With a mate decided to do twrch trail then onto the downhill track at cwm carn. (as i'm off to the alps next month) Well, it scared the sh*t out of me really. I was absolutely rubbish at riding, On the brakes for a lot of it and couldn't find any flow.

I've ridden the twrch trail at cwm carn probably over 100 times and i'm certainly not hanging about but i found the downhill track v.hard. I really think you need to be hitting a lot of the rollers fast to make it to the 2nd one. It made me realise i'm just not a downhill kind of rider

(Then again, when i got home i realised i had the forks dialled down to 130 instead of 150 but still don't think it would made a massive amount of difference to my riding)

It wasn't nessarily the terrain that was giving me problems as i've ridden loads of rocky/gnarly stuff in peaks, lakes and spain it was the sheer speed.

Anyone else find the downhill absolutely mental and can't ride it for toffee like me?

thicker tubes/heavier and wider tires so you can let your tires down a bit. the more grip the better.

wind your forks out.

then just go for it.

finally remember there are A LOT of mincers in the alps. plenty of folks who talk about goign out there each year and how good they are, only to mince around and get to bar robinsons at 3pm every day to talk it up a bit more.

you wont be the worst.

There's a lot of mincers everywhere, like whinlatter yesterday all padded up & full face helmets to ride a steady xc loop FFS.

nowt wrong with pads.

praps something wrong with pads when you are doing 3mph.

Seriously don't worry.

Go and do a full uplift day and you'll come away with a different mindset.

I went, my first run sounded pretty much like what you describe. I was doing nearly 6 mins at the start of the day, by the end I was chasing sub four mins and having a whale of a time, my best was 4:10 just after lunch time (on a trail bike like yours mind).

The more you do the more you'll get used to the speed, when you get back and are riding some of your local trails you should see a marked difference. 😉

then just go for it.

This is so easy to say, but I completely synmpathise with the OP. I'm not really wired for it. 🙂

nowt wrong with pads and doing 3mph – not my choice, but nowt wrong with it.

ive only done the uplift at cwmcarn once and fullface & pads is the order of the day (for me), i had a couple of tumbles so was glad of it

if i was a better rider then i would ride it on a rigid SS in my flip flops and a wide brimmed sunhat.

i dont mean go for it like bust a 60 ft double and sprint at everything.

just go for it as in relax, ride down. go steady. build up. just dont stand at the top worrying. set off, get down it. revel in how easy it is really.

THEN try and go faster.

I found it really helped riding fast downhill when I have someone monstering my back tyre all the way down, cackling like the devil himself.

You know who you are, you bastards!!!!

The rollers on the red run are actually pretty difficult to ride smoothly unless you're a really good jumpy type, or you can manual the whole lot (!). Do the black run instead (go left off the start ramp, not right). Much better – steeper and twistier, but MUCH more fun.

Also – after the tunnel, there's a short uphill bit at the top of which a singletrack goes off on the right – again nicer than the main line, and far more "natural" for someone of a more trail riding orientation.

There's a lot of mincers everywhere, like whinlatter yesterday all padded up & full face helmets to ride a steady xc loop FFS.

That is overkill, I've ridden it all im my pants!

I went for my first downhill of the season over in Sweden yesterday. I felt very under biked on my Prophet but after a few runs it was fine. I would say 75% is the rider as there were some people on really expensive bikes that were mincing. There was no way I was going to do the really big drops and steep rock gardens though. Still can't get the hang of steep drops to steep. I think I am not far enough back and heels not down enough.

First time I rode the black at cwmcarn (only recently myself) I did cack my self a bit, but then the next few times just got better, smother and faster. Always done it so far in the evening when there wasn't any other riders to get in the way/get in the way of! Although my best run was when there was one other fully kitted up DHer there who I followed down, and was much better following someone else, meant I didn't bottle anything to much. Mind you I'm not at the level of taking any of the bigger jumps/drops (over 2 or 3 feet)!

Many people refer to the CC DH as 'the motorway' as it is pretty much all about flat out speed with very little in the way of technical riding.

Do not worry about it at all. Myself and a mate did that at the start of the year. We both ride downhill normally and said mate races in nationals and pearce series, usually comes top 10. I found the Downhill extremely difficult and crashed once trying to ride it on XC bike with saddle up and clipped in. Mate lowered his saddle, on flat pedals and still found it very very hard.

We both have done the uplifts there numerous times on Full Suss DH and HT DH bikes and its amazing the difference.

Seriously don't worry about it.

Not worried just a realisation i'm crap at it. I was clipped in as well.

Would be better if i could session stuff – drop offs, rollers, jumps etc

Big bike, full face and armor, session it a few times and you would be surprised. Wobbling down it once on an XC bike with no pads and it is unnerving.

Go to your nearest DH track on a day when no uplift is running, push up and section / session bits of it to build your confidence.

Where are you based?

I'm in bristol. Perhaps i should go up to cwn carn on an evening when the storm troopers aren't about

Don't be so hard on yourself. First time I rode CC was on my Heckler – twas a bit scary but second run I was already going much faster once I had a better idea of what was coming up. Having since ridden it on a DH bike in FF and pads, it makes a world of difference even for someone as crap as me. Flat pedals defo help,as does following (or being chased!) 😉

If you're in Bristol then why not go to Forest of Dean instead. Mellower gradient, but arguably much more interesting trails in terms of variety, perfectly doable on any bike, easier to push up and session and of course there is an uplift there now too.

Its good to see that others are a little aprehensive, if not bloody terified when attempting big DH riding for the first time, but for those that are pretty damn good at it, can I ask, honestly, how many times have you fallen, broken bones or just generally scared yourself before you became good at it…?

Broken wrists, several concussions, more falls and overbars than I can remember (see concussions).

I'd say I'm pretty good these days, but stop being scared? Never, there'd be no fun without fear.

[edit] the real injuries happened trying stupid stuff rather than specifically riding DH [edit]

Skills course? My head was a shed after two broken shoulders in 18 months. Spent a few days with Cycleactive and now feeling far more relaxed on stuff that I couldn't get my head around before

I did a session with jedi a few months back which helped me immensely but i haven't been sessioning jumps/drops a lot since.

I know all the basics of drops/jumps. they are just a lot more mental on downhill runs and require a lot more speed/balls

Well im in the same boat as you, Im off to Morzine in 4 weeks and have no DH experiance. Although I did go to Chamonix last year on my Enduro and loved every second.
like you Ive done the Cwmcarn XC route 100 times + and I realy do 'go for it' on the decent. Now you've got me thinking… 🙁

TrikcyDisco, did you do one uplift at Cwmcarn with a young lad yesterday ?

Had an awesome day at CC yesterday, really enjoyed it.

I remember the first run I did a few years ago and I thought it was awful. I was booked onto the uplift for the day and thought I had wasted my money. By the end of the day I was having a great time.

Get a full face and some armour and throw yourself down it 🙂

Bazzer

Well im in the same boat as you, Im off to Morzine in 4 weeks and have no DH experiance. Although I did go to Chamonix last year on my Enduro and loved every second.
like you Ive done the Cwmcarn XC route 100 times + and I realy do 'go for it' on the decent. Now you've got me thinking..

Really don't worry about it there is a lot more than just DH runs in Morzine. I am off to Morzine with Flow MTB on the 3rd of July I cant wait 🙂

Bazzer

Seriously Gav, don't worry about it.

I've done 2 uplift days at cwmcarn and both times the first run scared the hell out of me; thoughts of 'I can't ride this, what am I doing here'!etc etc.

By the third run I was absolutely loving it.

As bazzer says there's far more to Morzine than just dh courses but sessioning one course for a morning will give you so much more confidence.

Less than 4 weeks to go now, I can not wait!

Try and get used to using flats – I much prefer them now for gnarlier descents. You will probably also find in the alps that after a few days you get attuned to the riding out there and get into it. I rode lots of stuff out there I would probably have balked at here.

I did a session with jedi a few months back which helped me immensely but i haven't been sessioning jumps/drops a lot since.

I know all the basics of drops/jumps. they are just a lot more mental on downhill runs and require a lot more speed/balls

Funny. I also did a session with jedi a few months back, but the time that what he taught really, really started taking effect was when I did the innerleithen uplift last month.

trickydisco, you just need to deal with overlapping sections. jump,drops etc.. just happening quicker so your timing was out.
email me if it doesnt make sense!

If you don't think you can do it, there's no point me going anywere near it. Far beyond my skill and speed mate.

Meh i did some boss level mince when i was last in Scotland.

The lads mock me for it because they know it bugs me.

To be honest your not alone. Don't worry about 'looking cool'
I'm afraid none of us do.

trickydisco, 🙂 🙂

Bazzer – Flowmtb for me also. going with a bunch I guys I dont realy know, but do dh. i'll be there on the 10th.

The mincers will still be riding when they're 60, and the gung-ho merchants will have difficulty rising from their chairs. There's a price to pay for learning to go fast, and apart from the very gifted, I don't think it's worth it.

That's my experience from the early days of motorbike enduro riding, and downhill riding is starting to look very similar.

DH is great fun, its the feeling of being scared that makes it worthwhile.
I have been to cwmcarn, moelfre, aston hill, and out to the mega 2 times now, still get worried when I head off on my first run of the day,
Ok sometimes you crash and it hurts, but hey you can get hurt doing anything, ever put your back out lifting something? Such is life if you enjoy it do it, if not then find something else to do