glaciated slabs of the Highlands. But it's not all at altitude. Along with the Pennines, Cheviots and Rannoch Moor, there are considerable deposits in the Somerset Levels, any of the south-western Moors and the Norfolk Broads, which were in fact peat pits before they flooded. The only times that peat approaches anything near reasonable riding are when it's bone dry or frozen solid, and even, good wide fresh tyres are a must.
Area on the map <> Clay is sticky <> (Under statement of the year !) It mostly derives from chalk, but the best stuff has an adhesive quality that makes most trail tracks through the Midlands or dare I say 'mud lands' Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire almost out of bounds between November and April. It takes ages to dry out and all we can do is offer our sympathy to mountain bike riders living in the heart of England and suggest you look for trail opportunities out of your district, like Spain......!.

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