Location: Roundwood, Co. Wicklow
Distance: Approx 13.5km (set loop)
Terrain: Rocky, fireroad, boardwalk and very occasionally roots
Difficulty: Beginners to Experts, it's an all rounder trail
Condition: Extremely well maintained all year round. Not affected very much by the weather, only a few puddles to splash through and a bit of mud at parts
Sign posted: Yes, very well
Bike Rental: Bike rental available at the entrance from biking.ie
Brief description: Wether you're a novice or a pro mountain biker, Ballinastoe is regarded as one of the top trails in Ireland for Mountain Biking. Consisting of tight, twisty singletrack trails and forest fireroads, this trail is bound to test all of your abilities, especially your climbing. Starting off with a tiring, steep warm up climb, the trail then leads on to a relatively flat, but twisty and rocky singletrack which leads back on to another stiff fireroad climb to the next bit of singletrack which is also quite flat. Then another tough uphill climb on fireroad which leads to the first uphill singletrack climb. After this, you find yourself up quite high and it can by fairly cold and windy at times so rap up in warm clothes on a cold day. The trails start to go downhill from here and some serious speed is to be gotten on these descents. Then some more uphill climbing which leads you towards the end which is a nice descent down to the end. Make sure you have a sturdy bike with disc brakes which are vital or else you will find it very difficult to get through the trails. This track is not for the faint hearted because of the amount of climbing but is one of the best trails around.
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