Northern Mountain Biking Blog

Morzinre Day 4

2011-08-03T14:55:00.002Z

Morzinre Day 4, a set on Flickr.

Les Gets again with added Mud!

Day 4 Garmin Route

Morzine Day 3

2011-08-03T14:54:00.002Z

Morzine Day 3, a set on Flickr.

Switzerland and back

Day 3 Garmin Route

Morzine Day 2

2011-08-03T14:05:00.002Z

Morzine Day 2, a set on Flickr.

Photos and Videos from Day two at Chatel Bike Park

Day Two Garmin Route

Morzine Day 1

2011-08-03T14:00:00.002Z

Morzine Day 1, a set on Flickr.

Photo's from day 1

Day 1 Garmin Route

April - Mostly riding Thrunton

2011-05-16T10:57:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Right April

Thrunton 6x
We did some exploring on the Northside and found a few more routes. I also used the SS2 a couple of times (needs more ride time before Morzine).
Garmin 070411 on the SS2
Garmin 190411 Photos
Garmin 220411 Big Loop Photo's
090411 Photos
240411 Photos
Ollie riding the Drop!

Hamsterley Full Monty
Garmin Photos Gotta be the best loop at Hamsterley

Glentress Red
Garmin Photos
Fist time for Michael & Si and they bloody love'd it

Another Great Rock Skills Day
Garmin Photos Video

This time it was the Alpine prep day. Jonathan (on the course) bought Rowan Sorrell Alpine 160 on ebay! Rowan used it on the Urge Cabo Verde and what a stunning bike that is.

Cheers
Jamie

March

2011-05-16T10:25:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Sorry for the lack of updates things got a bit busy for a while!

I'm missing a few rides from March! I dropped my garmin and broke it!!

Great Rock Skills Day with Ollie at Gisburn
Garmin Photos Ed's Blog

Thrunton Night Ride X2

Garmin

Kielder Red & Black
I hadn't ridden this for a while and I bloody love'd it :-)
Garmin Video of Anthony in the Jump Park

Hamsterley Black
Garmin
Check out these I discovered when taking photo's!!

Thrunton on the SS2!
Me and Carl had a look at the new lines and building work

Cheers
Jamie

I've created a New 7 Stanes Fan Page on Facebook

2011-03-15T12:23:00.000Z

That was February, bring on the spring

2011-03-03T10:14:00.001Z

Hello Dudes

Well I'm finally getting some fitness back, now I just need to lose all the weight I put on during the crash. Also I really really need to cut down on my drinking.

So here's what I managed

Thrunton 3x
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/66276483
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/66491686
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/70148738

Forest of Ae
Its hard graft but very very rewarding at the end :)

Simonside
I hadn't ridden here since the Harwood Hop in the early 90's!

Hamsterley
Its quality with all those hidden sections

Leeds
Hard work in the snow!

So two more rides than January, so hopefully I can push on into March.
Cheers
Jamie

New Toy For Morzine

2011-02-16T13:52:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

I've booked another trip to Morzine this summer and this is my new DH bike for the trip :)

Competitive Cyclist were blowing out all Intense bikes (said they're too gravity orientated), so I managed to get an amazing deal on the frame.

SS2 photo Album

Cheers
Jamie

That was January

2011-01-31T13:30:00.005Z

Hello Dudes

I've been trying to get my fitness back and its taking a bit longer than I was hoping :( This is mainly due to the horrendous amount of weight i put on.

I've managed to do the following rides this month

Glentress Red + Zoom or Bust

Zoom or Bust was quality

Thrunton Night Ride

I was surprised how techy Thrunton was! It's going to take a few ride to build up my confidence.

Hamsterley Black

My legs blew up after two miles, this was hard going :(

Hexhamshire Night Ride

T'was a cold cold night, bloody good fun despite the snow & ice

Hamsterley Black
Snow snow and Snow

Kirroughtree Red
So so good to be back on a bike :)

Cheers

Jamie

I'm Back

2011-01-06T16:55:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

In November I fell off riding down the slab at Dalbeattie and luckily I only managed to break my little finger!

Watch the crash here!

Next time I'll be rolling into the slab!

I had the cast\splint removed just before Christmas and my first ride back was Kirroughtree Red :)

Photos

Jamie

Turner 5 Spot

2010-11-04T09:06:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Well the new 2011 5Spot is on its way across the Atlantic!!

I often wonder what the DW 5 Spot is capable of and these photos show, I will never get near its boundaries!!

Jamie

Thrunton Night Ride 29/10/10

2010-10-29T09:25:00.001Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Carl & Andy rode Thrunton last night and it wasn't that cold! It was v muddy and wet!!

We did the following:

Super G
Burham Woods
Jakes Place on to Golden Shower
Traverse of the Dogs
Burham Woods (RH side)
HP
Block House
Das Boot

Garmin

New Kit

RockShock Reverb
The seat post is quality; prefer it to the gravity droppers. The action is plusher, I like been able to select any height, it is slow on the retur but apparently this is fixed with a bleed.

6 Pack Light
This light has blown me away, its fookin awesome :)

Sram 2x10 X0
Lovely crisp and a v fast shift. The xx cassette is a work of art! Not sure how long it'll last in the winter shite!! I did manage the climb up to Jake's seat in middle ring, it nearly killed me!! it's amazing how much difference two teeth make. Looking at getting some 2x10 cranks :)

Endura Windchill
First ride last night, cant believe the quality for the price. Wind proof, water proof and breathable for £65 from ebay :)

Jamie

Hamsterley 24/10/10 - Morzine Crew + Ed & Giles

2010-10-29T08:58:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Myself, Mike, Keith, Adrian, Martin, Ed & Giles headed to Hamsterley to ride the black route + Section and the new section Transmission.

This time I managed to find a shorter route to Transmission!

The two sections after Transmission that are quality, so so fast :)

Photo's

Garmin

Jamie

04/05/10 - Hamsterley Black + the new Transmission

2010-10-14T16:39:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Si and Michael had a cracking day out riding Hamsterley black and the new section Transmission.

I reckon Transmission is a bit more fun than Section 13, I love those hip jumps.

This was Si's and Michael first taste of a trail centre and check out their smiles at the bottom of Transmission.

Garmin Info

Photo's

Jamie

05/10/10 - New circuit at Thrunton

2010-10-14T16:34:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Rode this route with Carl at Thrunton and its pretty bloody good.

Burn backwards (which is hard work), up Breitling Boulevard (otherwise know as 20 minute climb), Traverse of the Dogs, Burham Rocks, Hp Sauce, Block House, Das Boot (which is going to be cracking) and finished with Coe Burn Link

Jamie

Thrunton Night Ride with Si and Carl - 090910

2010-09-10T07:37:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Myself, Si and Carl rode Thrunton last night.

I was doing OK up to the Cairn, feeling good and blasting through the mud! but after the Cairn, I just dropped off the pace?

I only had a helmet light which wasn't the best on its own (Si had forgotten his lights, so I lent him my bar mount) and I've been drinking too much recently coupled with the lack of sleep due to the kids, it just hit me like a brick wall.

Anyway, I still had a cracking ride; we rode up to the cairn, then Bruham Rocks (which is easily the best run at night), HP, Block Hoose and finished with Eye of the Needle.

Route

Jamie

The 7 Stanes Family Holiday!

2010-09-07T08:50:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Well just spent a week in Kippford with the family, the weather was amazing :)

I managed the following in between family time at the beach

Dalbeattie red with Ollie
Solo rides at Kirroughtree Red & Black
Dalbeattie Blue to Kippford with Marie

Photo's

Jamie

7 Stanes Here I Come

2010-08-25T13:52:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

I'm off to Kippford for a week on friday, get in.

If you're in the area and fancy riding Dalbeattie, Kirroughtree or Mabie, give me a shout.

Jamie

Thrunton 19/08/10 – First Night Ride of 2010

2010-08-19T23:00:00.001Z

Hello Dudes

OMG I’d forgotten how much fun night riding is. Tonight was action packed; crashes, bent mech hangers, snapped spokes, broken helmets and midges galore!!

The sections through the woods what an incredible adrenaline rush :)

Looking forward to next week already!!

Garmin Info

Photos

Jamie

Morzine - 24/07 to 29/07

2010-08-16T10:20:00.000Z

Garmin Day 1 & 3

Garmin Day 4

Photos

Video of Pres De La Joux - Blues & Rock + Northshore

Hamsterley Black - 100710

2010-07-12T09:19:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Ed and Dave rode Hamsterley black last Saturday morning.

I had an awful cold, thankfully Ed wasn't getting any sleep (new baby) and Dave was hungover, so we were evenly matched :)

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Hamsterley is now absolutely bloody brilliant, the hidden bits + Section 13 (which is QUALITY) make this a cracking ride.

Garmin info

Photo's

Jamie

Thrunton STW Chaps - 060710

2010-07-12T09:11:00.001Z

Hello Dudes

ME, David (Quirrel) and Dave (Stumpi) rode Thrunton.

After this thread on STW, I showed David & Dave the delights of Thrunton.

Dave went back the next evening and did the same loop again 2x and this happened to Dave's Specialized Stumpjumper fsr pro carbon!

Garmin Link

Jamie

Thrunton with the Wylam Chaps - 040710

2010-07-12T08:56:00.001Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Mike, Keith, Gav, Paul (all from Wylam), Carl, Ed & Adrian rode Thrunton.

I showed the chaps this monster loop, it takes in the best riding at Thrunton :)

Garmin Info

Cheers

Jamie

Thrunton Night ride with Muddy Bums Crewe – 01/07/10

2010-07-05T10:43:00.001Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Carl, Si, & 3 chaps from Muddy Bums forum rode Thrunton Woods.

We did the loop up to the Cairn, Traverse, Burnham & Monkey Trousers.

Garmin

Jamie

Thrunton Rocks -18/06/10

2010-06-30T12:48:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Ollie, Phil & Ed rode Thrunton on Friday afternoon. I was thinking, we must all be doing something right, to be all out riding at 2:30pm :)

This was the best ride I've had a Thrunton!! Led all of the way round and my bike was running so sweet with the new forks and CCDB.

We did the Cairn loop, Traverse, Burnham (after here Ollie & Phil Left), Skelton, Cresta, and then we headed past HP and rode two new trails.

On one we found this slab and there's a nice rock drop after it :) and on the other there's a lovely big drop off and some sweet sweet singletrack.

Garmin

Jamie

Thrunton (bloody hard work) - 27/06/10

2010-06-28T12:27:00.001Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Ollie, Phil & Carl rode Thrunton Woods on Sunday morning. Ollie had a princess party and needed to back early, so we met at 08:00!

I found the ride extremely hard going compared to last weekend! It was sooooo hot, it just zapped my energy and I had nowt in my legs. Also I was on holiday in the Peak District last week, so all that eating & drinking took its toll!!

We bumped into two chaps, one riding an Orange 5 with a sweet retro paint job (in the style of the original clockwork orange); they hadn’t ridden in Thrunton before. So we showed them round a few sections (V1\V2, zigzag, Cresta & Monkey Trousers) the chap had a video camera, see here.

I crashed three times on the ride; you can see one at 7mins 47secs in the YouTube video. I didn’t lower my seat and had too much forward weight (steep downhill).

Garmin Info

Anyway, I still bloody loved it despite the crashes and hard work needed; I'll be back Thursday night for some more.

Jamie

Thrunton 15/06/10 – Killer Loop 2

2010-06-17T08:47:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Myself & Carl rode Thrunton on Tuesday night. We headed up to the cairn and over the back, then down Traverse (I managed to ride Death Drop again), Eiger, along the burn, up the road and then Carl showed me V1 & V2 trails.

V1 & V2 is interesting and had some features, but not as technical, as the trail down from the crag.

We did 11miles with 1900ft of climbing

My second ride on the CCDB and its unbelievably good, the rear grip is phenomenal.

Jamie

Solo Ride – New Thrunton Killer Loop

2010-06-14T08:55:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

I popped up to Thrunton on Sunday; I’d been suffering from a chest infection, which seems to be sorted with a good dose of Amoxicillin. Everyone else was either recovering from the Northern Rock Cyclone, ill or away.

So I did a bit of exploring and found a new (to me) trail along the by the burn, the trail is sublime and seems to go on forever :)

So my new killer loop is; Ride up to the Cairn, ride off the back, then Traverse of the Dogs, Eiger Sanction, along the singletrack by Coe Burn, up the Road and on to Coe Crag, Descend from Coe Crag, up Breitling Boulevard (carry on past Traverse), down Cresta (could do Burnham Woods instead) and then you can finish with any of these HP Sauce, Camel Toe or Block House.

Touch wood, I seem to have cracked the leg cramps :) although they’re pretty stiff this morning

Also this was the first ride on the CCDB shock and its quality. It seems to have endless travel and the rear end stuck like super glue on the climbs. Also I lowered the pressure on the forks; the small bump sensitivity is miles miles better over the tree roots

I’m heading back tomorrow night for some more :)

Jamie

Hamsterley Black - 06/06/2010

2010-06-07T09:10:00.000Z

Hello Chaps

Me, Ollie & Nigel headed out early Sunday morning and rode the Black route at Hamsterley.

Not much to report; rode the drop\slab on the cheeky trail & nailed the final drop twice :)

I've been suffering from cramp for years; somebody recommended taking potassium tablets. So been taking them and doing loads more stretching, seems to be working so far.

Second ride on the new forks, all good so far and the bike is running sweet as.

Garmin Route\Stats

Jamie

Hamsterley Black - 04/06/10

2010-06-05T09:50:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Me and Ed rode the Hamsterley Black route; First time out with the forks, the bike is running sweet as and I finally nailed that drop, so cuffed to bits

Jamie

New Forks!

2010-06-04T08:53:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Swapped my trusty 08 Fox 36's for the new 2011 version, looking forward to bedding these bad boys in.

Jamie

Glentress 01/06/10

2010-06-04T08:50:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Me and Ollie rode Glentress Red and got piss wet through!

I hadn't ridden Glentress for a while and I'd forgotten how good it is. There was a massive diversion at the end, but I got to ride Pie Run and magic mushroom, which you normally miss.

Also all that Thrunton riding in the wet came in very handy, as there was shit loads of roots on those two sections!!

We rode spooky woods twice :) This was the first time I'd ridden GT since my 121 with Greatrock and I was having a blast from start to finish.

I attacked the first drop and it just got better from there, clearing doubles & tabletops, even tail whips, so so much fun.

Jamie

Hamsterley 30/05/10

2010-06-04T08:35:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Dave, Pixie, Jay and Sid rode Hamsterley Black route. I was meant to be riding with Ollie, but his wife was ill, so tagged all with the motley crew!

It was Pixie’s first outing on his new Turner 5 Spot (custom colour, pushed shock & push rockers) it was very bling bling. It was also Pixie’s first full susser and he was loving it.

Also the motley crew knew ALL the hidden bits at Hamsterley; there were about 4 sections that I hadn’t ridden before :)

Section 13 is quality, rode that twice; also there was a couple of drops that i missed, so I’m heading back ASAP to take them on (hopefully this afternoon with Ed).

Video of Jay & pixie riding the last drop

It was a grand day out & I'm currently loving Hamsterley, reckon its better than Kielder

Jamie

Thrunton Woods Night Ride – 26/05/10

2010-05-27T09:47:00.001Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Si and Andy rode Thrunton Woods last night; we nearly called it off because it had been raining all day. But I'm glad we didn't, because I had a cracking ride, I just love it up there.

It was very slippery on the sections through the woods, which made it fun!

I've picked up a Garmin Edge 305 from eBay, it miles miles better than the Etrex I had before.You can now up load your route to Garmin Connect, which is very flash.

Photos

Cheers
Jamie

Thrunton STW Night Ride

2010-05-19T10:32:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Somebody posted on Singletrackworld about a trip to Newcastle and asked if anybody would be biking. Anyway he couldn't make it in time, but a few others said they'd be up for a ride.

Jack (P20) & Carl (Carbon337) did turn up, although Jack left his helmet at home and didn't ride! So me and Carl rode up to the Cairn, then Traverse of the dogs, HP Sauce & Cheeky trail back to the Car.

Carl even rode the Death Drop

T'was a lovely evening and it was good to get out on the Bike

Photos

Jamie

Mike's Polished 951

2010-05-07T20:19:00.000Z

Bling Bling

Coe Crag

2010-04-28T10:09:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Me and Ed rode the new Coe Crag loop last Saturday. The descent down is quality, the rocks are huuuuuuuuge and the lower section through the trees is one of the best at Thrunton.

I'm still on the Highline, the 5 spot RP23 is getting repaired, serviced & push'd.

Photo's

Jamie

Back to Normal Service

2010-04-21T10:48:00.001Z

Hello Dudes

Went up to Thrunton last Saturday with Ed, had a blast for a couple of hours, managed to clear the eiger sanction :)

Then last night me & Si rode Thrunton Woods; we did the XC loop up to Coe Crag and then a 1050ft descent, then Traverse of the dogs and finished with the Eiger Sanction.

The descent from Coe Crag was quality, easily the best in Thrunton Woods. It’s steep, rocky, fast and then you hit the trees and there are drops & jumps.

More Photos

Jamie

Its a Hard Life!

2010-04-08T18:02:00.000Z

Watching the hummingbird's & reading Dirt :)

Thrunton Guiding - 5 Spot Owners

2010-03-29T10:07:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Last Wednesday afternoon I showed Dave round Thrunton & on Sunday I took Ollie on a guided tour. Dave hadn’t ridden there before and Ollie hadn't seen the sections through the trees.

I think both of them were suitably impressed, I had a blast :)

I finally nailed the little wooden bridge (with the drop either side) at the start of Traverse Of The Dogs. Now, I just need to own the Death Drop and I’ll be happy. Although I have found a bigger jump on Cresta Run, but reckon that’s defo Highline territory.

Flickr Stream

Jamie

Thrunton Woods – 08/03/2010

2010-03-08T09:37:00.007Z

Hello Dudes

Me & Ed rode Thrunton Woods on Sunday; I wasn't expecting all the snow! so we didn’t go right to the top; it would have been too muddy, so we stuck to the trees and had a cracking day out.

The DW 5 Spot is 13 months old, so it needed some TLC. I fitted an Enduro needle bearing for the shock, re-greased all the pivots\shafts, changed the cables & upgraded the front mech\shifter to Sram XX.

The bike was running so sweet, it just gave me soooooooooo much confidence, I was pushing quite hard on the downhill’s and having shit loads of fun. I’ve also fitted a Super Tacky Maxxis Minion DHF front tire, its quality on the roots & the Sram XX front mech & shifter is lightening fast :)

I absolutely love Thrunton Woods, the sections down through the trees are superb, there’s still plenty of challenging bits to master.

More Photo's on my Flickr

Jamie

Gisburn - 20/03/2010

2010-03-08T09:02:00.010Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Stephen & Rich meet at Gisburn and headed out on the red route, we’d picked the right day, the weather was cracking.

Gisburn red route isn’t bad, it’s better than Dalby, but it’s no 7 Stane. Currently it’s looking very sorry for its self, the winters taken its toll, some of the top sections are extremely muddy.

There are some great sections at Gisburn that flow really well, unfortunately the massive bermed section was closed for resurfacing :(

We stopped halfway, so Stephen could see the Downhill bits. He took on a couple of jumps and owned them.

All in all, a grand day out.

More Photos

Jamie

Rothbury Carriageway Night Ride

2010-03-04T12:43:00.004Z

Hello Dudes

This week we changed from the normal weekly Thrunton Night ride; Simonside Rider from the Retrobike forum took me & Si on a guided tour of the Rothbury carriageway (see the photo).

The route started with a huuuuuuuuge lung & leg busting climb out of Rothbury (Rothbury’s at the bottom of a valley!), not really sure where the route went, but there was plenty of snow\ice to keep you on your toes!!

Eventually we came to the Carriageway; the lights of Rothbury looked a long way down to our right.

We suddenly turned right and headed downhill!! What a QUALITY descent, there was rocks, drops, roots & mud and it was canny steep.

Jamie

Long Time No Blog

2009-12-02T17:34:00.004Z

Hello Dudes

Well I’ve been riding Thrunton Woods shit loads since July; we started riding every Tuesday night, although that has now slowed, due to the miserable weather up North.

Thrunton Woods is Quality; we’ve been doing a XC loop up to the cairn and then playing in the wooded sections. These are tight, twisty, rooted, slopped, drops, rocks, north shore and they’re sooooooooooo much fun, I can’t get an enough of it.

Other News
Done a 121 course with Great Rock (I’ll blog about that after a bit more riding, but its was class)
Booked for Morzine next year, woo hoo.
Changed several parts on the DW 5 Spot (which is a truly awesome bike), I’ll post another blog of the changes (wide bars rule)

Here are some photos\video of Thrunton

Jamie

Kielder 14/07/09 – Bad day in the office.

2009-07-16T10:19:00.004Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Mike and Paul headed to Kielder on Tuesday night.

I’d been warned about the midges; but bloody hell they were bad, within 2 minutes of getting out the car I was been eaten alive! So we hastily set off around the red. Next time I’m bringing the Avon so soft skin.

I’d been up in the night with Eva and it’s amazing how much it affects your concentration. I was struggling to stay with Mike and Paul on the climbs, I was breathing very heavily and in the end I was glad to get round in one piece. You do have your off days, but I was gutted coz i was really looking forward to it.

Paul used to race downhill professionally back in the day (Me, Mike & Paul are all from Wylam) and he’s started riding again, so it was great to watch him on the downhills (well he disappeared pretty quickly!). At the end of the ride Mike & Paul had a play on the Northshore & freeride bit, Paul did a lovely tail whip with crossed handlebars!! Obviously not a patch on Mr Haige’s skills.

On the way home it was great to hear Paul’s banter about racing BITD and especially the Kamikaze downhill at Mammoth!

Jamie

Thrunton Woods 07/070/9 - We're it all started.

2009-07-13T10:38:00.005Z

Hello Dudes

The last time I rode Thrunton Woods was in 1989 with my dad and his mate Pete. Me and my dad had just bought matching Specialized Rockhoppers, Pete lived near Rothbury and knew some good riding\terrain. All I can remember from the day was fast descents down to gates and my dad saying he needed gloves.

So last Tuesday the good Dr S from the retrobike forum, offered to give me a guided tour.

Si’s Ride Report

“Thrunton Night Ride mini report Then there were three. Dr Drew, shattered from his epic drive back from France decided to opt for some sleep and god knows what happened to Sithlord- we waited dude! So the three Thruntoneers, myself Toons and AlpWilli scowled at a grey sky that was threatening to piss everywhere, set off up the climb into Thrunton. The hill was soon rattled off with the usual banter with red deer scattering back into the treeline (WTF do they go??). We took the XC loop up toward the Dragonfly Pond. Even though it had rained heavily the trails were mainly dry but with big puddles- some deeper than others. Onward toward The Cairn and a brief stop to take in the view and a fag and then at last downward. Great section with multiple line choices and some nasty ruts and holes to keep you on your toes.

I then had the only fall of the day on that hi-speed section with the ruts that claimed Kaiser last time round. I remembered to land on my good wrist and rolled gently through the heather. AlpWilli got a phonecall at this point to say his house had been broken into, so we headed back toward the forest up that infamous steep rock climb. To add to our misery the heavens opened with that fine rain that really soaks you through. After a good ten minutes of pushing we made it to the top and the rain stopped. Now back in the forest, with Alp peeling off toward the car park we saught out Thrunton's hidden jewels.

Tiny gaps with tyre tracks heading into the treeline is all you have to work on, but once in a whole new underworld snakes off into the darkness. I must add at this point that this was Toon's first time. Even though it was still light on the outside world, the interior was as black as night. I'd forgotten to tell him he would need lights so he had to stay close and I would call the bends, drops, stumps and roots that litter these hidden gems. Traverse, Cresta and the likes were despatched at a slightly reduced pace. They really are the best trails I have ever riden on- manacing, technical, steep, flowing, slippy and rooty. You only see about 10 feet in front of you and it keeps you on your toes as you adjust your line or use a handful of rear brake to slide around a hairpin. We had several runs back up the hill to take on the next section, diving in to find junctions with other options down the hill side. At this point I noticed I had been riding with my fork locked out.

As darkness began to swallow the outer world we headed back toward the carpark via the legendary HP sauce (the top part still being closed for thinning). I had a tweek on my forks- really getting the hang of them now and they were superb on the final section, and for the first time in my life I 'got the point' of suss.

HP rocks! Its a little wider, open and flowing than the stuff further up the hill and you can really have a go at it. Too soon we emerged onto the fireroad at the bottom and I scouted out for the HP extention that P20 showed me last time out. In the darkening gloom I spotted the entrance and in we went. This part is dark on a sunny saturday afternoon as MacRetro will tell you, last night it was evil. How Jamie got down without killing himself was amazing. The guys have done some work on this section, doing more cutting back and they have filled the two little drainage ditches that caught out many halfway in- it now flows and even allows a little air here and there. And that was it. All that was left was the traditional top gear blast down the steep fireroad and the last of the late brakers game before the stout wooden gate- wow, discs are great! We got back to the cars to find we had just 15 minutes until last orders, bikes were slung in, no time for a change, flat out to the nearest pub (which closed its doors when we pulled up ) so on to the next one for a well earned pint. Cheers for coming guys, hope things were OK willi??

A grand night out!

S”

There’s some amazing riding up there, can’t wait to go back and next time I'm taking the lights!

Jamie

Local DH Track - 02/07/09

2009-07-06T11:53:00.002Z

Hello Dudes

Well I finally managed to Ride Mike\Keith’s Local Downhill track and it’s pretty good.

This was the second outing for the Highline; the trail was more in keeping with the frame\build. I did one run to check things out; it was obvious I couldn’t just role everything!! This is probably a good thing, because it made me take on the jumps.

I sectioned the top half (couldn’t be arsed riding up and down, it was too hot!), the trail was a bit damp and muddy which kind of put me off a bit, but I was very happy with the stuff I rode. I’m still getting used to the Highline, also reckon it’s time to get that skills book out, i was dropping the front end off the jumps.

Mike was trying out an Intense 951 to see if he could use it for general riding, but it was clear that it’s a DH rig and a bloody fast one at that!!

If you look at the photo, in the distance you can see a log that goes from left to right, that was the top of the drop!!

Jamie

Dalbeattie – 28/06/09

2009-07-06T10:35:00.009Z

Hello dudes

Me and Mark where staying at Kippford for a long weekend and we managed to secure another pass out to ride the red at Dalbeattie.

Tim had just taken delivery of his New Uzzi and was itching to get out riding. Tim travelled up in the morning to meet us, he was so keen, that he turned up 1hour 40mins early!!

Mark had a terrible night with the kids and was suffering bit time. He had two nasty crashes; the first one was over the bars and he smashed his LH shifter (finally got to use my zip ties!). Second was on the section down past the slab, right in front of us. I think after the first crash, his poploc had somehow been switched on, so when he hit a rock the bike stopped dead and Mark went flying over the bars. He landed on his leg, which instantly ballooned and now (just seen a photo on facebook) the lower half of his leg is black!! Very nasty, Get well soon Mark.

I rode the terrible twins again and was buzzing :) Just need to try the North Shore stuff now!!

Ride Photo’s\Videos

Jamie

Kirroughtree - 27/06/09

2009-07-06T10:04:00.004Z

Hello Dudes

Mark and I were staying at Kippford for a long weekend and we managed to get a pass out to ride the Red & Black at Kirroughtree.

This is by far the best trail centre I’ve ever ridden; it was nearly two years since we last rode here and it didn’t disappoint. They’ve added a few more sections = more singletrack :) and it’s just soooooooooooooooooooooo good.

It’s very demanding trail, needing a 100% concentration, I was physically & mentally exhausted by the end of it.

Problems\Issues: Mark got a pinch flat early on and we got eaten alive by midges!! I as dancing around whilst mark had clouds of the little feckers hovering above him.

Ride Photo’s

Jamie

Forest of Ae – 07/06/09

2009-07-06T09:22:00.005Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Mark and Mike rode the red at Ae.

There’s a love\hate relationship with the red route at Ae, but I absolutely love it!! There's been quite a few changes since last time; a new North Shore section (which made my eyes go funny!) and it was a lot rockier than I remembered.

Also it looks loads different with them cutting all the trees down.

Ride Photo’s

Jamie

Kielder - 31/05/09

2009-07-06T09:10:00.004Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Paul (other Brother in-law), Mike, Mikes Mate, Steve and Johnny rode the Lonesome Pine trail at Kielder.

This was Paul’s first ride at a trail centre and he screamed like a girl on the descents!! We had a few problems at the start, like trying to climb the hills in the middle ring! Also he had a few scary moments on the downhills, but survived without a scratch and on the way home, he said "I can see way you find it so addictive"

The weather was excellent and the views from the top were amazing.

Also it was the first ride on the Highline, total overkill for this trail, but Paul was using my 5 Spot. The highline pedals really really well for a freeride\dh rig, its completely different kettle of fish compared to the 5 spot! It’s defo going to take a bit of getting used to.

Ride Pic’s

Highline Pic’s

Jamie

Kielder 03/05/09 – Lonesome Pine Trail

2009-05-19T15:52:00.012Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Mark, Rich, Mike, Frazer, Alan, another Mike, and Geoff headed to Kielder to test out the new red route (8 riders! So people do read those emails I send out!!)

It was absolutely pissing it down; start was delayed while we waited for the chap at the Bike Place to open! Once Geoff picked up the hire bike and we set off along the Lakeside way before turning off onto the red.

It’s basically one big climb until the top and there’s a horrible middle section of boring firetrack! It’d be nice, if this could be replaced with singletrack. The 1.5km of boards at the top was interesting in the rain!

We stopped and had a look at the Skyspace, very interesting!

“During the changing light conditions at dusk and dawn, the lighting system becomes active and visitors can expect to experience a rich and unforgettable display of tone and colour.”

I thought the downhill was good, yes it doesn’t have berms, but I reckon that makes it more fun.

Trying to maintain speed by staying off the

brakes is changeling and there’s shed loads of turns to carve.

Overall it’s not as technical as Deadwater, it feels little rushed and there's an obvious lack of features, which is disappointing.

Jamie

Terrible Twins on a Hard Tail

2009-05-10T22:35:00.004Z

Sorry for the delay and Hats\Helmets off to Steve, he attempted it twice!!

First attempt

Second!!

Jamie

Dalbeattie 26/04/09 – Quality Ride

2009-04-28T09:01:00.005Z

Hello Dudes

Jamie, Mark, Rich, Ed, Nick and Steve headed up to Dalbeattie to tackle the red route.

Rich recently upgraded his forks to some Marzocchi MX Pro’s 120mm, bit more travel than the stock forks on his Hardrock, also he’d fitted some new tires. I think the new gear went straight to his head! He was like a man possessed. At the top of the first climb he rode the mini slab, then the slab qualifier and full on slab!! Way to go Rich, hats off to you Sir.

I really really really enjoyed this ride, the new 5 Spot is an amazing bike, and it just gets better and better and better. I’d fitted some new tires; ditched the Larsen TT on the rear and went back to a Nobby Nic 2.25 (f&R), again running them tubeless. The Bike felt great, climbed really well and descended like a train! I managed to clean the one climb that had plagued me at Dalbeattie and I finally rode the terrible twins, woo hoo.

I borrowed a helmet can from a mate, but it didn’t work out. All the weight was on one side of the helmet (only place I could fit it), this caused my helmet to move around too much, so I sacked it off. Plus it made me ride like a lunatic! I filmed the section coming down from Moyle hill, probably the fasted I’ve ever rode that section!!

Somehow we managed to get round without any mechanicals, plus I think everyone had a fantastic day out and it was topped off with Marks chicken tikka stotties.

Sorry the blog has been neglected recently, we've recently had a second child!

There’s some photo’s from recent rides on my flickr. We’ve done a few trips up to Kielder; Drew’s been out on a bike again! Couple of rides at Dalbeattie, and not to be missed Steve riding the terrible twins (I’ll upload those tonight)!!!

Jamie

Dalbeattie 31/01/09 - Grand Day Owt

2009-02-12T08:26:00.013Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Mark, Mike and Ed headed up to Dalbeattie to tackle the red route, this was Mike and Ed's first outing at Dalbeattie. Also Ed first ride on his new Orange 5!

Photos here

Also I shot shed loads of videos

Mike making the terrible twins look easy

Mike Jumping Off Log On (see photo right)

Ed Log On

Ed Log off

Mark on the Slab

Mike on the Slab

Mike Half Slab

Ed coming down Moyle Hill

Jamie

Kielder 24/01/09 - 3 Turners

2009-02-11T13:21:00.003Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Mark, Mike, Ed and Dean headed up to Kielder to tackle the Red\Black (minus the snow).

This was last outing for Ed's 5 Spot, as his Orange 5 was on way.

Sorry only managed one photo (sorry at the quality) before the battery died, I think Marks got a couple of videos of Mike on the Black Route.

Jamie

Kielder 10/01/09 - Snow Snow and Snow

2009-02-11T13:07:00.003Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Mark, Mike, Ed, Den and Rich headed up to Kielder to tackle the red and black.

Driving up to Kielder there was no sign of snow but as soon as we turned into the car park, there was a shed loads! This made it hard going and it was bloody freezing on the exposed black.

Also coming down the black was interesting, you couldn't see the rocks, I wasn't carry enough speed through one section and went over the handle bars!!

Despite the conditions I thoroughly enjoyed the snow

Photos here

Jamie

Hamsterley 03/01/09 – Facebook is the winner

2009-01-07T11:24:00.010Z

Hello Dudes

Well the first ride of 2009 is done; I’m sooooo out of shape after the excesses of xmas and new year! The first climb was an absolute bloody killer.

I’d missed the chance to ride Kielder on the Friday with Mark and Frazer (due to a bad back). I got a late call from some old riding buddies I’d tracked down via Facebook, I hadn’t seen Mike and Keith for at least 15years+

I met them at Hamsterley to ride the black and skills loop. It was great to catch up, they still fit bastards, also still trying push each other off it to ditches etc. It was great to see them still jumping of everything in sight and trying to ride owt that looked like a possible trail!

BTW there's some new stuff at Hamsterley, see the video of the wall ride, which the black route desperately needed.

Despite the lack of fitness, I loved every minute, also here’s my New Year resolutions: Get fitter, Ride the drop on Kielder black , Jump more

Jamie

Dalbeattie Minus 5

2008-12-03T17:37:00.010Z

Hello Dudes

Well it’s was great to back on a bike after 15 weeks off, although it was a bit cold, -3.5 in the car park. Watching mark pumping up his tires was very funny, sorry Mark.

We rode the red route; it felt like somebody made the hills slightly steeper than normal! We didn’t try any of the black features due to the ice and freezing fog, which was nice.

More Photos Here

Here’s a video of Mark riding down the second half of Jacobs Ladder

Morzine Long Weekend 16/08/08

2008-12-03T16:56:00.003Z

More to Follow - Waiting for photos

Laggan Wolftrax let's be 'avin you........

2008-09-10T18:27:00.003Z

No photos. No video. Nothing but old school text from richievan.

Rode Wolftrax about 3 weeks ago - been meaning to blog about it since. Was up there on holiday - it'd be a long long way to go just for the track. But if you are up in that neck of the woods definitely check this out.

I got there in the morning and decided I would start with the red. Basically the deal is you do the vast majority of the climbing right at the start to the highest point. Half firetrack - half single track.

The track then brings you what feels like 3/4 of the way down - you just come down for ages. And it's fast. You know me I get nervous when I'm not regularly squeezing the brakes but for you dudes who like to let the bikes go you'll be grinning from ear to ear. Throw in some really nice jumps - ie you don't have to clear something - you get a nice run up - just go at it and see how it goes - it's a blast. After that descent you climb back up to about half way again and then it's just another big descent right back to the carpark. The last bit has some monster berms and inviting jumps, there's a stack of variety on the way down - it's just made to get you smiling.

It's a bit like Glentress - that's a fairly up and down type deal and that always gets me smiling.

Had lunch in the caf on site - cool laid back - shows MB dvd's !!!!

Decision time at lunchtime. The black or the red ? All the literature was saying full sus body armour needed for the black, no chicken runs. Factored in that I was on my own so though wanting to have a look I opted for the red again. Most of all just thought I might end up wheeling my bike loads on the black - and that red was just too tempting. The red is about 15k - takes about an hour and a half but it's a real buzz. Finished off by doing the orange skills run which is the part with the big berms again.

All in all I reckon I rode about 38k and it was great. Chatted to a couple of lads up there and they reckon there's a course near Inverness meant to be better - I picked up a leaflet.

Pity it's so far otherwise def worth a posse trip up there.

Also rode a couple of 'slippers and pipe' routes round some lochs and really enjoyed that as well.

Nuff respect to the wolftrax. Now, about that black route........

r.

Damo's Dalby

2008-08-30T21:52:00.013Z

Me and Jamie headed down to Dalby Forest to meet Damien and his three friends Leonie, Steve and Ruth. I've only completed this trail once and that was when I was doing allot of riding and felt canny fit. At the mo I'm carrying a few extra pounds and so so so unfit!

We started at Dixon's Hollow and quickly got into the flow. It was Jamie's third ride on his new rig and he set a fairly quick pace. I was behind him and noticed that his confidence was high by the amount of air he was getting.

It was a beautiful sunny day and after about an hour of riding the heat was starting to slow us up. It was good that it was sunny as it meant the trail was dry and easier to ride (if you can call 23miles of total pain easy).

The last five or six sections before we dropped down to the visitors center for lunch was really good. There were some fast jumpy sections which I enjoyed loads. I was in the zone at this stage doing my best riding of the day. The last section had a good steep drop onto a swooping sketchy bank which Jamie made look easy.

Then it was Damien's turn; he built up his courage to go off the top as you can see below;

Then he decided to brake on the steep slope hit a rock and went over the bars. Luckily he was okay minus the cuts, bruises, rips in his clothing and the fact he was shaking like a thunderbird.

We limped to the visitor center for a much needed rest and bite to eat before heading off on our trek back to the car. Leonie, Ruth and injured Damo decided to take the blue/green route back to the car whilst we completed the rest of the red. It was only about 7miles but it was tuff going and both Jamie and I were finding it a little bit of a struggle. This part of the trail isn't a good way to finish cos it's all bloody uphill (most of it).

I'd changed the pressures in my pikes to 150-150 and beefed the rear shock to 210 which I found good for this trail. It's not good for getting good compression but good to roll over the loose rocky sections.

A few more photos on flickr

It was a good fun day and made better by the weather
Mark

Dalbeattie 09/08/08 – Soaked through to the skin

2008-08-18T11:29:00.002Z

Hello Dudes

Myself & Mark headed up to Dalbeattie on Saturday and we got soaked!! We arrived at the car park, nobody else was there (surprise surprise), it was absolutely chucking it down, I did think about leaving! Anyway, we got kitted up in-side the car and headed out.

Sorry there’s no photo’s, I’d left the bloody camera battery at home!

Dalbeattie seems to be the testing ground for new bikes; I rode my 5 spot for the first time and the same for Mark and his heckler. Saturday was the grand outing for my new Turner RFX and it didn’t disappoint.

After the first climb up, it was on to Moyle Magic section (just after the new heart stane); you climb up through the tress and then it starts to drop, at this point I switched off the pro-pedal and let rip. With 6.4” of rear travel and the chunky Fox 36 forks, the RFX just floats over the rocks. I was tanking down the last section (probably the fastest I ever been on a bike), Mark was waiting at the bottom and he started edging away as I approached! This got the adrenalin flowing!!

We didn’t take-on the qualifier or the slab due to the heavy rain. Normally I’d have to pick a line, on the section past the slab, but with the RFX I could pretty much take any line I wanted and it was like this the whole way round. This bike is an absolute blast to ride.

After the first ride, I would say the RFX climbs better than the 5 spot; it just seems to have an extra bite when needed. Also the Fox 36 forks are unbelievable, if I could get the 36 Float in 140/150mm, they’d be going straight on the Spot as well.

Due to the amount of rain the ride wasn’t without incidents; Mark had a couple of spills; as I rode round one corner, I could see him disappearing down the embankment! Luckily it was into the ferns.

Also I’m gutted I forgot the battery, as Mark completed the extremely long skinnie near the end.

Overall I was blown away by the new bike, everything still needs time to bed-in, plus I still need to find the sweet spot on the RP23.

Jamie

Back yard runnings.......

2008-08-12T20:02:00.003Z

Hello all,

Couldn't make it work with the Dalbeattie guys on saturday so headed out for a local run on Sunday.

Got an old book (1996) by a guy called Derek Purdie - old school - you'd laugh if you saw the cover now anyway he'd earmarked a route over Hexamshire common - was pretty keen to give it a go.

Started off from Whitley Chapel - lonn stretch over the common to Sinderhope. And I hated it !!!!!! Bleak, on and off pedalling, just hard to get into your stride with some sections just too wet / awkward to ride - basically fun factor zero I was out of sorts by the time I got to Sinderhope.

Cut a corner off the route - looked for alternative ways back via the road but nothing straightforward so with a heavy heart I set off on the return leg. Steep unrideable climb (by me) to start with - rich you need to get back on the 7stanes was all I could think.

And then. On the top was a grouse track - great views and for the next hour I just had a ball. Mixture of tracks and single track - but 95% rideable - and finished with a big long tarmac descent into Whitley.

A real ride of 2 halves - so back to the map to look at different ways out but can't wait to do the return leg again. Need to check if it really was that good or whether I was just so fun starved by then anything would have rocked.

Up in Scotland next week hoping to get a couple of cheeky trips out - trying to keep in shape for the coast to coast.

Happy pedalling.

rich

Newcastleton 01/0808 – Lovely Summer!!

2008-08-04T10:19:00.008Z

Hello Dudes

Me & Mark finished early on Friday and headed up to Newcastleton. I was hoping to check out the new blue but it wasn’t completed yet!! Anyway we headed round the Red and had a play on the Northshore & Skills Loop.

It was glorious sun shine all the way to Newcastleton, but just as we headed off, it pissed it down for 5 minutes.

We completed the first section of Red and then stopped off at the Northshore. Mark did the drop down into the wooden berm and then down over the gorge! There’s chicken wire on the Northshore but it’s still very slippery when wet.

We re-joined the red and headed up to the new Stane and blasted round to the finish.

There were some new red skinnies on the skills loop, which are great for honing your skills. Checkout the Video of Mark.

I hadn’t ridden Newcastleton for a while, but it’s still a blast to ride, hopefully we’ll be back soon when that Blue opens.

Also this was the last ride on the trusty old 5 spot (until its reincarnated), as the new stead is been built as I type.

Jamie

Dalbeattie 26/07/08 – The stuff dreams are made of

2008-07-28T09:06:00.004Z

Hello Dudes

Me and Mark headed up to Dalbeattie to tackle the red route; both of us had colds and lacking any form or fitness, despite this, It was sooooooooo good to be back on a bike, my whole body might be aching this morning, but it was worth ever mile\km!

When my front wheel hit the first board, I got slightly nervous but soon sorted myself out. I was a bit rusty and had a few dabs here & there on sections I’ve cleared a dozen times, but that didn’t matter today.

The first Climb up to the Heart Stone was hard going, especially after two months off. After catching our breath and checking out the Dalbeattie Stane, I took on the mini slab. I figured, I needed to jump in at the deep end and this defo got the adrenaline flowing, plus it gave me a bit of confidence.

After that we headed towards the slab qualifier; the singletrack was amazing and I was loving every second of it.

We got to the slab qualifier, I bottled first go, but manage to sum up the mental strength for the second attempt. I’d only be thinking\dreaming about this for two months!! so I couldn’t let it beat me. Then I took on the Slab; I didn’t really think about it and just went over the edge, I was going a bit too fast and at the bottom the saddle knacked my inner thigh. This was only the second time I’d done the slab!

After the qualifier & the slab, the adrenaline was really pumping, I was cuffed to bits.

After that we headed towards the terrible twins (I didn’t try this, the middle bit looks so nasty), up through spooky woods II and down Jacob’s ladder which is was great fun. I flipped off the pro-pedal, let go of the brakes and went for it, I completely shit my pants, but it quality.

Then slow making our way to Rock Don’t roll, The Instigator (the bit like Kirroughtree) and Volunteer Ridge, Mark did the Log on and the eye of the Needle and made them look v easy.

I had an excellent day out and it was great to back out riding

Trail: 25km 65% singletrack.

Gear: I was wearing the new 661 Evo pads which are very comfy, although I’m still not convinced on the protection!
Also I’d bought a new bag called the Wingnut Hyper 3.0, it’s miles more comfy than the camelback and I’d highly recommend one.

Bikes: 5 Spot and Heckler

More Photos

Demo Day – Mojo, Hemlock, Pace 405 & 506

2008-05-01T14:15:00.003Z

Hemlock (short travel version)

This bike was a blast to ride; it climbed well and just wanted to go faster on the downhills. The ride was almost identical to my 5 spot. I’d love to try the longer travel version, with 160mm fork. I did get chain suck once.

Mojo

I was really looking forward to this bike, even considered buying a Mojo SL. But this bike was bloody awful, totally uninspiring. I’ve not ridden a DW link bike before, but I just didn’t get on with it. It was boring and it doesn’t really engage you with the trail.
The cockpit quite short and the chain suck was soooooooo bad; it was almost unrideable on the uphill bits.

Whilst riding the Pace; I got chatting to another rider who was on the Mojo and he had the same opinion. So it wasn’t just me!

I can only assume the demo bike was a complete turkey. The only good thing was; you could get more air, because it was very light.

Pace 405

I was surprised how good this bike was; it was defo more XC than the hemlock and my 5 spot. It climbed the hills better than both, but obviously not as much fun on the downhills.
I clipped the pedals a couple of times on tree roots. Also no chain suck, which was nice.

Pace 506

6” inches of travel front and back, with DT Swiss shocks on both. This bike was a blast on the downhills; the fork was very plush and soaked up everything. It climbed ok, but nowhere near, as good as the 405. Again no chain suck.

I don’t think 30 minutes was long enough to test each of them, but at least I got a taste and normally you’d have pay £40-£50 for the privilege.

Both Stiff and Cotic blamed the conditions on the chain suck; but the Pace bikes didn’t suffer from it, the conditions where typical of the British weather!

Also I got a few freebies; nice poster, May edition of MBUK magazine, Pink & Blue buff and from Pace; DOT 4 Brake fluid, key ring and a pin badge.

I had a grand day out, despite falling off the boards and possible breaking my ribs!!

Sorry no photo’s it was way too muddy.

Jamie

Hamsterley Demo Day = Enduro SL

2008-03-31T10:12:00.004Z

Hello Dudes

Myself and Rich went down to Hamsterley to the Singletrack demo day; I’d picked the Specialized Enduro SL Pro Carbon.

The Enduro is a 4 grand bike; so I’m probably been over critical and very picky.

The rear suspension was awful on the tree root sections and for me let the whole bike down; with the 5spot, it’s a lot smoother and more rideable. With the Enduro it was like a pogo stick, just bouncing all over the place and was almost unable rideable.

Also the Enduro must have a lower BB than mine; I was hitting the pedals on the tree roots, both on the flat and downhill sections.

The bike did seem sharper on the up hills, than the 5 spot. There was a lever on the forks to adjust the stack height for climbing. Also the stock Enduro bike is about 27.5lbs, which is 1.3lbs lighter than my bike; this might be why it felt sharper.

Components

It was very interesting to ride another bike; I definitely noticed a different with the brakes, tyres\tubes and wheels.

Brakes

I was tanking it down one of the downhill sections and I started to apply the brakes. I started thinking, I’m not slowing down here!! The Formula Ones are an amazing brake and have loads more power than the Avid Juicy 7’s.

Wheels

I noticed a massive difference compared to my I9’s; I noticed loads more rolling resistance with the tubes. I probably did too many changes to the 5 Spot, when I installed the tubeless setup. Also the specialized tyres weren’t much cop in the mud (mind it was extremely muddy) and didn't inspire much confidence.

I noticed a big difference in the engagement of the rear hub\freewheel. When I was dragging the pedals back to get over the tree roots and rocks, it felt like the chain was slipping. I started looking down at the freewheel and it wasn’t. They just didn’t engage as quickly as the i9’s.

Overall it was nice bike but I won’t be swapping the 5 spot.

Also I’m now going to ride my bike, as if it was a demo bike!

Jamie

Easter Weekend Glentress Red\Black\Blue – 24/03/08

2008-03-26T15:26:00.011Z

Hello Dudes

Our final day; the snow had arrived, not that much of it, but enough to make it interesting. It certainly made the firetrack more interesting; I especially enjoyed seeing how far I could get the back end to drift out!!

We had a look at the skills loop and Freeride before heading out; the skills loop wasn't that bad and quite fun. How come skinnies are sooooo much easier 1ft of the ground!!

The Freeride trail was a bit sketchy in the snow! we did the first few table tops and then headed back to the top, Mark had a go on one of the skinnies.

After this we headed up to Spooky woods. Coming down Spooky Woods was certainly interesting and bordering on insane. After this we dropped on to a Blue section called Betty Blue. In the dry this section would've been quality, its downhill singletrack with some really nice berms, you could really get some speed up.

After this we dropped on to the black and headed for Ewok Village. Mark was on a mission and did shed loads of the Northshore in the snow!!

After the fun and games we headed down The Double X; I had a go on a couple of drops and Mark had another go on another skinny!!

This time we skipped the wormhole and headed along the firetrack to magic mushroom and then on to the final section Falla Brae.

On the last section I got taken out!! Two ladies had stopped on one of the switchbacks. As I cut inside; one of the ladies lost her footing and fell on top of me. I tried to bail but she’d keep hanging on and started dragging me down!!

I had an quality Easter break and can’t wait to go back.

More photos here

Jamie

Easter Weekend Edinburgh Zoo - 23/03/08

2008-03-26T15:06:00.013Z

Hello Dudes

We had a day off biking and the whole family went to Edinburgh Zoo for the Day.

Highlights of the day were feeding the parrots and watching the penguin parade.

Easter Weekend Glentress Black – 22/03/08

2008-03-26T13:05:00.007Z

Hello Dudes

Day two and we headed out to tackle the black; surprisingly it was loads dryer than the previous day and the much talked about snow hadn’t landed yet. So the Gore shorts would have to wait for a soaking!

Again we parked in Red squirrel car park (the least busy one); this time the start was open and it’s pretty good, certainly more interesting than the firetrack and sheds loads easier for the kiddies and me!

Glentress black is the first man made trail I did and I’d forgotten how bloody good it is. The start is tremendous; rocky singletrack with drop-offs, technical downhill and a few tricky climbs, all to keep you on your toes.

This time the climb up to Britney spears seemed to go on forever, not in a bad way, just seemed very long way. We stopped at the shelter for a mars bar, which had frozen in the back pack! After that, it was the blast down Britney spears, which was quality.

We climbed up past the radio mast to the Boundary trail and this is where the real funs begins. I reckon the downhill is better than Spooky Woods; it’s all singletrack and it’s got more variety; switchbacks, drop-offs, jumps, berms, rocky downhill and it just goes on and on. By the end both me and Mark could feel it, in our hands\arms.

We skipped Deliverance and the very unforgiving redemption climb; my legs wouldn’t have been able to take it. I started t get a bit of cramp on the firetrack just before Deliverance; luckily it didn’t get any worse, but I’d lost all power from my legs.

We stopped at the Ewok village and had a bit play on the North Shore, which was fun.

We skipped the Black Double X section and head back down the Red. After riding The Matrix yesterday, I rode the two alternative short of short cuts between the switch backs; the first is tight singletrack and the second has a nice drop off.

Again we took The Wormhole but this time, instead of going up the firetrack, we missed the start of Magic mushroom and joined the red\black route home.

Due to the new Blue start\end, the last run back to the car (Falla Brae) has been re-graded to red.

Loads more photos

Jamie

Easter Weekend Glentress Red – 21/03/08

2008-03-26T12:22:00.006Z

Hello Dudes

Myself, Marie, Alfie, Mark (Bro in Law), Beth (sister), Lilly plus my Mum and Dad headed up to Glentress\Innerleithen for the Easter break. We travelled up on the Thursday night; this was our second visit to The Bike Lodge and I can highly recommend it (I must sort weekend with the lads).

Me and Mark headed out on the Friday morning to tackle the red; the start was closed due to trail building. They're creating a new blue climb up to buzzards nest car park. Apparently the hire shop has been getting complaints about the long climb at the start of the blue (If you haven’t done the climb, it's quite tough for the kids). After the long climb up, we were both raring to go; we hadn’t ridden the red since last may.

There’s some quality singletrack at the start to get you in the mood before the climb to Spooky woods, this time we seemed to reach the top quite quickly, I suppose last time I did break a spoke, which halted proceedings.

Once we’d reached the top; it began to Hail as we started our descent. We stopped after the first few berms and waited for a break in the weather. We’d both forgotten our glasses, which was a BIG mistake, as it was pretty wet!!

After Spooky woods we headed down Super G, (which was in much better condition than last time) then down Hit-Squad Hill, there's a short climbed on the fire road before blasting down The Matrix. There’s one black section called the Wormhole, just before the Red & Black join for the return route. It’s always worth doing this bit; otherwise you’re just riding on Firetrack.

After that, it was a blast back to the Car, we were both soaked through to the skin. I didn’t enjoy the soaking and so I popped to the LBS.

I picked up some Gore Alp-X shorts (the LBS had a till problem and I managed to get them £20 cheaper than list, which is a bonus, coz they seemed very spenny).

More Photos here

Jamie

Grounded.....

2008-03-25T20:56:00.002Z

The cuts are nearly healed but who knows when my pride will recover. I got at least half a yard along the skinny then it went pear shaped. In a complete heap when along cruised a gleaming Santa Cruz with Mark doing a Fraser on me. Damn.

How to ride skinnies Part 1

1. Ride like Drew / Fraser / Mark

2. Don't ride like Rich

Apart from that I had a good cardigan 20 miler across Hexhamshire Common. Had to walk the bike in parts but scenery snow exploration and some comedy new born lambs had me smiling when it wasn't hailing. There's a great little stretch which I've found I've named it the 'chute of death' - like a gully with tree roots and drop offs it's challenging - whenever you're ready chaps.......I got a good route worked out for us if ever you get that cardigan type vibe...

Next Sunday it's me and the Giant full susser. Lookin forward to that.

Peace.

R

Kielder 16/03/08 – Den’s first outing on his new Rig

2008-03-17T15:14:00.011Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Den, Rich and Mark did the Kielder Red\Black Combo on Sunday. We arrived at the car park to find Den checking out, Malcolm “the rat” Renton personalised Iron Horse bike and what a beast it was. Bomber forks with a huuuuuuuge amount of travel and 1x9 gears!!

This was Den’s first outing on his new Commencal 5.5.2 Meta and what a nice rig it is. It’s a lot lighter than I was expecting and you should’ve seen how clean it was (Sorry I forgot to take a photo).

We headed out on the Red; the fallen trees from the previous week had been removed. The wooden berm on Dougie’s day off was now open; I headed down the berm and made the fatal mistake of braking!! After that it got very sketchy and I just managed to avoid a trip over the bars.

We cut off the red and on to the black, again it was blowing a gale up on the top. As we headed down the black, we all stopped to check out the big drop, which looked very interesting. Mark did the gap jump twice and got some nice air. Rich even tried a no hander!!!

After finishing off the black, we headed back up the firetrack to pick up the red. As we approached the North shore section, rich had conquered the mind games and took the skinny short cut.

As he got on to the skinny, he braked slightly, this caused the back end to skid out and he went over the bars. As rich was lying in a heap, Mark breezed past and gave a cheer at the end (first time he completed it).

After the excitement we head back down the red to the car park.

I had a grand day out and can't wait for Next weekend in Scotland.

More Photos and Route Map

Jamie

Formula 1.............

2008-02-25T21:47:00.002Z

So there we were heading up to the highest most exposed part of the ride when me chain snapped. Seriously those boys I was riding with they were like a well drilled F1 team. Mark did the diagnosis and quickly fished out some of those handy chain links, whilst Fraser was me right hand man holding various bits of chain. Job done in no time. Only I hadn't checked to make sure the chain was correctly located and it wasn't. And clicking those links in is one thing but getting 'em apart again is tricky. And it was feckin' windy. And cold. step up the Ferg - with a few silky caresses of those hands the links were apart and the job was a good un' - Marie you're a lucky lucky woman.

Really really enjoyed this ride - with the black section it feels meaty enough now. Nearly fell out with the lads though - Ferg doing his usual too fast stuff down the hills, Mark does the gap jump with this strong it ain't no thing type look and then Fraser - Fraser who is new to me and relatively new to the game - rolls along the wooden north shore stuff and then takes the narrow option half way along with a - and this really hurt - with an air of nonchalance coasts to the end.

Seriously you need to be riding regularly to keep up with these dudes. The Ferg had sarneys for us all at the end - great stuff. Crap weather but that's all part of it. Cheers to Mark for the lift - I really enjoyed the morning out.

Peace.

R

Kielder 23/02/08 – More miles = Better

2008-02-25T11:07:00.007Z

Hello Dudes

Myself, Mark, Frazer and Rich did the Red\Black combo on Saturday and it was canny wild!

What a difference a week makes you go from this to this, incredible.

All was going well until we switched to the black; I noticed my front tire had lost some air, maybe after the last downhill section? Also Rich’s chain snapped; so we swapped the link out. I finally got to use my Topeak mighty morphing pump and it’s pretty good.

Once we got to the top of the black, the wind was so strong, you could do a track stand just by leaning into it!! Also a few times I was blown off the trail. Once you’ve cleared the moor and hit the downhill, you’re in the trees.

The downhill is quality and just gets better and better, I cleared the gap jump this week, just that drop to do!!

Dudes if you think the drop at Kielder is big, see this one at Stainburn!!

I had an amazing ride; last week’s ride paid dividends this week. I was ok on the hills and wearing the pads just give you that extra confidence to attack the trail. Also my legs didn’t cramp, so the fitness must be improving.

Well this is the first ride since November that I haven’t had trouble breathing. It only took me 3 months to get over that cold and guess what, I’ve now got another.

Also I’d got some half Skins, so I didn’t look like a complete tool and I’m totally standing by this product, they really do work.

More photos and Rich on Devils Elbow.

Jamie

Kielder 16/02/08 – The pain

2008-02-20T11:25:00.010Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Mark and Frazer tackled the Red &Black route last weekend. We started off on the red then switched to the black, which was quality. The black downhill is just bit more edgey than the red and there’s couple of sections, I’ve still not done; the gap jump (next weekend!) and the big jump\drop.

I really enojoyed the ride depsite the pain on the up hill. I especially enjoyed chasing down Mark on the downhill bits. This is only my second ride of 2008, which is disgraceful.

We’d recently been away with friends at Newton Hall. Both Dan & Ben are running the London marathon; after a few beers we got chatting about bikes etc. Both of them use Skins for running\road biking, as well wearing them during recovery time. As it was my birthday, I bought some and to my surprise they worked!!

The red\black is probably the longest route we’ve done at Kielder; normally after the black you just pick up a firetrack back to the car park.

I’d read on the KTR forums that you could ride back-up to the last section of red downhill. The climb up was a bit of a killer!! and I started to get cramp. Normally after the initial twinges; it builds until I get full-on cramp and I can’t move.

With the skins it seemed to build and then just stop. The only downside of the skins is you look like a complete **** (I’ve ordered the shortie version).

Bike Setup

Brakes; Formula the one brakes are awesome and by far the best brakes I’ve ever used. If you’re thinking about changing these are a must.

Wheels; New i9 freewheel\internals is currently on its way, so fingers crossed that fixes the intermitted click. Tubeless setup; to be honset I can't tell the difference!

Push Pikes; only the second ride on them, but I’ve had sooooooo long off the bike, I probably couldn’t tell the difference they've made. At this moment in time, I probably wouldn’t get the mod, unless they were being serviced.

More photo's and a couple of video's of Mark & Frazer trying to get up Devils Elbow.

Can’t wait until this Saturday.
Jamie

Ae 27/01/08 – First ride for 2008

2008-01-28T20:10:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Me, mark and Frazer headed up to Ae; it was pissing it down all the way there, as we drove into the car park, it stops. Even the sun started shining through later on! The car park was empty at 10am, which was a surprise, so we had the whole trail to ourselves!!

Myself and Mark hadn’t been to Ae since May 07 and this was Fraser’s first time. It was great to back on the bike after 8 weeks off.

We climbed up to granny green luv were the fun begins; I’d remembered the table tops and 3 drop off’s but completely blanked the huge berms on the lower section! That made things interesting; they’re very rocky\muddy in the bottom , so you need to go high. I was slightly hesitant on the first berm and had to keep reminding myself ‘speed is your friend’.

After that we climbed up 'The Face', this normally brings you out on to firetrack before ‘Bran Burn Bash’, but the new section was open linking the two. The new section was rocky and didn’t have that many features; small double and couple of berms, but certainly more interesting than firetrack. I started to get into the grove and absolutely loved ‘Bran Burn Bush’; I was off the brakes and everything was flowing, I wasn’t going crazy and trying to jump everything, just enjoying the flow.

You’ve still got the firetrack climb from hell; it’s the most boring climb ever, hopefully one day they’ll get rid of it. Normally you get to the top and blast down the firetrack to ‘The Edge’. But now there’s a new section on the left hand side.

The new section wasn’t fully open yet, looks like it needs a bridge at the start, we rode it and it’s excellent; At first I thought they could of increased the size of the berms, at this point I was hit with a huge compression dip and then a steep incline (which you could get some air off it, I hope this isn’t changed). After that you go through the tree’s (if you’ve got wide bars you’re in trouble), also there’s a 1ft high skinny and about 25 foot long. After going through the trees, it crosses the road and links into The Edge with some huge berms.

After ‘The Edge’ we went through Nil Desprandum which was bit muddy, at this point it started to go wrong, I got a twinge of cramp and by the time I’d got to the bridge, I had cramp in both thighs. I started on the last climb up to Omega man, but had to stop dueto the F’ing cramp.

Mark and Fraser carried on and I headed back down the Firetrack and picked up the new green route. The new green meanders along the river and is very beautiful, thankfully no hills. I got to the car about twenty minutes before Mark and Fraser.

The Bike setup

Well I’ve had plenty of time to tinker in the 8 weeks; I was running new brakes, switching from the Ultimate\code combo to Formula the one. Also installed some DT 5.1 tubeless kit’s and had my pike’s serviced and pushed.

The brakes performed very well, same amount of power as the codes\ultimate setup but much more controllable and the overall feel is miles better and more solid. Slight squeal on the rear, need to look at this.

I ran the tubeless tyres at 35 psi, didn’t want any trouble on my first ride back. I defiantly had more traction in the rear (might of been the new Larsen TT), going to try lower pressure’s next time.

Push Pikes; for me these forks were very good before the service\push. They now feel like new again so more ride time needed. The brake dive seemed more manageable at the psi I’m running. It’s hard to describe the differences; on small bumps\corners they felt different, might be the new seals, anyway will report back.

Gears etc performed flawlessly, the chain has had about ten coats of purple extreme!

The click in the i9 rear hub has surfaced again (tightening the prawls fixed this last time), speaking to Chad about this.

Overall despite the cramp, I had a quality time. The only way I’ve managed to keep the cramp at bay, is regular riding, but this leads to trouble with Marie (the wife). I’m going to have to do something about the cramp; currently thinking about spending some time in the gym or maybe go to see a sports injury specialist, any ideas are welcome.

Also it must be the camera, check out the second photo, Mark’s action shot of me!

Jamie

it's cold up North

2008-01-24T19:57:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

I’m back in the UK; bit of a shock going from 30 degrees to zero. Really really looking forward to the first ride of 2008.

Here’s the view from my laptop as I franticly was organising rides for 2008.

Update on drew; his arm\wrist is now in cast!! He sounds in fine fettle and sounded really upbeat about getting back on the trails.

Cheers
Jamie

Ouch at Dalby

2008-01-22T22:47:00.000Z

Hi Guys

Me.Drew and Frazer headed down to Dalby on Saturday. It was quite lengthy journey taking just over an hour and a half. It was easy to find and were met with a hefty £7 parking fee with a further 50p for a map!!!

The visitor center was really nice and the forest was quite busy with bikers and walkers. We asked a group of lads how long it would take to go round as the map said 4 hours to do 23miles!!!! They said we should be able to go round in 3 which was good cos Drew needed to be back for the match and Frazer told his wife (Zoe) that he wouldn't be out long.

We rolled out on a nice climb up through the trees. After about what seemed like 20 mins with hardly a stop, we thought we were making good time and getting round the map quite quickly.
Although we were on the red route there were a few black options you could do along the way which were pretty good.

We never saw each other whilst riding each section as we were quite well spread out. Drew was at the front in typical fashion flying both uphill and down even though he said he felt tired.

After almost an hour of riding I had to stop for a little problem with my brake which I quickly resolved,but it gave Drew a chance to ask a bloke where on the map we were at.

We thought we were over a third of the way round but in fact had only done a fifth. I was quite shocked at first but then after thinking about it the trail that we had covered to that point was over 95% single track.

We set off again and came down the best bit which I think was called Adderstone Rigg.

It had some high berms similar to those at Ae which some nice jumps and good Black technical section (optional) at the bottom with some big rocks to drop off and jump.

After a short climb we came to the black section which started with some northshore type riding which took us to the jump park. At the park was a 4x track and some big table top jumps. Both Drew and I did the 4x track which was ok and you could get allot of air if you pushed it.

Drew tried the table top jumps after watching some guys doing it and making it look really easy. He didn't get the same height or style but said it was pretty good.

I then had a go and when I dropped into the jump I braked slightly cos I thought I was going too fast and didn't know what to expect. I hit the first jump and completely cleared the 10 foot long table top and landed on the downhill on the other side!!!!! This was where I started to bottle it and really slowed down for the other 3 jumps.

Once I got back to the start of the jumps where I met Drew and Frazer I said how scared I was of those types of jumps.

Drew decided to have 1 more go.................... He hit the first jump with very little height but when he hit the second it went horribly wrong. He managed to jump about 10 feet in the air but on his way down he was going head first. To our amazement he managed to push the bike away from him and start to clamber his way up-right but ran out of time and landed on his shoulder. Frazer and I rushed down and our first thoughts were its off to hospital and we were right. Anybody who jumps 10 feet off the top and lands on their shoulder (bearing in mind he landed in the bottom of the dip between jumps which is at least another 10 feet) is going to hurt them self pretty bad.

Luckily a guy who was there had his car parked nearby and gave Drew and his bike a lit back to the car. Frazer and I had a good 20 min ride down the road after him till we were back at the car.

We quickly packed up and went to A.E. Drew had already diagnosed himself and after seeing the docs was right. Forgive me if its wrong Drew but it was a rupture of the ac joint and is out of action for at least a month.

Unfortunately I can't pass judgement on Dalby too much but what i had covered was pretty good. Next time I go I'm staying clear of the jump park!!!!!!!!!!!

Mark

And the award for the first blog in 2008 goes to.........

2008-01-01T21:27:00.000Z

.... r walker haigh - who else - the rest of you are probably doing something hip on this first evening of 2008.

Anyway - the strangest thing. Jamie couldn't make our planned Ae trip so I checked the OS map and headed out for a local ride - time to find out whether those previously unridden marked bridle paths were rideable and if so what were they like etc.

It was claggy, rainy and pretty cold and yet I buzzed off it. Real mixture of riding - country lanes, tracks, moorland and a couple of smallish stretches of challenging single trail. I loved it - and the feeling of getting to know my back yard a bit more. Don't get me wrong I know this ride would have bored some of the guys senseless but I loved it. Boys - its not all about the 7 stanes sometimes it's just about being outside and pedalling right ? Now pass me my pipe and slippers................

Also - I got an issue of Singletrack magazine - first time I've really read this - I like this a lot - seemed to me to be on my wavelength - bit more about where people are riding and bit less kit based and how to do a triple piked 75ft air jump etc. Kind of seemed to be my pipe and slippers end of the scene. Pass me that cardigan with the elbow patches on will you.........

Finally - Den donated his defunct bike to me to cannibalise so my bike fixing skills are going to need to go to the next level. Have stripped disc brakes and front and rear deore derailleurs and hoping to fit to mine along with new front chain rings I'm going to buy - my bike is in serious need of an overhaul. So, the Haighster finally hands in the V brakes and (all being well) steps into the 21st with disc brakes. Depending on how long it takes me I'm hoping to have my MB back on the road within the month. Knowing my mechanic skills as I do completion of overhaul more likeely to be late 2009.

Anyway dudes - heres to a year of good riding - and thanks for some really good moments shared on the trails last year - lets hope there's many more more this year. I tailed off at the end of this year but have been out locally 4 times over the break. 2008 will probably see Drew jumping off who knows what, Mark will turn professional if he continues at the pace he was last year, Den on his second full susser and Jamie - well I don't know what the main man will add to the Turner this year but it'll be light, cutting edge and pretty fly trust me on that.

Peace

r

Mountain Bike Wallpapers

2007-12-18T09:35:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Stumbled across these photos on Flickr, thought they'd make good MTB desktop wallpaper.

Open the photos in a new window, then right click and save as.

Jamie

Checkout these Lines for New World Disorder 8

2007-12-18T09:25:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Things are very quiet on the biking front; I’m currently under house arrest due to Xmas Chores, Xmas is such an inconvenience ;-)

I stumbled across this article on NSMB about buildng big lines

NWD8 webiste and Trailer

Jamie

01/12/07 Kielder Red Trail – New Blood

2007-12-04T09:33:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Drew, Mark, Frazer and Colin headed up to Kielder to tackle the red trail. This was Colin and Frazer’s first outing at Kielder. Frazer has been out a few times with Mark (he bought Mark’s Trek), but this was Colin’s first taste of mountain biking.

Colin’s a ROADIE and a pretty keen one at that (c2c in a day!!).

Frazer was very impressive on the board section, even putting me and Mark to shame by taking the narrow short cut, although he didn’t like the look of the bit me and mark did (that’s what I keep telling myself!). I was a little worried half way round the banked wooden berm, especially after the NFT crash. Next time, we’ll have to take the short cut.

When we got back to the car park, Colin said it was completely different to his expectations. He thought there would be more firetrack and fewer drops off, jumps etc but he did enjoy it.

They’ve added a new section by the Quarry; it’s a Circular Loop with a jump, Mark landed in the soft stuff and took a tumble, nothing serious.

Again like Hamsterley, I was struggling with my breathing at the top of climbs, most disconcerting, especially as the last ride was all good.

Despite my breathing issue on the up hills, I was having a blast on the downhill sections; I got out of shape on a couple of berms, but pulled it back and was having a blast (worth the pain and the thought I was going to die)

I’ve been speaking to ‘the bike place’ staff and things are really taking off at Kielder; they’ve got funding for Blue\Green trail, Trials course and Red route linking it to Newcastleton.

The turner 5.5 rockers; they do feel better than the push rockers; the bike climbs better on the technical stuff, I didn't notice the lower bb height at all (with the original 5.3 rockers, occasionally I hit rocks with the pedals)

On the Downhill the bike felt tighter, faster through the berms, more fun, easier to throw about and just felt right, very happy with the change.

The only difference I noticed, was on the large drops (one’s were you need to lift the front wheel), they're perhaps not as forgiving, will try running a bit more sag next time.

Jamie

Video footage of the Wooden board section

Mark

Drew

25/11/07 – North Face Trail at Night

2007-12-03T14:11:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Me and Mark headed out on the North Face trail at night! Santa had delivered Marks Xmas present early, so we had to test it out.

After the initial setup problem with the bracket (the bolts are made from cheese), we were away and the adrenalin was pumping.

This was the first night ride on a proper trail and it just incredible. You’re constantly on your toes, also I noticed (maybe the lower speeds or wet conditions) I was using my upper body more to move the bike around.

I had one of those rides where everything clicks; I was powering up the hills (I couldn’t see them in the dark!) and had no problem with my breathing (unlike Hamsterley).

I did manage to fall off one of the boards; they were incredibly slippy and I made the fatal mistake of dabbing the brakes. The back wheel just flew off and I went over the bars, tried to grab a tree on the way down to brake my fall, but I still ended up in a ditch\brambles; luckily I was wearing my pads, so nothing serious.

I tried to take some photos to compare the L&M Arc against the Brighstar, but they didn’t come out very well. The L&M has a wider beam, but not much difference between them.

I did find out my GPS has a back light!

I’m looking forward to the next adrenalin fuelled night ride and hopefully we’ll tackle one of the 7 Stanes.

Jamie

24/11/07 – Loughrigg

2007-12-03T12:56:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Me and Mark where staying in Coniston for my sister’s 30th birthday bash.

We managed to get a pass out before the party, so we headed to Ambleside and tackled Loughrigg Fell (one of my favourite routes)

It was pissing it down whilst setting up the bikes; one of those I’m not getting out the car, let’s go back to the log fire! But as we set off it got better and a vast improvement on last years hails stones.

I was hoping to try this extended route, but thought better of it, after my last ride and current cold issues, maybe next Feb\March.

As we got to the top of the climb, we noticed that they’ve completely sanitized the trail! They’ve flattened some of the rocky climbs\muddy bits and replaced it with a sandy track, outrageous.

Mark did try to lose me at one point; I was taking photos of the view and he went on ahead. He was having way too much fun on the downhill; Mark missed the turning towards the caves and headed down to the Lake.

I’d fitted some turner 5.5 rockers; initial thoughts the riding position was slightly more upright. Also I didn’t notice the lower BB, unlike the 5.3 rockers.

More Photos

Jamie

Chopwell Woods - 16/11/07

2007-12-01T15:26:00.000Z

To whom it may concern,

Thought I'd eventually make a contribution to the blog, as i'm a lazy f*#*#r and never get round to doing it.....

Jamie, Mark and myself had scheduled to go to Kielder or Hamsterley on this Saturday morning but commitments meant that we had only limited free time away from the ball & chains that we all have....

Therefore, Mark and myself went local ie. Chopwell Woods. (Jamie hadn't got much sleep the night before...what with the young'un....and a few beers too i suspect...lol).

Now Chopwell Woods isn't the longest course in the world...only about 2.5 miles if you follow the "Powerline Trail", so it doesn't take too long to get round. However, there are many other rough tracks that have been forged through the woods by bikes over the last 20+ years, so we decided to investigate some of these after the main trail. This was a trip down memory lane for me, as we came up here reasonably regularly when we were in our teens. The trails may look a little different and more overgrown in places, but it's still a worthy addition to the short trail-built section at the start.

The Powerline Trail itself is good riding, although the first section through the young pines is generally flat switchbacks which are a bit slow and not hugely interesting. There is a nice little area with some short north-shore sections and a pretty high see-saw (which i tried and failed spectactularly at...boohoo) after this first section, but it was too wet to try the very narrow sections as it's impossible to get any grip (the NEFA "Massif" could do with getting some mesh down on these sections). Anyhoo, further on from here you follow a open winding downhill section with decent jumps and as you re-enter the woods a nice longer section of north-shore has been built on the left. Rich Haigh may have some painful memories at this stage, as the end of the north-shore is where he tried to make a lasting impression in the mud with his head a year or two back (ps. Hope ur ok Rich as i haven't seen you for a bit).

Moving swiftly on....much of the singletrack on the Powerline Trail has pretty good jumps, which are great for practice. It's just a shame the whole trail isn't very long. Hopefully the"Massif" can get the trails extended in the near future...which will certainly attract more bikers to a promising area.

At the end of our ride Mark and myself finished at an area that i remembered from years ago, which was used for jumps / drop-offs, etc close to the carpark. I'm not sure if the tree stuck across the area was put there to deter bikers, but someone seems to have built a nice little jump out of it...so thanks for that, whoever you are.... This means we can still enjoy this little playground, which i don't think is an area that irritates other users of the forest (except possibly badgers).

And after our trip out we were back at home in good time, and more importantly, still in the good books with the missus. Everyones a winner!!

Weather : Inclement (ie. Northen drizzle)
Terrain : Muddy in places, most likely away from the Powerline Trail
Problems : Non had by all

Check out the videos :

Drew.

Ps. Sorry about the poor photo quality...i think Marks camera came out of a cracker...lol

Hamsterley 10/11/07 – Bad day in the office

2007-11-12T10:03:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Drew, Mark and Phil headed out on Saturday morning to tackle the black route at Hamsterley.

I was suffering badly on the uphill sections; I’d been off with cold\man flu recently and was struggling to breathe, I was all light headed at the top of climbs!! Not good.

Anyway despite the pain on the up hill, I still bloody loved the downhill sections, despite having a howler on one bit; I’ve cleared it several times before, but for some reason, I stuttered and nearly went over a wall.

I’m a true believer that, if you ride with better bikers, you will improve your skills\abilities, whether you’re been coerced into trying black\tricky technical sections or pushing yourself.

Recently Drew has been pushing the boat out, trying anything and everything; I missed Drew tackling the revamped northshore at Newcastleton and the Hamsterley drop last week.

This week I managed to get a photo (checkout the ghostly forks) and some video footage of Drew on the drop.

Hopefully I’ll get out next weekend and put some demons to bed.

Jamie

Newcastleton

2007-11-03T16:08:00.000Z

Hi Guys

Drew, Phil, Frazer and myself went to Newcastleton. It was to be Frazers second 7stanes trail and Phils first. It was a cool damp day and on our way out of the car park Frazers chain snapped again! Drew quickly fixed it and we were on our way.

We made our way down through the first section until we reached the bottom end of the north shore. Drew decided to have a go at it and made it look far too easy. I was taking the pics and found it hard to stand on the timber as it was very slippery. Drew tried several routes over the boards and managed to complete them every time.

We then carried on down through the trees on the single track covered with leaves which made it hard to see the trail. Drew was the first to slide but lucky for him he managed to stay upright. Frazer soon followed as the quantity of leaves increased. I was taking it a bit easier as I was trying to look out for things that may cause a problem when Jamie and I go night riding here.

When we reached the final section I was looking forward to it as I like this part of the trail the best. Drew set off first to take the pics and then the rest of us followed. I had changed the set-up in my forks so this was going to be the test for them on the jumps and drop offs. Everything seemed to be going fine and I got some good air along the way. About half way down I could see through the trees, the new red section that is being built which I think is going to go down to the bridge giving a loop.

Both Frazer and Phil enjoyed their first trip to Newcastleton and especially the last section which is why we went back up past the quarry to do it again. On our way down to the car park Phil nearly left the fire track. If he had he would have collided with a cow!!!
It was a good ride and I am looking forward to getting back to Newcastleton but next time Jamie and I will be doing it in the dark!!!!

Mark

MTB Desktop Wallpaper

2007-10-24T09:25:00.001Z

Hello Dudes

Here’s a few photos for your windows desktop.

Open the photo, right click & select save as.

Jamie

Hamsterley Hangover – 20/10/07

2007-10-22T12:37:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

What a cracking day out on Saturday; Myself, Mark and Drew headed to Hamsterley Forest. The weather was quality, the trail was surprisingly dry and the skills loop wasn’t full of Charvers.

I had bit of a hangover after drinking a few beers at Drew’s the night before; thankfully we had a late start, as Drew had some house viewings.

The whole point of the trip was for Drew to test his forks after re-priming them! Well he left the bolt thru axle in his car, back at Marks house!!

He did manage to hire a Norco Fluid 3.0 for £15, it wasn’t the lightest bike and the gear ratios were shite, but it was a full susser. Also it didn’t slow him down at all, which was a shame.

Everything clicked for me on this ride; Bike setup was spot on (I’d set the suspension bit softer, due to the amount of tree roots and it rocked), also weather\track conditions were prefect (the trail can be a real drag in the mud) and I really really enjoyed the skills loop.

They’ve been busy at Hamsterley, the black route has been vastly improved and with some much needed maintenance, also it’s got a new ending. I really like the downhill sections through the woods, just let go of the brakes and hang on!

Here are some videos of Drew and Mark on the skills Loop:

Mark on the sew saw
Mark & Drew on the second jump
Drew on the triples
Mark on the triples
Mark & Drew on the triples
Drew on the black Section

More photos on the Web Album

Jamie

Mechanicals: Drew left his bolt thru axle at Marks.

Weather: Sunny and Dry

Injuries: No falls this week

Kielder Red 12/10/07 - Struggle

2007-10-17T07:32:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Me, Drew and Mark tackled the red route minus the Deadwater Fell Loop.

Myself and Mark where both struggling with illnesses; I had a cold (second one in two weeks) and Mark had a bug. I’d taken a decongestant before the ride and I wish, I hadn’t, mucus everywhere! Nice

I found the first climb hard work, but after that things got better. The new berm boardwalk is interesting, canny drop to the left hand side. On final downhill section, I went v high on the 2nd berm and got an excellent line out for the jump, this cheered up my day.

It’s been a few weeks since I’d ridden the red route, but looks like it’s been busy busy, some areas are cutting up quite badly. Also the car park was busy, plus the traffic heading towards Kielder was amazing, car after car, carrying bikes.

Drew had a few issues with his pace forks; No lockout and they would make a clonk noise, every time he tried to jump. They’ve lost the oil out of suspension bit and apparently need priming (Thanks to Farq’s & Rob for the text help).

I’ve since found a whole section on the pace website dedicated to the issue. Drew being priming them and says they’re getting better.

We’re off out again on Saturday, hopefully to Ae, so we’ll see.

The GPS data isn't 100% lost the signal in the wooded sections.

Mechanicals: Drew’s Pace Forks & Gears
Weather: That fine rain stuff
Injuries: No falls this week

Jamie

Lookout.

2007-10-12T21:56:00.000Z

just a quick shout - enjoying reading about the various goings on - been crazy busy so not got out since Dalbeattie chewed me up and spat me out - but hopefully in the next couple of weeks I'll get my pedal on.

In the meantime I'm planning to break into St James Park, steal a floodlight, lash it to me handle bars and show jamie up with his cheap american import lights.............

Hold tight.

Kielder race day

2007-10-08T22:01:00.000Z

Hi Guys

On Saturday morning Me, Dennis, Drew and his mate Phil went to Kielder. It was a very foggy drive up there but once we arrived in the car park the sun came out on what was going to be a glorious day.

It was race day at Kielder, a 50km ride which was going to use some of the red trail. Drew and I checked out some of the racers whilst waiting for Den and Phil. They were like machines and I don't know about Drew but if I was going to race with them I would have been left for dead by the time we left the car park.

Den and Phil arrived just in time for us to get out ahead of the racers. It was Phil's first off road ride and Den's first ride since our weekend up at Kirroughtree and Dalbeattie. Phil coped really well and you could tell he was super fit as he chased Drew up the hills. Den disliked the climbs but really enjoyed the down hill sections on his new bike.

Drew was riding quite fast both up hill and down. He said he was starting to feel a little fitter after working out in the gym and getting more rides in.

There is a new northshore type berm on the trail now and Drew gave it a go. He made it look all too easy! The drop off the left side is about 5 feet but runs down an embankment which is very steep. I was going to have a go but bottled it when Drew said to do it "only if your sure". Next time!

We decided to miss the fell loop but on our descent came across 3 other riders that stopped to let us past in the worst place possible. It annoyed Den the most cos he had to try and pass them on a narrow section with a big drop off.

Besides that it was a great day made better by the weather and can't wait for next time so I can try that berm. Maybe!

Mark

Night Riding Rocks - 04/10/07

2007-10-05T09:24:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

Me and Mark went out for our first proper night ride to try out the new lights.

We started at Marks in Crawcrook and headed down to Wylam and joined the Keelman Way (the KW is a wide fire track). Just before Newburn we headed off the KW on to the Willows, this was the first taste of singletrack and I was bit nervous at first. Also I had to drop the light abit, because it was shinning too far in front.

We crossed the river Tyne at Newburn, and then headed back along the old railway line and up station back towards Heddon. Me and Drew used to use station bank to train for the NEMBA racing series, (before cars & booze!) according to memory map it’s a 138 meter climb.

We dropped down from Heddon through the woods to Close House (first proper technical singletrack). It’s completely different at night; every thing seemed to take a bit longer. I didn’t really push that hard, because of Marie’s last words, as I was leaving the house "if you injure yourself, I’ll kill YOU"

With those words constantly in my mind, I was extremely careful, until the last section of the woods, when I let go of the brakes and went for it, it felt like I was in some sort of computer game, quality.

Once we hit the old railway line, we carried on to Wylam and crossed over the river and headed back to Marks house.

Couple of time we had rabbits in the headlights and bats flying down the track in front of us. On the way up station bank there must have been a pheasant roosting in the tree, I think my heavy breathing scared the shit out of it.

Overall Night riding was quality; mind if we’d had a mechanical problem or a puncture that might have put a dampener on things, I can’t wait to try Newcastleton.

The Light & Motion Arc was very very impressive, far better than I imagined. I shone the bean down the golf course and it lit up the fairway for about 150 yards!

I’d mounted the light on the bars (cheers to Fraq’s for the advice re cabling etc, worked a treat) and this was enough.

I can see how a helmet light would help, sometimes you catch things out the corner of your eye and you go to look, but its pitch black!

Also I’d fitted the Garmin Etrex for the first time; I’m lovin the GPS with memory map and Google earth!

Jamie

Night riding here we come

2007-10-02T08:28:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

I bought a Lights and Motion Arc NiMH from flea bay.com for £155 plus £17.50 delivery (UK RRP £350) No import duties ;-)

All I need now are some volunteers to join in the FUN!!

Jamie

Dalbeattie 23/09/07 – No Pain No Gain

2007-10-01T08:25:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

After the 5 hour ride yesterday, I was hurting badly. The new grips had destroyed my baby soft hands and the saddle saw was BAD! But I went through the pain barrier and really enjoyed Dalbeattie.

Den and Rich left the red trail near the end and picked up the blue; Rich was on the verge of being sick and unfortunately Den couldn’t get started. Originally it was meant to be 8 riders, but due to various reasons we were 4.

So we were down to 2; it was so nearly 1, when Mark tried the “log on” and managed to fall off.

I really really enjoy Dalbeattie; it’s a very quick trail, with some good uphill sections and great singletrack.

Cheers to Rich, for sorting another top quality weekend in Scotland.

Jamie

Kirroughtree 22/09/07 – Epic Ride

2007-10-01T08:08:00.000Z

Hello Dudes

This ride was action packed with mechanicals and a few falls; it took 5hours to complete the Red\Black route. Kirroughtree may only be 31km, but it is one of the toughest trails; mainly due to the immense concentration needed all the times.

The weather was quality yet again; Hawaii Dumfries and Galloway (as Rich described it) didn’t let us down.

Dennis was sporting his new Spesh XCR Full susser; at the start he had a little teething trouble with the SPD settings. Den had a few falls before we loosened the SPD’s; if it wasn’t for the SPD keeping Den clipped in and he probably would’ve dropped easily 10 foot, to the track below!

Mark had an off and twisted his bars, quick re-position and he was on the way again.

I got a puncture after the white witch section; luckily no midges eating us, as we stopped.

Rich’s snapped his chain climbing Black Crags; very good timing for me, coz my legs where starting to cramp up.

Was an excellent day to be had by all. The Steak and Ale pie at the Clachan Inn didn't let us down.

Jamie

Kielder cut short

2007-09-01T22:28:00.000Z

Hi Guys

Me and frazer went up to Kielder to do the red and black runs. We decided to do the skills loop first which is ok but when we came to the rock garden Frazer went over the bars, but gladly no injuries.

We then hit the trail with a massive buzz cos the weather was fab. I was so excited to get out again on my new bike, especially to try out the black run again. Maybe try the boards that Drew did last time out, which he made look so easy!

With it being Frazers second ride the first section went fine and he decided that it was loads different to Dalbeattie.

By the time we hit the second single track section Frazer wanted to do the rock garden which he did no problem and really enjoyed.

We then carried on and shortly afterwards Frazers chain snapped! It was so disappointing cos we had no tools to fix it, so had to abandon the ride.

Back at the car park, all we could do was load up the bikes and head for home. On the next ride I will take Jamie's advice and carry the right tools for most breakdowns so it may help.

Mark