Last Sunday saw another successful Away-day to a firm BCC favourite, the Quantock Hills.

The weather was frankly stunning with a slight chill to the breeze but bright sunshine – a perfect, clear, Spring day. There had been substantial rainfall overnight so the trails were all a little wet, but that did little to dampen our sprits. It only seemed to dampen our shorts.

From our rendezvous at Triscombe Stone car park, ride-leader Chris immediately brought out the Big Guns with a decision for us to negotiate The Chimney via some very slippery, sinuous singletrack. The previous night’s precipitation had made it all a little dicey, but all riders successfully navigated the infamous steep, rocky trench with nothing more than the odd dab to spare our blushes.

From there, a long fireroad haul up through Great Wood to another highlight of the Quantocks – Dead Woman’s Ditch* – another long, rock-strewn trench made more difficult by the rain. Yet another long haul upwards, this time up onto the exposed tops of the hills with their fine views over the Bristol Channel, and then another magnificent descent, this time down Somerton Combe complete with its optional 2ft drop-off halfway down. Here we had a bite to eat and engaged in some suitably heroic photography. One of the most evil climbs on the Quantocks then ensued to take us back to the top via Lady’s Edge* to Bicknoller Post. Another pause here while the majority of us stuffed lungs back in and heart-rates returned to something like normal. Then the long scenic route along the spine of the hills via the Ox Drove back to the car park at Triscombe Stone.

A select few then opted to extend the ride by heading off for a second attempt at sampling The Chimney’s unique delights. In the car park at its bottom, all felt we’d made a better job of it that time. After a few minutes’ wait, two of our number failed to emerged from the woods and a three-man search-and-rescue party was duly despatched back up the hill (on foot) only to discover Al manfully fitting an emergency inner-tube to Marjory’s burped rear tubeless tyre.

We’d lost a lot of height there, so to save the usual long uninspiring fireroad climb back up to the top a new ascent was recommended and investigated via St Johns Well. It was noted that this climb was steep in places and uphill in others…

Back to the car park for tea and biscuits from Geraint’s catering wagon. It was agreed by unanimous decision that he can come again.

Thanks to all who came, especially the drivers, and Chris with his inspirational ride-leading abilities.

(* renamed “Dead Person’s Ditch” and “Person’s Edge” so as not to offend the delicate feminist sensibilities of our female contingent).

Ray Mears leads Tick bite prevention week 2011

Bushcraft and Survival expert Ray Mears has joined the fight against Lyme disease by lending his support to tick-borne disease charity BADA-UK (Borreliosis and Associated Diseases Awareness-UK).

Tick Bite Prevention Week, which runs from 11-17th April 2011, is an annual programme which helps promote awareness of tick-borne diseases and effective tick bite prevention for at-risk groups.

http://www.tickbitepreventionweek.org/

Great news!

We’re going to be selling these by the end of the week (at cost price) so that you can safely remove any ticks that you do find… (£3 + p&p // normally £5 in the shops)

This month I’ll be leading a ride across the Quantock hills starting from Triscombe car park. To avoid parking issues we’ll aim to leave The Cheese and Grain car park Frome by 8am.

As always you will need a good quality, well maintained bike with plenty of brake pad material, a helmet and suitable clothing (No Denim!!) and spares i.e. – spare tubes, power links etc. There is no bike shop or cafe on site!

We will car pool as much as possible to keep costs down, can anyone who can drive and take bikes and passengers please let us know.

Meet: Frome Cheese & Grain 07:45
Distance: 14-18 miles (can add more if need be  )
Climbing: Plenty!
Time: 2.5 – 4hrs (I expect it to be more like 4hrs)

These tails aren’t officially graded, I personally don’t think the trails I intend using are anymore technical than the trails we use around Longleat on our Tuesday night rides with the exception of ‘The Chimney’ which you wont have to ride if you’re not confident.

Description

The Quantock Hills are an area of wilderness and tranquility. Panoramic views lead you through coast, heath and combe. Explore and you will find rocky Jurassic coastline, exposed heathland summits, deep wooded combes, undulating farmland and attractive villages all within this protected landscape.

The Quantock Hills are an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), which means that its distinctive character, natural beauty and cultural heritage are so outstanding that it is in the nation’s interest to safeguard them.

Our ride will lead us in and out of various combs as we make our way across the hills so expect plenty of climbing and have a good meal the night before and a good breakfast the morning of our ride. We will reach the farthest point from our cars about lunchtime and wont be passing any shops so bring something to eat with you and plenty to drink.

Whatever the weather forecast on the day you will need to wear something windproof as an outer layer and / or carry a waterproof, the weather can changer quickly and at this time of year there Will be a cold wind!

Image Credit: http://www.trailbase.blogspot.com/

For February’s club ride we’re going to visit Swinley Forest, which is full of great single track that is guaranteed to make you smile all day long.

We’re going to meet Sunday 13th February in Frome at the Cheese & Grain at 7.45am, aiming to leave 8am, that should get us there 9.30am, riding by 10am. We’ll ride for 3-4 hours in total. There is a café on site, however we won’t be in the area for the cafe until after the ride so please bring food and drink to eat whilst riding.

As always you will need a good quality, well maintained bike with plenty of brake pad material, a helmet and suitable clothing and spares i.e. – extra spare tubes due to the type of terrain, power links etc. There is no bike shop on site.

We will car pool as much as possible to keep costs down. If anyone would like to drive and take bikes and passengers, please let us know.

There are no car parking charges, but each rider is required to purchase a day permit, which costs £2.00, these can be bought on line here .

As always please let us know if you’re coming, and if you need anymore info, by using the club forum or by sending us an email.

Cheers!

After having to reschedule the away day to Brechfa for the last two months, we thought we’d not risk a third plan until the weather improved in the spring, so for this months ride away we stuck a little closer to home by popping over to Ashton Court for some fine Bristolian singletrack. To mix it up a bit though, we did it in the dark .

After a rain filled drive across south Bristol, blindly following Pete who “knew where we were going”, we pitched up in a dark lane to thankfully dry, clear skys. Having put on all our warm kit, we heading into Ashton Court and picked up the trail. It was wet, and muddy, but filled with fun a laughs as only the madness of a group night ride can be. The mud in 50 Acre Wood was thick and sticky, making the going slow, so thoughts of two laps were soon but to one side since no-one was keen to to get stuck all over again.

Back over the road in the far less sticky stuff, we convinced Pete to ignore his earlier bad luck (punctures when its 6inches deep in mud are just not funny) and we were soon enjoying the Bikefest course we’d loved back in the summer (and indeed in October). A couple of deer, and badger and an alien later, we found ourselves back at the “start”, so packed ourselves into cars and headed back toward home via the pub for a very well deserved pint.

Thanks to the Bristol Trail Group for making such fun trails and apologies for taking so much of it home! We’ll be back, hopefully when its a bit drier.

Next month we are off to …actually, that hasn’t been decided yet… well; keep an eye on the forum and join in the fun.

Wake up late
Arrive late
Get told off for tweeting on the loo
Pack bikes in van
Drive
Warning lights
Fry up
Get told about some cool whoops
Smut
Fill up the coolant
Get tricked into following a FAKE Al
Get lost
Arrive late
Ride
Moan about all the mud
Laugh at Mark (MCC)
Get told again about these whoops
Yelp every time the trail gets narrow
Moan about the lack of descents
Ride some descents
Giggle
Ride the descents again
Moan about the mud
Get scared by a train
Walk
Justify walking
Moan about the mud
Feel scared by how excited people are about these whoops
Ride the whoops
People moan about the muddy whoops
Wash bikes
Get naked
McDonalds
Justify McDonalds
M5
Dispair
M5
Consider sleeping in van
B Roads
Home

Cracking day out.

After much discussion over a nice cold drink, we’ve decided we’ll travel to Brechfa to try our riding skills out on another of Welsh riding centres.

It will mean another of Pete’s early Sunday 7am departure’s, as it is another 2.5hr drive.

The Drop Off Cafe Double Decker Diner says it’s on site at weekends, however we should take food and drink for the day just in case it’s not.

As always you will need a good quality, well maintained bike with plenty of brake pad material, a helmet and suitable clothing and spares i.e. – spare tubes, power links etc. There
is no bike shop on site.

We will car pool as much as possible to keep costs down, can anyone who can drive and take bikes and passengers please let us know.

We plan on riding the following Red Graded Trail –

Trail name: Gorlech
Centre:Brechfa
Distance:19km
Climbing:1071m
Time:1.5 – 3hrs

Red Trail Grade (Difficult)

Description

Named after the river Gorlech, what this trail delivers in views and scenery it certainly backs up with terrain and excitement.
Taking design and construction to new levels, the trail is a hard, fast, all weather surface which becomes more and more exciting as your skill level and speed progresses.
Soon you’ll be railing the perfectly sculpted berms and huge switchbacks, jumping the step up jumps and tabletops and grinning all the way to the bottom of the exhilarating final descent.

Calling a trail as a roller coaster ride is a knackered old cliché, but there’s no other way to describe the unique Gorlech ride. Every climb drops you into a madder, faster descent on the far side. The stone clad berms, kickers, tables and stump jumps just keep getting bigger and bigger every time in a mad mountain bike crescendo right up to the end. A truly unique skill and grin building experience!”

More info to follow as the time gets closer, any questions please ask…. oh and here’s a short video to get you in the mood…

An early start from Frome for Steve, Marjory, Andrew, Pete and errrrrrr……. (Oh yes Kevin !) saw us start riding in earnest at 10.30 , following a slight hitch with one car ending up at the wrong visitor centre (who could have known there were 2 !?!?!?).

Two laps of the very “red” Monkey trail and one of the “follow the dog” ensued whilst we all concentrated on taking the smoothest lines through the berms to avoid sliding off into the trees on the slippy surface – very little mud thankfully !

Steve managed to find a previously unseen side exit from one of the boardwalks and under upside down under his bike a few feet below. A few minutes of bodging followed to re-fit his rear brake lever (common sense solutions supplied by Andrew).

We stopped for a late lunch with lashings of Ginger beer (Lentil and Bacon soup actually) and a bit of a chin wag with Marjory ……………………..some time later we thought we should do one more lap of the “Dog” as the final rollers are sooooooo nice and set out to chase daylight for another “estimated 35 minutes” that turned into an hour and saw us back at the cars with very tired legs as darkness fell.

A quick change and off to Birmingham for a very nice Balti with lashings of Lassi (sorry about the beer Kev)!

It’s that time again, our monthly XC Ride Away, and this month we’re off to Cannock Chase.

We’ll be riding the following – (red graded trails):

Follow the Dog –
The Midlands first dedicated mountain bike trail. Follow the Dog is a red graded 7 mile intermediate mountain bike trail aimed at competent mountain bikers. Opened in 2005 the trail was completely designed and built by Chase Trails and more recently additional sections have been added including the all new Tackeroo descent which was built as part of the contractor works to the Monkey Trail and was opened in April 2010.

The Monkey Trail
Opened in April 2010 the Monkey Trail is an optional extension to Follow the Dog. Again it’s a red graded trail but this time it’s a far more technically challenging and demanding trail. It includes bigger climbs, more technical descents and optional black graded lines. The trail is intended for experienced and technically competent rider.
The Monkey Trail can be ridden by starting Follow the Dog to approximately half way and then turning off to ride a further 7 mile trail before returning to complete Follow the Dog. A mix of machine built trail and handbuilt trails created by our volunteers, the Monkey Trail provides a superbly engaging ride.

As always you will need a good quality, well maintained bike with plenty of brake pad material, a helmet and suitable clothing and spares i.e. – spare tubes, power links etc. There is a bike shop on site.

**** The surface of the trail is buried pebbles, drains very well, but now that the weather has turn damp they are very slippery / greasy so anyone who has winter mud tyres on their bike will really need to change them to an all round use type of tyre. Please ask us if you have any questions.****

The trail centre does have a café and a bike shop on site, however the café was very busy when we went last and the wait at lunchtime will likely be about 20-30mins, so we suggest everyone take something to eat and drink so we can get back out on the trails quickly.

Departure time will be 7am Cheese & Grain, Frome, so we’ll meet at 6.45am to arrange bikes etc. We’ll car pool as much as possible to keep costs down, can anyone who can drive and take bikes and passengers please let us know.. the trails are a lot of fun you won’t be disappointed.

Can’t wait…

Sunday October 10th Club Ride away
Ok it’s 2-2.5 hour journey and although I fully accept I am a bit OCD about early starts, I think we need to leave the Cheese & Grain at 7am to get a chance for everyone to make the most of the day ( the nights are closing in ) and I’m pretty sure Glencorrwg is in a different time zone too!

The trail is graded Red overall with an optional black section and some really sweet single track, boardwalks etc

Trail map HERE

Distance: 15km
Climb: 400m
Time: 1.5 – 3 hours
Start: Glyncorrwg Mountain Bike Centre
Overall grade: red/difficult

This is the most technical of all the trails in Afan Forest Park and is 90% purpose built singletrack.

A 6km sheep track climb gives fantastic views of Afan Forest Park, extreme exposure on tight singletrack means ultimate thrills and long, demanding descents with rocky steps to negotiate, all leading to one outrageous trail.

If you are up for it try out the optional new Black Run, graded black/severe!

As always you will need a good quality,well maintained bike with plenty of brake pad material, a helmet and suitable clothing and spares.
Just to be a bit prescriptive about it try and bring:
At least 2 tubes, patches, power-link or similar, a multi tool & pump & spare brake pads if yours are a bit dodgy.

Warm and Waterproof clothing of every possible description ( it’s Wales !) trail food and plenty of liquids.

We may go in two or more groups depending in what people want to do and how fit/delusional they feel on the day.