A Longleat-erpick.

Litter Pick XC ride. This Sunday (22nd April).

It’s a Mini Dig Day re-allocation of resources…

It’ll combine a leisurely ride with litter collection. It should only take a couple of hours if there’s enough of us. We’ll set off for a section of the forest in pairs, each with an empty rucksack lined with a bin-liner. One rider fills the others person’s rucksack so he/she doesn’t have to keep taking it off or putting it on. Simple as. Maybe take a few spare bin-liners with you, and leave filled ones at strategic (discreet) points ready to take back to the car park on your way back.

We did one last year and it was a huge success. In light of recent events, now’s the time to do another one (and before it all gets too overgrown).

We realise collecting other people’s litter is an unpleasant chore, but as well as giving you that inner glow of being really useful, at the very least it’s a gesture of goodwill to the Longleat estate proving that we genuinely care about the forest we ride in. Let’s make an effort. It’s all about the greater good etc etc. C’mon, people, let’s get as many riders out as possible.

If you want to get all competitive about it there’ll probably be a prize for the do-gooder does the best good (ie collects the most rubbish).

Meet at 10am at the club car park this Sunday. Bring your own BIG rucksack, hi-vis vest (if you’ve got one) and a bike. Binbags will be provided, as will anti-septic hand-gel-cleaning stuff. Gloves will be provided if you need them. Oh, and don’t pick up anything you don’t want to (that means anything that scores a 7 or higher on the Eeeeeeeew-o-meter™).

NB – Bring your own Eeeeeeeew-o-meter™.

We convened on a misty Sunday morning at the Cheese and Grain, ready to make the hour-and-a-bit journey to “that car park” in Dunster. The drive was pretty uneventful, i was looking forward to seeing the views as we got closer to Dunster, but they were hidden under a blanket of foggy nothingness.

Mr Truelove met us there aboard his new steed, Penny. It was possibly the biggest bike i have ever seen, yet looked completely in proportion! The next 10 minutes contained faffing, fueling and flapjack which led to everyone being ready and raring to go.

After a short road section we were at the beginning of the trail, which was a steep narrow bridleway (which turned out to be the main ingredient of the ride). I was already struggling, as i was aboard a rigid/ Singlespeed 29er but it was too late to swap bikes now. We had only been riding for 2 minutes and Kev managed to snap his new chain due to his raw hill climbing power (or the fact it wasn’t fitted properly). This was a quick fix though and we struggled on, turning left at heaven and going up a little further.

The climbs were always repaid by exciting downhills, however, the first descent was something a little different. It must be the steepest gradient i have ever ridden, mixed with the loose dusty ground it was more a test of nerve rather than ability. All made it down in one piece and we made our way back up via another steep climb.

You needed serious legs to make each of the climbs, they were made to torture enthusiastic mountain bikers which meant many ended up pushing to reach the summit. But it was at the top that we found a selection of breath-taking singletrack. Fast, flowing, technical, rooty, rocky and steep (obviously) trails that left a lasting impression.

It was very much a case of rinse and repeat for the remainder of the ride, but with a little more road and fire track mixed in to gain some easy altitude. We made it back to the car park with 3 minutes to spare on the 4hr parking tickets, perfec’ timing. Everything got packed away into the cars, and we wondered into Dunster to grab a bite to eat. There was a quient Deli that sold pies and pasties, so we filled ourselves with some home made tastiness and ambled back to the cars.

All together a brilliant day was had by all, the mist eventually cleared to provide some amazing views and the trails were in surprisingly good condition considering the fact it’s March. There was only one injury, a rogue boulder jumped up and bit Chas, providing him with a “Shin Nose”, but he managed to soldier on after a plaster and some jelly snakes.

Thanks to Chas for leading and providing the route and thanks to everybody for good company. See you next month

 

 

January Ride-Away to the Quantocks… The Black Canon’s ‘Plan B’ ride featuring: Bigfoot, Babies’ heads, Brother-of-Chris Noble and Benatar.

 

“We’ll give her till ten past” was the decision made in the Cheese & Grain car park just prior to our departure for this month’s ride away to the Quantock Hills. At 8:09am Sharon pedalled into sight and by 8:10am we were all on our way. Phew.

 

During all the nervous foot-tapping and watch-glancing that preceded Sharon’s arrival, Ryan, after a great deal of deliberation (in a rather fetching ‘jim-jams and festival hat’ combo) finally settled on his tyre choice for the day and fitted them. Again. And then promptly changed them again in the car on the drive down.

 

The short journey to Holford was uneventful, save for the five lucky occupants of Geraint’s Fun Bus being treated to some of the finest pop hits of the 80′s, courtesy of Chas’ iPod and a compatible lead into the van’s ICE system. Contrary to popular opinion, he maintains that a little Pat Benatar turned up to 11 is the perfect hors d’oeuvre to a four-hour mountainbike ride.

 

 

By the preceding Saturday evening the ‘Plan B’ ride had evolved into a ‘Plan C’. Wary of the fact that many of those riding on Sunday would be new to the Quantock Hills it was thought best to include as many of the old favourites and highlights as possible, and to save most of the alternative ‘new’ bits for another visit.

 

11 Black Canons met with five Bigfeet in the Holford layby. The Bigfoot MBC were planning an excursion here anyway and, curious to see any alternatives to their usual routes, had asked a while ago if they could tag along on our ride.

 

The Quantocks’ trails always hold up well in the winter and didn’t fail to impress yet again. The first evil climb of the day was nailed by just a few and sent a stark warning to most of us as to just how… erm… ‘hilly’ these hills are. An Evil-O-Meter™ was then established with climbs graded on a one to ten scale: one being ‘evil but manageable’ and ten being ‘the purest of all evils’. Most climbs thereafter were between 8 and 10.

 

 

An entirely new descent was the first of the day. Starting fast and grassy, the Devil’s Galloping Path (real name) soon dissolves into a twisting carpet of loose rocks the size of babies’ heads covered in leaf litter. Add a smattering of roots to glance off and a fallen tree to limbo under and you have a great new addition to any Quantocks route. All riders made it safely to the bottom, most of them randomly pin-balling their way down with their eyes shut.

 

There then ensued the usual pattern of any Quantocks XC ride: climb/descend/climb/descend repeat until you can taste blood. Highlights of the day included: Weacombe Combe with its winding narrow singletrack; Smith’s Combe with its steepness, looseness and stream-crossings; the descent from Dead Woman’s Ditch with it’s rocky trench and narrow drop-offs; and Holford Combe with it’s numerous line choices. Even the climbs back up from those trails, though never easy, are always worth the effort. A small price to pay for fantastic, natural downhills.

 

En-route to the last descent of the day we passed a weary looking bunch who looked a lot like SPAM members. Their number appeared to include Mr Noble’s evil twin-brother sporting fluoro Oakley Jawbones. Our Chris would certainly never wear anything that garish.

 

 

Given that we had 16 riders in our group, mishaps and mechanicals were thin on the ground: Geraint’s tired chain snapped under the vast amounts of brutal torque he generated grinding up a short-but-steep climb, and there were a couple of punctures to interrupt the sweet flow of Smith’s Combe. A few riders confessed to going sideways occasionally but no one had any spectacular offs (that they were prepared to share with the group, anyway).

 

In short, we enjoyed a day of spectacular weather, amazing scenery, brilliant trails and great company. 18 miles of off-road riding in 4 hours (and 3,000ft of climbing) might not seem very much but as ever with this jewel of the southwest, the Quantocks is all about quality, not quantity. Quantock quality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hopefully most of you know who I am now, I’ve started a blog about my racing & riding which will cover next years events, but to start off i’ve covered what i’ve been upto this year.

By Ryan Mckee...

Well, I always moan about having to endure a 10 mile journey to my closest trails, so I thought I would dust off the trusty OS map and see what I could discover. I sketched out a rough route over breakfast, prepped the bike and ventured off into the (relative) unknown…

It took all my determination to get out of the door, it had been threatening to rain for the past few hours and I am highly allergic to rain! However, I am glad I did, stumbling across some hidden trails that I shall definitely be re-visiting in the near future.

So with the OS in my pocket and “Don’t worry be happy” on repeat I trudged along the 1/2 mile section of road to reach The Bell Inn where the trail begins.

There is a path that extends from the pub and joins the local woods, where most of the ‘local youths’ can be found on any given evening. After sliding along the tunnel-like dirt track, the trail opened up, with several directional options I chose to to head up-hill towards the Chalk Quarry. Due to large amounts of precipitation that seemed to have been falling for the past 7 days I was pleasantly surprised (and slightly perplexed) to find bone dry, dusty trails beneath the relative shelter of the trees above. Perhaps these new trails have a micro-climate all of their own?

My mind was soon drawn to other things as the track became narrow, rocky and very steep. This is exactly what I was hoping I would find. The climb continued for several punishing minutes, reaching a clearing at the top gave me a perfect excuse to have a much needed drink and check the map.

After confirming that I wasn’t lost (yet) I continued along the ridge line, scoping out lots potential tracks off the steep slope to the left. After eyeing up one particular track I decided to give it ago, it wasn’t in the route plan but the whole idea of this outing was exploration. I am glad I did. berms, jumps, off-camber, high speed, Heaven. I Got a bit over excited and ended up heading towards a particularly large tree, however my head was acting as an effective break so no damage, only pride!

A short, steep push up and I was back en-route.

I then emerged onto a gravel double track path which ran parallel to the Westbury Chalk Quarry. This is quite a sight, seeing such a large space of the Earth missing seemed like quite a shame when you consider the rolling landscape that Westbury is nestled in. Another road section followed, stretching from the White Horse to Eddington, where the next trail was located.

This is where things began to unravel somewhat, I had accidentally ended up on a footpath, which lead in the opposite direction to the bridleway I was originally aiming for. There was a steep, grass track climb to reach the the summit. It was at this point I had realised I was more than likely in the wrong place. There were several hints:

• It could be the lack of any visible tracks
• It could be the gunfire which echoed across the plains
• Or it could be the large “Military Firing Range KEEP OUT!” and red flags whistling in the high winds that swept across the vast space before me

Whatever the reason, I now had to rely on orienteering skills which I hadn’t used since completing Duke of Edinburgh 5 years previously. They were shoddy, At best. However, Technology soon came to the rescue as for some strange reason i had WiFi connectivity? Taking this as some kind of gift from the gods, I pulled out my phone and plotted a some points. I had no choice but to trust the directions it was giving me, as time was not on my side (I had to be in work within 90 minutes). For the first time ever, it took me to the destination i wanted to reach! This meant I was securely back on ground i could ride over without running the risk of finding an unexploded land mine or becoming a training exercise target.

All was well, I put my foot down mindful that the clock was ticking, re tracing my footsteps and revisiting the trails I had found only hours previously. They were fast and loose, and definitely made the steep climbs and risk of being “neutralized” by the T.A worth it. It was quite an adventure, I can no longer moan that nothing exciting ever happens, and to top it off I made it to work on time. Bonus.

As a club we think it is important to have ride leaders with the necessary skills to safely lead enjoyable rides. We have a number of ride leaders, but due to other time constraints too frequently the responsibility to lead the rides falls on a few. To take the strain away from these members, (and to encourage the development of the club’s riding calendar) we are looking to identify and train some new ride leaders.

The course will be partially funded by the club, and we will operate a payback system that allows ride leaders to recover the rest of the course cost annually as they lead rides.

If you are interested in becoming a ride leader – and you feel you have the time to take on the role (a couple of rides a month) – we would be grateful to hear from you, e-mail ian.crook@blackcanoncollective.co.uk to state your interest or to find out more.

Thanks!

That’s what it’s all about. Shiny bikes, blue skies, warm sunshine, dry trails, stunning scenery, good company, big grins and lots of wildlife.

Three of us went for a local loop starting early on Good Friday morning. We met up at the Allotment, headed out through Horningsham, went up over Cold Kitchen Hill and came back through Longleat forest. Explored a couple of new trails, rode a few favourite trails backwards (didn’t ride the BIKES backwards, obviously), performed some health-and-safety on one, admired the views, drank in the scenery and generally set the world to rights. A superb morning well spent.

Anyhoo, the pictures speak for themselves. Long may this summer weather continue.

 

 

Oh, and I hope at least some of you picked up on the obscure 80s lyric reference.