Route from Swinley Blue-Red 9 Aug 2014 11:19

It starts at the Lookout car park. In good weather you get all sorts on the early part of the blue; families doing all sorts of strange things so be careful if you're fast. However it soon starts to climb and get twisty which discourages most non-biking families who soon drop off onto the fireroads. There's a really boring, tedious flat twisty bit on the blue that just doesn't flow but keep going the red is soon after and much better.

The surface is man made packed gravel and not very nice in my opinion - the fine stuff erodes leaving hard stones sticking out making a rattly ride. Not nice on a hard tail. I don't know why they did this everywhere, it wasn't necessary and just detracts. There are some fast bits and jumps - watch out some can throw you off line and there's a nasty stump hidden behind a table top on the ideal line preparing for the following jump. 

By the time you're on the red everyone is competent. You get the odd child & parent but they're normally good if they've bothered to come out this far.

Overall, something to measure myself against in my quest to regain fitness but I think they spoilt a lot of the old runs by surfacing uncessarily. I wouldn't go if it wasn't on the doorstep. Much nicer over the boundary in Crowthorne Wood and the Military areas.