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Both pairs include standardsingle vision lenses.Upgrade to other lens optionsavailable.Bring in your prescriptionor call for an appointmentTHEV ILLAGE O PTICIAN4 Cobblers Hall Village Centre,Burn Lane, Newton AycliffeTel: 01325 3199224 Church Street,Coxhoe, Co. Durham.Tel. 0191 3770227Hitting thetrailMountain biking is one of the fastest growing sports in thecountry. SARAH FRENCH reports on a fantastic way tokeep fit and enjoy the countryside at the same timeIT’S fast, bumpy, muddy and wet.There’s an adrenaline rush withevery turn and a challenge in everyjump over a tree root or rocky patch.All that and you’re in the fresh airtoo, with only woodland wildlife and a fewlike minded adventurers for company.This is mountain biking heaven.With traffic-clogged routes that makeroad cycling too dangerous, it’s easy to seewhy the sport has taken off in a big wayin recent years. With money beingploughed into new trails and skills areasin the North-East, it is set to become evenmore popular in the coming months.Tourism chiefs across the region are respondingto the growing interest and atthe same time tapping into the currenttrend to get people exercising.The Forestry Commission has launchedthe Active Woods campaign with plans todevelop facilities in Dalby Forest, nearPickering in North Yorkshire. As part ofthe scheme, which will include wildlifewalks and bushcraft events, 55km of allweathermountain bike routes are beingconstructed at a cost of half a millionpounds. Construction work should becompleted by December 2007.The campaign has the support of theBritish Heart Foundation which sees thetrails as one way to drag people off theirsofas and onto their bikes to stay healthy.Further north in County Durham, a£213,000 project is underway as part ofplans to develop Hamsterley Forest as aninternational mountain biking centre torival that of Glentress Forest in Scotland.A partnership between Teesdale Marketingand the mountain bike club, theHamsterley Trailblazers, has attractedinitial funding that is already being put touse in a state-of-the-art skills area and afamily bike route.The series of ramps, drops-offs, tabletops and other obstacles are accompaniedby panels explaining how to ride them,with an escape route at each one for lessambitious riders.Down the hillside, a riverside flat trackis being developed linking the forest visitors’centre with the Grove car park, theaim being to attract families with childrenand beginner bikers.Vicky Chilcott, secretary of the Trailblazers,says the beauty of mountain bikingis that it’s an activity in which everyonecan get involved.“It’s very important to us to get kidsinto cycling. It’s great fun, it keeps themfit and it’s a fantastic day out for the wholefamily, including teenagers. It’s one of thefew outdoor activities they enjoy becauseit gives them a buzz.”Vicky cycled a lot as a girl but gave itup during her late teen and early adultyears. “I got back into it when I had mysons and we introduced them to it as babies,”she says. “Now they’re 20 and 17 andwe still go on cycling holidays together.”She says a couple of hundred poundswill buy an adequate bike. “Apart from ahelmet, you don’t need much else. It’s notexpensive compared with a lot of otherhobbies and once you’re out, you can stayout all day if you want.”For Ruth Brown, healthy lifestyles officerat Darlington Primary Care Trust, theinvestment is in fitness and wellbeing.“Getting out in the fresh air in the forestenvironment is fantastic and really invigoratingfor you mentally, while the natureof mountain biking makes it great forfitness. Climbing hills is good aerobic exerciseand you’re toning muscles at thesame time, often muscles that you don’tuse doing other activities. The benefits arealmost instantaneous.“If you’re coming downhill or concentratinghard on the track in front of you,it’s mentally challenging too. You cancover more ground than walking and ifyou get to the top of the forest where it’squiet and peaceful, you feel like you’ve reallyachieved something.”ASa location for the perfect mountainbiking trail of fast flowing,metre-wide single track with a firmbut interesting surface, the forest is ideal.The next stage of the Hamsterley plansis to build new world-class 20-mile red andblack routes, designed by Pete Laing, whowas behind Scotland’s top trails.Robin Lofthouse, recreation ranger forthe Forestry Commission, says the publicityaround the scheme is already attractingmore people to Hamsterley.“Potentially, it’s a huge development. Atthe moment people have to drive milesjust to get to good trails. We expect theskills area and Grove Link Trail primarilyto appeal particularly to local peoplebut the advanced trails, which will takeriders into parts of the forest that aren’tused at the moment, will really attractpeople from all over.”He says that by providing facilitiesspecifically for mountain bikers, it willfree up roads and tracks for horse ridersand paths for walkers.“It also means that we can divert moremaintenance budget onto walking, so ultimatelyeveryone will benefit from thesenew facilities and enjoy the forest.”For more information aboutActive Woods, visitwww.forestry.gov.uk/Active.www.hamsterley-trailblazers.co.uk