Black Canon Collective

Month: November 2009

  • Brothers Wells

    Blur

    You may have heard of Jack and Sam Wells, they’re brothers from Frome who are pretty flipping handy with a shovel and even more so with a bike.

    Having suffered the loss of many a ‘secret spot’ the brothers Wells have decided to team up with the BCC to build some great freeride trails at the Allotment.

    To give them some ideas, and show them something outside their normal frame of reference Chris Smith, Ian Crook and I took them to Glyncorrwg yesterday to ride Whites Level.

    The weather was pretty bloody awful; raining sideways with the trails running fast (with water) . Jack definitely had the most fun on the climbs; pushing a big ring with road cassette whilst wearing the least technical clothing and biggest trainers he could find. To be honest all three seemed stoked to be spending so much time going up, at one point I heard Chris ask if we could session the climbs rather than do a full loop. All this whilst Sam was trying to convert Chris, Ian and I to many benefits of riding glove-less.

    After The Black Run and Windy Point all three had cheered up no end, but that didn’t last long: Halfway through Energy Jack lost grip of his bars (due to hand cramp) and crashed onto rocks. Not good. Due to his distinct lack of gloves, Jack’s hand was gashed pretty deep as was his left knee. For Jack and I that was ride over, as we walked and rolled our way back to the Drop Off cafe. Ian, Sam and Chris went on ahead to sample the delights of Goodwood and the Darkside, leaving each with a rose tinted view of that first climb.

    The Drop Off cafe was as welcoming as ever, and a hard place to leave, but with dinner to get back to and three hours of road works, side winds and rain to battle we headed off.

    I think we all learnt a few things yesterday;

    Ian learnt that the M4 goes all the way from London to Swansea,

    Chris learnt that its almost impossible to find a back issue of MBUK that doesn’t have his face in,

    Jack learnt that gloves are more than just a fashion accessory,

    Sam learnt that 1 man, 2 bike relay riding is bloody tiring,

    and I learnt that eating jam and coconut sponge with custard after a Drop Off main causes an almost instantaneous urge to sleep.

    Jack and Sam will be working of their new trail very soon, so check back here if you’d like to be involved.

    Windy Point

  • First Stage Complete

    Milk No Sugar 001_002

    First Stage: Tuesday 17th November – Route confirmed and first rake complete.

    Second Stage: Sunday 22nd November 13:30 – More raking, bench cutting, log cutting. Volunteers very welcome!

    (Feedback and suggestions for the name welcome)

  • Christmas Social Tuesday 15th December 2009

    I think the headline tells you most of the stuff you need to know so get it stuck in your diary and follow the instructions below for a festive evening of general merriment.

    The evening will start at 7pm with the aim of eating at 8pm. Some hardy night riders may wish to do a short ride before and arrive at the pub around 8 o’clock.

    This social is open to all members plus a partner (please contact me if you want to invite additional guests) and I would like to think that a good mixture of XC, DJ and DH riders will attend. This will be an excellent opportunity to meet other members or catch up with members you may have ridden with but never seen without a full face helmet on!

    The Horse and Groom can accommodate 32 diners so seats will have to be on a first come, first served basis. Alternatively, you are welcome to join us for drinks.

    The next step is choosing food from the menu

    H&G menu 001

    Please e mail me (simon.truelove@blackcanoncollective.co.uk) with your menu choices and send me a cheque (payable to “Black Canon Collective”)  for the full amount (£16.95 for 3 courses or £13.00 for 2 courses). If you want to pay by cash (do not send by post) I will be at the tickertape jam at the weekend and I’m usually out on the Tuesday night rides too (but please bring the correct amount as I might not have change).

    For the address to send cheques to please see the forum thread  http://www.southerndownhill.com/forum/index.php/topic,211588.msg1752645.html#msg1752645 or ask for my address when you send your menu choices.

    There are a maximum of 32 spaces – lets see if we can fill the whole joint!

    Please send me your menu choices and cheque before next Tuesday so that I can confirm the number of attendees

    See you all soon

    Simon

  • November TickerTape

    November Ticker Tape 21/11/2009

    It’s that time of the month again!

    With so much rain the trails will be riding very differently from those dusty days only a month or so ago. .. Depending on the ground conditions we’ll be running OneFourThree or BBMS, into Moron. Either way you can expect a great day of racing riding and the chance to win some great Transition Bikes prizes.

    Hopefully we’ll have a good turn out this Saturday as it may be the last chance to ride a TickerTape until the Bumper event on the second of  January.

    If you don’t fancy pitching yourself against the clock, no worries ; the other two trails will be open as usual.

    Remember ; if you do want to get involved you must be a members and wear a full face helmet. Non members are welcome to come along and watch though.

    Cheers

  • Lets Ride Exmoor

    Post written by Mark Amor

    After all the wind and rain over the last few days, it was nice to see clear bright skies, with dare I say it, a little sun. We all meet at 8am on Sunday. Geraint pulls out the map and shows us the route, which looks like a lot of miles! We drove to Exford in convoy, well two vans. As we entered Exford, we go down a very steep hill and realise we’ll have to ride backup the hill; why can’t we start rides without instantly going up! Geared-up and ready to go UPHILL! Up and up and up we rode slicing through the mud and over loose stone through the gates until we reached the Beacon. Wow, with clear views, you can see for miles. After a quick break we begin our first descent; very nice, we had earned it! Chris (no brakes) Sheppard soon lives up to his reputation of getting his moneys worth, as he pulls over to let Christian pass him, he sets of down hill with only a front brake: loose rocks and lots of water, he can handle it – nice! While installing new pads, I get a text from my lovely wife asking, “Is there anything you want to say to me?” after a couple of texts back and forth, I realise it’s my 24th wedding anniversary, will I make 25!?!?

    After a further decent and then up granny’s rise, she was a fit granny – it was so easy – NOT! We got to go down Exmoor’s version of the chimney that reminded Chris and myself of both the Quantocks and the Peaks. Half way through our ride, we stopped for a break in Porlock, before starting our return loop back.

    Into the woods and crossing the streams we worked our way to the top of the coombe where across the valley we could see the Beacon from our morning start. We start crossing a marshy part of land when Chris’ back wheel starts sinking; he jumps of and quickly pulls the bike out of the peat marsh. Great, tarmac at last for approximately one mile, then a left turn takes us through a nice looking track. Cows from a distance looked nice and fury. However, up close, they have long horns and look menacing standing on the side of the road. Very slowly and nicely, we rode past them hoping for no trouble. Finally, back down the track to Exford. Geraint puts the kettle on and makes tea for all, what more could you ask for after four hours of riding. Can’t wait to go back and ride Exmoor, it’s great to ride open countryside, and there was no RAIN!

  • No Pushing

    Cwmcarn

    A few weeks ago Stacey organised a trip to Cwmcarn for a day on the DH uplifts.  It was an awesome day despite the weather, with all the newbies finding out (the hard way) what riding a bigger track is like….
    Jim snapped his seat post flipping into some trees, Nige’s crashes gradually robbed him of clothes (though he did look very comfortable in those bottomless…..), Stace found out how hard rocks are and Bart managed to break his forks, discs and tear a pair of CK waterproof chaps. Burv…., well Burv was in a league of his own – wearing an all-in-one baby grow that was disturbingly tight around the crotch leaving most of us feeling dirty and very confused.
    Dispite all the trauma (did they really need to be that tight!?!??) , everyone was buzzing by the end of the day, no one more than Chedge who was like a silent assassin – getting quicker with every run.

    We finished the day with coffee and cake in the cafe, then I got punched by one of the canteen staff for offering to buy her a muffin.  Wales is a funny place.

    We’ll be organising some more trips to uplifts soon so check out the club forum for more details…

    (Click on the image above to view the photographers images)

  • Trail Designing

    Over the next few months we’ll be working to design and build three new trails / trail areas; project Groovy Blue, project Skills Area and project Spine.

    Chris Sheppard, Chris Smith and Ian Crook will be leading each of these projects respectively, with the full support of the rest of the committee.

    These projects have been the topic of discussed for some time, but with so many things going on in the club we’ve been unable to fully commit to any of them up until now.

    We will be following the existing industry best practice so that we can ensure we achieve high quality sustainable trails. The Forestry Commission highlight 7 stages of Planning, Constructing and Monitoring Mountainbike Trails:

    1. Information gathering
    2. Concept planning
    3. Creating a specification
    4. Construction of the trail
    5. Interpretation and signs
    6. Completing the work
    7. Monitoring and maintenance

    All three projects are currently hovering around stages 1-3, but we’re aiming to get to the end of stage 4 and start of stage 5 by April 2010. This won’t be easy, and will require a lot of fund raising, so we’d really appreciate your help. Keep checking the website for progress and please contact any of the project leaders if you have any questions.

    Thank you!

  • Ride Leader Training – what does it all mean anyway..?

    I’m pleased to say that we now have a number of people interested to learn some more about becoming a Ride Leader. This is obviously great news!

    It’s interesting to hear that many people just don’t know what the role entails, or in fact why it’s so important. To be honest I can completely understand, after all; BCC rides are very informal and basically identical to any other ride with mates, and lets face it we don’t need qualifications for that!

    The truth of the matter is that because we are an organised club to which people pay a membership fee and we organise club rides… well because of that ‘formal’ structure we are obliged to be able to do so with a reasonable level of safety. To ensure that this is the case the CTC and BC insist that club rides are led by qualified Ride Leaders. This ensures that each ride is conducted safely, and allows the participant to take part confident in the knowledge that they aren’t going to be led down an unreasonably dangerous trail.

    The CTC sums up the purpose of the  role with the four E‘s

    • Ensure safety – You, your group, other users.
    • Enjoyment – Your group members enjoy what you provide because you have games, ideas and loads of enthusiasm.
    • Engagement – You have the skills to match rides and skills development sessions to your group members age and stage of ability.
    • Education – Your group members come away from your rides knowing more, whether it be about mountain biking or other aspect of the area used.

    As you can see the qualification means that the Ride Leader is able to do a lot more; really adding to the rides that they lead, not just acting as a chaperone.

    But it’s really important to realise that the technical entry requirements aren’t very high, with greater focus being upon having the right mentality and nature.

    The CTC’s requirements are as follows:

    • Have at least one years experience of regular riding experience in trail terrain. This should be a minimum of 30 rides.
    • Have an interest in cycle instruction and/or mountain bike leading.
    • Hold a valid and appropriate first aid certificate (or obtain one shortly after your course).
    • Be able to understand the basic principles of maps (what they represent and how).
    • Have attempted to fix punctures.
    • Be at least 17 years of age. In this case, you cannot be provided with a full Trail Leader certificate until you reach 18, but you may be provided with an Assistant Leader Award for the interim period.

    So if you think you might fit the bill, or would just like to learn some more please get in contact.

    I plan to have a pub outing (for those who are interested) at which we can a have a drink and ask some questions –  So if you’ve shown some interest check out the forum (http://www.southerndownhill.com/forum/index.php/topic,198948.0.html) where I’ll make the arrangements….

    (If you haven’t already seen, all the course information is here: http://www.promtb.net/courses/leaderawards/trail.htm )

    Cheers!

  • Ladies' Night-Ride

    ride 002ride 003

    Yet again, another great ladies’ night-ride. We decided to take the reverse route of choice down through Longleat, over to the allotment and arriving back at our local meet and greet Horse and Groom pub. Still a small group, but we were four strong and having a blast! Hats of to Marjory’s determined effort to master the art of spd’s, I won’t say a word about the side-ways fall! Helen was out on her first night-ride and was greeted by a surprisingly warm night for this time of year, with the absence of rain and mist just the lush mud and endless puddles. Although the mud and puddles kept us busy and focused, sadly, no critters scampered or scurried across our path, which is always an interesting sight on a night-ride. Hampered by nothing more than our laughter and enthusiasm, we cruised our way down the side of the allotment dodging scattered debris and slippery stones. Marjory serenaded ‘Starlight Twilight’ to the group (every little helps!!) as we made our way down to the ford, which now resembles a small lake. You guessed it, we took the higher option over the bridge. Riding this particular route, in reverse, certainly amounts to less inclines and more declines; a great starting point for any newbie nightrider. Seriously, this was a cool smooth night-ride.

  • Plumbers needed!

    With all the wind and rain we’re having the Allotment is going to be in a bit of a state by the morning. So if you’re thinking of riding it over the weekend please make some time to clear existing drainage and tidy fallen branches etc.
    Weather like this is great for the DH trails as it helps them mature, but puddles just create a boggy mess, so with a bit of crafty forest plumbing we’ll be able to enjoy the trails through out the winter and look forward to even more roots by spring time.

    Cheers