Month: February 2012

Back in November we started a bike polo club for BCC members and locals alike. Overall it has been well attended, although numbers have dwindled slightly in the winter weather conditions. The next closest club is Bristol, with whom we have been in close contact with, namely Rich who led our first ever session. It was suggested that we met up for a mini- tourney between Cardiff, Bristol and ourselves. However, at this time we had only had a few sessions, we were enthusiastic but completely lacked any skill or ability! Fast forward four months, three destroyed wheel covers, two lost polo balls and one broken polo mallet and we were prepared for a thrashing.

There was quite a lot of confusion, as it was announced at 2AM Sunday on Facebook that the game was cancelled due to (lack of) attendance. I had resigned myself to a day of laziness and switched my alarm off. However, at 9AM i was informed it was back on, so i rushed a bag together and sped over to Beckington to meet Mark and Juliet who had kindly offered to drive.

Finding the campus didn’t go as smoothly as we had hoped, but then we only had a street name. We passed a college that appeared to be abandoned- walls suffocated by graffiti and barbed fences for keeping unwanted visitors at bay. After driving past several times it turns out we were in the right place. With much skepticism we headed into the campus, we quickly noticed an open door and a few bikes. We had arrived.

After the standard meet and greet with the locals, Chas, Tom, Mark and myself took to the court. It is an indoor arena, with wooden floors and boarded walls, there is also a pit for spectators to heckle the players from. It was refreshing to play out of the elements we are used to on our court, in warmth with music and facilities.

Teams were decided by a “throw in”, when each mallet is taken and three are thrown either side, simple. I had the idea in my head that all Bristolians were world-class Polo players. In fact we provided a fairly even match, which made for challenging and engaging games.

Each game was first to five goals, towards the end games were lasting a lot longer, every point was a battle which made for exciting viewing. There were a few slams though, the surface was not as grippy as what we are used to. Chas took the prize for biggest crash of the day, i’m pretty sure he left some precious brain cells on the court (Good job he was wearing a cricket helmet, or it would have been an A&E trip).Overall we held our own, and are planning to do the same next month as well.

If you’re interested in getting involved with Polo, feel free to come along on a Wednesday evening and give it a go, see HERE for details.

There is another date organised for a track session, open to anyone that has previous experience. The track was fully booked until May 12th, so we have been pencilled in for that. If you want to come along, comment below or email me at: ryan.mckee@blackcanoncollective.co.uk. We are limited to 17 people so get in quick, places will be on a first-come first-serve basis.

Thanks

Here are the results from yesterdays tickertape in the woods, report to follow with pics and go pro footage.

It was an ace day and a big thanks to everyone who helped set up and pack away, one small mention though was the unusual presence of litter, remember if you bring it you shouldn’t have to think twice about taking it back with you, I don’t want to have to get gary the no trash cougar on to people.

In 48 hours time, the Tickertape winter series final will be being battled out at the allotment.

Expect a unique track for one day only, fully taped with freelap timing for all the BCC family.

Timing runs from 1200 hrs – 1500hrs,  Sunday 19th Febuary 2012

Help setting up from 1100 hrs much appreciated

Bring; cake, beans, bike, 2 working brakes, full face helmet, bcc membership details (card) and a suggested £2 donation 🙂

Tea, Coffee, FlapJacks and Fruit welcome, corporate energy pop need not apply.

Fancy dress strongly encouraged (no borat mankini)

For this month’s ride away we visited Glyncorrwg Mountain Bike Centre, which is a guaranteed smile-enducer. Going on a ride away is always exciting as it gives you the opportunity to ride terrain that you don’t usually experience, it also gives Longleat a welcome break from the battering it has taken this winter.

We congregated outside the Cheese & Grain, and left fairly promptly, beginning the 2-and-a-bit hour journey to Afan Forest. The first thing we noticed on the approach to the centre was the devastation a tree disease has brought to the area. Phytophthora  Ramorum (The Foot and Mouth of the tree world) damages Larch trees, to the extent that they have to be destroyed so the disease doesn’t spread any further.

Everyone arrived safely and the usual pre ride faffing ensued, but in no time at all we were ready and headed off to the beginning of the trail. There are 3 trails that you can follow, at varying levels of difficulty and length. However they all start with the same, super steep, slog of a climb up to “Windy Point” where each trail goes it’s separate way.

Everyone reached the top fairly comfortably, with the only issue being Al’s amazing rotating bars which didn’t want to clamp properly, however this was easily rectified. We took a short break at the top before diving off down the Black run, which was made slightly more challenging by the presence of snow/ ice. The Black run is as technical as you want to make it, if you stay to the left it is a fairly tame trail with a few small drop offs. If you stay to the right though, there are larger drop offs but each have the option to go around them so everyone made it down unscathed.

There is then a short fire road section back to “Windy Point”, where we forked left and followed W2. It is an amazing trail that takes in some beautiful views, fast single track and even a few board walk sections. The North- Shore style sections struck fear into a few members of the group. It’s just a matter of making sure the rear wheel doesn’t cut the corners too tight, or you’re going backwards into the Welsh undergrowth!

We continued to fly down the remainder of the trail, taking the additional features that can be found at fairly regular intervals to liven the descent up further. Everyone made it to the bottom with big smiles on their faces. We then made a B line to the cafe for some home made tastiness. Mark and Ian couldn’t resist the call of the another slice of cake and chose to stay longer, whilst the rest of the group began round two. Will, Ben and Simon decided it was a good idea to ride down the steep, narrow, icy steps rather than walking down (like everyone else). I knew it wasn’t a clever thing to do, but they made it down in one piece (just).

The climb up to the trail head was just as painful as the first time and we regrouped at the top. We were following the Skyline trail this time, which is the longest trail. But we decided to cut out about 40km of pain and jumped straight to the final descent. To get to the start of the descent we had to follow a few miles of icy fire road, although this provided a nice opportunity to spin the legs off after all the climbing.

The Skyline Descent never disappoints, providing a challenging collection of features which give even the most seasoned rider something to think about. We gathered at the final stile and exchanged stories of icy near- misses before returning to the car park to pack the bikes away. After a quick change we went back to the cafe for more food. They offer a great selection of home cooked meals and cakes for us weary riders. Wales were playing Rugby so we took our opportunity for a traffic free return journey and headed home. Everyone enjoyed a full day of riding, which was made better by the fact there were no major mechanicals/ injuries.

Hope to see you next month.