Oh, and is Craig loop Thrunton?
Bollox, qcamel you're quite right, I can't. Sorry can't do next Tuesday!!
Carbon337, what happened last night, didn't see you? After all that rain it was quite slippery last night, I had a nice trip over the bars!!
OMG
well, got there around 7ish and instead of riding round the crag again I spent a good couple of hours exploring and oh my, haven't you been busy up there!
I'm sure there are more but the runs I found were amazing, well done indeed.
I even found the cheeky little run between the trees on the lower part of the wood, you know, the one with the front wheel eating bog half way through! Lol, over the bars I went.
Love the place and understand why you don't want it spoilt.
Look forward to coming back in a coupla weeks.
Sounds like you guys have been having some good rides up at thrunton. I joined the trail builders a year and a half ago now and am glad that people are enjoying the stuff we've been working on.
Just wanted to echo Ians points really, I don't think anyone wants to see thrunton move more towards a trail centre with mass usage (indeed the people who dug some of the original trails might jump off one of the crags) so its fair enough to respect some of the original builders wishes and try and maintain the best possible relationship with the FC through keeping the trails fairly low key. I'm sure people have been heading up since before I was probably born but I think the newer trails in the trees will generally not last half as well as some of the classic crags stuff?
On the flipside a small random bunch of us meet at the carpark the first Sunday of each month to maintain/improve and build new stuff, it would be great to see some of you come along if you can make it.
I think its definitely noticeable that a lot more people are now riding the trails and I think most of our work this year will be trying to make sure they dont get washed out so the more hands the better!
I'm sure this type of discussion has been had many times over about other local woods, its difficult to try and have your 2p without sounding like a selfish trail builder who wants their work to themselves!
Feel free to get in touch if you'd like any more info about the dig days.
Matt
Stumpi, my email is in my profile, give me a shout next time you're up and we'll give you a guided tour 🙂
Right well you've got about three weeks to show me round, and then my Newcastle tour is over.
photo from Wednesday Night
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I forgot mrs had a night out planned so didn't get. I hope to get next week though.
Wenanwhere much better put. I do appreciate the work done and have tried to get over to help but due to no real excuse never made it. I don't think it'll reach trail centre levels, I hope not, but it's certainly much busier than just a few years ago. And it's the trails that have done it. Not a bad thing really but saying shhh don't mention them is futile. Word of mouth has spread about these trails much quicker than a few posts on here, even more so when they weren't even mentioned.
Anyway thanks for all the work on them and I will try to make it at some point.
Drac sent you an email with more details.
Should have probably mentioned that the relationship with the FC is currently good but they only allow us to build trails (in what is a working forest) on the basis that it will all be kept pretty low key.
cheers
Matt
Toons, Drac et al.
A guided tour would be fantastic, I can already appreciate the quality but to link it all up seamlessly would be some ride I reckon. As long as I don't ever have to ride Pink Panther, I'm a little old in the tooth for that section 🙂
keep up the good work and don't worry, it's too remote forit to get swamped by all and sundry.
Be back up in a coupla weeks, hope to hook up then.
Dave
Cheers matt I'll pick that up when I move onto the pc. I appreciate the fc's stance having dealt with them in the past
Give us a shout dave I can sometimes make evenings and off in a couple of weeks time.It's remoteness helps a little but it doesn't take long to get to I'm sure your now appreciating how quiet our roads are, although getting bit busier now tourists are back.
Matt, I if had a quid for every time I’d heard that story.
But when you've got local bikes shop doing guided tours and even bringing up distributors, imagine how people they speak to! Posting on a thread is bit pointless.
toons,
Im with you there - one store in Newcastle had a Kona rep team up there the other week.
PS - Im a builder there also - dont think the "keep it quiet approach" will work long term. It's pupularity will go one of two ways - either up or down. I imagine the former and it will get busier as the sport becomes more popular.
Carbon I think that's the big contributor too the sport has really took off in recent years. Hardly use to see many MTBers anywhere around here just relatively small amount. Now you go to Alwinton or Thrunton and there's loads around the car parks. No idea where they disappear to in Alnwinton though as only see a few one thrails.
the tea room at barrowburn maybe....
Hehe yeah maybe. We got there just after 5 on Sunday it was very busy still when we left just before 6.
So, if I'm getting this right, there are a couple of blokes who have been involved long-term in the trail building at Thrunton and they've asked that people try to limit the amount of internet/social-networking exposure that the trails get. They're not saying "don't tell anybody!!", they're just asking folk to be a bit savvy with how/when the info is passed about on the interwebs. But this is too oppressive for some people, who also think that it doesn't matter because eventually the woods will be overrun anyway, so they might as well just have as many people as possible pile in now and overrun it before somebody else does.
Callaly Castle and Macartney's Cave is one of my fav places to take barnen. Been going there since I was a nipper and my mum used to live at the bottom of the hill. The trail down from Hard Nab to the bottom of the fort was shagged from bikes last time I went though. Are the others a bit more sustainable? Will head up there in two weeks when I go home.
Geda, it’s more the weather than bikes, quite a lot of Thrunton has suffered with the harsh winter & shed loads of rain 🙁
Only just seen this thread - I could be on for a ride next Tuesday evening - 7:15 at the top car park is it ?
My dad was complaining he had not had enough rain for months.
LoL, there was still snow in April!
This was taken 20/04/10, click the higher resolution photo and you can still see snow on the hills!
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[url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/mar/01/uk-flood-warnings-rain-weather ]Read this from March[/url]
Drac, theres a DH course just up from alwinton isn't there? just in the woods close to the campsite / lodges
Yep, but you can only ride it on race weekends
Not unusual to see snow on Cheviot at that time. He is a farmer so I expect he tells the truth. Do you live at Warton warton?
[i]Drac, theres a DH course just up from alwinton isn't there? just in the woods close to the campsite / lodges[/i]
Yup but it's private and as toons says restricted to race and pratice days.
There was snow this month too but overall there has hardly been any rain at all, it really is very dry up there, even the marshes on windy ghyle have dried up. Cheviot still has big lumps of snow on it left over from January.
Three_Fish the group is bigger than a couple of mates and many of the people who have posted on here have ridden before the trails were built. We're then told don't talk about Thrunton as we don't want the trails advertised, no one had mentioned the trails until then. The trails have drawn in huge, well for huge for here, amount of bikers to Thrunton since they were built. Before that there was only a few bothered with it.
We're then told don't talk about Thrunton as we don't want the trails advertised...
For crying out loud, man: nobody is telling anyone to not talk about it. Ian and Matt are just trying to get those who do enjoy the trails up there to be smart about [u]how[/u] they talk about it. Why can you not make that distinction? If you don't respect the position that the trail builders find themselves in, then it is, of course, your prerogative to disregard what they're asking for.
Ooh touchy little fellow aren't you.
Like I said we never mentioned the trails upto the point a tail builder mentioned. Thrunton was well know anyway before they were built, it's that info that I've shared.
Ooh touchy little fellow aren't you.Like I said we never mentioned the trails upto the point a tail [sic] builder mentioned. Thrunton was well know anyway before they were built, it's that info that I've shared.
I'm not touchy, I'm just frustrated by your seemingly poor comprehension skills and difficulty to follow a narrative. And please don't try to patronise me - it's not productive and it you're really not very well qualified to attempt it. As I've said, and as you continue to misunderstand, nobody is saying DON'T talk about the trails. Get it? I suspect not...
WOW! Blimey no one has patronised you but you seem to be able to judge how qualified I am, ironic. Well asking not to post about trails on here is being asked not to talk about them, as I keep saying and you miss no one had until we were asked not to mention them.
Anyway I got a nice email from Matt this am asking a few things kindly without being a judgemental arse and I did as he asked because he asked so kindly.
Anyway I got a nice email from Matt this am asking a few things kindly without being a judgemental arse and I did as he asked because he asked so kindly.
How awfully kind of you. I'd have been more tactful if I'd realised earlier that you were so precious.
Well well well - this has all got a bit pathetic....
Is this the effect of making and keeping things so secret, possibly a them and us mentality developing?
FFS just get out and ride!!!
Think I'd probably be protective of trails I'd laboured over and would be equally concerned that masses of riders could converge and potentially ruin both the trails and the relationship with the fc.
On the flip side, it's really a privelige to ride new trails, especilly those of the quality you have and laboured to produce. On many occasions last night I commented to myself that a lot of work had gone into that place!
If I lived locally I'd be only too happy to contribute to the upkeep.
Anyway, thanks.
It is probably lord Ravensworth and I suppose his shooting that you need to look out for as the FC only lease the land I believe??
Is this the effect of making and keeping things so secret, possibly a them and us mentality developing?
Absolutely not, at least not on my part. As I've reiterated at least three times, this isn't about secrecy and it absolutely isn't about division. Where is such a misunderstanding coming from? It's about being smart and keeping a great set of trails in good condition for everyone to enjoy. It's always going to be a minority of users who are active and responsible for building and maintaining trails, and yet I don't think that anyone involved wants to reserve their endeavors for themselves. But a degree of concern that the place gets inundated is entirely fair. There are already examples of moto use on the trails and the more widely publicised the trails get, like though this wonderful WWW that so many communicate through, the greater the probabilty that the frequecy of such activities will increase.
I ride up there often and I've shown a fair few people around, though mostly on the crag side of the valley. I've also spent time building there, and the whole time I'm doing it I get excited, as everyone else does, at the thought of the ride at the end of it, not just for me but for anyone who does it - because that's what it's all about: the ride. I want to preserve and develop these trails and I'd love for people to get as much from the area as I do; but I'm also happy to accept that a little bit of reserve might be needed to make sure that that goes on for as long as possible. It's just downright illogical, not to mention entirely pessimistic, to say that there's not point in trying to keep numbers low because, eventually, the place is bound to become crowded.
It has to be remembered that it's not just a random place - it's privately owned and privately managed. If it turns into a fun park it'll only be a matter of time before those who manage the area just say "enough!" and take their forestry machines down the trails and pile them with felled trees. That's the worst-case scenario. Before that is the more likely situation that the trail builders run out of time/resources to maintain the trails. Those sweet woodland singletracks will just become soggy ditches through the tress. Why wouldn't people want to be interested in preventing that from happening?
Good luck. Hope it does not go the same way as the other trails that got closed down a wee bit south.
[i]It is probably lord Ravensworth and I suppose his shooting that you need to look out for as the FC only lease the land I believe?? [/i]
Who I've bumped into before on a ride when he's been out on his horse, nice chap he was very friendly. Mind this was long before the trails were cut into it.
Christ you'd think the place was over run! Most of the time I never see a sole & especially not in winter!!
And at the weekends the car park is always full, but sometimes I'm the only biker.
Enjoy the BH weekend 🙂
I've just realised that I haven't been there since this pic was taken about 8 years ago. Lovely part of the country and well overdue a return visit by the sounds of it.
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Blimey that takes me back.
Back to the point.... I might be free Tuesday evening if we are still planning something and haven't all decided we should stay at home to protect the trails....
😉
Your going to really shit bricks when What MTB publishes their guide on the trails in Thunton. Apparently it's on the cards for soon.
Anybody ride Trumpton last night?
Not me went out for a spin on the CX instead.
