New mtb Site based in Brighton

Check this site for future posts and ride information.

http://brightonmtb.org/


Cheers

It Looks Rideable!

You know how it is, just off the main trail there seems to be a tasty and inviting section of sinlgetrack that only requires a little push through the undergrowth. The lovely warm feeling of riding a new section that no one else appears to have discovered and it's all yours to pick the line. I tend to look for awkward bits and get stuck in while my buddy goes for more meandering twisty stuff.

A recent exploration in a local woodland resulted in a whole new area laid out before our eyes, we were spoilt for choice. After clearing a way through some dense conifer trees I spotted it, a hole made by the upturned root ball of a fallen tree, a brief look and kick of the tree and I was on my way. Big mistake, I had failed to check the depth of the leaf mulch or anything else in the bottom of the hole. Straight in and over the top! A more detailed look revealed the mulch to be approximately 12 inches deep covering a tangle of roots on the 'out' side of the hole. No chance.

Tip of the day, always check out what you are about to ride before going for it, better safe then sorry.

MTB'ers Best Friend

We often ponder what is the best thing an MTB'er can get, after much deliberation my vote goes not to expensive components, clothing or evening a new bike, the best thing an MTB'er can get is himself/herself to the end of a deer-track.

A deer-track is a ready made ribbon of singletrack taking the best line along the hillside and through the undergrowth. Roots to negotiate, logs to cross and stumps to miss are all part of a deers fun and we can take advantage of their excellent trail building skills. Cracking singletrack that some else has already taken the trouble to clear what more could we ask for.

Heaven!

Whiteways: Recce & Ride 8th Dec

We met in the car park to see water streaming down the tarmac surface, only a few other hardy souls were there, all dressed like trawler men. The lure of breakfast baps & coffee was too great to ignore so we didn’t start riding till about 10.30. If you think you know Whiteways – think again! There are masses of constantly evolving single-track with deer tracks guiding the way for some great trailblazing.

Heading north the slippery uphill trail was a brutal leg-warmer! It wasn’t long before we sought to “improve” upon nature, creating a small section designed to test your slow-speed agility & control – think Kick Start without the engines! From here, we continued down through the trees and opened up two different ways around a huge mass of a fallen tree; the second of which takes you almost through the middle of it with a very tight left-hander in the middle; another opportunity to see how much control you have at slow speed. These additions offer a definite change of pace to an otherwise fairly free-flowing section.

We linked to some of the more established single-track before heading deeper into the woodland undergrowth to visit the recently established Nomad sections including a chicane that starts with a small drop-off and weaves through a nice S-shaped gulley. At this point we spent some time weighing up the possible lines through a series of humps. Once again, some improvements on what nature had provided, soon gave us “natural high” A few refusals, a hump-crest stall, many wobbles and one total-off (yep – that’ll be me) resulted in a nice little section that needs a little more thought than brute force. Concentration is required to get the rolling speed right (not as fast as you’d think).

A lovely descent followed which rewarded us with huge smiles, muddy faces and general relief that the 4ft sideways both-wheel slides didn’t throw us off (kudos to Mike for surviving on his hard-tail – I don’t think I would have stayed upright on my old Dirttrax4). A short push up a steep slope leads to yet more lovely wooded single-track eventually taking us to THE DROP which most people will know from the previous Muddy@rse rides to this area, this should be done without too much thinking to get the full benefit – let those expensive machines do what they do best I say and let gravity pull you down.

Back at the car park – the group of ramblers huddled round the café gave us hope that it was still open. Unfortunately for us, they were just using it as a shelter from the rain so we’d have to wait till we got home for a well-earned hot drink. The Dirtworker served all 3 bikes very well and we headed home at about 3.30.

It was my first time trail building and I can’t recommend it enough. It was very rewarding and a real insight into the efforts required to create interesting & varied trails. Speaking of which – this route is approaching 90% complete so I reckon Spring 2008 could see a group ride to Whiteways that’ll have you riding in ever decreasing circles!

Devils Dyke Ride 1st Dec 07

We left Devils Dyke at 10-30 for a head-clearing ride that with careful planning we hoped would avoid the worst of the mud.

The first climb of the day witnessed the first mechanical resulting in one of the gang losing all his lower gears which made the subsequent hills increasingly difficult, mildly amusing to begin with but torture at the end. A meandering route dropped us into the top of Stanmer Woods where we repeated the Muddy@rse Halloween ride but with a couple of added a detours. Neil and Mark tried to outdo each other playing on the jumps and ramps ending in a couple of 'bike-vs-tree' near misses and the 'Missing in Action' section claimed yet another lost victim. A grassy climb and we were straight into the more established Stanmer singletrack where the wet roots were covered by a layer of wet leaf mulch, it was like riding on soap! A couple of tumbles and close-thing slips and we were out. At this stage we decided that coffee was in order so we dropped into Stanmer Tea Rooms via an off-piste descent down a steep wet-leaf covered slope - control and commitment in equal measure - a couple of rear wheel leaf ploughing demonstrations caused much ammusement. Refreshed we set out on the return leg back to the Dyke. Another meandering route and we popped out onto the A23. As a parting shot we decided to take in a flowing section of contour hugging chalk singletrack ending in a very steep and badly rutted descent. In the sunshine this is a cracking ride. We hit it at 4-30pm in the dark and in drizzling rain which turned it into a very slippery heart-in-mouth singletrack interspersed with the odd muddy section that made things really interesting. The second mechanical - my chain slipped off the cassette went over the spoke ends and got jammed against the hub - much tugging and levering before it was free.


We returned to Devils Dyke at approximately 5pm to be greeted by more drizzle and a cold wind. No cleaning, straight into the car and home. It was a cracking ride, about 35 miles on a mixture of terrain, great company and lots of laughter.

Whiteways More Trail Building

Our efforts of the last two weekends have resulted in another 80% completed section of singletrack at Whiteways, this one is about 200 meters long and twisty with some great natural obstacles to negotiate. We have opened the whole length of the trail but in some parts the route is difficult to follow, another couple of days work and it should be sorted.

After riding it a couple of times we then spent some time exploring the options to link it to our trail making efforts of earlier this summer. Once we have a route sorted these new sections will offer a nice contrast to the fast flowing established trails in this area.

A new ride is coming...