With Rich not able to make it due to illness and predictions of snow 4 hardy souls made the trek to Cannock to have a pootle round the monkey trail.

The weather for the drive and start of the ride was good but to use a cliché was certainly a ride [...]]]>

ian on monkey black section

With Rich not able to make it due to illness and predictions of snow 4 hardy souls made the trek to Cannock to have a pootle round the monkey trail.

The weather for the drive and start of the ride was good but to use a cliché was certainly a ride of 2 halves…

Heading out from Briches Valley it was verging on sunny and with the below zero temperatures during the week there was no mud in evidence as all trails were frozen and riding very fast. The first few bits of trail were the usual traffic jam of people. This started to thin out as we hit the switchbacks just before the railway line. Always like that this first bit of the monkey trail requires focus to ride well and is a good introduction to what is to come on the rest of the Monkey Trail.

Crossing the railway line the people thinned out so we got a clear “run” at the first switchback climbed. Ben seemed to be enjoying this whilst the rest of us were slogging up the hill. There may have been one or two handlebars not fitting through trees and lack of confidence spacial awareness going on…this is where a few flakes of snow started to fall though we were confident that we would get round.

When in the woods we had a little play on the small black section trying to clear the rock gardens. We all had at least one (though I think I had more than 1) false start on this. If the weather had been better we would have stayed and had a bit more of a play on this but there was snow in the air.

Re-grouping at the end of this section we pushed on whilst the snow was starting to fall pretty heavily.

snow, monkey and cathy

On the last couple of downhill sections there were almost no tyre tracks in the snow which made grip a bit of hit and miss affair.

Hitting the bottom we all had huge grins and our own tales of nearly losing grip. Main lesson on this was to be confident on the landing before letting both wheels leave the ground!!

Back over the river and there was consensus that it would be disgracing the name of cakeriders to not complete the ride despite the heavy falling snow.

So we plodded up the last climb and hit the last few bits of singletrack. The bits before passing near to Marquis Drive were as much of as a slog as I always remember.

Hitting the D4 and D5 sections were where the grip really started to get flaky.

Fast flowing singletack, bermed corners, braking bumps and snow made it all a bit interesting. The whole section was greeted by the sound of hollering and laughter from behind….Tony and Ben seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Again the big grins at the end of this said it all really.

The final section was closed for repairs so it was a blast down the fireroad back to the cars. Once bikes were dumped in the cars food and espscially cake were consumed.

With the forecast of snow it would have been easy to bail on this ride but it was a lot of fun, it seems that over the years that Cannock seems to be the place to ride in the snow! Well worth the effort.

Ben and Tony enjoying the snow

see the whole set of pics : cannock 4th february

For the second Sunday running a trip to Peaslake and a route round the well known trails. Concentrating on Pitch and Holmbury Hill possibly super muddy ride was in store.

Heading away from Peaslake we decided on a different approach to getting up the hill. The ride along the valley didn’t inspire [...]]]>

cathy approaching roots

For the second Sunday running a trip to Peaslake and a route round the well known trails. Concentrating on Pitch and Holmbury Hill possibly super muddy ride was in store.

Heading away from Peaslake we decided on a different approach to getting up the hill. The ride along the valley didn’t inspire confidence in the conditions. Eventually we reached the short sharp climb and have to admit to a bit of walking. Checking out (but not riding)  some of the “interesting” looking trails that dropped down the sharp hillside to our right we quickly made it to the top of the hill.

Am ashamed to say in the years we have been riding in the area this is the first time Pitch Hill has been approached from this site and the first time we have been to this viewpoint. Leading from here there were a couple of interesting trails but as they were going the wrong way we decided to give them a wide bearth.

All this investigated with the stated aim of 2012 to discover some new trails and widen knowledge of riding areas…having said that conditions were a little sketchy for bombing down new trails. That day is on the agenda for sure though.

spot the mud tyre

We crossed Pitch Hill riding some decent singletrack as usual. Heading back towards Peaslake we made the sensible decision not to take the trail back to Walking Bottom car park. That was solely my choice due to slightly sliding tyres. You can guess which of the two tyres in this picture were coping slightly better….

Through Peaslake and up Holmbury Hill and the usual Yoghurt Pots which overall was not as wet as you would imagine. Rather than going straight on to Telegraph Road we swung a left on to “Tom’s trail”. I then decided it would be “fun” to ride the trail below Telegraph Road – the one with off camber roots and lots of mud. Surprisingly good fun.

Unfortunately this resulted in myself and Cathy losing each other and both of us trekking  back up Telegraph Road for another go.

Another climb up Holmbury Hill with a blast down to below the reservoir and then Barry Knows Best to finish.

All in all trails were in pretty good conditions and a dry and occasionally sunny ride in the last weekend of January is not to be sniffed at.

Special mention has also got to go to the cheese straws and carrot cake – spot on!!

cathy @ start of roots

A Peaks meet up had been agreed sometime ago. Rich was going to be the guide, Ben was going to enjoy the road sections and Tony was going to bring up the rear.

After squeezing our cars into the lay-by near the Grouse Inn on a cold, icy [...]]]>

Rich and Ben - Totley Moor

A Peaks meet up had been agreed sometime ago. Rich was going to be the guide, Ben was going to enjoy the road sections and Tony was going to bring up the rear.

After squeezing our cars into the lay-by near the Grouse Inn on a cold, icy January morning, it was time to get the bikes assembled and set off.

It was a good warm up climb, as we rode out towards White Edge Moor and then down into Longshaw. Then a ride across Houndkirk Moor, with a rest stop at the top, to take some Panoramic photos , with Mam Tor on one side and Sheffield on the other.

Riding through Ice and mud, we carried on to Lady Cannings Plantation. Rich had heard good things about some new single-track. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like it had been built! So undeterred, it was time to descend through some good tracks, which slowly turned into deep, wide, gloopy mud. All good fun, as we tried to ride through it, with varying degrees of success.

A climb out and then a couple of descents followed, first to the A625 and then to the base of Blacka Hill. Great fun, with some big steps, drop offs and slippery mud. Loved it!

A hard climb brought us back up onto Blacka Hill. A welcome rest at the top and then a very slippery ride along some thin and deep grooved single-track as we rounded Brown Edge, with a steep drop on the left, to keep us on our toes.

Ben - Totley Moor

Suddenly, we came across some homemade DH trails. A quick descent followed, with everyone staying on their bikes, despite a few scary moments, the bomb holes and a notable gap jump.

A ride down into Holmesfield on tarmac was a welcome change. A hop over a small style and it was time for a wet and wild ride down what turned out to be a river! Soaking wet and showing off some very clean and shiny bikes, we then went straight into the woods round Woodthorpe Hall, for a bit of sideways sliding in yet more mud.  Ah well, the clean bikes hadn’t lasted long.

A civilised ride on more tarmac, took us through Totley, with the promise of some long, hard climbing to come. Sure enough, the long hard climbing arrived, starting on tarmac, then a deep rutted muddy section as we climbed the steep terrain.

Finally, we broke out onto Totley Moor. After avoiding some seriously large and deep pools of ice cold water, with some necessary technical riding, it was then a fast descent back to the Grouse Inn.

A quick change and bike washdown, followed by a welcome pint in the pub and it was time to go.

Great fun today. Big thanks to Rich for guiding!

:-)

Rich - Totley Moor

Stats –

Route: Totley Moor
Google Maps URL: http://maps.google.com/?q=http://share.abvio.com/cb6d/0465/4e3d/922c/Cyclemeter-MountainCycle-20120129-1044.kml
Started: 29 Jan 2012 10:44:51
Ride Time: 2:42:26
Stopped Time: 1:53:03
Distance: 18.17 miles
Average Speed: 6.71 mph
Fastest Speed: 26.26 mph
Ascent: 1673 feet
Descent: 1724 feet
Calories: 1120

Lapierre Spicy - Totley Moor

40km of riding in Wales, in January?

Seemed like a very good idea about three months ago but me and Jamie rolled into Wales feeling slightly apprehensive on Saturday morning.

We decamped into the village hall and then headed for the pub to get some food and maybe a [...]]]>

Bottleneck at first timed section

40km of riding in Wales, in January?

Seemed like a very good idea about three months ago but me and Jamie rolled into Wales feeling slightly apprehensive on Saturday morning.

We decamped into the village hall and then headed for the pub to get some food and maybe a half shandy for medicinal purposes. A number of hours later we realised everybody else had left the pub and then remembered we had to get up at 7am, a hasty retreat was beaten. A not entirely restful night and a slightly groggy morning followed.

Clothes were chosen and bikes fettled and then came the all important checking out of the opposition, after figuring out they mostly looked keener, fitter and less hungover than us we turned our attention to the rider briefing. Trail conditions meant the distance had dropped to 30km and the fourth timed section was removed, to be honest this didnt seem like a bad thing. Then we were off.

A long drag on the road up to the first off road section wasnt much fun but I guess it did warm the legs up and sweat out some beer. This led onto an equally exciting fireroad climb up to the first timed section, the downhill? A thirty second gap between riders meant quite a bottleneck formed here but most people seemed happy to relax in the unseasonally pleasant weather.

This was the first real fun bit of the ride, three and a bit minutes of typically rooty, twisty and slippy switchbacks and tracks, the route itself mostly used bits from the Gorlech trail so some people may have ridden bits of it. I think we both did pretty well here and managed to pass a few people. This brief joy was then followed by some more fireroad climbs, which would become a theme as the day progressed.
The next timed section was about eight minutes of climbing and descending, sitting watching some guys blast off up the hill left us with no illusions about any possible podium placement. The first section twisted up some steep switchbacks and I’ll happily admit that both of us, plus many others actually walked a small steep section that had an unfeasibly cruel headwind blowing, for small period of time I was engaged in a pushing race to catch the guy in front. As the middle section opened up into some nice rollers and slightly sketchy rocky turns my thighs began to give out a little bit and I had to catch my breath, allowing the guy in front to gain back a little time.

Then the trail headed back down with more sketchy corners and a few little rollers and drops to nearly catch you out before bursting back out onto more fireroad. At the bottom of this section there was a small amount of carnage, a nice blood soaked rider and his mate who had a nice ripple in the downtube of his Boardman. A tree rider interface apparently.

More fireroad……..

Victorious, well we survived at least.

The climb, eight minutes, or maybe a bit more, of singletrack climbing. I don’t think anyone had been looking forward to this and I’m not sure I really enjoyed it. As far as climbs go it wasn’t to muddy or steep but really did hurt the legs quite a lot and the last few corners were pretty excrutiating, I think the fact that the climb was quite twisty and singletrack meant there wasn’t any room for a quick coast to rest resulting in a lot of pained faces sitting at the top. We both passed a few people and had a few people pass us here, I have my suspicions that some people had been training for this event.
After a lengthy sit down and grimace we headed off back down some fireroad and onto the road to lead us back to the finish.

Overall it was a nice relaxed event and despite not exactly setting blistering times I think we both enjoyed it. The road section and many fireroad climbs were a bit monotonous after a while but thats just what the trails are like I guess.

A return may be a possiblity but with more fitness and less Drambuie.

Location: Cannock Chase

Date: 4th February 2012 | Start Time: 10:30am

Description: Hopefully it won’t be chilly and it will be quicker than a cruise but you get my drift.

Proposed first ride at Cannock of 2012. Being the first weekend in February it could be a mud-fest or it could be a cold chilly [...]]]>

flying tony

Location: Cannock Chase

Date: 4th February 2012 | Start Time: 10:30am

Description: Hopefully it won’t be chilly and it will be quicker than a cruise but you get my drift.

Proposed first ride at Cannock of 2012. Being the first weekend in February it could be a mud-fest or it could be a cold chilly winter morning.

Either way getting back to ride the Chase is always a good thing and as long as Mr Jones our resident Cannock guide is available we can pick a route to suit the conditions and our (possible lack of) fitness and finesse.

If he is not we can always concentrate on the built bits, that way we should manage not to get lost too many times.

So who is up for a trip to Staffordshire’s finest?

rich riding rocks on the monkey trail

Ride Report(s) – North Downs 14 and 15 January 2012

Forecast of a cold crisp and sunny weekend drew a lot of mountain bikers including a few cakeriders out to hit the north down trails…2 days of riding and very little mud in January has got to be celebrated.

Right then quick post to get an idea…

Thinking of another skills course with ukbikeskills before going to Wales at Easter, thought it would be good to do before we are off for a block of a few days riding. See the coaching page for what you get and [...]]]>

gap jump on ukbikeskills course

Right then quick post to get an idea…

Thinking of another skills course with ukbikeskills before going to Wales at Easter, thought it would be good to do before we are off for a block of a few days riding. See the coaching page for what you get and how much it costs.

It might be tricky to organise as there are only limited weekends. Well limited weekends I can do that is but there is no problem in folk sorting something else out for another weekend as I am sure I can organise a cheeky midweek trip if weekends don’t work.

So have a look at the availability poll and fill in and see if we can sort something out. If there are any other dates you can do then stick them in the comments field.

Obviously this depends on there being a slot available with ukbikeskills but we can but try.

For those travelling courses are based in Hertfordshire but if needed there are accommodation options nearby.

We did a group session – one rainy day at herts – at the start of last year and I also attended a public jumps and drops course last year. Both of which were really good and would happily go back to refresh/hopefully improve.

So come on and fill the poll in and hopefully we can get something sorted for the first few months of 2012…

cathy lifting front wheel

fly out jump

Myself and Cathy were lucky enough to do our last ride of 2011 and first ride of 2012 in the sunny climbs of Oz with long-distance cakerider Chris.

Final ride of 2011 took place on new years eve outta Bright with bikes hired from Cycle Path. Collecting the bikes for a [...]]]>

trailside creature

Myself and Cathy were lucky enough to do our last ride of 2011 and first ride of 2012 in the sunny climbs of Oz with long-distance cakerider Chris.

Final ride of 2011 took place on new years eve outta Bright with bikes hired from Cycle Path. Collecting the bikes for a full days riding we were quite impressed with the  we were given a detailed trail map.

cakeriders bridge crossing

We managed to follow this map and were all surprised how much fun the trails along the river/creek singletrack with a lot of technical rooty up and down trails that tested the dodgy fork on the giant hire bike to the full.

The trails included a number of river crossings, the second of which brought Chris’ riding to a premature end. Catching his handlebars on the edge of the bridge a spectacular over the bars followed with a solid landing for knee on the floor resulting in instant swelling and pouring blood. A trek back on the road was the final bit of riding for Chris.

The non-injured of us headed out for another couple of hours in the saddle. We headed back to the injury causing bridge before heading for some new river-side singletrack. An hour or so more of this was enough as the heat took it’s toll.

Being used to riding flat river/canal side in the UK it was certainly harder work on the undulating singletrack – certainly the best river-side riding I have ever done. This allied with the 30+ temperature meant we kept the afternoon pretty short.

post ride beer

The final flourish of riding came on some flowing cut singletrack on the edge of town where Cathy managed to almost ride over 1 snake – sure sign it was time to call it a day.

After dropping off the bikes we were slightly disappointed with the cake off on offer in town but this was more than made up for when we came across cafe velo – lots of road cycling memorabelia on the walls and excellent beer and nachos! Have to say I was enjoying the drink and rest far more then the face indicates ;)

between rocks

The second ride (and first of 2012) saw us go just outside Melbourne to the trails at Lysterfield. Only just over an hour out of Melbourne we were promised a decent amount of good singletrack.

Having picked up a bike and trail map (pdf) from Trailmix we set off in search of singletrack. Heading off around the lake we were soon on to a nice bit of flowing singletrack that after a couple of km starting to climb gently.

At the top of this climb we moved on to the 2006 Commonwealth Games route – good to see a route left after the games.

This was a real fun route to ride with a fair number of features including berms, roots, rocks. All pretty standarad fare but there is something cool about riding in dust in January and seeing kangaroos hopping around at the side of the trail. We stopped for a bit of a mess about on at the double black Granite Rock Garden , somehow managing to bump down it on the hired rockhopper.

More fun singletrack followed on a sunny and warm January day – felt slightly odd to be riding in that weather but certainly a good odd.

chris on trails in bright - pre injury

It was great to get a couple of rides in while away and now longing to get out on my own bike and hit the trails though not really longing for the mud and cold of UK winter riding!!