lol....just spoke to brother who was filming me at the same time.hes just watched his video and it turns out the chicken run [i]was not[/i] covered in trees after all.
The old one was but there is a new one higher up that i missed and wasn't looking for...FAIL.
my fault.....im CRAP
I rode it last night too for the first time, I didn't stop and cleared it by a mile 'cos I'm great...
Not really, I had to stop and have a look because it came up a bit unexpectedly! Then I went back and had a crack and I swear the transition jumped up at me as I cased the jump with my back wheel.
So to summarise it's not Proflex's fault, it's the jumps because I couldn't possibly have jumped it badly. 😉
OMG.........Crankworx has land in the Surrey hills, get a grip, it's a two foot drop and the gap is five foot!!!!
it's a two foot drop and the gap is five foot
whats your point??
Why is it that folk who ride stuff like this in their sleep seem to be such dicks? Seems to be a regular occurrence. Very odd.
I've had this happen a number of times at peaslake. I'm hammering down a trail and all of a sudden I hit a little double that wasn't there last time I rode the trail. Twice i've cased jumps and almost gone over the bars. 2nd time I have the right speed and it is not a problem.
Hope you heal up quicky Op. Regarding signs, The last thing the surrey hills needs is any sort of trail markings. Part of the joy of riding around peaslake, is that you need a bit of knowledge to find the trails and also to keep your wits about you, as the trails are always changing.
Caveat emptor, mountain biking can be risky.
All these people saying it's your fault. 😯 So what, most accidents are the fault of the rider...it comes with the territory.
Really surprised by lack of sympathy by some people on here. A nasty crash could be just around the corner for any of us, regardless of where, what or how we ride.
Healing vibes buddy and hope you get back 100% soon 😀
[quote=njee20 ]Why is it that folk who ride stuff like this in their sleep seem to be such dicks? Seems to be a regular occurrence. Very odd.
It's not them, they have moved on it's the people who need you to know they jump bigger, faster, higher than everyone else. They always finish first, just ask their missus.
Why is it that folk who ride stuff like this in their sleep seem to be such dicks? Seems to be a regular occurrence. Very odd.
Because a bit of willy waving on stw makes them feel awesumz to the max?
So [i]that's[/i] how I looked on the spinal board*. Like a right twerp!
Hope you make your Wales trip! 🙂
*after nutting a tree crashing on a trail I'd ridden more than any other**
**but in the wet
It's not them, they have moved on it's the people who need you to know they jump bigger, faster, higher than everyone else.
Because a bit of willy waving on stw makes them feel awesumz to the max?
Mmm, yes you're probably both right there!
cheers Mojo
jeeeeeeeeeeeeeezso now its down to picking holes in peoples grammar..
Actually, the picking holes in people's grammar started on page 1. I was merely intending to ironically point out the level that the thread had quickly and predictably deteriorated to. I was probably not obvious enough, for which I apologise.
I will also ignore the fact that you started a new sentence with a lower case.
Putting big drops and jumps into Surrey Hills ain't the brightest thing to do IMHO - it's very popular and attracts a lot of inexperienced riders who are unlikely to have the skills and experience to handle stuff like that...
In particular, putting a feature needing well-above-average skills into one of the easiest to find and therefore well-used trails is poor judgement - a massive mismatch between the trail and the riders likely to be riding it.
I wish trail builders thought of the mass of riders and not just their own preferences.
Glad OP is ok and thanks for the heads up!
looks like a good bit of trail, being a non-local/never ridden surrey hills etc looks a bit like cannock stylee (which is fun!)
healing vibes OP, anyone got a picture of this jump, its really hard to tell on videos what sections are like on mtb' trails, often it looks flattened out and you dont get a real idea of the actual obstacle in question
would love some nice little wood trails like that with jumps in around the peak district 🙁
*skip to the end*
You wouldn't have crashed if you had been wearing some more expensive shorts 8)
I will also ignore the fact that you started a new sentence with a lower case.
To bE faIr....thatS' pritty Funey..
Eye wiLL let ewe OFF..
😉
You wouldn't have crashed if you had been wearing some more expensive shorts
I wasnt wearing them when i crashed..
they were spare ones in my bag as my ones got screwed..
And i must say they are awesome shorts and i love the patterns ...hahahaha
They look like my dead granddad's pyjamas. 🙁
This thread really has woken up the STW [s]dickheads[/s] keyboard warriors hasn't it.
The aim of this thread was just to give others a quick courteous heads up, yet all the poor chap gets is grief.
Hope you're recovering well OP 🙂
im off to Wales next weekend to do
Stiniog, Llandegla and Afan...i had better be mended by then...lol..
I'll be there next weekend too, doing Stiniog on the Sunday 🙂 I'll keep an eye out for a bloke walking the trails before rolling every bump 😉
GWS mate
Why is it that folk who ride stuff like this in their sleep seem to be such dicks? Seems to be a regular occurrence. Very odd.
Is because:
healing vibes OP, anyone got a picture of this jump, its really hard to tell on videos what sections are like on mtb' trails, often it looks flattened out and you dont get a real idea of the actual obstacle in question
It's not actually that large at all, the problems are those mentioned - it was a straightforward drop, which now has a pit in the middle, requiring a bit more commitment, and it's on a very busy trail with absolutely no other similar features, so it came as rather a shock when it suddenly appeared.
Putting big drops and jumps into Surrey Hills ain't the brightest thing to do IMHO - it's very popular and attracts a lot of inexperienced riders who are unlikely to have the skills and experience to handle stuff like that...
It's also where a lot of very quick and skilled people ride. I'm sure people can make an informed decision whether they are capable of riding a trail or feature.
In particular, putting a feature needing well-above-average skills into one of the easiest to find and therefore well-used trails is poor judgement - a massive mismatch between the trail and the riders likely to be riding it.
If people used the two things in the front of their skull, and they grey matter behind them, there is an obvious chicken line round the feature in question.
I'm in the camp that features like this should be in the trail, but only of there are chicken lines to support them. Otherwise the situation comes to be like Swinley, where a small rolling double had to be filled in to become a small table instead, dumbing down of trails to suit the lowest common denominator.
We're not talking about hitting the main line of the Joyride trail at Crankworx here, with 50+ ft gaps. They are small little drops and gap jumps.
thats some funny shizzzle
Healing vibes.
Yep - look before you leap and all that but digging holes in trails that hundreds of people ride seems a little selfish and indeed dangerous to me whilst gaining nothing interms of trail flow.
I was merely intending to ironically point out the level [s]that[/s] to which the thread had quickly and predictably deteriorated [s]to[/s].
😀 🙄 😯 😆
I don't think I've ever bothered to check a trail out on a normal ride before I've ridden it. You just presume it's basically going to be the same as it's always been, and if some slight changes have been made, you hope you'll see them with enough time to change your usual line etc. I wouldn't say this was your fault by any stretch, it's just the nature of the beast sometimes. Get well soon mate.
njee20 - Member
healing vibes OP, anyone got a picture of this jump, its really hard to tell on videos what sections are like on mtb' trails, often it looks flattened out and you dont get a real idea of the actual obstacle in question
It's not actually that large at all, the problems are those mentioned - it was a straightforward drop, which now has a pit in the middle, requiring a bit more commitment, and it's on a very busy trail with absolutely no other similar features, so it came as rather a shock when it suddenly appeared.
ahh right, so is it incomplete then? to be finished still? if the jump was already there what is the purpose of this said pit, sounds like trail sabotage to me!
looks good fast fun though not much you can do in that situation really if you've already committed to riding it as it was before, just gotta hope you have enough speed to carry on through the new bits, a bit of luck, and a bit of get out of jail skill, but a combination of the 3 probably helps, but if your front wheel hits a pit and you dont know its there then not much will help i guess!
Healing vibes dude.
FWIW, I went down there last week and saw 3 girls (aged say 7-12) pushing their little bikes up the trail from the car park end. I politely advised they turn round and explore elsewhere because "... a lot of big fast bikes come down here and they might not see you in time ... "
Personally I don't think it would do any harm for certain trail exits to have those no-entry signs. Official of unofficial, I don't care. Have seen enough people wandering with kids/dogs along a stretch they really need to be careful on. Can't see if happening though.
I do tend to do a "slow run" at the start in case a tree is in the way round a blind corner or something.
But then again, at Lordswood a trail is 30 seconds long if that, so it's not too bad to walk up to the top again.
[i]We're not talking about hitting the main line of the Joyride trail at Crankworx here, with 50+ ft gaps. They are small little drops and gap jumps.[/i]
Go have a look at the picture on the first page again....
Healing vibes OP, people shitting about with trails is a bummer
The PLETHORA of knobs on this forum astound me. But really I shouldn't be surprised eh!
Get well soon!
ahh right, so is it incomplete then? to be finished still? if the jump was already there what is the purpose of this said pit, sounds like trail sabotage to me!
No idea! I rode down the trail a few weeks ago and there was a very shonky looking 'jump' dug into the trail, I didn't really fancy it, so avoided it. Rode down the next time and it appeared to have turned more into a drop, which had been reinforced with boards etc, and looked fine, now it seems to have been dug out in the middle. I've not really given it that much attention now I know it's there, not really a hassle to avoid!
Get well soon Pro, easy done especially on shonky trail 'adjustments' not matter how awesomz you are.
Have you seen what your old Remedy has become? 😉
That's possibly the funniest vid i've seen in YEARS !!!
Get well soon and thanks for posting it.
I know that trail well, no real jumps on it so any regular rider of it like myself wouldn't be expecting any.
IMO the hole that's been dug is totally inappropriate and very dangerous and almost certainly truely unofficial. There are plenty of trails in the SH with jumps from small to pretty serious, a lot of them are hidden away for obvious reasons and most are built to a pretty high standard by people who know what they are doing. I think this has been dug by someone with no clue what they are doing on a trail they know about because it's fairly common knowledge. Someone dug a similar pit and jump on BKB a while back.
In my view it's trail vandalism.
I can see why @freeridebick and others are concerned about this thread because stuff like this is exactly the sort of vandalism that leads to the trails being closed. However, that doesn't mean we should stay quiet about it.
jamba, problem is the trail itself is affectively vandalism let alone the jump!
the whole trail could be flattened by the Hurtwood with a few chainsaw strokes..only take 1 show to the ranger of neck brace picture...
The Hurtwood turn a blind eye to a lot....we don't want it to turn into Swinley..
Jambalaya - the jump was built by the guy that builds most of the other trails round there and it does ride well. As njee mentioned above it was fine for all when the wood was initially added, nothing more than a drop really. A less confident rider could ride at it slowly, push the front wheel off and generally be fine. Alternatively there is the chicken line. Since that point earth has been taken from the point behind the boarding to build up the landing ramp which has resulted in the hole and subsequent lip which was the OPs undoing. Now if you go off it with insufficient pace/skillz you end up with the opening post/vid.
Place your bets now on how long it takes the Ranger to destroy this...
I'm not against stuff like this in trails, I like to push/test my skills on these sort of features as much as the next person but, IMO, it's bad judgement to put a feature into a trail that is out of character with the rest of the trail.
I also think it's asking for trouble to build something like this on such a busy trail as it inevitably draws the attention of the Hurtwood to the trail and forces them not to turn a blind eye any longer.
I think it would be better if things like that were placed off the main line, so they become opt in, rather than catching people out.
Someone dug a similar pit and jump on BKB a while back.
Remember speaking to someone who was proud of himself for having done that. His words were "it's about evolving the sport", and he couldn't get his head round the fact it was really pretty stupid.
the whole trail could be flattened by the Hurtwood with a few chainsaw strokes..only take 1 show to the ranger of neck brace picture...
Erm, but that situation was caused entirely by the new modifications to the trail... That's the problem. Yes the trail was probably a bit cheeky, but few were likely to get hurt on it. That's now changed, and the stakes have been raised somewhat.
People crash everywhere. just not sure we need a 4 page spread about it!
Anyhow, I am off to ride TD's lesser known creations! 😛
Personally I don't think it would do any harm for certain trail[b]s[/b]to have those no-entry [b]to bikes[/b] signs. Official of unofficial, I don't care. Have seen enough people [b]tearing down them on bikes[/b] with kids/dogs along a stretch they really need to be careful on. Can't see if happening though.
FTFY
FFS take some responsibility for your own actions, Joe Public walking up the trail with dog and kids in tow hasn't the foggiest idea that some biker coming the other way thinks it's a bike only trail. You on the other hand know you're there, know your stopping distance, and should be anticipating that someone else might be on the trail. It's a bit of land within easy reach of London with relatively relaxed access rules, who do you think they'd ban if push came to shove, the 99% of the population that don't ride bikes, or the mountainbikers reprisented by the douchebag who ran over Rover and Fenton becasue he couldn't stop in time?
Anyhow, I am off to ride TD's lesser known creations!
Quicker than the trail in question? Seems you're 100 places below me on Strava 😉
Calm down spoony. FTR I do take responsibility for my actions and like to think I actively look out walkers/kids/dogs on sections/corners where it's not always easy to see what's coming up. This is as a result of being a regular dog walker and XC runner, ie putting one's boot on the other foot.
I've seen a mate have a big splat as a result of a dog running across his line on Park Life. He could easily have broken something. Owners didn't give a to55.
EDIT: I know a fair few riders who sadly don't give a sh1t who else is on the trail. Hence my concern is more for walkers/kids/animals getting in the way of people like this.
we need the dogs viewpoint on this, was the dog on a strava run when your mate cut into the dogs line?I've seen a mate have a big splat as a result of a dog running across his line on Park Life. He could easily have broken something. Owners didn't give a to55.
Quicker than the trail in question? Seems you're 100 places below me on Strava
He's still trying to catch me down Evian 😉
I'm going to have to put some effort in on the trail in question, i'm off the first page now 😯
There's actually nothing ghetto about it, it's been boarded & staked properly.
I apologise for calling your IMBA standard illegal building 'ghetto'. How silly of me. 🙄
Its pretty stupid to say its perfectly fine to mod a trail to suit the diggers ability.
If there is a drop or a table thats been in place for a while and riders know its there , and know the speed and line required to clear it safely or think its still rollable as its a table. Then along come Mr dig-it and digs out a trench as a table just isnt radcore enough for him ,surely alot of riders are going to crash?
Its just dumb, putting people into danger on private land where its for the minority benefit . As for walking a trail , Yeah everyone does that don't they.
You can see the take off and landing transition with enough time to stop. As such I feel that the creator of this trail has done a good job. If you feel that it should be made safer, may I suggest you pick up a spade and go fill the middle in and make it into a table top. Or just moan alot, that always helps!
Its Ok , I will just wait for the ranger to flatten it so I can roll it safely.
Hob Nob - Member
To be fair if you can ride that trail at any sort of pace the old berms were too tight, it was easier to double them up.
Not too tight at all I found. Was one of the best fast flowing descents in the hills. Sweeping berms, and was even getting into a little rear flick on the uphill corner into the last big berm. Now round the corner and "oh ****" 😀 . Yes it's a small gap to most, but I have hang ups on them, so it's no go for me until I can get my head round it (and all gaps really). Now I have to mince round the chicken line, which at least is less of a mess when the hole was first hacked in.
Actually I can see why it may have appeared. People couldn't be bothered to corner and I was already seeing a short cut appearing and someone thought it would be cool to turn the short cut into a gap, but straight through the line into the berm!
I like the new jump for what it's worth. It would appear I'm the minority though
Looks great. I can't do it, but yeah it looks great. However it's destroyed the flow for those who don't want to or can't jump it. I'd rather a second line out of the original flow with a jump was put in that descended into the berm rather than destroying what was a nice berm (and probably a lot of work involved) entirely. That way there'd be a pay off for the jump guys by hitting the new line and maybe more speed without killing the speed for everyone else, instead of slowing everyone else down so a few can have a blast. But hey ho.
Really though the problem with Supernova is it's incredibly popular now and a main end of ride run to the car park (when people are tired and make mistakes). Everyone rides it, with a wide variety of skills and (in)experience. Something like that built on Northern Monkey or a more secret trail and fine you'd expect that, so long as you give me a chicken line 😀 .
[b]Edit:[/b] Just looking at the video, it's hard to make out but it looks different yet again from at the weekend. Is that further back? Doesn't seem to be where I thought it was and looks like more of a drop now. Can't see a line round it either. Difficult to see though.
most of the stuff in winterfold in unofficial
I believe Hurtwood owns and controls a part of Winterfold - not sure which parts though, always ride there with an eye out for getting told off by a certain landowner especially around the Supernova area.
OP hope you get better thanks for the heads up
Nobody enjoys a big stack however it happens so hope you're all healed in time for your trip to Wales.
Some good points made in this thread, but honestly, how are people going so fast that they are going into the jumps with no time to react / stop / avoid? There's more than enough run in on that section to see what is coming up and realise that the trail has changed. First time I approached them I just slowed a bit, popped the first one and stopped for the second, took a look and went back for another run. True, you can't track walk every single trail when you ride just incase there's a new feature, but there's pretty much always time to see what is ahead and react.
Or maybe I'm just slow.
jeeeeeeeeeeeeeez
so now its down to picking holes in peoples grammar..
[pedant]Actually, he was correcting bad spelling, not bad grammar.[/pedant]
jeeeeeeeeeeeeeez
so now its down to picking holes in peoples grammar..[pedant]Actually, he was correcting bad spelling, not bad grammar.[/pedant]
Very True!.
To be fair if you can ride that trail at any sort of pace the old berms were too tight, it was easier to double them up.
I did always find them a bit tight actually, but assumed it was my lacking skillz.
Very True!.
Full stop and an exclamation mark. Tut tut.
the whole trail could be flattened by the Hurtwood with a few chainsaw strokes..only take 1 show to the ranger of neck brace picture...
a bit effing late now lads... Hurtwood do lurk on here!
Assuming this is the same feature (I think so) this was a bit of a surprise when I rode it on Wednesday in the dark - that's a significant change to a trail I've ridden many times before.
It seems an odd modification to do to a trail that will be very familiar to many riders - I bet it's going to catch more people out. It's not an improvement IMO, I preferred it as it was before, but that's subjective certainly. It concerns me somebody could get badly hurt there because they're not ready for a new feature on what's to them a familiar trail.
Careful out there folks, the only worthwhile lesson I guess is not to take these trail layouts for granted
@op glad you're OK, could have been nasty.
when I rode it on Wednesday in the dark
that sounds like I rode the jump ... I didn't, jumps aren't my bag. [i]It[/i] means the trail.
Very True!.Full stop and an exclamation mark. Tut tut.
i Am not sure what You mean.?
There are plenty of trails with jumps with and without gaps just a few minutes pedal from SuperNova. I think these modifications are irresponsible on what was previously a rollable "easy" trail ridden by almost everyone on their way to the bottom of the hill.
As for walking the trail, 10 or 15 mins walk down plus the same back up, so 20-30 mins. Are we assuming we chain the bike up at the top or do we push that down the trail whilst we are scoping it ?
I just go for a ride. I ride the trails that happen to be on my route and look interesting once, otherwise I would feel the urge to walk, lower my shorts and hang a full facer from my bars!
I just like to ride my bike. Why so I need to inspect trails before riding them? Surely that just wrecks a ride.
"Surrey Hills" as the phrase is used here isn't a bike park or trail centre, it's a shared access area where trails are to a degree tolerated (though there's plenty of resistance too). So warning signs and so on, as one would see in a bike park, aren't a good idea I think. Basically this is a place where anyone can go anywhere, and that stands for everyone.
It doesn't seem smart to me to add new potentially dangerous features into longstanding, not technically advanced, trails that many people will already know pretty well. It's not viable to expect people to approach a familiar trail as if it was new, every time.
If a change needs a warning sign, that's maybe an indication that it's in the wrong place.
Likewise on a normal ST trail, it's probably smart to make everything so it's rollable ... like they do in Coed y Brenin etc! This doesn't stop people jumping the feature, they can still do that. And there are plenty of other trails that have gap jumps in and always have done.
Imagine if that jump was a childs face.
It's all very well dishing out advice on how to build trails for us all to ride. But in reality there are very few out there willing to do the work, and a lot of people with advice. Maybe they should put there money/spade where there mouth is!
If a change needs a warning sign, that's maybe an indication that it's in the wrong place.
Mmm, seems about right.
But in reality there are very few out there willing to do the work, and a lot of people with advice. Maybe they should put there money/spade where there mouth is!
Well folk are generally saying that leaving the spade at home is the preferred idea when the alternative is sticking large doubles in non-technical and well used trails...
It's all very well dishing out advice on how to build trails for us all to ride. But in reality there are very few out there willing to do the work, and a lot of people with advice. Maybe they should put there money/spade where there mouth is!
So if you dig something, like say a new jump, and someone who doesn't like it grabs a spade and comes along afterwards and demolishes it, that's cool? I can see the potential for conflict within trail user groups here, let alone between them.
Yea, but if you don't like the gap, fill it in. you don't have to flatten it all. I recon the berms would have taken quite a lot of digging, don't you?
njee20 & edlong i think what freeride_frankie is trying to say is that if people get involved a bit more with build trails in the first place you will have more of a say in what they turn out like. It should be about all working together.
It’s very easy to say I don't like this and that.
What about saying how can I help to make it better?
I was kidding. I know (and agree with) what he means, but I think his comment's a bit misplaced, that's all.
It would be utter carnage if everyone just took a spade and modified every trail to suit! I fully appreciate what goes on up there, and the vast majority is excellent work, but folks adding things like this to suit their riding and putting others at risk is a little daft. I agree that turning it into a tabletop could work very well, but odds are someone will dig it out again in the name of rad.
Well one reason I haven't picked up a spade and modified that trail is because I liked it how it was.
Frankie I don't think anybody's raising an issue with gap jumps as a concept, just questioning the wisdom of dropping one into a well established well used used where riders are going to come upon it unexpectedly, and it's not in keeping with what was there before.
And if Josh Bender wanted to ride that trail, would he be alright to just dig it out into a 30ft drop? Does he have the right to do it, because he's actually wielding a spade?
Personally I think jumps with consequence should be kept to trails with jumps with consequence.
I'm all up for a cheeky table top etc which can be rolled, or little kickers, and drops etc - but once you start mixing the two there's always someone missing out.
The jumpers miss out because they can't build bigger and bigger.
And the trail riders miss out because they aren't into jumping.
Make it rollable and you get heated arguments about why "old Lycra clad 'xc' types" are spoiling their fun and how no one understands them etc 😉
Or at least that's a regular argument on the Swinley FB group 😀
You all know that the truth is none of us have the right to build on the h/wood. Many of us flock to the Surrey Hills to ride these iligitimate trails. If we only rode the legitimate trails, our rides would be a lot shorter and duller! don't quash the trail builders artistic licence. If you feel that there efforts are wrongly placed then why not fill that gap!
You could put the dirt out of the 30' bender bomb hole to good use!
Heal well OP, sorry to hear about the spill.
I came across this just as they started to build it. It was getting late and was very unexpected. I bailed it as I couldn't see what was there at first. But it basically looked a mess. I guess it has been finished now! On balance I am with Jambalaya on this one. But also credit to the trail pixies (I assume TD and friends) as I think they are bloody smart at creating chicken routes in most cases. The obvious example is the (increasingly well known) run not far away on W'fold. The gap jump and the jump before the big berm all have very obvious and rideable chicken lines (for the likes of me) and I was very thankful of them first time out on that trail.
I don't think signs are an answer though!!!
You either ride the trails and take responsibility or u ride fire roads and what ever,u can't ride illegal trails then moan cause they change
Gutted that you hurt yourself but buy posting pics on forums and social media is goner cause nothing but mayhem and trails to be shut down
Seems to me it's the same few riders debating/moaning about the building ,riding of the Surrey hills
Don't ride them trails stick to the other trails
We is all mountain bikers or cyclist just cause you can't / don't want to ride stuff don't make it wrong
Tony b
Gotta love the school holidays!
I can't believe that u all moan about the trails but ride them u need to sit back and think about what ya saying
I've crashed on every trail at some point but I don't post up pics saying watch out there's a root or a new super smooth fast berm
B careful there's a new roundabout on the way to Horsham from Crawley could be tricky
Tony b
Tony b