Buy the OS Route Map and instructions for this route

If the North York Moors had a calling card; it would be acre after acre of heather-covered moorland, penetrated only by a ribbon of sinuous, smile-inducing singletrack. It’s little wonder it’s seen as one of the finest mtb areas in the country.
This is a tough outing for the distance covered, mainly due to its technical and unrelenting nature. The early sections do little to prepare you for what lies ahead, and it’s only as you drop past the disused quarry, high on Glaisdale Rigg, that you start to get a feel for what you’re about to receive. Even that will pale into insignificance when you hit the steep push out of Glaisdale, onto the first moorland crossing. Fortunately it’s as short as it is sharp and you’ll soon be racing across the moor, smiling rather than grimacing.
The real excitement begins as you enter the Danby Estate — first on an undulating singletrack that packs the odd punch, then on a near-vertical plummet, that’ll stump even the most elite of riders. The run-out from here is fun, but nothing compared to the drop from Danby Rigg — just a short climb further on. This is what the North York Moors are all about: choose the right line and you’re rolling all the way down to the village; get it wrong and you’ll watch your friends disappear as you wrestle with the ruts and stones.
The Stonehouse bakery can provide all the oomph you’ll need for that final climb; after that it’s an easy moorland cruise with little to get too excited about, apart from the much-needed increase in your average speed.