The team behind FlyUp Downhill (the uplift service at the Forest of Dean and Gawton in Devon) have been working on the ‘417 Project’ for quite some time, since way back in June 2013 to be exact. Their dream was to build the ultimate privately owned UK mountain bike facility on a 100 acre plot at the side of the A417 road just outside Gloucester and Cheltenham. The driving force behind the project has been FlyUp main man Si Ruskin, and it has not been an easy journey. The build is now well under way, but there have been highs and lows along the way, as well as many unforeseen obstacles that have appeared on the journey.

The plan is for a variety of riding disciplines within the venue. There will be three downhill tracks, from blue to red/ black grade, with uplift (of course). There will also be a national level 4X track and Dual Slalom run, with the country’s first MTB drag lift service, jump bag, freeride area and one acre dirt jump arena. There are also two separate indoor riding barns totalling over 1100 square metres, plus a café, bike shop and workshop on site.

DirtTV sent filmer Moss Davis to go behind the scenes with Simon and his team, to attempt to tell the Trail 417 story. This is Part 1, but we will be back for more as the build continues and reaches completion… maybe before the end of the year (weather dependant), maybe not. It is all systems GO…