Black Canon Collective

Month: November 2010

  • 5ive take on Cannock

    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)!

  • Peak Trip

    Every now and then we try and do a bit of a special club road trip, where we get away for an overnighter and make the most of a weekend. Some months back we’d hit the Peak and had a great time, so with winter approaching and knowing just how much fun the Peak isn’t in winter, we thought we’d head back before the winter months set in. We’d also heard good things of Rowan Sorrell’s work near Bacup at Lee and Cragg quarries, so a plan was hatched. A day at Lee/Cragg and a day in the Peak.

    We went to Leigh Quarry and rode over to Cragg Quarry too. It was raining but hey. Colin from White Nancies and Colin from Luton joined us. Steep climb to quarry. Slabs. Wet. Helicopter signs. Gravel, cloud, pushing. Cragg blast. Colin’s freehub. BMX track return. Playing in quarry. Colin on pump track. Singletrack back to cars.

    We stayed at a nice B&B and had a curry. Birds old stomping ground. Nice pub, proper beer. Alex from Nancies. Curry, ace curry. More beer. Police on walk back.

    We went for a ride in The Peak, from Hope. We had cake. Early start, frosty, sunshine, that road down alongside broken road. Roman Road, Hope Cross, Hagg Farm, Al bike broke. Ladybower, cafe stop. Climb, views, chats, friends. Mud. Sun. Wooping. Cafe and bike shop. Drive home.

  • As far as the eye can see…

    Stacey, Chris and I couldn’t make the XC Ride Away this month because of other commitments, but we managed to squeeze in a quick blast around Rowberrow at the crack of dawn instead.
    The air was still, the mud was wet and we had a great time.

  • Following a dog while he chases a monkey…

    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…

  • FromeFM – MTB special

    listen into this months FromeFM ‘Sport Pie’ with Dave Watkins for a MTB special staring World Champion DH rider Petra Wiltshire, our very own MBUK cover boy Chris Smith, Richard Evans owner of local bike shop Live2ride and ….well…me (representing the BCC)!

    Click on the image to listen to the whole show (MTB starts at 15 mins)

  • November 2010 Committee Meeting Minutes

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    The minutes above are for today’s committee meeting, soon we will have a page of meeting notes for all the previous (and future meetings).

    Have a read!

  • mmmmm doughnuts

    Thanks to everyone who made it to the Dig Day today, collectively we managed to rake every inch of every trail exposing every root and letting the air get to the ground so that it can dry a little in the wind.
    Oh, and we ate some of doughnuts, jam doughnuts that were baked this morning.

  • Frome Fling


    What’s a Ceilidh? well first of all you don’t say it like that, it’s “Kay-Lay”…there, that’s it.

    Right, well it’s like barn-dancing, just better.  It brings everyone together (any age) to have brilliant fun and best of all there are no dancing skill required – just enthusiasm! I’ve managed to get The Little Biggar Band to play / call which is really exciting – they’re amazing musicians from my home-town in Scotland, so it’s a great chance to enjoy authentic, traditional Scottish ceilidh music at its best, complete with jigs and the reels. Oh, and there’s even delicious hot supper included in the ticket-price to provide you with all the energy you could need [only if tickets have been purchased before 12:00 noon, 24/11/2010].

    The evening has been organised as an excuse for a party but also to raise some money for the club so that we can get closer to building those lovely single-track trails we all dream of at our allotment in Longleat.

    Aside from dancing, wearing tartan and drinking Iron-Bru we’ll  also be holding a raffle in aid of Re-cycle;  a charity which collects secondhand bicycles and ships them to Africa. Their partners distribute bikes and teach riders the skills to repair and maintain them as affordable transport. The bikes also help health/AIDS workers reach remote villages and even provide an ambulance service in remote Namibia – it’s a wonderful cause.

    The venue capacity is between 300-400 and tickets have been selling fast so buy yours now to avoid disappointment and guarantee a plate of supper (just click on the image to be taken to the shop). Oh and the event is open to everyone, so bring your nan!

  • Saturday 6th November: Dig Day

    It’s that time of year again, the leaves are falling and the trails look like they’re being swallowed whole by the forest floor. To keep them open and visible it’s really important that we put in the time to clear the leaves and unblock the drainage – activities that will form the basis of every dig day throughout the winter.

    We’ve also got the looming darkness working against us so we’ll keep the winter dig days short and sharp. 10:00 – 15:00.

    Remember these activities mean that we can continue to enjoy riding at The Allotment through the winter, once they are done we can start on new features, such as the very top of Puppets.

    Hope to see you there, remember warm clothes, food and drink.

  • Slippery polished rocks + bruises = Chase Trails

    Yesterday Mark, Pete and I went to test / risk assess / enjoy the trails of Cannock Chase – Follow the Dog and Monkey – ahead of the ride away trip there on November 14th (see the forum for more details).

    The two laps we completed had it all – climbing, sweating, smiling; rear wheel drift, front wheel drift, no grip at all; small rocks, big rocks, boulders; eating sandwiches, sipping coffee, tolerating energy bars; crashing, cursing, laughter, bruising (in that order); parts discussions, broken pedals, dragging brakes; sweeping singletrack, elevated wood rides, rock chutes; finally stretching, hydrating and gossiping.

    Hope to see you there in a fortnight.