Buy the OS Route Map and instructions for this route

The Isle of Wight claims to have more bridleways per square mile than any other area of the UK. Whether this is true or not we don’t know, but we do know that this compact little island consists mainly of wonderful, rolling, chalk downland, which definitely makes for some top-notch mtb’ing.
There are a couple of really good spots to ride on the island: the western tip, south of Freshwater, where the tracks tend to be broad and chalky, and generally centre around one long ridge; and the south-east corner, which is generally hillier and steeper, and also boasts a few peachy sections of singletrack.
This month’s classic is a loop of the latter, taking in as many long and testing climbs, and as many steep and technical descents, as we could sensibly fit in. If you’re only going to do one loop on the island, this is your boy.