Mountain Biking in Mayo - Advice

DirkVoodoo

And I mean the county, before some smart person from Lusk suggests I get my tyre choice right for cycling through a creamy sauce...

Planning to head up in the next couple of weeks to visit a friend. We will all be very much beginners, so looking for a nice bit of cross country with climbing but minimal technical challenges (steep drops, narrow off-camber sections, etc.).

We will be based near Westport and getting the train out.

Recommendations for bike hire also appreciated.

Esroh

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

And I mean the county, before some smart person from Lusk suggests I get my tyre choice right for cycling through a creamy sauce...

Planning to head up in the next couple of weeks to visit a friend. We will all be very much beginners, so looking for a nice bit of cross country with climbing but minimal technical challenges (steep drops, narrow off-camber sections, etc.).

We will be based near Westport and getting the train out.

Recommendations for bike hire also appreciated.

Dirk. Coillte have ignored Mayo re mtb and so its limited when you are travelling by train
. Im pretty sure that the Coveys cc guys have a trail in Knockranny woods. There was a few Connacht Mtb League races held there. I would contact the club for advice.
Unless one of the regulars here contact you.

Mr. Grieves

I think you'll find it a little frustrating to travel somewhere not known as a mountain biking destination and hope to find trails suited to a particular ability aswell as decent bikes for hire. Unless you have a local mountain biker to show you around, the established trail centres (Ballyhoura, Ballinastoe, Ticknock, Rostrevor and Bikepark Ireland being the biggest) will have signs, bikes to hire and trails graded for ability to some degree.

I'm not saying Mayo doesn't have good mountain biking, I don't know, but it may not be particularly accessible. (You can look at a Strava heatmap to see where people ride off-road, I don't see much in Mayo.)

Incidentally Dublin/Wicklow is probably the best place for MTBing in the country because the density of local bikers means there are many km's of unofficial trails.

DirkVoodoo

Mr. Grieves wrote: »

I think you'll find it a little frustrating to travel somewhere not known as a mountain biking destination and hope to find trails suited to a particular ability aswell as decent bikes for hire. Unless you have a local mountain biker to show you around, the established trail centres (Ballyhoura, Ballinastoe, Ticknock, Rostrevor and Bikepark Ireland being the biggest) will have signs, bikes to hire and trails graded for ability to some degree.

I'm not saying Mayo doesn't have good mountain biking, I don't know, but it may not be particularly accessible. (You can look at a Strava heatmap to see where people ride off-road, I don't see much in Mayo.)

Incidentally Dublin/Wicklow is probably the best place for MTBing in the country because the density of local bikers means there are many km's of unofficial trails.

Ah, apologies for leaving out key detail: Our friend is on rotation with work there so it's a chance to visit him and do something that isn't going to the pub. I just thought maybe Mayo had some trails!

Mr. Grieves

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Ah, apologies for leaving out key detail: Our friend is on rotation with work there so it's a chance to visit him and do something that isn't going to the pub. I just thought maybe Mayo had some trails!

Hike Croagh Patrick would be my suggestion so!

Peterx

The best cycling there that is signposted is possibly the Great Western Greenway to Achill?

http://www.greenway.ie/Trail-Map-01.html

Not mountain biking but definitely not a pub either.

Derroura MTB trail would be great for bringing a lad out biking but it's too far away from Westport for ye.