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Grit CX, Issue 3. The 'Things that are better than cyclocross' edition
jamj1974
That's kind of my point. I ride on the Shropshire Hills maybe twice a year, it's only an hours drive for me.
Minton Batch isn't perhaps worthy of the hype, although there is superb riding all around, Minton Batch is a nice little singletrack, it's a really nice trail, just not outstanding, but it's almost criminal to hype it to the extent where folk could perhaps be disappointed and not return to the area.
I don't think riding it on an xc hardtail or an endooro bike makes a jot of difference.
[quote=Spin ]Yes, to the very summit. Sgurr Dearg is the hill the Inaccessible Pinnacle sits on. DM took his bike to the top of the In Pin. I did say I was being a pedant!
Well I'm going to have to uber-pedant you then. You agree the Inn Pinn is on Sgurr Dearg? Well in that case given it is the highest point on that hill it is by any normal definition the summit. DM took his bike to the top of Sgurr Dearg. What you're thinking of is the subsidiary NW top.
Junkyard - lazarusif they put all the good stuff together it would be a loop of about 400 metres but yes the good stuff was very good it was the other mobius strip of unending nothingness I objected to
You know what dalbeattie needs most? Fire roads. No, hear me out! Kirroughtree red has a ton of little trails running between 2 fire roads, you pedal them like mad then you rest on the roads. Dalbeattie has these huuuuuge and yes, pretty flat singletrack sections, which are actually fun if you attack then and rotten if you don't. And for most folks, they're too long, certainly are for me. If they just smashed 3 or 4 fire roads across the trail, to create some gaps and rest spots, it'd improve them no end.
I rode it last with a group of epic faffers and stoppers, it was [i]perfect[/i].
Twrch at Cwmcarn. Loads of hard work for 3 minutes of descent.
Blade. Badly made, some sections still haven't bedded in, not much flow, always seems to be ruined with little climbs which kills it, and the fact they got lazy and used old Skyline sections given the fact they got loads of money from the windfarm to do it.
I'd like to say Penhydd, but I think that would be unfair given the purpose of the trail, which is an in introduction to the trails at Afan. But after hearing much hype about the original i thought when it reopened it was pretty poor. They should have called it something else. lol.
SDW for me, I find it a bit pointless and just use it as a quick way to get to other stuff on either side of the ridge of which theres a fair amount, 100 miles of tedium for me.
Sorry to all the local guys who spend a lot of time there building, QECP, never found any flow there at all, I give it another chance every now and then but I just dont get it, it never feels natural enough or flowing to me.
Oh that Stob Dearg, thought we were talking about the Buchaille, which Sanny from here rates.
I can't help myself. The more I read this the more I cant get over the amount of analytical crap being applied to here.
What a bunch of winging nanny's.
You are out on your bike, you ride, you win.
I cant see how doing that anywhere could be boring or mundane. I can think of a few trails that aren't as good as other trails, but seriously, would you rather be watching [s]Arse[/s]East Enders or riding 12 loops at Sandwell Valley Park ?
I know what I'd be doing.
I cant see how doing that anywhere could be boring or mundane. I can think of a few trails that aren't as good as other trails, but seriously, would you rather be watching ArseEast Enders or riding 12 loops at Sandwell Valley Park ?
I know what I'd be doing.
The point being there are trails that seem to be on the must must must do list. You can then spend a long time, lots of effort head past some great trails and then find the one everyone said was the best was really just average. Nothing to do with watching East Enders.
I found la vada a bit meh, especially considering what I could have been riding.
This whole thread has been overhyped. I started reading it with a sense of massive, possibly unrealistic anticipation, I could barely hold my mouse steady enough to click through to the next page, but after a page or two, I just found it a bit meh.
It's been a very disappointing experience.
Agreed Mike. I think I got up on the wrong side this morning 😕
I would edit, but to late. Oops!
but after a page or two, I just found it a bit meh.It's been a very disappointing experience.
Lol
Mikes got it spot on there. No whining, just an observation.
@ thestabiliser
Spot on, I used to get out two/three times every week, used to enjoy riding no matter where I was. Junior came along and I get out once a week now and every time is amazing. I get the anticipation prepping everything the night before, up early and off, no matter the weather or location it's always great. Then spend the rest of the week tinkering with the bikes and getting stuff ready for the next one.
[quote=BadlyWiredDog ]It's been a very disappointing experience.
You're just not reading it fast enough - is it possible you're a bit underskilled?
Having speed read the thread I think I must have missed the bit where Hora thought about a new bike 🙄
You know what dalbeattie needs most? Fire [s]roads[/s]
FTFY
Not an unreasonable point you make
You're just not reading it fast enough - is it possible you're a bit underskilled?
Chuckles
Minton Batch isn't the best descent on the Mynd by some significant margin IMHO.
Which are the better ones? Thinking of popping down next week possibly. Are they on the 'numbered chart' of Long Mynd which you see floating around?
I'll still be doing MB though - I enjoyed it a lot last time.
I like Dalbeattie, always have done. I think it's similar to Kirro black in that you really need to be putting a bit of effort in for the reward.
Haven't ridden it for a couple of years mind, Comrie for a trail centre fix nowadays.
Stepping back a moment, where does all this "hype" for particular trails come from? Is it the magazines (easy target) doing a "best of" type feature and people repeating the mantra until everyone believes it?
As it happens I've an MBR "20 Best UK Rides - Our favourite singletrack hotspots" supplement next to my desk. To quote: "The 20 places we've chosen (are) areas where exceptional riding flourishes. That means that anywhere we've picked has to be worthy of travelling the breadth of the UK and they need to be able to entertain you for more than a day when you get there."
Included in the list are several that have been mentioned on this thread: Swinley Forest; Doethie Valley; Long Mynd; Kinlochleven; the Quiraing; etc.
I've not ridden all of the locations but some I'd happily visit again whereas somewhere like Swinley I'm only likely to visit again if passing on the way to the continent, I certainly wouldn't travel from The Dales for a weekend's riding there.
Another vote for Minton Batch. I like it, but I can't see what all the fuss is about tbh.
Doethie Valley too. Again I enjoyed the ride, but I was expecting something more memorable from the trail itself, given all the hype.
Neither are bad trails, but both are a little short of the awesomness you might expect given their legendary status IMHO. Even the Vertebrate Wales Mountainbiking guidebook includes the Long Mynd (even though it is in England,) basically because of Minton Batch.
In the past I've really enjoyed Llandegla, though I went back earlier this year, on my own, and found it pretty dull. I think it's maybe a great place to ride with friends, but when there's nobody chasing you/to chase/mess about on the jumps with, it's a bit boring. Good cake though, right?
The magazines are still re-printing 20 year old 'best places to ride' articles, same as the trail center articles which is at least 5 years out of date, lazy journalism fed into folk who don't know better.
(Oh, and if you don't enjoy Minton Batch there is something wrong with you)
Lots on here seem to have missed the point entirely. You can still enjoy a trail whilst also thinking it did not live up to the hype. Not that hard a concept to grasp
Minton Batch is very Meh....but the Mynd is superb. Explore and you will be rewarded
nor is it hard to grasp that we have all looked fwd to a ride and been disappointed by it and think it was not worth the effort/other options were better.
nor is it hard to grasp that we have all looked fwd to a ride and been disappointed by it and think it was not worth the effort/other options were better.
agreed
You're just not reading it fast enough - is it possible you're a bit underskilled?
I really bloody fast, trust me. It's simply that this thread does not in any way live up to my expectations. I've read a lot of classic literature in my time from Jayne Eyre through to Five Go To Blillycock Hill - one of the true greats of modern writing - and this thread just doesn't compare. Maybe it's fundamentally unrealistic pitching STW against Enid Blyton? I don't know...
Yeah, yeah, I bet your lips moved when you read Jayne Eyre. Anyway I'm not sure you're as fast as you think - I still have almost all the Enid Blyton KOMs, though I do have to keep reporting the people using e-readers.
+1 on 5 go to Billycock. Definitely one of my favs
Drumlanrig. Definitely been much hyped on here.
Minton Batch is a nice little singletrack, it's a really nice trail, just not outstanding, but it's almost criminal to hype it to the extent where folk could perhaps be disappointed and not return to the area.
I don't think riding it on an xc hardtail or an endooro bike makes a jot of difference.
He's right you know.
You need to ride it on a tandem for to to really come alive. 😉
No one here has a good word to say about Llandegla it seems, but Mr Pea and I always enjoy it, as do our friends. A couple of laps swooping round the red + black, with a brew and cake afterwards. What's not to like?
Swinley
Just got a tad bored of its twisty flatness?!
Loads of people there though so perhaps its just me??
No one here has a good word to say about Llandegla it seems
It's not that folk [i]don't like[/i] Llandegla, it's just that maybe it's not as good as it's hyped up to be. I like Llandegla, but only with a few mates [s]to race[/s] to high five and chest bump.
Garburn pass. Not as interesting as I had hoped. Lean bike, stand and carve into scree most of the way down.
Yeah, yeah, I bet your lips moved when you read Jayne Eyre. Anyway I'm not sure you're as fast as you think - I still have almost all the Enid Blyton KOMs, though I do have to keep reporting the people using e-readers.
Sorry for the slow reply, I've just read War and Peace which took me almost 25 minutes. The whole thing with Blyton and Strava is small beer. I barely even bother with it these days. Too easy.
failedengineer - Member
Drumlanrig. Definitely been much hyped on here.
Genuinely surprised, as probably my favourite man made type trail out of all the Scottish ones....
Gisburn Forest, is just utter crap we go every 8 months or so then realize why we left it so long 🙄
Max Wall - Member
SwinleyJust got a tad bored of its twisty flatness?!
That silly bit near the start of the Blue, where you go around about 300 million 180deg bermed corners for what feels likes hrs, then finish about 12foot from where you started........
(i mean, that bit bores me, and i'm GOOD at riding berms! I see some people get to the end and still have no clue about how to carry speed round a bermed bend...... lol)
Continental divide trail in colorado.
Much hyped, supposed to be the highlight of the trip, all the best bits were within 30 minutes of the start leaving 30 odd miles to go that could have been in a welsh plantation or quarry.
The rest of Colorado Crested Butte area was mind blowingly awesome though!
Thetford hasn't been slagged off yet.............must be brilliant then. Not been hyped either though.
Continental divide trail in colorado
Agree to that in part, although the trail section running south from Molas Pass to Durango is excellent. Not for the feint-of-heart as it starts at 10,900 feet and climbs to over 12,000 feet before dropping into Durango
Edit--I misread, you were talking about the Continental Divide trail through CO and I was referring to the Colorado Trail that runs north out of Durango.
It has to be Whistler and the mega for me. Never been, probably never will. Just spent far too many hours in the company of Whistler/Mega bores.
Gosh - this thread goes in a bit.
Hyped trails - there aren't that many over hyped for the fun they bring. Most of the UK trail centres are good if you are having a good day physically and mentally it can all be great. On a bad day - not so much. In the wrong company it can really stink.
Ones i don't like are Swinley and Cannock though.