Cycling in South East for under 8s

[KpopDemon]

Hi, just looking for some ideas for a 6 yo DS who loves to cycle as we are heading into autumn! He’s been cycling confidently since age 3 and tends to cycle a few hours most weekends unless weather stops us.

He mainly cycles on tracks and roads, he will happily do 15 miles and maintains good speed and road awareness for his age.

He’ll tackle the blue MTB track in Swinley Forest but nothing more technical than that, and he’s nervous on pump tracks (decent ones are 30mins drive from us so we haven’t had much chance to practice).

Tried a few U8 cyclocross races in the summer and loved that, but we have to travel for them - he keeps asking for more but it doesn’t seem there’s much in the Thames Valley area.

There is a cycling club for kids nearby but it clashes with another sport he does, annoyingly. So I’m mainly looking for things we can do as a family - even if it means putting our bikes on the car rack and heading off somewhere!

Gravesend Cyclopark might work?

If he’s doing the full blue at Swinley that is already very good at 8! Go on the British Cycling website and look for ‘Go-Ride’ clubs. These are clubs with a youth division - it looks like you already found one but there will be others in the area. If you are near Swinley then you will be in Wessex League for cyclocross. There are races every weekend over the autumn and winter (season started today). Yes it’s a lot of travel as the venues are scattered all over the region. But this is the same for most sports unfortunately. If you join a club it’s easier as can coordinate/share travel with coaches and other parents.

For things you can do as a family: Swinley obviously, Queen Elizabeth Country Park, New Forest, Downslink, King Alfred’s Way are all great. Bike Park Wales is a great trip for a weekend and despite its scary reputation has stuff for all abilities and ages - the green run (Kermit) and the flowier blues are perfect for anyone who can do the Swinley blue.

There is guaranteed to be a small jump park (official or otherwise) in the woods near to you too, but you might need to know the right people to find it.

Thank you!

Gravesend is over 1.5 hours from us but we could do it as a big day trip with some planning. It’s nice to have some different day trips on our To Do list.

@Pharazon great ideas thank you! I have not heard of any of these other than Swinley (obviously). Wessex sounds like something from the time of Alfred the Great so I would not have thought that was our catchment.

We are heading to Wales anyway next Easter so might be able to plan a few interesting stops.

We bought a bike rack this year mainly so we could go to Swinley. I have never done any MTB and I was terrified on the blue in Swinley! Definitely a case of putting on a brave face. I tend to chop it up in chunks as it’s quite easy to get on and off, that way I can build up stamina and courage for the tricky bits 😆.

I’m thinking that cyclocross and MTB get muddy and therefore dangerous in winter? He’s so young I don’t want him struggling and being put off. I read that in cyclocross it’s often quicker to climb off and carry the bike but I absolutely cannot see ds doing that - presumably the u8 kids aren’t put on courses which are that hard? DS might need a lighter bike if so!

@Pharazon you are right by the way - there’s a jump track in the hilly woods near our home, and that’s probably what got DS into cycling. He used to hurtle down the long sloping paths on his balance bike giggling! insanely dangerous as he obviously had no brakes.

My older dc then started to teach him to do the littler bumps and dips on the jump track, and sometimes we would stick around to watch the teens and adults doing jumps and tricks - his mouth would drop open when he watched that. He was 4 when he started begging me to teach him to jump and do wheelies (a firm “not yet” from me to both because I don’t have the skills to teach him).

I love the idea of him cycling because it offers such independence. The lads round here are often out on their bikes and it makes me so happy to see them.

Cyclocross is extremely safe and injuries virtually non-existent. The worst that happens is you slip and fall off and get back on again. The speeds are not high enough to do any damage. U8s don’t carry the bike but they might push over steeper bits. But generally the U8 and U10 courses are very easy from a technical point of view. At U10 barriers are introduced forcing riders to dismount, lift the bike over the barrier and remount - these are initially very low and get higher as the age group increases. Many kids learn to bunny hop the barriers so don’t need to dismount. A club will teach the flying mount and dismount technique and young riders soon become extremely adept at this.

MTB is also generally safe, although injuries can happen, especially when jumping. But then injuries are very common in football, rugby, hockey etc and equestrian sports are in a different league for injuries.

if you narrow down where you are I can perhaps provide some more advice.

Some velodromes do summer days which are good fun. Are there any near you?

We’re Cambridge based so do a lot of daily cycling anyway (not quite the same I know) but we’ve done some cycle touring holidays which have been great.

Also BMX - one of our friend’s kids now competes at a national level. It’s a really friendly sport.

If you're in Wales for a holiday I think Coed Y Brenin seemed to have a real range of tracks for all ages, and Nant yr Arian, if I remember correctly. (Not a big mountain bike rider but the rest of the family used to partake while I went on walks!)

We are south of Reading 🙂

@Pharazon that is good to hear, he loves the idea of racing but I want him to be safe!

With your location I assume you looked at PPV (at Palmer Park) and that is what clashes. It's a shame as they are a really good club for youth. They focus on a lot of skills for younger ones for all disciplines.
Another one is Newbury Velo or "Sprockets" that are also good. Not sure which days they train though.
Heading to West London there is a closed cycling circuit in Hillingdon that had some free use sessions.

If you’re south of Reading have you tried Edenbrook bike park in Fleet? Pump track is amazing and there are some great jump trails too. They’ve not long since opened up a couple of skills loops to add to if. Can get busy with riders of all ages, it’s not huge but has a good variety of stuff for all levels of mtb.

@Lonelycrab yes we went there once! Agree it’s great. It was busy when we went and ds was a bit intimidated but a really nice lad gave him some tips to get him started. I’ve not seen him that nervous before, I think it was just seeing the other kids whizzing round looking very competent! 😊

@Lovetoridemybicycle I had ruled out PPV because I thought it was only for age 8 or above. And I got lost in the website. It seems rather serious, and ds is enthusiastic but not serious if that distinction makes sense.

I pondered Sprockets as it’s not too far and the focus is on fun, but that does clash with our other Saturday sport which is such a pity. I rejected Newbury as it’s quite a distance for a regular commitment but I might reconsider.

I feel like I’m arguing myself out of getting some help to upskill DS. Maybe I’ll come back to these ideas in a year, hopefully even if DS hasn’t picked up a lot more technical skills by then he will at least be stronger, faster and more confident. He had such a lovely ride on Saturday with his dad, and it’s kind of nice that they have that time together to just enjoy it.

Thanks to everyone for ideas and input! Lots to ponder.

I forgot that PPV is over 8's, sorry! They are as serious as you want to be, they encourage racing but also inclusive. I had one at each at end of the 'serious' spectrum go there. One gave up at age 12 but has fantastic bike skills, the other is a 'semi-pro'. They are a good feeder club into British cycling talent if you want too but also brilliant at bike skills. They have different sessions that you work through as you get better.
Sprockets are very similar and both encourage racing in competitions if you want to including velodrome. Newbury Velo don't do velodrome but do the skills and circuits.
I guess you are going to have to hang on a bit, but do put his name on waiting lists as they do have them and can take a while as obviously there are only so many kids you can have in a small area on bikes!