Black Canon Collective

Category: Volunteering

  • 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)…

  • Trail doodles

    Yesterday we completed the lower section of puppets, raked and groomed the whole trail and then smiled as we imagined racing it in two weeks time at the next TickerTape.
    We drank tea, ate chocolates and debated the ethical robustness of GM food (I know….not what I was expecting either).
    The afternoon was spent trail doodling, sketching a new lower section for BBMS with our tyres.
    Turns out we did a pretty good job, getting the feel and flow just right, so we raked it to unearth the ground features and define the trail.
    Clearing loam (a foot deep in places) really takes it out of your arms and back, but seeing the trail evolve is infectious so we carried on raking until we couldn’t anymore.

  • 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)

  • 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..?)

  • 3 HOURS IN FIN'S WORLD

    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?


  • Glorious day

    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!

  • 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)

  • How to fix broken people

    …after mastering the french kiss we learnt lots about rolling people over, punching them in the back, sticking a foot in their crotch and the importance of ASSESSING THE SITUATION! Joking aside though, we all learnt loads and are now all very capable of dealing with most MTB first aid situations. Thanks to Alan from AS Training (and the ITC) for a great course.

  • First Aid in the Outdoors