Ballyhoura V Ticknock/Ballinastoe

CardinalJ

Do most of my mountain biking in ticknock or Ballinastoe but want to go down to ballyhoura for a weekend at some stage soon.

Apart from the difference in length, are the longer trails in Ballyhoura any harder/more technical than those at ticknock or Ballinastoe?

Cheers.

C3PO

Basically ..... No! There is a lot of boardwalk in Ballyhoura though which can get very slippy when it's wet! if you like Ballinastoe/Ticknock you'll have a great weekend in Ballyhoura!

petethedrummer

Ballyhoura is much longer but easier than Balinastoe. The board walk sections are a bit sketchy but other than that its grand. If you're a relative beginner like me there are no real 'oh sh!t' moments in Ballyhoura.

michael196

bally houra is certainly longer, and more individual trails to choose from . I have done teh white and brown trails only, and went up with locals also who could find their way between and accross tracks.

meet at the log. which an intersection of the white and brown trails where riders stop for a chat .

kingcharles82

its a matter of opinion i think, ballyhoura is an excellent place to go biking, ive been to ballyhoura a few times and it just keeps getting better, they are updating the trails every few months and the facilites up there are the best this country has to offer

Tenzor07

It's worth going to see once anyways...

Nice pleasant trails, nothing too difficult at all, and some nice views too...

CardinalJ

Awesome, I'll have to get down soon so.

Got back into mountain biking in the last few months thanks to the BTW scheme and have read nothing but great things about ballyhoura.

Thanks for the replies folks.

Ah_go_on

Ballyhoura is a fabulous spot, less technical than Ticknock however certain sections of trail go on forever. Highly recommended:D

CardinalJ

Ah_go_on wrote: »

Ballyhoura is a fabulous spot, less technical than Ticknock however certain sections of trail go on forever. Highly recommended:D

Yea 50k is a long trail, especially when you think of how fast you can get around ticknock.

Has anyone any idea roughly how long it takes to get to ballyhoura from Dublin?

Tenzor07

CardinalJ wrote: »

Yea 50k is a long trail, especially when you think of how fast you can get around ticknock.

Has anyone any idea roughly how long it takes to get to ballyhoura from Dublin?

50k is a good long spin on a mountain bike so make sure you fill your camelbak and bring a bottle too, make sure its some sort of sports drink, not just plain water...Bring some fig rolls and sangwiches, bag of Jellies too.. a fully charged mobile phone.. And a Garmin if you have one....Most importantly don't do the trails alone!

usually takes about 1hr45mins to Mitchelstown and maybe another 30mins to the trails..

Captain Havoc

CardinalJ wrote: »

Yea 50k is a long trail, especially when you think of how fast you can get around ticknock.

Has anyone any idea roughly how long it takes to get to ballyhoura from Dublin?

About two and a half hours I'd say. You take the M8 to Mitchelstown and then it's another thirty minutes or so after that.

CardinalJ

Tenzor07 wrote: »

CardinalJ wrote: »

Yea 50k is a long trail, especially when you think of how fast you can get around ticknock.

Has anyone any idea roughly how long it takes to get to ballyhoura from Dublin?

50k is a good long spin on a mountain bike so make sure you fill your camelbak and bring a bottle too, make sure its some sort of sports drink, not just plain water...Bring some fig rolls and sangwiches, bag of Jellies too.. a fully charged mobile phone.. And a Garmin if you have one....Most importantly don't do the trails alone!

usually takes about 1hr45mins to Mitchelstown and maybe another 30mins to the trails..

Ah I never really go out in my own. You'd be found pretty fast if something went wrong and you were in ticknock, 50k+ trails are different though. Also it's just more fun with your mates.

2.5ish hours is ok for a day trip. 4 of us thinking of heading down.

Cheers for all the info.

julio_iglayzis

CardinalJ wrote: »

Yea 50k is a long trail, especially when you think of how fast you can get around ticknock.

Has anyone any idea roughly how long it takes to get to ballyhoura from Dublin?

Last time I did it (early May), the drive took three hours.

Whatever you do, don't do the red loop - unless you're into tedious monotony. There's about 9k of unrewarding uphill fireroad slog towards the end, with absolutely no pay off. It's like cycling to work.

The white/blue loops are the best - there's nothing in anyway technical or difficult, but it's a beautiful place, great facilities and worth a trip down.

CardinalJ

julio_iglayzis wrote: »

CardinalJ wrote: »

Yea 50k is a long trail, especially when you think of how fast you can get around ticknock.

Has anyone any idea roughly how long it takes to get to ballyhoura from Dublin?

Last time I did it (early May), the drive took three hours.

Whatever you do, don't do the red loop - unless you're into tedious monotony. There's about 9k of unrewarding uphill fireroad slog towards the end, with absolutely no pay off. It's like cycling to work.

The white/blue loops are the best - there's nothing in anyway technical or difficult, but it's a beautiful place, great facilities and worth a trip down.

Yea I've read so many positive things I really want to head down for a day and see for myself.

I'll avoid the red loop like the plague based on that. Don't mind slogging up once I get to go down after. Slogging up hill just to get into a car and weep doesn't sound great.

julio_iglayzis

CardinalJ wrote: »

Slogging up hill just to get into a car and weep doesn't sound great.

You slog up a hill (which is quite similar to the road slog at Ticknock, except much longer) and ultimately end up at the same exit point as the blue loop, so it's completely not worth it. From there on it's a nice downhill run to the carpark.
Even the lads in the hut there were advising me against the red loop the last time, saying that the extension adds little - there's certainly little in the way of singletrack on it anyway. Blue or white are the way to go, definitely - I believe they've expanded on the white loop recently too - looks like fun

Biopace

I must say I like the Red loop, there are some nice singletrack trails before the 6k long climb which are rarely used so are a little bit more challenging, ok you end up at the mast as you do on the Blue loop but you always have that nice descent to where all the loops converge.

Lumen

I saw this and thought of you...

'Metro Top' 3 Rock by robin seymour