Well unofficially at any rate.
We hit a milestone yesterday with the volunteer twisty in the trees bit and linked up with the old red route on the fireroad. Started a new section as well to bypass some more fireroad.
Contractor bits are all now rideable and open, all the obstructions have been removed and some limited signage is up. Full route marking should be done in the next couple of weeks.
So if you fancy riding some of the biggest berms you've ever seen feel free.
The trails will officially open when all the route marking is done but they are happy for people to ride the tails before then.
Perfect im up in Skipton for a family gathering for a few days at the end of the month and i was just looking for somewhere to head on the bike.
How easy is it to find the good stuff? Any rough maps available yet or a place to start from?
i should be up there this weekend testing the new trek 🙂
anyone else going?
This is the original trail builders plan. it's not been updated so difficult to see what bits of it are finished and what isn't. Maybe you can use it in conjunction with an OS map. You should be able to find the Quarry, there's a long section out of the back of it which stumpyjon said was finished (i think), it's basically the long yellow highlighted bit up the top right, but there are other sections to find. The bit highlighted in pink on the left, is the volunteer build and is finished bar the odd bits.
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This is the stone pitch staircase finished on Sunday. it's steeper than the pic suggests
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This section is especially good, swoops criss crossing this steep sided gully down to the bottom of the hill
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Wall-ride-tastic! Going to have to have a quick drive out there sometime for a play.
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wow, this looks pretty incredible! I shall be going soon.
Lowe/junkyard up for a ride?
Have to say - this does look cracking, another great trail centre within an hours drive is always good!
That looks class, and only 45 mins drive from Preston! spoilt for riding round my way like!
that looks really really good - defo going to get at least a day up there soooon.
I'm going up tomorrow night and will log the route on my GPS. I'll download it and take a screen shot of the new and old red routes on one map and try and post up here.
Having ridden it all before i can confirm it is indeed of a very good standard. Plans are being made for toilets and cafe and they are already looking for more funding for a skills park.
Plus the volunteers are still building, once we've completed the section we started on Sunday we've got a couple of options, another descent line on the roller coaster section or I think our preferred option is to build some woodwork features running parrallel to one of the existing fireroads.
Neil - give me a shout if you are planning to go. I'm free most days!
JxL i'm away in France next week but the week after definately, one night after work? I finish at 4 so can do anytime around 5? be a good place for a couple of hour blast around by the looks of it? 😀
Jon thats ace, I couldn't make it to dig at the weekend but I did have a ride round the route the other week and it was ace. The stone pitching took a lot of work! Those big rocks didn't get up that hill by themselves! I remember at the dig previous pushing on my hands and knees a ****ing big rock up that slope. I can say that the trail is very good.
enjoy
2hottie
Scott
the next bit is going to go way faster, we dug out about 40 yards and put a base layer of stone down over most of it with 8 of us in 2 hours. Stone is right next to trail head, the soil is dry and there aren't too many roots. I much prefer trail building when we measure progress in yards per hour rather than rock per hour.
That Gully looks ace.
Looks good, will have to go and have a proper look. Same contractor as Lee Quarry?
Read somewhere else this is on United Utilities land - is this true and how did you get them to go for it?
I agree yards per hour is much better than rocks per hour,
Anyway the stone pitch is a great feature and makes the route that little bit harder!
Unsure about the U an U land but the guy who help to organise the digging at Gisburn works for U an U and is a massive bike fan so was easy I guess.
Yeah Neil - that sounds good.
The land at Gisburn is owned by United Utilities and the Forestry Commission are then tenants of UU. Luckily for us both Nigel Pilling, the UU guy on the ground and Martin Colledge the FC man on the ground are both mountain bikers and it's been their concerted effort over the last four years or so that has got this off the ground.
Different contractors to Lee Quarry, Martin wanted to use local contractors. Rowen Sorrel has given advice and I believe one of Rowen's guys has supervised the contractors.
The twisty tight bit through the trees has all been done by hand with volunteers which is why it has that unique character, we didn't have to clear the trees to get machines in.
This looks great.
Another 'ride after work' possibility being an hour from Warton.
look fwd to the map and piccies stumpyjon
It looks awesome well done to everyone involved! I've been meaning to get over and help with the trail building but been away at Uni. I'm on the facebook group anyway so will be on the lookout for dig days now I'm back in the area 🙂 Now just to get car insurance sorted...
Next dig day is a week on Sunday. Now get you car insurance sorted....no excuses 😆
I think (hope) Gisburn is going to be very good. If what Martin Colledge (the head FC forester) says, happens, then it's going to be a mix of Dalby XC and Stainburn/Lee Quarry Technical. So, a good long fun XC ride with Black technical features along the way, for those that want to do them (We've yet to see how 'technical' Martin is prepared to go).
Something else from Sunday, they are going to start charging for parking in the main trailhead car Park (currently free), proceeds going to trail maintenance. However, we discussed a free parking pass for people who do some dig days, as an incentive to turn up and build trail. This would be similar to the arrangement SingletrAction have in Yorkshire for a Dalby Forest Pass, if you do 3 dig days at Dalby, Stainburn or Wharncliffe.
i'm away in france for the next two weekends but i'd like to get involved with the digging? i'm only in preston and i reckon a mate of mine will come along too? emails in profile if you could email me the details?
Neil, sent you an email last night.
Anyone else want details, just ask.
stumpyjon YGM, also emailed martin, should be there the one after next 😀
So we finally made it out to the fire road! Woohoo!
Won't be able to make the next one but i'll be there for the dig day after that.
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I think this one might be a climb.
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Text on this reads:
That's Nikki of Rowan Sorrells Company, he project managed the local contractors.How many lines! If you like 4x you're going to love this! I'm thinking the name 'The dragon's teeth' may be appropriate with a nod to our welsh trail designer - cheers Nikki!
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Rode the new route at Gisburn tonight. Clocked it at 12.7 miles on the GPS and 13.5 on the Cateye so take your pick, guess it's around 13 miles. 1450 ft of climbing and it's bl**dy brilliant. Rode some of the blue bits today as well.
GPS output below:
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Some excellent bits, took loads of pics, all the pics are [url= http://stumpyjon.pinkbike.com/album/Gisburn-Forest/ ]here[/url].
Choice pics below:
Nice bit of boardwalk.
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Nice techy bit, fall off and get wet 😆
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Top of an optional black bit.
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Silly slab on the black loop, gotta be 70 degree slope and 15 / 20 ft drop 😯
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Bermtastic, these berms continue for 7 or 8 switchbacks 8)
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Exit from the rollercoaster, through a ruined building.
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All looks fab - mrdomino went up there this afternoon and enjoyed it while I was slaving over a hot computer 🙁 Will have to get up there soon.
That does look good, I've been holding out till it's properly open but tomorrow night it may get a visit.
stumpyjon - Member
Neil, sent you an email last night.Anyone else want details, just ask.
takamush@live.co.uk please been riding there since i was three better get my arse there at sometime
That slab looks a lot less steep than 70 deg in that picture, more like 30 t 35 - but I shall withhold judgement until I've ridden it. Is the 13 mile loop easy to ride if you haven;t been before or shall I wait until thr waymarking is up?
Nice pics Jon.
The solution to non-slip wooden raised trail looks interesting. I looked at it months ago on the small bridge on the volunteer build section, I've never seen it used elsewhere. It looks like it's been axe split end on, which would be quite labour intensive for a long section. I'm curious to know how it's actually being done. Personally, I think 'Knackerisation' is still a genius solution for lateral grip whilst still keeping it looking reasonably 'natural', someone with a chainsaw could make short work of knackerising it:
Examples of Knackerisation at Stainburn
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That slab looks a lot less steep than 70 deg in that picture, more like 30 t 35 - but I shall withhold judgement until I've ridden it.
Yes,please do reserve judgement.Okay,maybe not 70 deg,but not far off!
See the following photo,taken 10 days ago,the bike was propped up vertically,hopefully it'll convey the steepness...
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Was up there with a mate yesterday eve,(Weds),rode the whole route,& some of it twice,(the bermed gully run),& we came away impressed with the work thats gone on there.
Actually, in that photo it looks more like 30 degrees, don't forget 90 degrees is vertical. 70 degrees would be very very steep.
But, all these pics makes Gisburn look superb and a step up 'next generation' from many other centres.
Actually, in that photo it looks more like 30 degrees, don't forget 90 degrees is vertical. 70 degrees would be very very steep.
Point taken 🙂
Having been down the 'Gisburn Slab' 3 times so far,i'd say its at least as steep as this:
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(Dalbeattie qualifier).And that photo doesn't do the steepness justice either!
and a step up 'next generation' from many other centres.
I'll say.Was particularly impressed with the 'lets put timber over the boggy ground'solution.i.e. use what looked like hand split logs rather than the smooth machine cut slippy timber at other centres.
Hopefully this trail building at Gisburn will be just the start.
This is me on the Dalbeattie Qualifier which is also probably no more than 30 degrees steep (I went over the handlebars a split second later 🙂 ). On a bike, short steep sections look/feel much more than they actually are, especially where rocks are involved.
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Can see I'm going to have to use my iphone to measure the angle of the slab, it is very very steep, way over 45 degs.
The new boardwalks are excellent, almost muscial, if you ride them you'll know what I mean.
Tom, you got mail.
In that second pic it looks more like 25 to 30 deg 🙂 Measuring angles by eye is a very hard skill to develop, and not many people carry clinometers. Good skill to have in the mountains though
Dang!! Jon, those pics look brilliant. Got a rght dilema now. I've got the bike in the car at the moment and was going to do Cut Gate tonight, but that looks ace! and I reckon I can be at Stocks in 1.5 hrs....
Ohhh, what to do, what to do.....
Is it pretty straightforward to follow on the ground without a map ?
Gisburn has just been officially added to the 'to-do' list.
lowey, some of it is, some of it isn't. There's a map on the previous page which I did with the GPS last night. Just leave Cocklett Hill carpark and follow the red route clockwise. You'll have a bit of single track cross the end of the resevoir, bit more single track and then fireroad. Go up the longish hill on the fireroad, where the red route is signposted right on the FR carry straight on for another couple of hundred yards and youll see the entrance to the volunteer built bit, this is the easiest to miss. After this section it's fireroad for a while until you get to the quarry which is the entrance to the next big chunck. The start of the trail is on the left hand side of the big pile of stones. After that it's reasonably obvious. There are little signs at the entrances to most of the new sections.
Jon, £5 at the next dig day says it's less than 45 degrees, that's overall, the bottom 1/2 looks a bit steeper than the top, so take a top and bottom angle and do a guestimate.
I should point out that I wasn't poo-pooing it or questioning it's difficulty and test of nerve, it is definitely steep. Like nbt, all I'm questioning is peoples perception/estimation of the actual degree of angle of a slope, it's often way off the mark.
This is probably around 45 degrees and it feels and looks very steep, but I doubt very much that Martin would put it in, even as a black grade test. The slab next to it would be in the range of 50-60 degrees
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It is easy to overestimate an angle, especially when you've just bottled it, but I still reckon it's well over 45 degs, we shall see 😆
Still scary steep, one of those where you have to be right on the lip to see it, take a step back and the drop disappears under the lip.
I had enough trouble getting over the step on the top of our pitched section, bottled it the first time, had some peer pressure and a camera to help me get down it on the second attempt, wasn't the most controlled of descents though. I'm thinking pads are going to be a good idea for Gisburn in the future, lot of sandy, gritty rock. Met one guy yesterday who had come off on the rollercoaster, had blood running down both his legs 😯
Do you know if they are going to name the sections, I think we should.
CanI have the GPS file please JON? My mail in profile ta it is for Memory map /Garmin BTW
Jon, are you still getting emails from Martin Charlesworth before each dig day, I haven't had any for a while.
Certainly, the volunteer build section should be named by the volunteers. Maybe that can be done by Martin C as he has everyones email. It might be an opportunity to get a good turn out at a future dig. Opening and naming day and a glass of champagne, you have to be there to be in the argument 🙂 . I vote for something jungle orientated, like 'run thru the jungle' or 'Go-Ape'. Although, if Martin Colledge thins it out to give more light, then it'll loose that dense jungle darkness that we built it in.
No, not had any emails for a while and the last one was a bit to the point which isn't like Martin at all.
I was thinking Darkside for the climb (due to the lack of light, which I think is pretty cool actually, not often you get a night ride in during the day, not a feature you find in other trail centres), and something like hug me tight for the descent, cos it's tight and a bit scary at the end (well the pitched section scared me).
Junkyard, I'll try and email it to you tonight, only got the route in tracklogs format, should be able to save it as a .gpx file as well.
looks like a great place to spend an afternoon 😀
cheers Appreciated
Junkyard
you got mail (I hope).
Up for a blast next Wednesday night after work.
Only just seen the piccies (can't view them at work :-()
looks great, can't wait.
Looks like it's going to be busy next Wednesday, I'm hoping ot get up there with some mates (if I can find any), Junkyard's taking a coach load and now Vortex is going too. STW after work massive 😆
I'm there too. Part of Junkyard's party. Cake anyone ?
If your going Lowey then the weather is bound to be spot on given the last few STW rides.
Is Johnny bringing cakes?
This just gets better.
Rode it last night (Gary C, were you on the green Kona in the group I tagged along with??). Great fun, the swoopy gully has to be ridden at least twice every visit! Not too sure about the approach trail to the grit slab you're all talking about is, we pushed up and then rode down but we all rode it and it's a doddle, nice run off.
Lowey, might pay another vist next Wednesday, what time are you meeting there? (I'm working at 10 but it's only 20 minutes from home).
jon, can you mail me the gps file too, please? Mail in profile.
Looks good for an afternoons 'working from home'
Scott will do, I will send it from home tonight.
Don't know about the slab / approach bit, I cleaned the approach except for one dab and then totally bottled the slab 😳
Horse... think we are looking at 6.30 riding for no later than 7. Lots coming from all over though so these things tend to be a bit of a faff.
Hope to see you there mate, after we missed you on your doorstep 😆
cakes you say ....we shall se we shall see
Seems to be loads going now but should be fun. !
Wow, I always thought Gisburn was up Guisborough way (yes yes I know!).
Looks fantastic, thank you for building this. 🙂
this looks like alot of fun - well done all involved!
A few of us in manc will be paying a visit tomorrow morning/ well lunch time (half 12 - 1ish)
If any of the south manchester massive or twisted wheels lot fancy the trip north?
looking forward to it :o)
dxb whats the nearest location/startpoint for th satnav?
thats a good question?
i don't know - i'm not particulary good with directions so i'd just stuck gisburn forest in google maps to get a rough idea where i was going.
I was planning on following my more directionally adept mate 🙂
stumpyjon - please could you send the tracklog or gpx file to keppoch (at) breathe.com
The trail looks brilliant!
keppoch
[url= http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=374510&y=455070&z=120&sv=374510,455070&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=688&ax=374510&ay=455070&lm=0 ]Start point/ car park here I think[/url]
lowey - Cheers that looks much better and specific than my map of the whole forest
Or [url= http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=376877&y=456160&z=120&sv=376877,456160&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=688&ax=376877&ay=456160&lm=0 ]here[/url] (at the pub), personally I think it flows better from the carpark finishing on the blue trail with the berms, downside is no pint or bikewash.
All those requesting a GPX file, should be going out in the next 5 mins.
Was there last night with two of my mates.Came up short on the gap jump and came off big time :cry:.Must of knocked the mech hanger because 10 mins later the mech ripped off.Turning my susser into a singlespeed hardtail 8O.Had a good time though and i will be back to nail that jump !
Everyone
Be aware that this is only the very beginning of the new Gisburn, there is still alot of forest road you currently have to ride up and down to get to the new bits. FC have phase 2 on the cards.
Also, unless you know the forest very well and where all the new stuff is, you really do need to get that GPS route logged by Jon, or at the very least print off his map and take a 1:25000 OS map or similar. There are currently no directional signs and all the old signs are now mostly wrong and will only confuse you and probably send you the wrong way. The new stuff is spread out all over the forest. There's lots of it and you don't want to go all that way and miss any of it.
Don't forget, the new layout goes in a figure of 8 and if you do it all the way it's now meant to be done then it's very good.
Alternatively, wait for the new signage to go in, they started putting posts in yesterday (blanks). So actual directional signs should be up and running soon.
Horse,no,I was up there Weds night,on a black 04 Spesh enduro with my mate who was on a red s-works stumpy.
Stumpyjon it's probably a bit late on a friday night - but could i get copy of the GPX too?
Cheers
Lowey, sounds a good time, hopefully I'll get there, Gary C no worries! stumpyjon, think I'll have to spend a little more time looking next time, was like a kid in a sweet shop yesterday!!
any one been there in the last day or too after the rain came down? if so what's it like? going there tomorrow (sat) afternoon to test out the new trek closley followed by a pub tea in bolton by bowland =)
tom