[Closed] donate to get Gnar bike park up and running

Terrible name!

But good luck to him!

It's full face helmets only, I'm oot.

I really hope this works out for Ben,you can tell he has a passion for this, but the whole project is going need some serious backing, and area/ facility good enough to sway riders from nearby Whinllater or the Lake-district, when they are both ridden free of charge, or am i missing the point?

is it just me that thinks his map a looks like a limbless sheep?

Either way, good luck to you Ben, and I'll put my dollar in.

£20 in. Hopefully this will take off. Good luck!

If he can save me the drive to Merthyr Tydfil it'll be worth £20.

I'm in for £20.
Agree that the name is a bit dodgy, but it probably wont really matter.

facility good enough to sway riders from nearby Whinllater or the Lake-district

But it's offering something different, there isn't anywhere in the north doing lift assisted trail riding.

His bike park plan looks like prize bull to me.

No, really, it does. 🙂

[img] ?1425219924[/img]

Have bunged in £20 and wish them well. My only concern would be whether that's just not enough vertical to make it worthwhile.

It looks good and I wish him well, but I can't help thinking that planning consent for that might be challenging.

That map looks really random. It looks like he's just drawn as many squiggly lines as absolutely possible on that square of land. 😕

It looks good and I wish him well, but I can't help thinking that planning consent for that might be challenging.

I thought he'd already met with the planners:

---------- GNAR MAJOR NEWS UPDATE --------------------
GNAR Bike Park has been passed as a legal development by our local planning authority ! We still have to submit plans for the actual trail head building itself but the rest of the business has been passed. I imagine there'll be a little bit of push/pull over the design of the trail head but it shouldn't be any major issue and there's one or two pieces of solicitor stuff I'm waiting for but again, no major issue.
The big cause for celebration is that the bike park itself has been passed and to be fair, that's the bit I was most worried about...............not any more though..WooHoo!!!!!!!!!

From the FB Page

he's got the planning consent and the full support of the locals.
last time i spoke to him he told me he's now got a digger onsite and building the first trail is under way.
the lines for the tracks on the map are relatively accurate although when he's been doing the walk through for each of the tracks he has been making a number of modifications to make some of the runs more flowy.

I wish them all the best. I like the idea of building big features and technical trails because that's what I enjoy riding.

Trail centres are a bit tame but ideal for getting the girlfriend into it. I'm not into slogging around soggy moorland. I just want to go somewhere on my DH bike and huck my meat.

Ben, if you're listening, build some of these
[img] [/img]

EDIT: p.s. I also hate the name 'gnar'. Can't say it without thinking of cheesey extreme sports types.

I just want to go somewhere on my DH bike and huck my meat.

I also hate the name 'gnar'. Can't say it without thinking of cheesey extreme sports types.

[img] [/img]

Agreed, Bike Park Cumbria is maybe better but we won't care what it's called if he pulls it off.

I love the natural stuff for most of my riding but I loved my day at BPW last year. We do two away days a year, one natural (Lakes), one trail centre, it's all good but it's hard to compare the technical battlezone of the Lakes to the speed of BPW. Thank god, or Daffyd, or Rowan, or .... that these places exist.

Agreed, Bike Park Cumbria is maybe better but we won't care what it's called if he pulls it off.

the name and logo are registered so Ben wont be looking to change it.
it stands for Go North And Ride

What elevation does it have?

What elevation does it have?

About 80m

Seriously?

Yup, though in fairness Descend Hamsterley only has about 110m and they do a huge amount with theirs.

Torn here
I really want to support it for what it wants to achieve but the name is awful/dreadful/terrible. 80 m is not massive for a MTB course and I worry it will just be a bit MLEH [ and packed as its so compact

That's about 1/3 of BPW then, and comparable to many of the Surrey Hills trails 😕

I thought the location was supposed to be under wraps for now? 😯

I thought the location was supposed to be under wraps for now?

Is it? Whoops, if that's the case could a mod delete my link? I grew up nearby and recognised the trail map.

Seems like it will be a bigger and paid for version of Stainburn.

Is it? Whoops, if that's the case could a mod delete my link? I grew up nearby and recognised the trail map.

Reported - they don't tend to read every post just in case!

Seems like it will be a bigger and paid for version of Stainburn.

Much bigger if all those trails come about but that sounds reasonably fair in terms of height. If Stainburn had 20+ runs and an uplift I'd probably pay to ride there from time to time.

80m is 25 less than the Laggan Orange (105). Not massive, but enough to work with.

Hi Folks,
A little bit late to the party here but, as you can imagine, it's a fairly hectic time at the moment. I just wanted to jump in and give a "from the horses mouth" view point on a couple of things...
1) GNAR Bike Park. True, it will never win any awards for coolest venue name.
Go North And Ride Privately Owned Progressive Mountain Bike Training Facility would have been a much more descriptive name but, alas, it's a bit long.
2) Again, I'm unlikely to be remembered as a graphic artist. However, the trail map is accurate. All of the lines have been walked, marked out and checked. I've started work on the first ones now. The planning is a done deal and yes, it was challenging.
3) The issue of comparison - I could right a book on this subject so I'll keep it as short as poss. Firstly, I'm extremely grateful for what The Forestry Commission have done over the years to provide an absolute wealth of MTB trails throughout the UK. If Whinlatter, Grizedale and The 7stanes are your riding places of choice and you enjoy them, then, this is great news! You're very lucky to be catered for so well. I'm flattered that GNAR would be mentioned in the same sentence as a £1.6m European funded, Forestry Commission owned (I presume it's FC owned land?)giant that is BPW. But, again, the comparisons are unfair to BPW and somewhat misplaced. Whilst I concede that "Enter The Dragon" at BPW is 900m in length and therefore (for the subject of trail length) is directly comparable to the average length of GNAR's trails, that is as far as like for like goes. The only real fair comparison for GNAR Bike Park would be a place called Coast Gravity Park over in B.C. (as that's a park I'm greatly influenced by).

I'll tell you the story of a secret test day I did a couple of weeks ago that I originally had no intentions of telling anyone about. Rightly or wrongly, I almost feel as though I'm being asked by some to justify my existence. So, here goes....

Two weeks ago I put together a "test bike" to go for a sneaky ride out to Whinlatter. It's on my doorstep, I hadn't ridden there for over almost two years so, it seemed like a good idea. The purpose of my test was to investigate how the advances in bike technology and riding destinations had changed over the last 25yrs. I built up a seven speed, rigid framed, rigid forked, V-brake equipped bike that could best as possible match my old Specialized Hard Rock Comp I rode in 1990. Whilst pulling it from the boot in the car park, I had to endure the most uncomfortable situation I've ever found myself in whilst participating in cycling. The guys in the car park around me were openingly laughing and making whispered comments to each other about my bike. I felt myself repeating "It's ok Ben, they don't know that you have a nice bike at home". I'm not messing around when I say that I really considered just getting back in the car and coming home. Those boys were riding beautiful , modern bikes but, frankly, they were behaving like complete Dicks!
There were further lessons to be gained from that day too. It is my opinion (and I stress, my opinion alone. I do not say this to state a matter of fact that encompases all riders) that, my 1990 spec bike was more than ample for the South loop at Whinlatter. Once I'd bunny hopped rocks, roots and logs and landed on the smooth downslope transition of the jumps, the rest of my time was spend with tyres on "smooth", hard packed UK trail centre surfacing. At no time did I long for any assistance from modern suspension other than some forks would have been more comfortable for my wrists.

And, if you require it from, that is my justification for the existence of GNAR. I firmly believe that there are riders who want to challenge themselves and their machines. Riders who want to increase the progress of their skill sets. Riders who would like to start off with the very smallest of rollers and berms and watch themselves grow to the point of tackling features that cannot be found anywhere else in the UK.

Some of you are focused on comparisons. Some of you think the name is "a bit crap". Some of you are completely happy with the trail network we already have. If you'd like to visit GNAR when we open, you'll all be warmly welcomed. However, those of you who do insist on comparing everything, please, please do not bring that to GNAR's car park.

Very best wishes to you all and huge thanks to those of you who have donated to the cause.

Ben Eggleston

As I said above, I wish you all the best and have donated - plus I'll definitely pop down when I'm visiting my parents. I've also passed the link on to my old riding mates in the area.

Sorry for bringing up the height thing and for letting the location out the bag.

I've bunged you a pound Ben, all the best!

Tom

Having ridden coast gravity park I wish you luck. What I will say about CGP is that it got boring quickly apart from surface to air. So make sure you have some dirty great jumps. Something nowhere really caters for in the UK.

Well I've bunged £20 in, even though I'll probably be too big a pussy to ride any proper features!

Ben, have you checked out Cock Hill near Todmorden? They seem intent on building features you wouldn't find at a trail centre.

I too wish you well.

I would question that this is not near big city / train / bus access it seems - and FC and funders are now firmly in the 'local to population' approach to trail centres. I may be wrong....How are folk to get there (apart from Audi, natch)

I would question that this is not near big city / train / bus access it seems

It's only three miles from a station on quiet back roads - there might even be a cheeky short cut.

Nice bit of woodland, The local pub should benefit and great access to the M6. Good luck Just bunged some cash on kickstarter.

I must say I don't think you have done yourself many favours with your response on the previous page. It feels like you are just coming across as a bit arrogant and forceful.

There is a new bike park on the cards and what? We are not allowed to speculate and compare it to other places? Alright sorry, we will keep our mouths closed.

Good luck with the project but just be careful not to get too one minded and not be able to take criticism, be it constructive or negative, about your project, I don't think you will win any extra support like that.

Oh and my opinions, I am all for a bike park that is actually challenging and with some difficult features and great big jumps since any other trail centre in this country seems to be rather tame in that respect, so good on your if your plan is to create something of that nature. On the other hand the name is terrible and I might enjoy it if I was still 9 and read the Beano.

I am quite happy to pay to ride at Chicksands which I suspect doesn't have 80m of descent. I think it sounds pretty good.

any plans to rent out full face lids? i would seriously consider tagging a visit onto the end of a lakes trip but I really cba to buy a new helmet just for the privilege.

Go North And Ride?

What about people living in Cornwall wanting to visitng should they call it FNAR (Far North And Ride)
People from Northern Ireland Head East and Ride - HEAR
Or people in Scotland what do they call it?

I think it's going to get confusing

It's only three miles from a station on quiet back roads - there might even be a cheeky short cut.

Is that Penrith then?

Nope... but I'm not saying - I've already given the location away once.

Looks a good location and the pub at the bottom of the trails is a beauty!

langwathby? Kirkoswald? come on... spill it.

Watch the video it gives some clues to the location.

As far as the elevation goes there is still a lot you can do with 80m. Our trails at Stile Cop in Cannock Chase aren't the biggest in the country but plenty of people still seem to enjoy it, we've got about 65m height drop.

I'm looking forward to seeing things develop, it's just a shame I'm not closer to offer more help with the digging.

[quote=jekkyl ]langwathby? Kirkoswald? come on... spill it.
It's not hard to work out. Google Earth is your friend

I found exactly where it is just by looking on google maps and finding some woods the same shape as the ones on the picture with the trails on it. Only took a few minutes.

Edit: Just like scotroutes said.

Why is it such a secret any way?? Surely if it has planning permission all the information is in the public domain any way....

Good luck with it Ben.

We will be making a trip up as soon as it is open.

I must admit, I like the name !!!

I will be sticking in my £20 come payday.

And wish Ben good luck and hope he pulls it off.

Love going to that lakes and its under 1.5 hours for me to get there.

The more bike parks there around the UK the better. If you want people to pay for riding them then they have to be good. The more parks the better they have to make them or keep them in good condition.

I think it's going to get confusing

Really? GNAR bike park near the Lake District. How does where you're coming from make that any more confusing than if you were driving up the M6 from Manchester?

Good luck with the venture and imo 80m is plenty for these types of trail.

Having ridden coast gravity park I wish you luck. What I will say about CGP is that it got boring quickly apart from surface to air.

Surface to Air = Coast Gravity Park??? The Coastal Crew trails? In Canada? Got boring quickly? Are you sure? Did you have your bike with you? 😛

Beans spilled.

http://m.pinkbike.com/news/gnar-bike-park-can-a-bike-park-be-crowdfunded-video-2015.html

I was taking the pi$$ Daveyboywonder
Obviously went over your head

My bad, it was called Flight Deck. It was good, but I found myself using the other trails as simply a means of getting to flight deck.

I live in the NE of Scotland so will rarely ride it, but what the hell, £20 in.

Good luck.

£20 in here too...

Sounds good if it's unlike any trail centre descents ...£20 from me

However, those of you who do insist on comparing everything, please, please do not bring that to GNAR's car park.

I don't really understand what you mean by this?

Every trail (not just trail centre) I've ever ridden has probably prompted some form of comparison.

Smooth flowy jumpy stuff is a bit like parts of Whistler, if it's natural steep and rocky it might remind by of parts of Derbyshire, if it's muddy sloppy singletrack round the woods it's a bit like Shadey Pines etc etc.

If you're telling us that GNAR is going to be so mind bogglingly unique and that it is NOTHING like anything else we've ever seen then I'm afraid you're deluded. It's a hill, with trees, in the Lakes, with man made trails in it.

It will inevitably be compared (good and bad) with other places! It's all part of riding somewhere new!

If those who are likely to compare it to something else should stay away, you'd better save your cash cos nobody will come to ride it!

I remember BPW billing itself as something unlike anything else in the UK, our first proper 'bike park'. In reality it's just a trail centre with DH trails. Don't get me wrong it is good but it really isn't 'that' different to other uplift places. I was slightly disappointed on my first visit because it didn't live up to it's 'uniqueness' hyperbole. I suspect GNAR may be the same.

It's a hill, with trees, [b]in the Lakes[/b], with man made trails in it.

No it's not.

Oh ok,

It's a hill, somewhere, with trees, with trails in it.

Even more unique!

I think the fundamental point he was trying to make was not to try to knock lumps out of it before you've been there.

I didn't think people were?

Nobody had said it was going to be sh1t, they were just speculating what it might be like by trying to draw a comparison to something they can use as a point of reference.

I realise this project is his 'baby' and every parent thinks their child is super special and unique, but in reality, they're not!

I hope it works out and he provides another opportunity for people to ride decent trails, but seriously, get over yourself.

Haha saw this on pinkbike and knew there'd be this thread with the usual miserable sad pricks spouting their predictable bollocks 😆 just need someone to comment on us not needing "another bmx track" or something equally as daft.

I'll be donating as there's really nothing like the trails in Whistler over here, mostly boring "tech" stuff rather than the big fast flowy jump trails that are so much fun!

this looks awesome, 80m is more than enough to build something special.

(it's loads more than Grenoside - and we've got a Dh race and everything)

I reckon the last thing we need is yet another bmx track 😉

I'll be donating as there's really nothing like the trails in Whistler over here, mostly boring "tech" stuff rather than the big fast flowy jump trails that are so much fun

I really hope it isn't just smooth flowing tracks with jumps! To me that is boring! Would much prefer something steep and technical that requires more skill to be honest...

I'll be donating as there's really nothing like the trails in Whistler over here, mostly boring "tech" stuff rather than the big fast flowy jump trails that are so much fun

I'd say Revolution's Freeride trail is pretty Whistler-esque (in a flowy jumpy kinda way)?

The problem with only 80m of elevation and fast flowy jumpy stuff is it'll probably take less than a minute to get to the bottom.

With 38 lines I'm assuming there'd have to be a mix otherwise it would become pretty samey over a full day's riding.

Thing I'm seeing with planned parks and trails, even from fairly official sources and after planning permission is granted, is some NIMBYs and/or Natural England start going nuts that you're digging up some bit of nature or spoiling a spot near their expensive house that they never go walking in anyway. Though if someone wanted to build houses on some land, then it's always to hell with them and it gets built regardless. If it was in Wales then no problem. You'll even get grants to build it.

Has this side of it been addressed yet?

poisonspider - Member

The problem with only 80m of elevation and fast flowy jumpy stuff is it'll probably take less than a minute to get to the bottom.

it doesn't sound much. but even a gradient of 10% (which is more than you need to generate a lot of speed) gives you a track 800m long.

800m, at 30kph*, takes 1min 36.

plenty.

(*and that's the average speed, suggesting much higher peak speeds)

A 1min 36 decent may be enough when taken in isolation, factor in the wait for the bus to return (or even just the 'next' one with multiple buses running), the loading of bikes, the uplift, the unloading of bikes, the general pre-drop in fruiting and your ride-time ratio doesn't look good.

At approx 1.5 mins riding with say a 10 min (optimistic) turn around means you'll get about an hours riding in a 8 hour day.

Just to be clear, I'm not trying to knock the concept and I genuinely do hope it comes off and offers some great riding. However, I'm just pointing out that it is unlikely to be the total amazeballs experience it is being billed as.

factor in the wait for the bus to return

Amazeballs? maybe, maybe not, whatever.

do we think the uk mtb scene will be better if:

A) GNAR bike park goes ahead.
or
B) it doesn't.

option A sounds chuffing great if you ask me.

Aston hill is a minute or two per run I think and push up back. Seems pretty popular and they don't even need (or can practically get) an uplift 😉

They've added a season pass option if any locals are interested:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gnar-bike-park-cumbria-uk