Tony Lund and the LCC Crew have been successful with their bidding and now have over half a miliion pounds to spend on mountain bike trails in the Rossendale area. The bulk of the cash is coming from Aggregates Levy (who sound like a Progressive Rock group from the 1970’s but probably aren’t).
The plans at the moment are for a new section of red graded singletrack with some black options/features. This will be between 1km and 1.5km long depending on the final route used. We’re glad to see the plans are keeping to Lee Quarry’s distinctive vibe of “messing about a sections” rather than just adding mileage for the sake of it.
New “Skills” sections to include…
The Drop line – 150m long, 3m wide; it will have three ability levels side-by-side enabling riders to learn how to ride drops of different sizes and difficulty. (DIY 4X race anyone?)
The Berm Track – 180m long, 1m wide; eleven consecutive berms (and nowt else!)
The Pump Track – 120m long, 0.7m wide; pump line on a gradient.
Black-graded “progressive” skills line – 250m long, 1 to 2 m wide; rock drops, table tops, rollers, berms all on the same track (i.e. putting everything learnt on the above three tracks in to practice)
Black-graded “expert” line – 250m long, 1m wide; similar to the line above but with even more challenges.
The above should all be finished by April/May next year. This means we will have quite a few extra features to use at the 2010 Singletrack Classic Weekender event in July.
But that’s not all…
Also happening this year should be the work at nearby Cragg Quarry. Rowan Sorrell has put the initial designs together and says: “Cragg Quarry deserves to be the jewel in the crown of the whole trail centre project. It has fantastic rolling shapes, ideal to adapt to mountain bikes … The loop in Cragg Quarry will be a packed 4.5km with plenty of contoured bench cuts and sudden feature sections seamlessly linked together into one exciting ride. The trail climbs gently through the quarry just off the route of the Pennine Bridleway. This extra elevation gives riders great views and still throws in a few technical rock features en route, but it is on the return leg, with the overall gradient now working to the rider’s advantage, that the thrills are cranked up a notch. The trail flows, rolling, dipping and rising with berms along its route; it can be tackled gently or attacked head on, making for a physical, but ultimately very rewarding ride due to the views and great features found throughout the quarry site … Rock gardens, rock rolls and slab paving are all incorporated into the trail to make the most of the natural resources and features on site.”
After all this there are further plans to construct a bridleway link from Lee Quarry up to Rooley Moor Road, a link over to Facit Quarry and then some bike trails down through Facit Quarry.
With all this lot in place the “usual” quick half-day blast round Lee Quarry will be turned into a full day out of funning.
They is also talk of an off road link between Lee Quarry and not-as-near-as-you-think Gisburn Forest.
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Is the date set for the classic weekender yet ?
Yep, July 3-4.
You can enter online already too 🙂
http://www.singletrackworld.com/shop/acatalog/Singletrack_Classic_Weekender.html
don’t you just love c0cking about on bikes?
Sounds fantastic. Never been. Must make the trip.
Sweet. The quarry just keeps getting better
We are hoping to sqeeze a figure of eight style pump track in there as well!