Black Canon Collective

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  • XC Ride Away – April – Cwmcarn

    Tomorrow’s ride will be a cracker, great weather and great singletrack… yum

    Here’s all the details you’ll need (thanks to Mark Amor) :

    We’ll be looking to do 2 loops on Sunday with time for us all to enjoy the free ride section once we reach the top. There is a café for food and drinks, but riders will need to bring enough while riding.
    The ride is open to members & non members, we’ll be meeting in the Frome car park near the Cheese & Grain on Sunday around 8.30am to leave for 8.45am.

    Twrch Trail – Cwmcarn

    • Overall grade red/difficult
    • Distance 15.5km
    • Time 1.5 – 2.5 hours
    • Climb 300m

    Here’s the blurb about the trail from the website:

    This is a superb trail of the very highest quality that is not for the faint hearted. Virtually the entire route is on purpose built singletrack through a mixture of broadleaf and conifer woodlands and open ridge tops.
    The riding varies from open and flowing hard pack to tight technical and rooty and is rideable in all weather. In places the trail hugs the sides of some very steep wooded side slopes, demanding concentration, whilst in others it sweeps along open ground giving you the chance to take in dramatic views of the Bristol Channel and the surrounding hills

    Bike Trail Grade

    Suitable for Proficient mountain bikers with good off-road

    riding skills. Suitable for better quality off-road mountain bikes.

    Trail & surface types

    Steeper and tougher, mostly singletrack with technical sections. Expect very variable surface types.

    Gradients & technical trail features (TTFs)

    A wide range of climbs and descents of a challenging nature will be present. Expect boardwalks, berms, large rocks, medium steps, drop-offs, cambers, water crossings.

    Suggested fitness level

    Higher level of fitness and stamina.

    Check out the club forum to arrange transport etc…

  • Weeeeeeee Boing

    Today 8 people made it out to the DH dig day

    (given that it’s Easter weekend that’s pretty good – what with so many people being away)

    Everyone worked hard through the rain and constant bullying – “I can’t see any digging!!!! Chedge stop standing there, Ben jump up and down on the mud, Josh…Josh….JOSH!!!!”

    By the end of the day we’d finished the massive berm at the bottom of ‘Battery Hill‘ (on ‘Puppets‘), dug up two monster stumps and started the long loamy raking mission to clear the bottom section of the trail.

    The lads below had become a trail digging version of the A-Team, so it seemed only fair that they get to name the feature they’d worked so hard to make. After everyone had a go riding it, giggling like kids riding a massive new berm with a kicker at the end (!) they had made their decision…..

    What I hadn’t expected was that they would choose to call it “Weeeeee Boing“, yes, as in the sound of someone riding the berm whilst saying “weeeeee”, then “boing” as they jumped off the end. And Yep. I know…. no really.

    But do you know what? It’s a great name because as far as I’m concerned they, and the others who worked hard on it last dig day, have earned the right to call it what ever they like.

    Well done Ben, Ben, Ian, Josh, Max, Robin and Sam – you’ve made a monster and then gone and called it Betty.

    (Puppets is now officially open again, although the bottom section will still need some work to finish it off)

  • MASSIVE DISCOUNT – This Weekend Only

  • Year Three Memberships + New BCC Forum

    Year Three Memberships

    Hello

    Due to a change to the way we will be operating the forum, and the fact that the change requires a lot of technical jiggery pokery we’re not in a position to accept year three memberships just yet.

    So, despite the fact that your membership cards expired about an hour ago, the club will grant an extension to the year 2 memberships until we can begin accepting year three applications.

    If you’re already a year 2 member then please continue to use the allotment and other club benefits as usual. Those who are not, don’t worry, we’ll have it sorted before you can say…”so what’s a TickerTape anyways?”

    We’re aiming to have all this in place for Tuesday the 6th April 2010 but will have to update you when we know a little more.

    Thanks for your patience

    New BCC Forum

    We’re moving to a custom BCC forum, on the BCC website, so will soon stop using the southerndownhill.com club forum.

    The move to the new forum will include a period of about a month where we have both, for handover purposes. You will be given new usernames and passwords for the BCC website and Forum when you join up for year three.

    Rob Lewis (southerndownhill.com) has been incredibly helpful and generous in providing the club with both forum space and website hosting since we started back in 2008. We’re making this move for a number of reasons, all of which will benefit the club, but (and this is important) this is not being done because we don’t want to be a part of SDH or because they don’t want to have us.

    We need to provide a forum that is more club focused, in terms of it’s functionality, ease of use, and visibility from our website. The SDH forum is in many ways better than our BCC forum, but it’s just not quite right for the current and future needs of the club.

    The new BCC forum will be part of the BCC website, it’ll also be very simple. This is something that has caused problems amongst many members who’ve struggled to find their way onto the current forum – while not actually very hard, it could be easier. This is important as people who are active on the club forum are the ones who are most active within the club. Of course this is a case of chicken and egg, but it’s clear that by making the forum easier to use, more people will use it and then more people will get involved in club activities.

    The new forum will display some threads to the public so that people can see what’s going on… other threads will be only visible to members once logged in, meaning that we can retain the private nature of the club forum too. As part of this change we will be able to provide ‘members only’ website content aswel, meaning that we can have areas for people to upload route maps, see club resources resources etc etc…

    In addition the change will enable us to conform to online Child Protection best practice more easily, something that really is very important especially as we are growing in numbers.

    So a valuable change all round…but…

    All that aside, I’d like to say a special thank you to Rob Lewis for all his help, it’s probable that we would never have even existed at all if it wasn’t for the fact that some of the original Longleat riders first met on the SDH forum, and then were able to use it when setting up the club. I hope that many of you stay active members of SDH, I know I will.

  • Holiday Dig Special

    I know, that’s ridiculous – it’s always special!

    Come along to the dig day this sat from 10:00 until we get tired (so around 17:00 ish)

    We’ll be working on Puppets and will stand a good chance of getting it all finished which will mean we can open the trail up again!!!

    So, the usual drill – you bring a rake, lunch, some elbow grease and hard graft and we’ll match that with tools, doughnuts and some elbow grease of our own. Beans.

    p.s. look what we were building this time last year…(worked out pretty well ey..?)

  • Dinner 'til Dusk

    Tired of waiting all year round for set2rise? Keen to prove that the only reason you’re at the back on night rides is because you don’t know where you are going? Wish you owned a full face so that you could get your (non)competitive fix at the allotment?

    Cross country riders – be sad no more! From Sunday the 25th of April 2010, you too will have your own non-competitive (yeah right!) event at which you can spend the afternoon at the Allotment whizzing around adapted versions of the Allotment’s trails.

    The event in question is “Dinner ’til Dusk” a three hour mini enduro where solo racers and teams lap the Allotment and surrounding area on a twenty minute circuit containing singletrack, fast descents, badger attacks and less climbing than descending*.

    The event is open to all, but as all cross country riders know, downhill riders are too chicken and too lazy to compete. Ideally the teams will either be solo riders or pairs, but if people want to take part as a bigger team please get in touch.

    The event will start at 13:00 and will finish at 16:00 giving plenty of opportunity to change into dinner jackets and ball gowns for the evening’s AGM.

    Hope to see you there.

    *not true.

  • Summer summer summer time!

    As you will have realised by now British summer time is here (wooooooooooooooooooooooo)!

    It’s amazing what a difference an hour makes, before long our night rides will become light rides, dig days and tickertapes will last longer and we’ll be able to go further on our monthly ride aways.

    Also, BMX fridays and afterwork allotment sessions will start up soon too making every day a riding day, and that can only be a good thing.

  • Ladies' Rides

    MUCH A DO ABOUT OUR RIDES

    Our ladie’s ride deserves a much-needed catch-up. Yes we are still here and still riding on Sundays. With bad weather, individual schedule arrangements, and my gimpy leg, we still managed to gather and ride. I’d like to welcome a new member Sharon Loader to our ladies group. Our numbers are beginning to grow with another two possible new members ready to ride with us very soon.

    Our most recent ride included Sharon, Caroline, Rachael, Juliet, and a rather burly looking lady (Al). We’ve kept to our regular routes as, sadly, I’m still taking it easy with old gimpy, and to help familiarize new members to our route and to the other ladies. Without a doubt, we need to stir the route up a bit. With that thought in mind, I’m running alternate routes through my head as I write. The only problem with new routes, during unfavourable weather and challenging conditions, is simply not knowing its terrain during these conditions. However, the weather is changing and so is my attitude to new rides.

    So to our local rides, and how lucky we are to ride Longleat and Shearwater. Without having too much of a heart pounding start, we usually ride Sheppards Wood and skim along its’ side to a weaving bob through Badger Woods. I call it Badger woods as there’s lots of badger holes. I think this is a definite indication to re-route around the badger commune. As my front wheel drops to meet the tarmac, I think about the ford. I don’t know why it bothers me: perhaps the many times I’ve sat in, walked in, and dove head first in it; yep that could bother one. But I have on a number of occasions successfully rode through that ford safe and dry. Perhaps I should disconnect the electrical impulses travelling around my dendrites, at this juncture of my ride, or rewire the impulses. Anyhow, all suggestions are welcome; and no a 2 x 4 will not help!

    After taking the high road over the ford, we slowly ride and talk, progressing our way up the rocky ascents. Our last ride was a muddy experience. Boggy Bay totally lived up to its name, and hopefully Sharon didn’t think we were completely mad riding this section of Shearwater. In fact, I think she handled the terrain very well. In my opinion, it’s all smooth sailing after Boggy Bay. However, here’s where I have to dig deep, the allotment. Love it, don’t mind it, but one has to bear down settle in your saddle and be patient for the coming summit. There was one day where Caroline had mudguards on her bike, but Rachael and I did not any mudguards or protective glasses. So as you can imagine, we had very muddy faces not to mention the mud we ate. The dirt has a habit of mingling its way into the crevices of my teeth, leaving a real gritty feel! I’ll post pics for better viewing. The snowdrops are out and you know what this means, a change in weather. Although the mud is still here, the biting wind and cold temps are disappearing and a more comfortable ride is gained. One difference is the absence of our night-lights. This is a bit of a welcome relief as our rides can last a little longer into to the lighter evenings, without having to worry about the lights running out.

    Due to the Easter Season, our ladie’s ride will be a little sparse, so everyone have fun, sneak a little ride in amongst the egg hunts and lets try to spruce up our next ladie’s ride.

  • The real McCoy

    We’re really pleased to announce that Madison now provide race tape for all of our TickerTape events! Most people will have seen plenty of pictures of their DH hero’s riding courses lined with Shimano tape, and if you’re anything like Ian and I the prospect of riding a Shimano tape lined TickerTape is very exciting! importantly though this tape is reusable, and provided to the club for free, saving money on the cost of the event and minimising it’s impact too!

  • Committee Roles 2010-11

    As was previously announced Sunday 25th April 2010 will be the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

    One of the activities that takes place at the AGM is the voting for the members of the committee for the next year, but for the vote to go ahead (and for the club to be successful) we need to have people who put themselves forward to take on roles within the club and dedicate time and energy towards helping the club to run and progress.

    If you think that you have the time and skills that mean you could make a contribution to the club as a committee member then then please e-mail me (ian.crook@blackcanoncollective.co.uk) setting out which role you would like to stand for, and a few paragraphs setting out why you would be suitable for the role.

    These e-mails must reach me by 10/04/10 and I will then publish all of them the day after, giving plenty of time for all the members to read, digest and consider who they will vote for at the AGM.

    Below are the committee roles that you can stand for:

    The three Trustee roles(club officers, underwrite the club to Longleat, account signatories and have vote on all club activities. Essential roles for club to function):

    Chairman – responsible for steering the club and overseeing all its activities including overall trail development.
    Club Secretary – responsible for all membership and meeting related administration for the club.
    Treasurer – responsible for keeping records of all financial transactions, setting budgets and maintaining accounts for the club.

    All Health and Safety, Insurance, and legal issues will be the responsibility of the Trustees.

    General Committee Roles:

    Website/IT – responsible for facilitating and maintaining the clubs IT & Website needs.
    DH – a focal point for DH specific trail development and activities.
    XC – a focal point for XC specific trail development and activities.
    DJ – a focal point for DJ specific trail development and activities.

    I hope to receive your “applications” soon!