Black Canon Collective

Category: The Allotment

  • "10 to 15 more lads…"

    Today was as hot as a dig day ever was,
    the midges were militant and the flies were pretty aggressive too.
    We raked and raked and raked then did a bit of digging.
    Just a bit.
    Not much.
    Well… about 10 to 15 barrows (x 5)
    We built a sweet little berm using nothing but soil (and sweat), rode it a bit then went home.
    Beans.

    The next round of the 2010 BCC TickerTape DH Series* is on BBMS and thanks to all the recent hard work we’ll be using the brand new bottom section for the first time!

    (it’s fast, off-camber and super flowy)

    * well, it makes it sound “Pro”…

  • DH Dig Day – Sat 5th June

    Its Dig Day this Saturday and there’s plenty to do!

    We’ll be aiming to continue work on the new bottom section of BBMS which will include; bench cutting the new line, building a catch berm, building up a drop and then continuing to clear the trail to the very bottom.

    Hopfully plenty can make it out, it should be great weather and would be ace to be able to open this new line by the end of the day. Oh, you might need insect repellent though but dont worry if you haven’t got any – we’ll be selling it on the day!

    See you there… (starts at 10:00am and finishes at 16:00, any help during this time is greatly appreciated)…

  • Don't forget it's Dig Day!

    Hello everyone, just a reminder that there is a dig day this Sunday (2nd May).

    The Day will be split up into 2 parts;

    1st part- we will be continuing work on puppets, to get the course ready for Mays Tickertape (judy line), mass raking section of the bottom part of puppets is encouraged.

    2nd part- TDS (Trail Development Sessions), BRING your BIKE and your IMAGINATION ! Together as a group we will discuss and test (session) different (and entirely new) line options for the bottom of BBMS that may well become a new properly defined bottom section to BBMS…

    Hope to see plenty of you there, DO BRING WATERPROOF CLOTHING as it is expected to rain. Don’t worry though as there’ll be warm drinks and doughnuts for everyone to enjoy!

    Ben. (DH Rep.)

  • Dinner 'til Dusk: The Results Show

    Sunday 25th of April 2010 saw the first of what we hope to be a regular event – Dinner ’til Dusk.

    Starting at 14:00 (after some terrible time planning from me) the various solo riders and pairs set off to see how many laps of the 15  minute course they could do in 2 and a half hours.

    After a hectic (on foot) sprint to the bikes the steady lapping began, with Simon Truelove of the Flowerpot Men back first from the first lap in the warm conditions.

    As the minutes ticked past fatigue and mechanicals starting to take their toll with Dan H losing a front brake pad and Dan I continually having to adjust his saddle.

    90 minutes into the riding the rain began to fall, with our jester (see the videos) kindly taking on board wiping and lap recording duties.

    Maths came into play with around 20 minutes to go, with calculations being made as to whether another lap could be squeezed in, with Juliet amongst those who forced another lap from tiring legs.

    As people finished a crowd grew around the timing board, cheering, rattling and clapping in the riders as they finished, with Mark taking the win with 11 solo laps and the Flowerpot Men (Simon and Ben I) finishing with the most laps for a pair (13).

    Then onto the prizes – for giving it beans! Many people were in contention – Charles and Ben L for their final descent style, Stace for battling through his mechanicals, Timmy for arranging a bike swap to improve his lap times by six minutes and Pete for altering the course marking tape to befuddle all those behind him.

    In the end however it was decided that the people who had given the most were Marjory (consistent, determined laps on her new bike) who received the KCNC bar caps, Piotr (solo riding and organising photos) who received the KCNC star fangled nut replacement “thingy” and Dan I (second place despite saddle problems) who received the KCNC Skewers. Thanks KCNC!

  • 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.

  • DH Dig Day

    This Sunday is the first Dig Day of 2010, and we’ve got a lot of catching up to do.

    The winter hasn’t been kind to the ground and has tested our drainage to it’s limits, but thanks to some great work last year the damage is minimal. This Sunday we’ll be giving all the tracks a once over, some TLC. They’re almost weather resistant, but need some tweaking here and there.

    We’ll also start building the next big feature on ‘Puppets’ a large berm-fly-off at the bottom of the ‘Battery Hill’ section.

    We’ll bring the lot sof tools, tea, coffee and cakes, you just need to bring some elbow grease (and a rake)…

    See you there (@ the Allotment, 10:00)

  • BCC Mini Enduro

    Fancy racing riding around the allotment, and surrounding area, on a mini BCC enduro pre Set 2 Rise ?

    Ian Crook came up with the idea as a kind of XC enduro TickerTape equivalent; basically it’s a low-fi, members only, mini enduro race event with apple strudel Mule Bars to give away. At this stage that’s all we’ve got, but it sounds good to me…

    Check out the suggestion box thread on the forum here: http://www.southerndownhill.com/forum/index.php/topic,164215.120.html to get involved, or make your own suggestions.

  • Inspired by Karl Kennedy…

    About a year ago when we were really struggling to find  a logo that we were happy to represent the club, and appear on the t-shirts, website, membership cards etc, I approached Miles – a friend of my sister –  who I knew was studying Graphic Design (and had done work experience with Howies) to help. Fortunately for us he agreed, and we were all saved from my logo ideas that mainly just looked like cucumbers. Below is a short (e-mail generated) interview with him.


    Name: Miles Gould

    School / Course: BA (Hons) Graphic Design at Brighton University

    Website: www.milesgould.com

    Favourite Colour: Green

    Favourite Typeface: At the moment, Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk condensed or Meta.

    Favourite Logo / Brand? My favourite logo would have to be that of Penguin books. Designed by the studio junior Edward Young (1935), and inspired by the penguins at London Zoo. The design is coherent, timeless and fun. I will always stay loyal to howies as a brand. I respect their honesty, high quality products made with care and love, good product performance, functionality and they are conscious about the world we live in.

    Favourite Advert? The adverts for Sony BRAVIA. The colours were rich, ideas fresh and looked great fun to be apart of. Particularly the Sony Cyber-shot advert entitled ‘Foam city’ which involved flooding downtown Miama into a giant bubblebath achieved using the worlds largest foam machine. The project was then documented by asking the local residents of Miami to photograph the event. Brilliant.

    When and Why did you choose to pursue Graphic Design as a career? I was massively inspired by a placement I underwent at Radio design in Bath when I was 15. Pete Whitehead who was the company Director, had a lot of energy and passion for design which was really inspiring. I suppose he opened my mind to the potential of design and the endless possibilities that come with it. Ever-since I have been obsessed with function, form and play.

    What are your career aspirations? My current aspirations are to continue learning and gaining as much experience as possible whilst at University from everyone around me and work placements. After I graduate I will look to work in the industry for a year and then complete an MA at the Royal College of Art.  After that, maybe run my own studio or work for a company who inspires me. I also want to travel as much as possible. The Northern Lights are at the top of my list at the moment.

    Who are your heroes? I have too many heroes to name, a few who are involved in the arts world include Chris Cunningham, Charlie Kaufman, Why not associates, Josef Müller-Brockmann, and of course Alan Fletcher.

    Hobbies? I skateboard not as frequently as I would like mainly due to the recent weather but it is something I really enjoy doing. My main hobby I’m most passionate about is drumming.

    What was the inspiration behind the Black Canon Collective logo? My intention with the BCC logo, was to refine and simplify whilst still capturing momentum and creating impact. The chosen font ‘Variable’ is a sans-serif typeface family that can be used in a variety of typographic environments. The font was designed by Matt Desmond in 2004 and published by MADtype. The font echos the angles of a bike frame and its curved lines convey a friendliness, which I think is essential when designing an identity.

    How do you go about developing an idea once you have one? My working process varies from various projects. With the logo I went through various stages of refining and simplifying until I get to the stage where i believed the design is describable, effective in black and white as well as in colour, scalable to fit all needs, works well in print as well as web and most importantly is memorable and appropriate. I work using both the computer and hand drawing. I always like to submerse myself in a project by doing as much research and development work (play) as possible.

  • Great weather for horse riding…

    I’ve just had an e-mail from Clare from Longhorn Western Riding, the horse riding school in Longhedge that use the neighbouring woodland.
    Because of the extreme weather they’re unable to use their normal routes, so have asked if they can pass through the allotment. I’ve said yes as Clare has been very helpful and accommodating in the past and it’s only fair that we return the favour. The allotment is relatively un-rideable (on bikes) right now anyhow so it’s unlikely to affect any of us but if you are there over the next few snowy days please say hi to the horse riders in the knowledge that they are there with our permission.
    For more information about Clare’s horse riding school please see here: http://longhornwesternriding.co.uk

  • Christmas No1

    Quick post to say a massive thanks to Dan, Juliet, Mark and Pete for their work all day (on the 25m of East 17 singletrack we completed), and everyone who came across for the last hour  to chop and move wood for marking – given the conditions it was brilliant to see 13 people out for the dig day.