Today we built a RAD bike track for the community at Corsley.
We worked all day to turn a small disused corner of their playing field into somewhere cool to ride a bike.
We ate bacon butties too…. and sausage rolls…..and cookies.
Here’s a photo of some of the people who helped make it happen.
More photos and a full write up to follow….
…and so it’s really important that all mountain bikers show respect to walkers, dog walkers and horse riders when out on the trails.
Unfortunately on the 29th May a horse rider had to be taken to hospital by ambulance after falling from her horse onto her face due to a mountain biker startling the horse she was riding. The incident occurred in Longleat (on a bridleway) when the mountain biker rode past the group of horse riders at high speed rather than slowing to a reasonable pace and giving way. Unfortunately the mountain biker rode off leaving the other horse riders to pick up the pieces.
This is very rare, but does emphasise how important it is that we all take care when riding our bikes in or around Longleat, because other then our Allotment the trails are shared by so many.
So please, ride responsibly.
Ok, a little dramatic, but it really is very important that you know what to look for, how to prevent getting them and also how to get one out should you be unlucky…
We’ve created a Tick page in the ‘about’ section of the website, and included details on the FAQ’s but please do take the time to read the advice below as Limes Disease is pretty horrible but is known to be carried by ticks in the area.
I was impressed, 3 hours in Fin’s world of bike maintenance and repair demystified any doubts I had of ever accomplishing technical bike repairs. Mark, Ian, and I (Juliet) arrived at Fin’s warm and toasty workshop where buttered hot-cross buns and drinks were on hand. Although most of us don’t require the vast array of toys (tools) Fin has, we did admire them. Our first impression of his workshop was of order and cleanliness.
Fin began at the beginning (!) with brake pad removal and replacement along with installing a new chain link. As we delved into the chain link repair Fin led us into the gear changing arrangement. He cleverly instructed and demonstrated how to align the rear derailleur and carefully adjust the gear cable to allow the chain to smoothly click up or down to its next cog. I hope I explained this correctly, if not, I’ll take the class again!! He explained, in detail, the actions of a brake lever to the disc brake calliper in relation to the brake’s stopping ability. For Mark, Ian, and I, this was an informative lesson, as we each seemed to have a point of interest in this area.
We then progressed to truing a wheel by adjusting its spokes. Now, if I had Fin’s ‘whatchamadufa’ (tool) which is placed in a vice where the wheel then hooks onto, allowing it to spin freely, would have me truing wheels all day; I loved this task. Ok, so it’s a bit of a no brainer, but I seemed to have a knack for it! Fin covered many other more complex and technically advanced tasks during our morning lesson. However, no matter how complicated the tasks were, Fin explained the mechanics in a direct and concise manor. You could be a complete novice and Fin would have you understanding the more complex aspects of bike mechanic in no time.
I think I can speak for the group; we could have spent all day at Fin’s workshop absorbing his wealth of bike mechanic knowledge. I highly recommend those of all experiences and skills to take the opportunity to attend one of Fin’s classes. You’ll gain hands-on knowledge from an expert (how cool is that), be surrounded by an array of impressive tools, and have a lot of fun with great people.
I just have one question, when’s the next class?
Yesterday was a glorious day, the sun was shining and our little allotment was crawling with people raking, digging, clearing and collecting.
Russell Burton spent a couple of hours teaching Neil and I how to route XC trails with clinometers and some magic numbers. We learnt loads and are really looking forward to our next lesson in a few weeks time before restarting work on E-17.
18 people made it out and collectively managed to rake and remark every DH trail, clear and rebuild some tired drainage and add some new drainage in too.
Puppets saw an awesome effort that has left it looking more tech and difficult than ever before. The old berm at the bottom of ‘battery hill’ has been completely removed and the beginnings of the new are well underway. But time ran out as did the timber supply so the trail’s been closed until the next dig day where we’ll finish it off and move on to the lower section.
Thanks to everyone for all their hard work …and for eating all the doughnuts!
Many of you will be aware that the trails at Still Woods have been closed down, this is terrible news for the local riding community but not unsurprising given it’s scale and illegitimate nature.
The good news is that the locals have teamed up to save the trails, working hard towards a lease agreement (or similar) with the land owners.
Now this is pretty much exactly what us Longleat locals went through a couple of years ago, so we’ve offered to help in what ever way we can. We’ve sent over club documents, important contact info, and any and all guidance docs we could lay our hands on, hopefully this will all help them get to where they need to be quickly.
If you want to keep up to date with what’s going on or would like to help please check out their website below:
They’ve worked hard and fast to get themselves organised as quickly as possible, launching their website and producing a great document outlining their intentions (see here: http://www.bristoltrailsgroup.com/downloads/StillProposalfinal.pdf ). It’s clear to see that these guys respect the place and deserve to be taken seriously by the land owner and authorities. As has been proven many times before – when user groups and land managers work together everybody benefits. Lets hope that the land owner realises what a dedicated and passionate group of mountain bikers they are , and gives them the chance they deserve.
Enjoy riding round in circles?
Like massive berms?
Hate braking?
Bored of gears?
Like curry?
If you’ve answered “yes” to any of the above, or just like the look of what you saw in the video then check out the forum for our BCC Velodrome outing comming up soon!
The day started fantastically, great weather and a spotless trail to mark… somehow Rob and I managed to make the 500m role of course marking tape last 450m’s meaning that we had to get creative if we were to give the illusion of a fully marked course. Seemed to work though as no-one said a thing.
The format was same as always – 1 taped course, plenty of freelap watches, a white board and some good old fashioned competition.
BBMS was riding faster than ever, and it quickly became obvious that the day was gonna see some new PB’s and potentially a new track record!
Some of the highlights were Ben Irons frantically dancing to the jingle of the Morris dancer bells he ‘d strapped to his arms as every rider rode past, James Richards riding the log drop like a man possessed and and Robert Bunce showing more stamina than anyone else ( racking up 8 timed runs).
Chris Smith managed to set a new track record: 36.13, before braining himself on a rock. Pretty selfish really as I’d just managed a 36.48 and was pretty flippin’ intent on celebrating rather than wiping blood off of his face and telling him “you look fine mate, really, it’s not that bad…” typical pro; all about him!
The day ended pretty swiftly after the sabotage crash (seriously, his last run was timed at 8:10), but it had been a great day.
James Richards won the prize for “giving it beans” after riding with real commitment, showing that he’s got the skills just needs to let them out. Closely followed by Robert Bunce who really put the effort in on the day.
The spot prize was won by Adam, the stealth rider amoung us, quietly going about his business getting his lines sorted….won’t be long before he starts posting some fast times.
Both James and Adam won a bottle of Fenwicks bike cleaner.
Check out the white board to see how people got on….
BBMS : 36.13 : Chris Smith : Big Crash : Bloody face : RUH Bath : Minter!
He should be fine; he’s proclaimed himself to be “a frickin’ hero!” so we think the adrenalin has prob kicked in nicely. He’s got his own seat in the waiting room, one they keep warm for him, so is happy as larry.
I personally think it was all a cunning attempt to sabotage an otherwise rubbish run.
We’ll keep you updated on his condition and how many vending machines we manage to empty while Chris gets his flirt on with the nurses….
Earlier today we were made aware of a not-so-common fungus that has been found on small part of our allotment. The Scarlet Elf Cup (Sarcoscypha) is a very small, cup shaped fungus with a bright red inner, it’s found on dead wood in damp areas on north facing slopes so I’ll let you regulars guess exactly where….
We have offered to cordon off this area and return the nearby area to its former state so that the delicate fungus can be enjoyed by all with out being disturbed by our activities.
We are devoted to working closely with the Longleat Estate and other forest users to ensure that conflict is avoided and the area can be enjoyed by all, so please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns about our activities or the area on which we operate .