Black Canon Collective

Category: Jump Spot

  • Every Cloud…

    Friday nights rainfall caused problems for a lot of people.

    The allotment got its fair share resulting in some pretty impressive ruts, mini lakes and silty swamps.

    But if it wasn’t for the water leaving a trail on its way down the hill we’d never have known where to dig drainage, every cloud……

    We worked all day to weather proof 143; we dug drainage, built a water bar, rebuilt ‘flip flop’ from scratch, re-routed the very bottom section and gave everything else a good rake and shape.

    We all stopped for lunch, ate sausages and drank tea. 

    By the end of the day it looked like new, better even, it was just begging to be ridden.

    Chris, Jack and co worked hard to make the most of the soft conditions and dug all day at the jump spot. It’s gonna be ace by spring time.

    Sunday saw some new faces, some old and some who looked like they should have drunk less the night before.

    We rode all day, crashed a bit but made the most of our new old trail.

    I must admit to wanting it to rain, in the same way that you do when you have a new coat, I wanted to test out our newly weather proof trail. 

    It didn’t though, it stayed dry and fast and we kept on going until we couldn’t see where the hell we were going.

    This is what the weekend is for.

    P.S. Kudos to Rob for doing the mini step!

  • Magic

    Last weekend’s dig and ride days were a great success…

    We got loads done thanks to a really good turnout and some ace sausages (thank you Mark)! 

    By mid day on Sat we’d significantly improved the drainage on both BBMS and Spoons then raked and remarked both.

    The afternoon was spent renovating 143; an old favourite with lots of flow, some nice undulating corners and floaty jumps.

    The jump spot was also the subject of some hard graft thanks to Chris, Garry, Jack and the other usual suspects. 

    Over the course of the weekend we met 10 new people, 1 even helped dig all day Sat despite having hoped to ride (thanks Adam!) and has since joined along with two of the others.

    It’s great to see that we’re still growing despite the time of year.

    To see so many people getting stuck in is also fantastic, it’s what we need if we’re going to succeed.

    Sunday was spent riding the trails, unsurprisingly 143 saw the most action leading to a relaxed day of sessioning and the freelap staying in my bag.

    There’s something magical about riding homegrown trails with friends, and what a large group of friends this is becoming….

  • Great Weekend…

    Thanks to everyone for all their hard work, I’m really pleased that everyone enjoyed themselves so much – makes it all worthwhile. 

    Both days had a great relaxed atmosphere with banter and conversation being just as cool as actually riding. Spoons and BBMS are like new – each riding fast and maturing nicely. Rudolph got the go ahead and will be a great addition, with work already under way on its build, and the jump spot is progressing fantastically. 

    Wills riding effort was v impressive, as was his eagerness to do his fair share.
    Bens commitment to ‘pinning it’ was a cut above, as always, his shear passion for the BCC, and good sportsmanship.
    Staceys effort whilst carrying his son on his back and Darrens with his injured shoulder.
    Garry with his kind generosity (gotta love sausages!) and tree hugging screams.
    Tom for always taking pics that capture the day.
    Chris for sorting out our freelap.
    All the dirt jumpers for creating a monster.
    Neil, Rob and Ian for their high standards and always giving their all – raking till their forearms are ready to pop.
    And of course everyone else for getting involved.

    Our new timing system was fantastic, allowed everyone to set personal goals and wind eachother up. Expect some club races in the near future…

    Ben and Will were chosen as the joint winners of the prize draw due to their unrivaled passion and commitment. Ben won the coin toss but gave Will the tyres feeling that he deserved them more, a very kind gesture that captured the mood of the weekend; everyone pulling in the same direction, egging eachother on and giving their all.

    Great weather, great people and great sausages!

    Bring on the next club weekend…

  • Diggity

    It’s that time again…

    As you are all aware this months dig day is Saturday 11th and we have quite a bit to do!

    The day will start at 09:00 at the ‘Allotment’ and will run until 16:00 ish (as it’ll be getting dark and some will want to tart themselves up for the NWD9 premier in Bath).

    The agenda is as follows:

    1. Registration
    2. Safety Talk
    3. Walk and roll through the proposed ‘Rudolph’ line (vote on it’s creation)

    Then we’ll all spilt up into groups to work on the following:

    • Tidy existing tracks (raking, course marking etc)
    • Erect the last two signs
    • Collect all fallen wood and cut into usable lengths then pile near the Jump spot
    • More digging at the Jump spot
    • And depending on the outcome of the ‘Rudolph’ vote we’ll have a team working its creation.

    Please bring your own tools, though remember – no power tools (Fin!). Park sensibly as per the club rules and try to car share wherever possible. Importantly you’ll need to bring your own food and drink as the club won’t be providing either this time. Sorry.

    We look forward to meeting the new members and really hope you can all make it. If you aren’t a member yet then please also come along we’ll be pleased to meet you and show you what we’re doing.

    Cheers!

  • Birth of the jump spot…

    The jump spot meeting was a great success with Chris Smith taking on the role of dig leader for the whole jump spot development.

    Chris, Jack and Sam (Mondraker and recent MBUK fame) started working on the spot today; beginning the first of many jumps – a large table top.

    As a result of the jump spot we will be receiving at least 4 new member applications (all of whom will be heavily involved in the development of the jump spot) not to mention the many more that we anticipate as the site develops.

    All were very positive about what we are doing and agreed to operate within the rules and ethos that bind us all.

    Chris will be taking photos of the work so that we can regularly publish progress on the website, and Neil will be publishing minutes from the meeting in the next couple of days so you’ll be able to get the full story.

    We’re really picking up momentum now…..

  • Dirty jumps

    Big things are gonna be happening at the allotment over the next couple of weeks and months…

    We’ve just approved the build of a dirt jump spot (map shown below) to include both big and small and to cater for all. We chose the spot a few weeks ago because the ground is soft enough to dig, on a slight slope and shielded by the surrounded bushes and trees. Poifect.

    But best of all we’ve got local Pro Chris Smith (of MBUK fame) to run the show! Yep Chris (BCC member) will be in charge of both the design and build of the jump spot ensuring that we end up with an awesome spot to call our own.  We’ll be posting progress here on the site so you can stay informed but if you wanna join in then please get in touch; all you need to do is join up and you can take part in this and any of our other projects.