It’s looking a lot more typical for a southern winter, which is a bit of a relief after the recent conditions.

Hazarding a guess, it’s going to be reasonably dry for the time of year with a brisk, cold wind coming from the north - classic winter conditions and great for clearing the head after New Year’s Eve. Aston Hill will be open all weekend - wrap up warm and enjoy!

First time winter riding on the Hill? Then have a look at the essentials and the frequently asked questions. It’s a challenging venue that gets more technical when wet.

Happy New Year and catch you in 2011!

Aston Hill will be shut tomorrow for Christmas Day, so please stay at home and enjoy a day of eating, presents and being merry!

The weather forecasts are all agreed (something of a minor miracle at the moment) and are all predicting another frozen weekend, but with plenty of sun - ideal for riding winter trails. They all also predict temperatures creeping above freezing on Monday, but with the threat of more snow late Monday or early Tuesday.

Wrap up warm, make sure your bike is working well and run well-treaded tyres (or winter tyres, if you have them). Expect icy snow on top of frozen ground, making rooty conditions sketchy the steeper sections super-sketchy. Consequently don’t ride alone, or if you do make sure someone knows where you are and when you’ll be back, just in case you get kidnapped by elves or hit a not-so-festive tree.

First time winter riding on the Hill this Sunday? Then have a look at the essentials and the frequently asked questions. It’s a challenging venue that gets more technical when wet, and under a layer of snow it’s going to be even difficult.

Finally, have a very, very merry Christmas!

No tune of the week today. Instead, here’s a short video of the guys from MTB Berkhamstead having fun in some fresh powder. Enjoy!

Dees Cycles of Amersham have whispered into Chairman Pete’s ear that not only do they have a new website up and running at www.deescycles.com, but they are also offering a 12.5% discount to Aston Hill members on presentation of a membership card; that’s a very nice deal, especially with VAT rising in the new year.

They carry a large range of decent bikes and kit, and have helped out plenty of Aston Hill riders in the past - remember to pop in and check ‘em out next time you’re in Amersham!

Like the rest of the country, there’s plenty of snow here in the Chilterns - approximately 6″ of the white stuff has fallen since Friday night.

The roads are currently pretty treacherous, so unless you really, really need to get a snowy ride in we’d recommend that you wait until they are clear before heading over to the Hill.

Enjoy the time out and get some TV and pre-festive carbo-loading in - the Bond films are bound to be on soon!

The A41 leading to Aston Clinton

You’ve just got to love this weather haven’t you? Freeze, thaw, snow, freeze, mist - I mean, just give us a few nice clear blue winter days!

Well, this weekend proves to be equally interesting. Metcheck and the BBC have been pretty forward regarding the snow, as the dump predicted for the 16th only arrived at midday on the 17th. This has since cleared to stunning blue skies - if you can get out for some frozen trails now, it’ll be absolutely ace.

For the rest of us, hopefully this means that the forecast is now back on track! If this is the case then expect frozen conditions, even colder temperatures in the wind and some more snow on Sunday.

Wrap up warm, make sure your bike is working well and run well-treaded tyres (or winter tyres, if you have them). Expect snow on top of frozen ground, making rooty conditions sketchy the steeper sections super-sketchy.

First time winter riding on the Hill? Then have a look at the essentials and the frequently asked questions. It’s a challenging venue that gets more technical when wet, and under a layer of snow it’s going to be even difficult.

Tune of the week: something purely to get your head nodding on a roadtrip. Nothing more, nothing less!

Got an idea to improve the Hill? Got a spade? Then why not build a sick new line? I mean - who’s going to know?

It should be obvious that any sort of rogue building in a fenced-off, well-recognised and maintained bike park is not the cleverest thing to do. Riding on illegal trails in a bike park which is insured, monitored and regulated is a surefire way to piss off the people that look after it. Crashing on illegal trails in a bike park which is insured, monitored and regulated is a surefire way to begin the process of closing it down.

All in all, it’s pretty stupid.

The carpark is still very slippery, but open again.

Take extra care!

A quick reminder to all aspiring Hillbillies: Sunday is Dig Day! Drop a line to [email protected] if you’re planning to head on over.

All riders heading over to ride Sunday, please be aware that there is digging going on and keep a look out for Hillbilly digging teams in their fluro vests! There should be minimal disruptions on all trails.

On the weather front, it’s looking like there’s a brief respite from the ice and snow, which is great news if you’re coming over to help with the digging, but not so great if you wanted to ride in dry, frozen conditions. If the weather is as warm (in the loosest sense of the word) as forecast, then it will probably be quite wet underwheel as the freezing conditions of the past week thaw out. If you have mud tyres, put ‘em on.

First time winter riding on the Hill? Read the essentials and the frequently asked questions – Aston Hill is a very different animal in the wet.

Tune of the week is suitably apt: Can you dig it? Why, yes. I do believe that you can!

Aston Hill is shut today due to very frozen conditions in the car park.

Updates as soon as they happen!

It looks to be a mixed bag this weekend.

Metcheck say we’re going to get a big snow dump Saturday morning, whereas the BBC (who get their information from the Met Office) reckon that while there’s going to be sleet, it’s actually going to be more damp than frozen. They both think it’s getting warmer though, so we may yet see the ground get a little softer.

What is definite is that at the moment the ground is frozen solid and there’s a good coat of the white stuff on top. Under the trees it’s only a dusting, but where there’s a gap in tree cover it’s a good inch deep.

Even if the ground remains frozen, the snow is making the areas where it’s lying fun/slippery/interesting/scary-as-fook* (especially on the steeper stuff), so well-treaded tyres are a must and dedicated winter/mud tyres are a good idea (especially if it does start to thaw).

As ever, read the essentials and the frequently asked questions if it’s your first time winter riding on the Hill – Aston Hill is a very different beast when the temperatures drop.

Whatever you do this weekend, wrap up warm as it’s still going to be a cold one!

Tune of the week: something that should make anyone born before 1985 chuckle.

*Delete as applicable.