Wheeldon Off-Road Centre

Near Halwell outside Totnes stands the first indoor MX track in the UK open to the public: an arena of some 30,000 square feet with a 450-metre circuit, technical enough for experienced riders and still a safe frame for beginners. Outside there is a course cut into the hillside of the South Devon countryside, plus a junior and training circuit and a permanent enduro loop across 300 acres. Riding is by booking only. The site has cottages, electric hook-ups, showers, toilets and a viewing area; bikes and kit can be hired, electric machines included, and there is training and corporate hire. The real value of the indoor arena is not the roof but the repeatability: the ground is the same every time, whatever the weather or season. If you want to work on one specific technique, that is the reason to come - outdoors you change two variables every lap. On the loamy ground outside, the familiar problem stays: the front knifes into the rut and oversteers. Top of our list is a fork set too soft that dives too deep and folds - add compression.