Reviews for Pace Bike Park - Dalby Forest

Thornton-le-Dale YO18 7LT

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Review by: Belly on 23 February 2007

Fun factor
Trail variety
Trail quality
Facilities
Location
Overall

Summary:
Okay for a mid ride blast

Review:
So, what do we have at the Pace Bike Park?
A 4x track? Check!
Dirt Jumps? Check!
North Shore Sections? Check!

Sounds promising doesn't it!
In reality though, if you're expecting amazing stuff to ride, you'll find better out on the Dalby trails. The 4x track is designed where the first tabletop from the start ramp leads you into and under a bridge section that acts as a bottleneck. If you manage to get ahead by here, there isn't much option for passing, unles you don't have the power in your legs to pedal around the rest of the course which is primarily flat with a few jumps thrown in for good measure. Seasoned riders will find it bores them too quickly.
The jumps are fun, there is two sets at present, the main set is made up of 3 large tables, and the secondary jumps are straightforward humps off to the right, which at the present time are in desperate need of a facelift. The large tables can be daunting to a fresh rider with steeper than required landing slopes and a very small runout at the end. Good fun is to be had watching the seasoned local riders sessioning these though.
Now on to my favourite stuff - the North Shore! Except that I prefer to call it boardwalks and skinnies instead. The "shore sections are split into 2 areas - the first is a section that runs from the end of the 4x track back to the entrance of the skills park, and is a good way to introduce beginners to riding raised boards. The second section is more fun to ride, with skinnies sections leading down to the beginning of the first board section, ending at a nice skinnie drop to ground level.
Sounds good, but here's the catch - Forest Enterprise have strict guidelines on how it had to be built - no more than a metre high, and no usage of chickenwire to provide grip, both due to Health and Safety reasons. This means, that in the wet, the board and skinnie sections are virtually unridable due to slipping off, but thats okay, as you're never far from terra firma!
It may sound like I'm slagging it off, but all I'm trying to do is give a view of the park from a regular rider and trailbuilders point of view. In summe rit's fun to ride, but it only really grasps my attention for a good half hour or so. To make good use of it, plan to either start your ride from its carpark so you can have a play before and after a red/black ride or factor it in as a lunch stop halfway round the new red route ride.

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Review by: Ads on 30 August 2006

Fun factor
Trail variety
Trail quality
Facilities
Location
Overall

Summary:
Quality

Review:
Well I’ve not been to Dalby in a few years and boy it has changed for the better.

The bike park is wicked for some one like me (never ridden a park before) the jumps on the 4x course are not too big so they put you off but if you hit them fast you can get some good air time and gain some confidence!!

Off to the left side are 3 jumps witch are a lot bigger (looked scary at first) but after going around the 4x course a few time and watching some very small kids pulling no footers over them I thought I would give them a go!! LOVED IT although on my first attempt I nearly lost it but just hung on.

The North Shore was my favourite (once again never ridden before) its not to far off the ground so you can bale if needed. Great to learn on!! Some thin and thick beams with a few tight turns and some small drop off points if you fancy.

I will definitely be going more often. In the future I think I will use the Dixon Hollow car park as it is just over the road from the bike park.

Enjoy

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