Hey I am not really a moaner but a trip to the Monkey today wrongly hoping everyone was watching the wedding found me doing the new black section for the second time, whilst waiting for some space to go I watched cringing while folk in front were cutting new lines around rocky descents – surely your meant to ride them ?? that’s what its about – isn’t it?

Not everyone is a riding god like you I guess…

Cannock has been totally ruined by idiots who can’t ride for toffee. Skidding into corners and berms and making chicken runs. It’s a bloody write off. Was great for a while. I hope it gets fixed and folk learn how to ride. One weekend I was amazed to see people walking down the switch backs with halfords bikes and no helmets holding everyone else up. Go ride the fire roads FFS.

Tsk, trail centres, eh.

And breath 😀

You mean some of them dared breathe as well 😀

And Halfords. How dare they walk with bikes from Halfords.

Ok ok what I meant was car boot sale bikes, like Trek’s and specialized’s. They had no right to be there 😉

Cannock trails have created a new trail especially for the Halfords type.

I go mid week now I work part time and have never had to wait for anyone on a supermarket bike.

Give up work, ride mid week, embrace the braking bumps and ignore the chicken runs.

monkey is great it keeps dodgy geezers like the swede away from the nice trails elsewhere. 😉

doesn’t matter where the swede ride he will always moan, you watch him grump about the dyfi being too flat or not enough rocky sections 😉

he doesn’t complain when he rides me 😉

How great it must be to be able to look down on lesser riders who don’t possess the same prodigious talents…

Get a life!

rustler – Member
And Halfords. How dare they walk with bikes from Halfords

Probably safer than riding one 😉

The new black section was adapted from the original unofficial monkey trail
People making chicken runs are in my eyes embrasing that unofficial trail building ethos and should be congratulated. Just shush and kep it quiet we cant have non locals finding out where it is, or riding without first applying for a permit 😉

Trails….. what ever they are, where ever they are, they are for anyone and everyone.

I never thought elitism existed in the world of mountain biking! 😉

Tony.w – Member
Hey I am not really a moaner but a trip to the Monkey today wrongly hoping everyone was watching the wedding found me doing the new black section for the second time, whilst waiting for some space to go I watched cringing while folk in front were cutting new lines around rocky descents – surely your meant to ride them ?? that’s what its about – isn’t it?

I think this guy does have a point, although I do also agree that nobody should get sanctimonious about who can and can’t ride at these places, it is up to the individual to decide whether or not they can handle riding something technical, and while I can sympathise myself as a new(ish) rider that sometimes, certain techy parts can be daunting, cutting a new trail IMHO is the wrong way to go about it.

I simply stop bike after checking nobody is behind or coming, then walk down or over object I don’t yet have the ability to ride, back on bike and off we go, simple.
I had a little go on the new black myself and made the decision it can wait for another day after doing the first parts at the top, I notice the drop off round the first corner has a chicken run cut on the side, if you are going to ride a black run, then you should either commit fully, or stop, dismount, and walk what bothers you. The sign post marker clearly indicate this is a dangerous trail to ride, there should be no surprises to anyone that CHOOSES to ride it.

As for Halfords £89 specials, I’ve seen a guy riding like Sam Hill on one of those ‘old lady bikes’ with 16 inch wheels and I could not catch him despite best efforts, so never judge a book by it’s cover. 😉

someone suggested Cannock for yesterday, you had to queue for sections? glad we chose the Wyre, it was dry dusty, no braking bumps, no queues and empty 🙂

rOcKeTdOg – Member
someone suggested Cannock for yesterday, you had to queue for sections?

It’s only busy on weekends normally, or bank hols of course, when he says queuing, I think he’s probably referring to the fact you can sometimes catch up a group of unfit/inexperienced riders at certain locations like ‘The Werewolf Drop’ as you can have a ‘bottleneck’ situation while some riders mince about deciding whether to ride or walk.

Come on a normal weekday and you might enjoy it.

IMO the Monkey is not ruined with braking bumps. Perhaps the trailbuilders should get their Pollyfilla out to make it nice and smooth?

Y’day was very quiet on other areas of the Chase.

‘The Werewolf Drop’ doesn’t exactly live up to expectations does it? It’s not even a drop really, just a steep roll!

yes weekdays i imagine are better, it was bad enough at weekends when it was just follow the dog

‘The Werewolf Drop’ doesn’t exactly live up to expectations does it? It’s not even a drop really, just a steep roll!

haha, so true!

I often ride midweek, normally thursday, rarely see any other bikers on the trails at all, doesn’t matter if i go early or late.

If i can only fit a weekend ride like this week, it will be an early sunday, kick off at 7:30 then by the time im 3/4 way round is the first time i normally bump into other bikers. Been told its quiter towards the end of the day, but not been about to verify that yet.

That first drop didn’t have a chicken run when I went. I had a good look, walked the bike over it then went back to ride it. Was very early Sun am, so quiet. The rest was fairly easy & some nice singletrack tbh. Back to that first drop though, why make the run up so short & follow it with the rocky drop so quickly, surely its just going to be skidded into a mess…

I think the chicken runs are as much to do with people not being able to make the turns and drifting wide.

That first drop and rock garden are seen as a `qualifier’ apparently to show people what is to come. I guess them being so close together is to do with the tight confines of the landscape, as providing a challenge.

Anyone riding on a man made and contrived trail should STFU about anything and anybody really. There are miles of great singletrack in Cannock, if you can’t be arsed to find it, you deserve a bit of queuing behind ‘lesser’ riders. By ‘braking bump’ – you mean not all smoothed out gravel? Isn’t that kind of gnarly stuff what your body armour is for? If you don’t like bumps, bring a shovel and fix it. I rode Cannock yesterday, wouldn’t call any of it busy at all.

Given where the Chase is located, near to the massive conurbations of the Midlands it’s not suprising that there are all types, other than ‘serious’ MTB’s riding the built trails there. It’s not possible to Police who uses the trails and it’s inevitable that after watching some mountain bike film on TV or picking up a copy of MBR or MBUK in Asda that some people will think they can ‘do’ mountain biking on their £99 bike.
I’ve accepted that there are times that I won’t consider riding the Monkey and avoid it, given the traffic that the trails have I think they hold up well.
I’m more disturbed by the number of people on expensive bikes who wear body armour and have all the gear but clearly no skill whatsoever. WTF is that about?

Hey Tazz, the last time I rode king willy’s the wood work was a unevenly spaced and not sanded FFS 😉
Mark, hows the leg you old scrote.

DO NOT FEED

What section’s the new black stuff on? Haven’t been Cannock for ages, thinking of going on Monday but I don’t like all of the Monkey as it’s really pedally with not much downhill reward!

TheSwede – Member
Hey Tazz, the last time I rode king willy’s the wood work was a unevenly spaced and not sanded FFS

You won’t be able to moan about it anymore,it’s all been ripped up ! 🙁

Dam, I wont be able to fall off on that again then. Still plenty of scope else where for that though. 🙁

_tom_ – Member don’t like all of the Monkey as it’s really pedally with not much downhill reward!

That has to be funny post of the day, ‘I don’t like the Monkey Trail that is designed for XC Riders as you have to pedal.

You couldn’t make some of this stuff up haha.

I agree with the OP, it does seem to attract a fair few idiots.

If you can’t ride Werewolf Falls then what are you doing on a red trail? You should probably think about taking up a different sport.

I know it’s designed for xc riders, just for me I prefer to have a nice descent to reward all the climbing.

Bloody hell, this forum is so effin miserable. The sun is shining the trails are dry, cheer up everyone you are harshing my buzz bigtime
8)

Of course you should be allowed on the red trail if you can’t ride the werewolf slope. You’ve got to start somewhere and not everyone can clear everything first up.

I know it’s designed for xc riders, just for me I prefer to have a nice descent to reward all the climbing.

All the climbing,lol -there’s about a 1,000 ft of it in total on the munkee trail !

Used to live close to FTD so went a few times a week. Funniest ever was a bunch of office bods on rented hardrocks struggling to get round on a team building exercise. Rambo the mouthy leader went off a birm into the muddy water and spent the rest of the lap pretending he wasn’t fazed. Priceless.