I headed up to the Lake District for half term with the whole family. Sue and the two girls Josie and Frances aged 25 and 22. We travelled up in our new car, a Golf Plus complete with roof box. The bikes stayed at home this week. The intention was to do some walking with the girls and generally chill out and have a relaxing holiday. We achieved that and had some good walks up Helvellyn via Striding Edge and Swirrel edge, Helm Crag and Steel Fell followed by a walk over into Little Langdale and Cathedral Cave. This is a huge cave in a series of passageways that were used by miners.
For my birthday in October Sue had bought me an expedition with Kankku which is a company that operates 4 wheel drive trips around the Lake District. I had often seen one of their Landrovers parked at the top of Windermere and had said on a few occasions that I fancied a go at that. As you can imagine I was quite surprised but pleased about this. I asked Sue and the girls if they were going to come along as passengers but amazingly they declined and spent the day pampering themselves - I'm not sure which cost the most!
Tuesday morning arrived and I arrived at the offices to find one other vehicle was coming out, a family of 4 with Mum doing most of the driving and the poor teenage girls stuck in the back of the car. I had a modified Land Rover Defender and they had an automatic Mitsubishi. I was accompanied by Nick who founded the company 12 years ago starting with just 2 vehicles, he now has a fleet of 12 vehicles but rarely has more than 6 - 8 out at once.
A quick dash down to cross Windermere on the ferry and the we headed off to Grisedale and the first off roading. I'd cycled quite a few of the tracks in the Lakes and had ideas about what a Land Rover could do - I was quickly proved wrong as within a short period we were heading over huge rocks, angles and steps. They would have been good fun on a bike to come down - we headed up them!
The art of driving an off road vehicle on this sort of terrain is to let the car do the work, it is set up so that you can drive it on the level with no gas at all and it will travel at about 4-5 mph. Going uphill requires constant but gentle gas which is kept steady and the car will tackle the most amazing climbs and steep rocks. The secret is to keep the gas steady, if you try and add some extra gas then the wheels will spin so steady does it. Coming down is almost harder because all you need is a bit of brake which again needs to be kept steady. I managed to stall a few times going downhill because your natural reaction when faced with a drop of 2-3 feet is to brake harder, you don't touch the clutch as the car would start to go out of control and hey!! the car stalls.
The other family had an automatic Mitsubishi and Nick said that this was much easier to drive and was as good if not better than the Landrover over these stony trails. he said it would be his preference which I must admit surprised me. We went on a number of trails, all legal byeways which are open to all traffic and so legal. They were stony trails and so there wasn't a lot of damage caused by the cars, but you could see where a few idiots had gone off over soft grass leaving great big ruts.
I had a great time and really enjoyed my day but it wasn't as fun as biking over the trails and it was also slower than being on a bike. Not much more than 4-5 mph all the time. A great day and I reckon Dan ought to go and do a report on it. I'm sure he'd be a real master at it.
www.kankku.co.uk/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe9VrsD3_So
This youtube video shows some of the trails that I was on and gives a good impression of what it was like.
George Orwell writes in Animal Farm that four legs is better than two legs, but even though I enjoyed it I would chose two wheels over four for covering this sort of country!
Chris (Doc)
Brennan and Steph visit North Wales
This was a trip that could have started on a bad note. We were bound to set off on the Sunday of the Rugby World Cup Final, of which New Zealand was trying to end 23 years of misery. The fact that NZ won put Steph in a good mood. So with spirits high, we set off for North Wales. As we were heading into the great unknown, I wisely thought we should stop for a meal in Birmingham. We made excellent progress until we reached Shrewsbury. With darkening skies the beautiful motorway turned into dual carriageway then single lane roads. With tractors.
Never mind we are on holiday, we have all the time in the world. We had been waiting quite a while to do this delayed trip as Steph had broken her shoulder the last time we attempted it. After a couple of hours going up and down mountains in the dark we finally made it to our accommodation. I had the feeling we were in for a very scenic view in the light of the morning.
The next morning we awoke to amazing views of the mountains at the edge of the campsite. And as an added bonus, the weather was nice! As we had a whole week ahead of us, we decided to have a little recce and pick up some supplies. This is where we learned that as nice as the scenery was, the towns can be a little on the "undeveloped" side of things. We drove into the centre of Dollegau and were confronted by some rather rustic looking people. We also received a bit of old school Welsh hospitality in the paper shop when the owner completely blanked me and started speaking Welsh to the person standing next to me. Oh well, at least Steph is a Kiwi. They love Kiwi's. Rugby and sheep bond the two nations. Oh maybe on second thought..."Steph keep quiet", I muttered. After a rather amusing morning pissing the yokels off, we decided to head to the Coed y Brenin trail centre and sample the cafe. This was a good move. Decent food, cheap prices and homemade cake. What's not to like?
Next on the list after feeding our faces was a pair of shorts for Steph. We drove for a bit and came to the nice little town called Betws y Coed. Much more pleasant! There were several bike shops and outdoorsy type places where the old credit card can get a good bashing. "Might as well get these crampons, they are 20% off! And it might get icy! After a few hours we thought it wise to retreat to our caravan(the "Love Shack") and prepare ourselves for the next days riding.
Over dinner we discussed the plan of attack for the next day. Part of this trip was the aim of getting Steph back on the bike and restoring confidence. I could always "shred the knar" at a latter date. We (un)wisely decided to ride our bikes down to the centre. Notice I said "down"! As it was the first day, we were quite excited and probably in hindsight overdid it. We started with a nice gentle run(blue) that was 11km on rolling jeep tracks. The run followed the river gorge and went past the remains of a long abandoned gold mining. It was all on easy jeep tracks and included a few hills. It was at this point that Steph realised she had an extra chainring!(granny) No wonder she struggled up hills! We both enjoyed getting out in the lovely autumn sunshine and it was good to see Steph enjoying herself on the bike. Retiring back to the trail centre for cake and coffee, it was decided by Steph that I needed to do something more challenging. Aware of the long ride home, I didn't want to tackle anything too long, so I settled on a 11km red route taster ride. I learned another lesson of trail centre riding, they always over estimate the time to do the ride. The red route that I chose was rated as taking 1-3 hours, I did it in less than an hour! I picked Steph up and we began the long (uphill) ride back to the "Love Shack" Some time later we arrived back exhausted but buzzing. A quick wash of the bikes and then it was time to stuff our faces and reload our lost calories.
Wednesday arrived and again we lucked out with the weather. Sunny and reasonably warm! We progressed to the Minotaur trail. This was a new one and is designed to introduce new riders to common trail conditions. It is all rollable and progressive. With a bit of gentle prodding(oh er!) I convinced Steph to ride most of it. The only bit she didn't do was the best bit...berms. Never mind, she was having fun and the "crash" was becoming a distant memory. After lunch(venison burgers all round), I headed out to tackle the MBR trail as recommended by Dan. I was a little nervous as it was rated black and I was riding by myself. Steph offered a few words of encouragement..."Stop being such a big girl, you have ridden the Alps, Peaks etc etc. Get out there!" Suitably chastised, I headed off. The start of the trail was a rocky technical climb that spat me out on another fire road climb that pulled me to the top(or so I thought) Another technical rocky climb(starting to form a theme) and then some rocky descents. As I was riding alone I took it easy and didn't attempt any heroics. Completing this bit is it was onto a nice swoopy bit of singletrack and then a very Alpine bit of bermed and jumpy track. And so it went on for approximately 20km. Really good fun. I returned to the trail centre and picked Steph up. We loaded the bikes into the van and returned to our accommodation. We were now getting into a routine. Wash the bikes, shower, dinner and then early to bed.
Thursday rolled around and was a bit dull and wet(absolutely tipped down the previous night) We did the Minotaur trail again and then I set off and did another black run(the Tarw) Unlike the MBR trail, this was a very natural trail with long fire road climbs. I met up with one of the locals(John) who showed me around. He was a bit of a legend. I reckon he was well into his 60's(his sons were in their 40's) and he was flying! Not wanting to disgrace myself, I hung onto his rear wheel the whole way round. I really regretted not putting a tacky tyre on as the trail was quite rocky with rooty bits to catch you out. But great fun!
I made the decision not to ride on friday(helped by sore legs) and instead headed back to Betws y Coed for breakfast with Tony(on his way to Ireland). The rest of the day was spent relaxing and preparing for a final meal in a beautiful restaurant to end a great week in a beautiful part of the world. I reckon the place is crying out for a visit from Berko MTB!
Brennan
Black Park Duathlon
There aren't many off-road Duathlon events around so when one came up fairly nearby at Black Park, Slough I thought I'd give it a go.
Steve (Scouse) also liked the sound of it, 'liked' being a funny word when you're volunteering for a bit of pain.
We were both a bit nervous beforehand, both being quite new to the business of Transitions and being in close proximity to lots of men wearing lycra. But, as is now the norm for October, the sun was shining and after putting the bikes in the transition area with our SPD shoes and helmet we were good to go. The race was several laps around a Pine woodland course, 3 mile run, 12 mile bike, 3 mile run.
After a short and fairly confusing race briefing about the course and transition area it was time to get on with it.
Somehow Steve and i found ourselves uncomfortably close to the very front at the starting line amongst people whose tight, shiny attire said "keen". We didn;t stay there long though as the horn sounded the start and we tried not to get carried away in the initial rush.
From there on in it was a steady 3 miles through some nice woodland trails and trying to settle in to a bit of a rhythm as there was lots of unknown ahead. Me and Steve were together for most of this, swapping a bit of chat but mainly just trying to get on with it.
We were soon into the dreaded transition area to change shoes and get on the bike. I'd done a bit of research and invested in some elastic laces to get my running shoes off quicker. This definitely helped and it went smoothly.
It was a relief to get on the bike and there was some competitive jockeying for position to begin with. This resulted in my first 'off' of the day as I went off line to get past someone and jammed the front wheel into a log. Two places lost, start again. I must also have inadvertently knocked down to the granny ring when this happened because after about 2 laps I noticed I was in it, changing up to the middle helped my speed a bit!
The rest of the first lap was a test of trying to cane it but also having no idea what was coming so lots of hard braking as the route switched from wide tracks to tight, loose singletrack on pine needles. It was also very obvious there were some fit riders who would be fast on the wide stuff and overtake you, then hold you up as it got more technical. This resulted in my next two 'offs' as I clipped a guys wheel I was trying to undertake and then worst of all on the last lap ended up behind someone who bottled it on a bombhole and left me have to push my way out.
I also cocked it up by thinking we were only doing 3 laps on the bike and stopping briefly before realising.
So after 12 miles of cut and thrust on the bike it was back to transition, dump the bike, get the running shoes on and...run very slowly indeed. Blimey it's hard to run after you've done all that riding, your legs just don't want to know and you can only shuffle along.
At this point it's quite easy to start giving in mentally and the urge to pack in and walk is quite strong.
I had hoped to catch a couple of people I could see in front of me but quickly revised that ambition, it was just a case of one foot in front of the other survival. The run was two 1.5 mile laps so that helped to break it down. I also saw Steve not far behind as we looped around for the last lap. We shouted a bit of encouragement to each other which was a welcome boost.
There was just time for me to make one more mistake, the girl I was running behind went what i thought was the wrong way.
I shouted to turn left but she carried on, and rather stupidly I followed, she didn't even have that good a backside so there was no excuse! I should have been surer of the route. By the time I knew for sure it was wrong I'd done 100 metres I didn't need to and lost a place, bugger.
But I couldn't find the boost to haul the place back and in the end was very happy to see the finish line.
I'd only been back a minute before Steve also came in looking as knackered as i felt.
According to the results we came in 14th and 15th in the Solo Men category (18-39) and something like 31 and 33 overall out of a field of about 80 or so.
I think our time were quite decent - 19 mins for first 3 miles, 1 hour for ride of 12 miles and about 22 mins for last 3 miles.
With a bit more concentration i could have done better so room for improvement for next time.
We both really enjoyed the challenge, and it is a proper challenge, and will do more events as we find them.
This could be the start of the MTBberkhamsted Duathlon Team.
Who else is up for it??!!
Dave
Ann & Jeremy go Up North (a bit)
We weren’t too sure how the weekend was going to pan out but set off early on Friday morning for Birmingham NEC and the Bike Show, which had moved fromLondonthis year – so inconvenient!
After walking for about a mile around the NEC complex, we arrived at the right zone and things started looking up – comfortable crowd levels, and a sea of exhibition stands with flags and awnings waving in the air-conditioned breeze.
We headed straight for the mountain-bike trial area – a 1km purpose-build track which snaked around a coppice out the back of the exhibition hall, heavily marshalled by fluorescent-bibbed security/safety guys who didn’t look like they knew much about bikes! Not that that mattered, because no one needed to know much about bikes – there were no major brands or 2011/12 models to take for a spin – just a smattering of various hardtails and full-sussers, plus a bamboo bike, Rohloff hubbed HT and the odd BMX rig. Jeremy slid the bamboo bike around the purpose-built bermy circuit and I found a smallish DeVinci Dixon to have some fun on. We decided that the track wasn’t going to be kind to a back-heavy Rohloff, so I stuck to theDixonfor a second lap and Jeremy bounced round on an Ellesworth. We called it a day and wandered off for some refreshments and a sit-down back inside. In fact, we found the perfect chill zone at the Singletrack stand where we relaxed and chatted to the ST team while they worked out our new online subscription package.
We managed to kill quite a few hours wandering amongst the exhibitors, stopping for the odd free sample of energy bars or electrolyte drinks, watching the BMXers getting some serious amounts of air – Superman is still the best move to watch, and lusting after the latest Hope lights (over 1000 lumens no less) and disc brakes (for road bikes – yes road bike discs!!!!!). The Hope stand was definitely the highlight, especially with their custom-builtOrange5 on centre stage, and a very friendly bunch of Hope employees all eager to show off their products.
After a night in a charming little hotel in Walsall (I think you can tell I’m not from round these parts) we headed for Cannock Chase for the hottest ride of the year (ok it was the 1stOctober but we were in the midst of our true ‘Indian Summer’). We joined about a million friendly Midlanders around some fantastic tracks, made all the more challenging by the deep braking ruts on some great almost Alpine-scale berms (especially on The Monkey Trail sections), and superb flowing single track through wooded sections around Follow the Dog. Lack of blood (I donated a pint last week) meant that I was in no fit state to go round anything twice, but will return to get better acquainted with this great trail centre.
All in all, a fab weekend which exceeded expectations in many ways – perhaps a newMTBBerko outing for next year?
Ann
BHF London to Brighton Off Road 2011
12 Riders
3 Support crew
75 Miles (ish)
Central London to Brighton Seafront
What could possibly go wrong?
I don't know about the other riders but I can never sleep properly before these type of events, not sure if it's because I'm excited or worried about missing the pick up at 5:30am, but before you know it another year has passed and we're rocking up to another 75 mile cross country blast to Brighton. As usual with MTB Berko the organisation involved in getting vans and people all co-ordinated and in the same place went very smoothly and we arrived comfortably in time to register and get ready.
After taking the piss out of Jeff for his lovely blue backpac complete with make up bag we set of in groups of 100 through the chilly morning air, into the lovely surroundings of Richmond Park, with the well known saying "it's not a race but we're not coming last" ringing in our ears it was quite a pace to start with as we made good time down the side of the Thames and onto Hampton Court. The L2B organisers had done a great job with the signage again and it all seemed strangely familiar from last year.
First mishap went to Tom who left his gloves in the mini-bus, then posh Jeremy who with Jeff got lost leaving Richmond Park, Jeremy (senior) suffered a puncture (twice) whilst we were still on the Thames path, with regular stops and regroups the pace fragmented the group slightly but it didn't take long for the guys behind to catch up. Pierre had a rattling cassette which was a causing a few minor issues, but needed looking at.
After a small section of road we crossed the M25 and started to hit the sand of Surrey with some interesting woodland sections opening into rural countryside ,a quick puncture stop and cassette fettle, brought the North downs and hills in fact 2 of the biggest climbs we we're going to experience that day. The first one being a rooty, gnarly trail which opened up eventually onto a country lane. Lloydy had a close escape when the rider in front of him had a rear blow out and slithered and skewed his way to a stop on the descent down to the 2nd check point. This was the best bit of the course so far with some great lines to attack and with the "Alps" experience under our belts we flew past people who were intent on boiling brake fluid for fun. The turn to get to the checkpoint was very tight and caught a few out (ahem Pierre) but the grin factor was back.
Well into the impoverished projects of Surrey villages we made our way to our next climb after negotiating more sandy trails with some nice drop offs and witnessed some funny riding from our fellow competitors who were discovering that those super slick tyres are pants on mud especially with a hand full of brakes. This next climb was tough and technical too with some twisty rooty sections (thank god it didn't rain) we stopped to regroup and catch our breath and cheer cajole each other in. So all good then!!!!!
Thought it was going too well.... On restarting Tom's chain broke , but also managed to pull the derailleur off the frame and the hanger with it... basically it was a mess, after Simon , R3rd & Tim all made very valiant attempts to single speed him it wasn't happening and it was looking like Tom's ride was over, shame because the following descent down through this section of the downs was great fun and eased the pain of the mentioned climb...Meanwhile Jeremy called in International Rescue AKA "Anne in the Van" who met Tom on the following road section and brought him to Cranleigh where we met up for a very welcome lunch stop. Personally I was feeling it at this point and would have eaten microwaved road kill I was so hungry!
Now this is where the ride changes into a 30 (ish) mile slog along the "not as flat as it looks" downs link trail. Tom was very kindly loaned Alex's (also part of "International Rescue and assist" ) Marin to complete the ride upon. Apart from the odd puncture and hedge watering duties we got out heads down and just kept focused on the end of the trail.
Anyone having done this ride before knew what was coming as the South Downs loomed into view and the radio masts that we knew we would be passing were getting closer, the Hill of DOOOOM was upon us, it's a narrow chalky lumpy granny ring of a climb that last year I pushed up, but I was determined to conquer this year on the Soul and with assistance from Rich 3rd we spun our way up it, once the steep bit is completed there is a gentle climb along the road with amazing views over the downs and a short steep climb up to the top and our first view of the sea. Another regroup and the realisation that we had nearly finished with this in mind the final descent was flat out as fast as you dare go rattling past people like they were standing still, oh and remember the 3 drop offs Tom....
With the last few miles on the road into Hove and Brighton, we were warmly welcomed by the girls and the BHF organisers who thrust a T-shirt and medal into sweaty palms and the relief that we could relax and have a beer (nice one Alex/Pierre) blinking in the afternoon sunshine.... With some pictures taken and big grins all round we made our way to the hotel and started on the important job of re-hydration with essential fluids (Becks Vier in my case)... Hair brushed and parted showered and shoe shined we had some fab food in Browns then onto the pubs for some more essential re-hydration and all in aid of a good cause.
All in all a great day
Big thanks to:
Anne/ Alex and Neve (Support Crew, Bike loan, drivers, fantastic cakes and beer)
Simon for organising the accommodation, Mini Bus and Browns)
Jeremy & Pierre for the use of the Vans
Everyone for making it a good laugh even when the going was rather tough and "dark moments" were happening.,.
One of the funny quotes: Can I have a TVR please ? (Tequilla/Vodka and Red Bull) no sorry mate we don't do Cocktails... (I kid you not)
One of the funny moments: Jeff clearing a table of people (see below!!) without the use of a toxic air event...as you can also see Betty has chosen the younger man.....
Rich 4th
Aston Hill visit
Mtself, Rich 6th, John and Tony, headed off to Aston Hill on Saturday the 3rd of September, We met up at the station at 9:30 and biked out to Aston Hill.
When we arrived we spent 45 minutes watching some of the guys practising for the DH race on Sunday, while Rich 6th got on with fixing a puncture.
We then set off to do the XC course including the Red Run DH. It was really good fun and a bit scary. Part way round the XC course, there is a steep decent into a sharp right hander, John was a bit late on the brakes (fooled by an optical illusion) so he decided to go straight on, stopping just before the bushes. Rich 6th(fooled by the same optical illusion) found himself faces with that old conundrum, do I crash into John and his expensive bike or risk my bike and neck and head for the ditch, in true team spirit, Rich went for the ditch, his first off of the the day.
After the XC course we moved on to the Four Cross, on our first run down we were all taking it slow, just to get a feel for the route, then on my second run, my confidence was far exceeding my ability, I made a big mess of the 3rd jump, landed front wheel first then slid onto the crossbar but managed to somehow stay upright, while Rich was videoing me on his mobile and laughing.
On our last run I went first so I could shoot some video of the boys doing the last jump at the bottom. Next came Tony, all I can say is watch the video!!!
John went next, then Rich, being camera shy Rich decided to do all his falling off out of sight of the camera, John heard the sound of skin on flint and went back to scoop up Rich, he then continued down and showed us how it should be done on the last jump. Rich came next followed by his blood
We then went to the car park refueled at the burger van, while Rich got patched up by a nice young lady, who he treated to a Mr Whippy with two flakes...
Biked back to the Riser
Eoghan
Lessons learned: Buy Body Armour!
MTBBerkhamsted does the Forest of Dean
1030pm, The Riser, the Friday of the August bank holiday. Shall we go to Forest of Dean tomorrow? Best text Richard Lens if so. He’s in! Better, he’s going for a ride anyway. We’re on.
Bikes in the Caddy we head down next morning and after two and half hours rock up at Chateau Lens. Very nice it is too, Becky and the girls waving us off for our ride after tea, toast and a catch-up. I do feel sorry for Richard. I mean, he does have to ride AT LEAST a quarter of a mile before he hits world class singletrack downhills built by the guys from Dirt magazine. How does he cope. Such a shame he got that insurance payout for a new £3.5K, fully pimped Specialized Enduro too. If only he had some decent hills to ride it on.
Oh, hang on, he has. Straight out the back of the house there’s a huff up a steep old road/fireroad climb but at the top a stunning view of the Wye valley and, in the distance, the Brecon Beacons. And then the fun starts.
It’s only a relatively small section of wood this but the trail pixies have been busy and the terrain is perfect. Verdant, moss-covered rocks punctuate the loose, loamy surface, the handbuilt singeltrack snaking down the hill and chucking in the occasional natural huck or manmade jump to spice things up. We session a drop over a broken wall and a cheeky gap over a ditch before a last drop back to the road and more tea. We return to scope out more trails, finding a beautifully built booter in the woods with a massive landing I just about fail to make, casing it lightly on the way down. Still lovely though!
Over at the Forest of Dean visitor centre a short drive from the Lens stronghold we find a new blue XC trail that links into the downhill trails for a fast pedalling, whoopy finish to the day and a quick push up and last run down. Brilliant riding, loads of trails for all tastes and not too far to drive either. We need to arrange a trip en masse asap!
Dan
Coed y brenin Trip - 13th Aug
Set off on Friday lunchtime aiming to beat Jeremy’s PB of three and a half hours but it took nearer 6 via the M1 car park. Managed to get a quick ride in though on the Friday evening. At the start of most of the routes there is a rocky section of 400m or so this is a bit tricky when you are all giddy and excited but then there is a nice swoopy section. We must have taken a wrong turn as we were back at the car within half an hour, still managing to fit in a couple of offs, two punctures and a lots of faffing.
Si forgot the food so we went to the local booza (http://www.georgethethird.co.uk/bars.php) nice place but it stops severving food at 9 so we had a hearty meal of beer and crisps followed by a bit more beer back at the barn. We were staying at a place rob found, stunning place. http://www.ty-nant.me.uk/Big Dave the owner had done all the renovation himselfand was rightly proud if a little nervous looking at the idiots he had let it to (“don’t put any cups on the work top – i sanded them out of lumps of slate me-self”). He was a nice chap and we didn’t break anything much too our surprise.
Saturday’s ride was the Dragons Back, I didn’t think it was as good as the stuff at Afan, different and worth doing but a fair amount of fire road. Mike got overtaken by an old lady on tricycle, he did pass her again later but she was sat having her sandwiches so I’m not sure that counts. He did get most massive air over a jump that may have gone unnoticed otherwise, looking at his facial expression but he is a fairly clever chap.
Saturday night was a big night out in Barmouth via a nutter that thought he was a taxi driver. Best food in town was the Last Inn, light show and disco later, thats were we me some interesting locals. http://www.lastinn-barmouth.co.uk/ The is a good restaurant across from where we were staying but according to Dave it was not a place for getting pissed so we never ventured in. http://www.mawddach.com/e_index.php
On Sunday Steve and I did the MBR, (Si was chucking up) – may have over hydrated the previous evening. The MBR route was better, some really good rocky stuff, steep, narrow and steppy but nothing we are not all capable of doing. There is a bizarre, beautifully sculpted BMX track half way round which is great fun.
Special mention has to go to Greg “i’ve not really ridden a bike since a raced BMX!” bloody fast on the down hills.
Did the 40km (25 mile) bike leg for a team triathlon on Saturday 30th July. The course was four laps of a fairly dull course but with a few exciting corners. You go the wrong way round a couple of roundabouts which makes very tight 180 degree turns that had me thinking “that was a bit close, best go slower next time” then the next time doing exactly the same, not wanting to brake and waste energy.
Made a bit of a school boy error on the 1stlap, I had been reading Chris Boardman’s article on aero dynamics. He recommended aero helmet, bars, disk wheels etc but was not going to buy all that, bugger all use on the Yeti. He did say though about keeping your head down and making yourself small would make a lot of difference. So I had a great idea whilst on the first lap. On straight bits I would spot a road marking way up ahead before the next corner or obstacle and until then stay as low as possible with my head down.
All was going perfectly, I could get my chin on the handle bars and it seemed to make me 1km per hour faster, the downside was that I could only see about 4 feet in front of my front wheel which is not ideal at 40km per hour, but its swings and roundabouts.
The first problem occurred when I missed the turn to head round for the second lap. Deciding it was better to go with the shouted directions to “stay left” rather than lift my head to have a look where I was going meant I went the wrong side of the cones, missed the timing mat and had to jump back onto the course via a gap I spotted between the chairs where the marshals were sat. They looked a little surprised and I’m unsure if it was a coincidence but a marshals motorbike followed me for the next lap or so. A similar incident happened on the next lap, head down, pushing hard up a shortish incline, suddenly a back wheel came into view that appeared stationary. A sharp dive to the left and a touch of cloth, a shouted expression of surprise (from me and the obstacle) and I just managed to mostly avoid clipping the dawdler.
Overall things went pretty well, our swimmer finished 24th, I finished 20thand the runner 48thmaking an overall 11thout of 370 teams. I thought my time of 1hr 8min was slow as I havedone better than that in the past but as no one managed to get under 1hr (usually some C does a 55 or less) so it might not have been too bad. I’ll give it another go, I’d love to get under an hour before I’m over the hill!
Average HR 173, Max 188,
Forgot my MTB Berko top so was unable to get a photo in that but the wife did get a great picture of a road sign and almost me as well.
Tim
12th June 2011
Nocturne 2011
Nocturne time again, the night race around Smithfield meat market one of the most spectacular bike races you can imagine and this year even more spectacular thanks to a new support race on … Penny Farthings. This was, apparently, the first Penny Farthing race in London for over a century – pretty cool!
First up the have-a-go-heroes from the city boy sponsors with some sketchy old riding round the fast downhill turn at the bottom of the course and at least two of them going into the barriers hard. My more informed roadie pals were sniggering at the all the gear/money, no idea riders including one who, they reckoned, had spunked £10K on his bike and kit, including a full faired-in triathlon helmet. Not sure if the paunch was also an aerodynamic aid – boy those skinsuits take no prisoners.
The Penny Farthings were incredible too. Many of them were just pottering round enjoying the cheers but the three at the head of the field were really going for it, crouched down over the bars, heads forward and elbows out like those old pictures of early cyclists racing back in the day. Further back down the pack two female riders were also having a fantastic battle and trading places lap after lap.
Then the folding bikes. Intended as a bit of fun for the commuter crowd the ranks of Brompton riders are swelled with ringers from the ‘proper’ roadies looking for a bit of extra curricular glory. Close racing again but not as many crashes as the earlier city boys’ race.
Late running meant by the time the big boys were finished warming up on their turbo trainers it was well after 10pm. Sky team rider Alex Dowsett went off like a rocket and was in a class of his own, catching the back of the pack by halfway through the race. The speed he was taking the corners was just mindblowing – any further over and he’d need motorbike style knee sliders.
Great racing and with crowds of – they say – over 10,000 rapidly becoming a seriously big deal on the London cycling calendar. Worth a visit next year!
Dan
5th June 2011
Aston Hill visit round 2
About 14 of us gathered at Aston Hill car park - for the Alpine boot camp 'take 2'. The format was much the same as last week with Dan leading us off on the top part of DH3 to get warmed up. The first run went ok except Dan had a flatty. A few of us did a second run whilst the puncture was fixed and then we set off for a third warm up run. Somehow I managed to take one of the small bumps incredibly badly and went arse over tit, bars and all and the the bike landed on top of me. I felt a bit shaken, then felt blood trickling down my face and round my mouth.
Niel, a secret first aider then had the chance to clean me up, he did a good job and said, 'I've been a first aider for 20 years and my first patient is a doctor'. I got back to the car park to be patched up properly by Jeremy who had various tapes lying round.
We then headed round the cross country course a couple of times, Karl and Ben doing the whole cross country including uphils a couple of times. Dan the led us down DH3 and showed some of the group the right line and how to approach it. Everyone got down, a bit of action at the top by Jeremy trying to slide down the whole course, a refusal here or there. Dan showed us how to take the last few steep corners in real style - well nearly as he almost went through the tape and into the trees, a close call.
Amazingly we all went down DH3 again and this time everyone got down without mishap, Tom though thought he would do as the master did and nearly went into the same tree as Dan. At which point we all thought it was a good time to stop before we got too cocky.
A few of us went to the Kings arms in Tring for a couple of beers and well earned meal.
Once home I cleaned up and steri-stripped the war wounds, I'm going to ache tomorrow.
Chris (doc)
Photos from Brennan
30th May 2011
Aston Hill visit round 1
A last minute decision to go to Aston Hill was taken up by about a dozen hardy souls on Sunday morning. A few vans were called into action and MTBberko moved to Aston Hill to get familiar with steep difficult ground in preparation for the Alps. Dan turned out with his full body armour and a mean downhill beastie of a bike, I wonder what he was trying to tell us. Meanwhile Andrew was on his uberlight carbon frame racing hardtail - he wasn't fazed at all. Some of us had fitted downhill tyres, some had armour on their knees - and some wished that they had.
So, saddles down and off we went. We started off on the upper section of DH3 which was a bit of a rollercoaster with lots of jumps (if you could), a few birms and on or two steep bits - so far so good although doc slid off at the fireroad right in front of Dan, embarassing or what? We did this a couple of times to build confidence and then headed off for the XC downhill section. Rooty on the top, steep hairpins, birms, flowing singletrack and finishing off with a boardwalk and drop-off. Some of us took it at a good pace, some more leisurely and one or two walked parts - but this was all part of the training and the next time round everyone got better and quicker.
One thing about this downhill lark is that the uphills are really too steep to ride unless you're Ann or Jeremy! After a couple of XC downhills we had a go at DH3 which was testing for us all, except Dan and Chris H. We all got to the bottom in a variety of ways, some more stylish than others, some sections were walked, some of us cleaned it (after a fashion) and Dan showed us how it should be done.
A couple of goes down the XC downhill again and we all mad our weary way home. I found my thighs were quite sore - I guess that's a good sign that I was out of the saddle for a lot of the time. I had a great time, built a bit of confidence and I think everyone else enjoyed it as much as me.
Watch out for a new budding member of MTBberko - young Jamie came with Karl and rode a lot of the trails up at the top. He said to me afterwards that it got a bit boring because it was too easy!! Watch out Dan.
The races are held every other week so the next one is on the 8th June. It is fairly easy to enter, just do it online on the Monday before
It is £12 which could seem a bit steep but it is well organised, a good circuit and we don’t do this kind of thing that much so it is good for a change. The race starts at 7:30 so I’d aim to get there no later than 7:15 as you need to register, attach your number and get scared whilst all the big talk is going on between the match shorts and lycra team-jersey types.
Everyone looks like they know what they are doing, I was looking round trying to spot a fat kid that I could mark down as a definite ‘that’s one place in the bag’ but everyone looked pretty sorted. I felt like a right amateur being the only one with a camel back and baggy shorts until some bloke turned up in his jeans ready for the off.
Anyway you can ride the course before the race if you fancy practicing it. I was not going to fall for that, I’d ridden three laps the other week and got lost each time. *uckit I’d just line up on the start, set off not too fast so I could follow someone who looked like they knew where they were going so I would not look like a tit riding hell for leather in the wrong direction.
The hooter goes and 22 riders try and fit down a track about the width of a Fiat Cinqicento, round a bend and then it funnels down. I thought I was about 10th so I’d try and sit in to see if I could hang on. One bloke went past but I got a couple of places back. The chap that was then in front was a bit in the way and I could sense the ones behind trying to get past and I was getting a bit ragged trying to stop them and looking for a spot to get past ‘the blockage’.
On a steepish climb his chain jams and he falls off, super, blocks me in, and two go past, bugger. Jump back on, bit annoyed, pass one and get level with the other but the trail is narrowing with bushes on either side. I shut my eyes and put my head down. He goes through a bush on one side, I through the bush on the other. His bush must have been bushier than mine as when I opened my eyes and looked back he was still stuck in his.
After the bush incident, things quietened down, I had a fair bit of space around me so I could concentrate on catching and passing the people in front. The second lap felt like it went on far too long, trying to make up places and resting where I could. On the 3rd lap I was absolutely buggered so I kept looking over my shoulder and just doing enough not to get caught.
I think next time I’ll do the three lap “Fun” race again. I have not got the legs (or arse) to go hard at it for an hour yet. I finished 2nd in my class but i’d like to be able to ride the last lap rather than drag myself round before i step up to the big league.
PS
Fastest lap Leasure Wheels 14:33
Fastest lap MTBBerkhamsted 13:42
1-0 Berko
Tim
23rd May 2011
Dalby Dare
Dan does the Dalby Dare
This weekend gone saw the UCI World Cup cross country championship hit Dalby Forest near Pickering and through an invitation from Subaru I found myself signing up for the Dalby Dare support race. Well, it’s not really a race. But you get a number board and they do give you a time. Sod it. That’s a race in my book!
Subaru sponsors Trek in America and with the US Subaru Trek team in town to do the ‘real’ race I was hooked up with Trek UK and handed a spangly $5,000 Superfly 100 race bike. With daft 29-inch wheels. Ew!
Being a diligent journalist I did bring this out on a Wednesday ride to acclimatise and then promptly spent all evening riding other people’s bikes. The Trek PR lady’s claim that many people are, in her words, “29er curious” seems accurate!
Friday in Pickering saw the Pro Sprint Eliminator, a short-course sprint race around the town centre and great way to get the locals into the racing spirit.
Next day it was my go. The Dare course takes in the World Cup XC loop and then heads out into the forest using sections of the red route. 25km in total and three waves at the start. I elected to go in the middle ring group and having seen the speed of the big ring category I was glad.
OK, the Dare is only meant to be a taster. But ‘racing’ between the tapes and with all the World Cup finish area and crowds is super cool and I was soon getting stuck in with the XC jeyboys (and girls) and elbow to elbow around the World Cup course. The guy in front had a refusal on the brink of the near-vertical Worry Gill drop and, in the spirit of the event I called him a wuss and barged my way past to a cheer from the crowd. Up ahead Matt from Trek pulled the overtake of the day, scooting round the inside of another rider on one of the bus-stops en route to Medusa’s drop, where another XC boy fell in front of me, forcing me off-line again. Not long after it was my turn, a cocky overtake ending in tears for me and the poor bugger I tried to overtake. He was very nice about it though.
Despite my scepticism the 29er seemed to be flying and in its element on the Dalby track. The claim goes the bigger wheels carry more speed over the bumps and it’s easier to pedal on the fireroads and both seemed to be true. Anyway, I was overtaking more than I was getting overtaken and even the sketchy looking tyres seemed pretty good. By the end I was feeling pretty strong and it was looking good for a strong finish until the splinter group I was in took a wrong turn and we ended up round the back of the catering tent! There was a mad scramble as we doubled back and a bit of a sprint for the line, my finishing time of 1:10:15 ranking me 22nd out of 208. Ruddy hell! Any takers for next year then?
Arriving at the station in Berkhamsted at 9am-ish with suspension set to rigid and skinny road tyres pumped up as far as you dare, I met up with Tom, Lloydy, Simon & Tim with Jeremy meeting us at the top of New Road hill. We were greeted at the Alford Arms with the lovely sight of cups of tea, sausage and bacon baps and glorious sunshine. With some 30 odd riders arriving for this inaugrul event, the banter was light and with anticipation of the ride ahead we listened to the intro talk for any hints and tips. All in all the level of organisation was excellent and support vehicles were to travel the route and phone numbers and monopoly money for beer tokens were given out in case of an emergency.
So as expected we set off in front and maintained a nice pace through Berkhamsted and out towards Chesham, the first leg was some 20 miles to the Swan at Denham. Riding through Ashley Green, Botley and Chalfont Common there were one or two rather short and severe climbs, but with only a few roadies to bother us. Tim had to leave us at this point for a prior arrangment,
It was a pleasant ride and we made good time, to be greeted with Lucozade and water refreshments, as none of us was prepared to take the plunge and start sinking pints of beer, which was probably a good thing with hindsight! Suitably refreshed and with Tom leaving a 10 minute exclusion zone in the mens toilets we set off from picturesque Denham.
The next leg some 5 miles to the Black Horse at Fulmer was dispatched rather quickly, although crossing the M40/A40 was a little scary and peoples perception of how much room to leave a cyclist was also becoming less generous at times.
Thoughts were now starting to turn to the goal of a few beers at the finish so a quick splash and dash and tightening of some allen bolts was made and we set off again up the hill out of Fulmer.
Onwards now to The Old Queens Head at Penn . Approximately 10 miles, this leg was rather more hilly travelling west out towards Gerrards Cross and Jordans village (add whatever jokes you want here....) and onto Beaconsfield where we took a slight intentional detour at Knotty Green and hit some real sods of climbs, narrow lanes and rather steep, then thankfully the Old Queens Head for more water and lucozade... At this point Jeremy (who won by the way) missed the turning for the pub and decided to take advantage and make for the top step of the MTB Berkhamsted podium.
The other amazing thing at this point was Alistair's arrival, who some will recognise from The Riser on his 1988 Italian racer in his jeans and leather shoes having just tagged along for a bit of fun and to pick up a pint of milk and a paper from his local shop.
Right, the last leg and the mission to catch Jeremy (who won by the way) so on towards High Wycombe which I didn't realise is in a bloomin huge valley and was great fun heading down, the smell of hot brakes very evident but our plans of MTB Berkhamsted domination was thwarted by a puncture on Tom's front tyre, so an impromptu stop and bike fiddle ensued. 10 mins later we were heading up a very steep climb (almost Bison Hill esque at the start) we knew it was steep by the grinning car drivers flying past and shouting encouragement, this brought us out near the burned down dry ski slope and onto more comfortable riding (descending).
At this point the group had got rather spread out so we decided to go flat out anyway and catch up at the end and that for me is where the route markers dissapeared, now finding myself a little lost in Marlow, which is a beautiful town, surrounded by lots of expensive convertible cars, plastic surgeons best customers and tourists. So instead of panicking I decided an ice cream was a good idea and a sit down to watch the world go by for 10 minutes.
A quick phone call to the organisers and some prompt directions and I was on the right track. Another bloody hill and The Royal Oakloomed into view, a very welcome sight and to find Jeremy (who won by the way) Lloydy, Tom and Simon already enjoying the post ride refreshment, which was so nice we had to try a few more drinks, to rehydrate of course!!!! So sitting in the lovely beer garden in the sun enjoying free beer!!!!! and swapping post ride stories we resisted lying on the grass to sunbathe, it turns out we all got lost in Marlow except Jeremy (who won by the way).
All of the pubs we visited seem to have the same theme of beautifully finished exteriors and interiors and the cuisine to match, the BBQ at the Royal Oak was superb and the hospitality by Dave, the owner, Lewis and the helpers involved with Pedal of Honour made for a very lovely day and despite some of the hills an enjoyable experience.
So before long it was time to think about having 3 more beers and making our way home with a big thanks to Ann and Zora for bringing us back to Berko and of course a couple in the Riser (which is traditional isn't it?)
I have a feeling we will be doing this again...
We raised £250 for the Iain Rennie Hospice at Home charity who helped Sarge recently.
Anyone wanting donate to this worthy cause please feel free
In search of a change of scenery six of us headed over to Lotts Wood near Chesham to test out the course Summit MTB have made there. We had the place to ourselves for the first couple of hours which was handy as we set off at a very leisurely pace whilst Dave tried to remember the route of the singletrack. It was also a bit damp after the rain making the bike a bit more skittish than we've been used to. The course is a 4km loop and we took it very easy first time around, spending ages playing in one particular bomb hole while Chris had a flatty. Andrew was on his new carbon hardtail for the first time, looks like a full-on xc race number and was understandably finding it less suited to getting air off a jump. A good machine for the singletrack though and there was plenty of that.
It's a good course that's been made through the woods and it was nice to just session the loop and pick up confidence and speed.
We bumped into another group on our way round who told us 15 minutes was a 'good time' for one lap. This sounded like a challenge!
So we did a flying lap with a bit of rudimentary timing. Tim set off at a cracking pace and put 40 yards between himself and Dave and Rich 4th who were gasping a bit with Chris, Simon and Andrew fighting it out behind. In the end Tim disappeared from view altogether but that was because he missed a turning. Which was a shame as he would have been fastest and it would have been interesting to know his time. As it was Dave and Rich 4th got round in just over 13 mins so the challenge was met!
We all had a really good time, it was a nice change and a good opportunity to cane the bike for a bit. The advantage of a loop is that no-one can get lost or left behind. We'll definitely go back, maybe even enter the Summit Series races that start on Wednesday.
Though I think we all agreed this Weds might be a bit too soon for 3-4 laps of battering it, we were all blowing a bit by the end.
Simon arrived at the finish sporting a freshly bleeding shin after going to ground on the wet surface. So full marks for effort by everyone and we'll be back to work on those times
Dave
Click on the logo below for more info on Lotts Wood....
29th April 2011
Woburn Sands Trip
MTBberkhamsted celebrates the royal wedding
Being the loyal subjects we are only one option presented itself for correctly observing royal nuptials: a bike ride, a few beers at the Riser and a curry. Not a piece of bunting in sight but, hey, thanks for the free bank holiday guys. We’ll hold off on the guillotines on The Mall for the time being!
And so it was destination Woburn Sands, territory known to some of our band but new to the majority. Luckily R3rd knows it well. Unluckily he was in Yorkshire so some hastily printed out maps and a quick ‘left here, down there, right by the third tree stump’ as he was preparing to leave for The North was the best we could do – cheers Rich, it was just enough to piece together a decent ride!
There’s always one show-off in the group and today that was me. Even by my standards turning up in £100K’s worth of borrowed bright blue Porsche and nonchalantly loading my bike into Jeremy’s van so I could enjoy the blast down the lanes in ‘my’ sports car was taking the piss though. Plus ca change!
The gentile surroundings of Bow Brickhill were then rudely overwhelmed by the arrival of said Porsche and, not far behind, the convoy of vans. The first climb out of the village was a beast but, I confidently promised (and, as it turned out, lied) was the worst of the day.
Thanks to R3rd’s expert instructions – and frequent map stops – we more or less retraced the steps of an earlier ride we did there over new year. The sandy ground (the clue is in the name) is good in the wet because it packs down but in the dry it was actually heavy going. No complaints though, there’s tons of good singletrack here and everyone was getting stuck in. Well they were once Claire showed them all up for being big girls’ blouses!
Credit to Neil, Jeff, Ben, Hooky and the other relative newbies – the skill levels are really coming on leaps and bounds and it looked like everyone was pushing themselves and really getting into it. Sessioning the downhill trails over the church side of the hill brought more grins but by now the sandy ground and short, sharp hills were taking their toll and the promise of the Riser and Brennan’s curries were looking more attractive than ‘one more run’ and we enjoyed the fabulous roller coaster final descent back to the cars and a few swifties before enjoying the fruits of Brennan’s labours in the kitchen. Boy, that lad knows his way round the pots and pans! Now if any other royals fancy getting married and giving us another bank holiday while the weather’s good there’ll be no complaints here.
Dan
Enjoy the Video..........
16th April 2011
MTB Berko goes racing … on four wheels
We’ve had racing on two wheels, two feet and a glimpse of motorsport with Karl’s dragster. And now my racing debut and all the glamour and glitz that entails. Which isn’t much given that the location wasn’t Monaco but instead Rockingham Motor Speedway in lovely, exotic … Corby.
Nevermind! Racing is racing, wherever it may be. I was to drive a Mazda MX-5 in the Britcar MSA Endurance Championship, one of two entered by Jota Sport and Mazda. The other one being the fast one! No matter, a factory drive for my first race isn’t a bad shout.
After a promising day of practise I got my first taste of motorsport bureaucracy with the news my licence wasn’t good enough to do the Britcar but thankfully my team manager (yes, I had a team manager!) sorted a place for me in the MX-5 Cup against a field of near-identical cars.
Down on power and heavier than the rest of the field (here come the excuses) I was happy to qualify sub-1:40 for a mid-field grid slot but by the time of the parade lap and forming up I was bricking it and nerves got the better of me at the start, which saw me going backwards (well, I may as well have been) in a cloud of wheelspin as the rest of the field sped off. I got stuck into some good tussles – a bit too stuck in with number 77 involving a slight remodelling of the Mazda’s nose – but made too many silly errors to make serious progress.
Come race two and I was determined to make amends and managed to get away cleanly and into the thick of the action. Down on power and overweight I may have been (I did mention that, didn’t I?) but I did have one ace up my sleeves – brilliant brakes. And I milked them for all they were worth, catching several opponents unawares with my last of the late brakers technique that saw them overshooting the corner as they tried to match my braking point. Muahahaha and all that!
My pace was clearly lacking elsewhere though and I soon had a proper gaggle trying to climb all over me. Every lap I was praying for the chequered flag, every lap they got a bit closer until finally the leader – a girl! – overtook me. I tried my normal trick under the brakes and got round her, only to get greedy on the power and go massively sideways. Normally I’d be well chuffed with such a huge skid but sideways is slow and I lost a couple of places in an instant. Still, I’d put on a good show and the team seemed to warm to my fighting spirit, even if they had a couple of dents to knock out at the end of it. Put it this way, I don’t think Lewis Hamilton need worry but the bug has bitten big style. Now if Mazda will have me back…
Dan
Pics by Gary Hawkins/Mazda
9th April 2011
MTBberkhamsted vs Wales
The Alpine Boot Camp starts here! Or rather, it starts there, there being three hours down the M4, right at Port Talbot and up into The Valley
Our goal? The W2 trail, the amalgamation of Wall and White’s Level trails equalling 27 miles with a burly 975m of climbing, just 25m or so short of what Chris H was doing at the same time up the road at Snowdon.
An early call at Berko station for bike/people loading saw surprisingly high spirits given it was before 7am. Mrs Pierre had been doing great guns on the baking, a selection of tupperware boxes full of various cake/muffin/flapjack-based delights looking too good for words. Would they survive the trip to Wales without Pierre and the rest of them scoffing the lot? The rest of us weren’t too optimistic.
Everyone made it to the RV point successfully. Well, everyone but Karl. This would’ve been ideal, were it not for the fact his van had all the bikes in so we had to go and find him and guide him in. Even with this navigational SNAFU he seemed in surprisingly good spirits and after the requisite faffing and collection of Tim’s Brummie mates we pedalled off up the disused railway that heads up the Afan valley. A deceptively easy start, the trail soon took a more decisive turn uphill. The novelty of blue skies and perfect weather took the edge off it though – were we really in Wales?
Eventually the top of The Wall climb was reached, the link trail to White’s Level building the expectation for the first proper downhill and a nervous adjustment of newly purchased 661 arm and leg pads among many of the group. Gladly purchased among a few of the group, given what was to come. Ben, Neil and Lawrence were among those to be glad of their new body armour, Claire reporting a “proper Raggy Doll” moment for Neil, Lawrence getting up close and very personal with one of the narrower bits of trail and Ben adding Welsh mountainsides to supermarket carparks on the list of Places He Really Should Be More Careful in.
No lasting damage was done though, Karl offering typically encouraging words to Ben when he eventually emerged, battered and bruised. “You coming to the pub? No? Good, because I’m not going to sit and wait while you finish your pint too.”
The long run down to the visitor’s centre tested already tired arms and legs, lunch not coming soon enough. Just as well news of the café’s temporary closure reached us before the trip too – the thought of arriving there starving and finding it not there was scary.
If the first major climb was a novelty and dispatched with relative keenness and fresh legs the White’s Level ascent was rather more of a challenge. Cries of “are we nearly there yet?” were getting more and more urgent and I tried a different tack of motivational speaking from Karl’s and instead just lied. “Just round the corner, nearly there, dig in…” soon greeted with looks of suspicion. Godfrey and Tony seemed to be particularly enjoying it, so delirious to reach the top that they told everyone else to fuck off. Must have been the heat messing with their heads.
What goes up and all but actually what goes up must go up a bit more before going down and by the time we’d crossed back to The Wall the party’s sense of humour was severely tested. Just as well the descent here is a proper epic and worth taking the pain for.
Once again Lloydy pressed ahead to get a good vantage point for videoing, the “if your pictures aren’t good enough you’re not close enough” mantra of war photographer Robert Capa obviously inspiring his choice of shooting spot. Karma rewarded me for nearly running over his head by giving me a puncture, which I managed to fix quickly enough to catch the tail end of the group at the bottom of the last descent. That was a pit stop to shame an F1 crew!
Enjoy the video (turn the vol up)..................
With heavy hearts the day trippers packed up and headed for home, leaving the T-Bones contingent to do their worst at the iconic (it says here) South Wales steakhouse. The finest beef from field to plate in just a few steps, thanks mainly to the fact that the restaurant is in a farmyard and adjacent to the cowshed.
I have a feeling the T-Bones staff earned their tips this night…!!!
I can't make Wales but thought a week in the Lakes would be just about as good! Normally accompanied by Sue for their week's timeshare, I found myself on my own and so decided to do a bit of mountain training. Arriving on Sunday afternoon I managed to catch and hour and a half on some of the local bridleways just getting used to rocky conditions again. I had forgotten how steep and rocky some of these Lakes trails can be, a few hiccoughs on that first afternoon and some nervous moments but no major spills. I felt I was just getting the hang of it when I stopped for the night.
Monday - Rained in the morning, a common theme all week but today was clear by midday. Headed over to Grizedale where I decided to try the North Face trail, puroposebuilt and about 16km long. In fact I went round it twice as I enjoyed it so much. Some nice singletrack winds uphill with a few technical stages, not bad though, leading to a long boardwalk which was a new experience for me. Managed to keep on with one or two drop-offs and sharp corners. Tackled a few berms, which was also new to me and felt a bit strange at first. Long uphill stretch on fireroad followed by interesting sections leading to a rock stepping stones section. Chickened out on first attempt but tried again and got 3/4 way across before getting stuck. I learnt you need to be in a fairly high gear to get some push when you need it. Mind, you guys all know this anyway. You should have seen the smile on my face on the last long downhill, it was from ear to ear and I flew down the over small jumps, big drop-offs, roots and adverse cambers. It was a real buzz.
On the second lap I found I managed all the problems I'd baulked at first time - must be learning, or disengaging brain? It was still fairly early so I thought I'd attempt Walna Scar Road - one of the Lakes classic routes. I set off up from Coniston, cheating by talking the car up to the start of the rough track missing out on a long boring tarmac hill. The route starts off gently and soon climbs on fairly easy ground but steepening onto rough stony ground passing through two rock gates and on to a bridge which makes a good resting spot. Here the road starts to climb properly and becomes more stony with large rocks all over which means if you don't hit your line you end up stopping and not being able to start off again.
This happened a number of times and about 45 minutes later I came out at the top of the pass. Wow, what a descent awaits me, I was going back the same way and thought, shit, I've never been on anything as steep and rocky as this. Having got my eye in at Grizedale, I thought, go for it and remember what Tom said, 'speed is your friend', so I did. The top part was far too rocky to go quickly but I kept a good rhythm and found good lines and cleaned it without any incidents, my legs were like jelly after being out of the saddle for what seemed like ages. The angle got less, it was less rocky but it was a beautiful long downhill and I flew down grinning even more than I did at Grizedale. Fantastic ride, dampened by getting a puncture on my last corner.
Tuesday - Rain in morning, out at lunchtime over Little Langdale, Tilberthwaite, Claife Heights and back over Loughrigg Terrace. Not as exciting as yesterday but plenty of technical climbs, some choice singletrack, big steep hills and some technical hairy downhills. I was out for 4-5 hours and really felt I was improving especially on the downhills.
Wednesday- it pissed it down all day so went to Muncaster Hall and saw the world's best collection of owls.
Thursday - another afternoon start and I repeated some of Tuesday but in reverse and with a few extras added in. The track out of Tilberthwaite was steep, brutal and rocky, it was much better to come down on Tuesday though! Second puncture on the tops, another pinch puncture I think. Just before I dropped into Langdale the sky was beautiful and the hills looked gorgeous - this is what mountain biking is all about (as well as the downhills of course!)
Friday - a late start as the rain didn't stop until later, I went up to Stavely and was going to do a Kentmere round. The track out of Stavely was initially good but gave way to boggy track and waterlogged grass, spray went everywhere and to make matters worse I missed a turning and ended much further up the moor than I wanted. Turn around and make my way over more bog. I don't know whether I was getting tired because the next steep downhill was really testing and I'd lost a bit of confidence, mind it was more like riding down a stream bed and everything was soaked including me.
One more long uphill and I started to feel a bit better after the climb, then a long sweeping downhill to Kentmere Hall brought the smile back onto my face. It didn't make me any drier though! I decided not to do the last part of the loop but go back down the road - need to know when to stop.
Saturday - I'd kept Whinlatter to last as it was more of a drive up there for me, but it was worth waiting for. It's a purposebuild series of trails, a blue and two red loops totalling about 27km in total. After yesterday I needed to rebuild my confidence and started on the Blue Quercus trail which is a fairly gentle trail with berms, small jumps and drop-offs but nothing technical. I felt good after that and tackled the South Altura loop which climbed and climbed up onto the hill above the wood, it was a good pull with a few small technical parts but stamina came in handy for this. The views from the top were amazing and worth the effort.
Now for the downhill, this part of the altura trail is newer and a different character to the North side, and it sets off in some lovely sweeping singletrack that flowed so beautifully. I got into a lovely rhythm and took in all the drop-offs in my stride as I maintained a good speed down the hill. Next came the North loop and it starts off traversing on singletrack up the edge of the hill with a lot of exposure - just concentrate and don't do anyhing stupid because it's a long way down.
After this came a long fireroad climb to the top of the North side, not as spectacular views as from the South. But the fun bit starts and its quite a different downhill form the South with a lot more berms, steep descents, drop-offs and jumps mixed in with trees and roots. Some of the drop-offs came in multiples of 2 or 3 so you had to really concentrate on them, also there were a lot of wet roots to make it even more fum. Some of the biggest berms came on the final downhill and were on the edge of nothing, you didn't want to go over the top otherwise........ Virtually the last fast downhill traverses throw in a continual series of jumps which I flew over but not with the style of Dan I'm sure. Once more an adrenaline fuelled smile filled my wet, muddy face.
A fantastic week and I really can't wait for the Alps.
Chris (doc)
MTBberko goes to Lee Quarry
Let’s face it, Rawtenstall, Bacup and Rochdale aren’t places you’d usually go of your own free will. But Lee Quarry on the bleak hills above this part of Lancashire is a trail centre with a difference and well worth the trip.
I was there as the culmination of a stag weekend of riding with groom to be Howard and a bunch of other riding pals, the weather suitably bleak and the sky full of menace as we hauled up the road from the car park in Bacup.
However you take your mountain biking served there’s something to satisfy all tastes at this amazing new trail centre. A rocky, exposed singletrack about five miles in length takes you around the circumference of the site, the surface varyingly gravel and huge slabs of rock hewn from the cliffs that surround you and meaning even in wet weather it’s rideable and relatively mud-free. The climbs are sharp, the descents fast and swooping and taking in huge berms that fling you skywards before plummeting back down in a real rollercoaster ride.
New sections include various red and black graded skills areas with jumps, technical rock sections, more berms and multi-line sections that let you pick and choose your route down. And in the middle a trials section and two pump tracks for crazy kids on hardtails to show up hungover, wheezing old blokes like us on our fancy full suspension rigs.
XC whippets can session the trail round the outside, downhillers can fill their boots on the various steep and bermed lines down into the central bowl and there the jumpy types and trials demons can practise being the next Danny MacAskill. It really is a top place and there’s even a brilliant café at the bottom of the hill too.
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