deadkenny +1 - discretion will pay off in the long term, by helping there be a long term
likewise the vids if I'm honest, it's hard to see who benefits from more publicity
@mattjg. Take your point. I try to edit so as not to show exact location e.g. the windy willows one has start point cut deliberately as it would give it away easily and most, if not all, have start and finish cut. I don't build the trails and therefore I don't see it as appropriate for me to show locations. I also completely leave out certain trails that are extra 'sensitive' shall we say...
It's a tricky balancing act!
10pmix,I had noticed the sensible 😉 cropping of starts and finishes etc. Makes my life so much harder!!!
I don't think that anyone can complain about your vid's giving too much away. You have achieved a very good balance IMHO
The classic chicken and egg thing though is how to avoid the extra sensitive areas of you don't know where they are. But we have done that one at length before!!!
It's better to keep it as it is where the tourists can do the signature trails and anyone who wants more just explores or goes with people who know. It keeps the bulk of the traffic around the maintained areas also.
+1 - it sounds a little selfish at first, but agree this is the best policy (with the odd hint on good stuff here!!)
TMH cheers.....if we head up from the carpark on Leith Hill Road should we drop off to the South say halfway up? Havent explored that part at all, beautiful views down towards the South Downs. Is that where WW is?
Is the HH run "widow maker"?
Are you referring to the steep path that winds down onto the road? Haven't done that for years - probably because the top of that section seemed to be out of bounds when they started logging/cutting back etc.
There used to be another little trail on the opposite side of the fort that ran down to the road. I think we only got to do it once (in about 2004) before it was put out of action.
@10p my feeling is they're still on Youtube with a punky soundtrack and 'Leith Hill' across the titles. If I was someone from a special interest group looking for evidence biking should be restricted, I might use that, it's grist to the mill.
But I'm not trying to make an issue out of it (& I've seen far worse). & I love my riding too, I understand enthusiasm ...
Mcboo - I am conscious of peoples' sensitivities on this issue and also that I do not know LH well. However, my understanding is that WW is on the other side. As someone else said on here, from the Tower put your back to the fence and hold your arms on a V pointing in a NE direction. Then just explore that whole area.
Cool. Thanks.
As someone else said on here, from the Tower put your back to the fence and hold your arms on a V pointing in a NE direction. Then just explore that whole area.
That was moi ... and it's NW actually 😉
OOPs - your correct. Thanks spacemonkey!!!
Found a completely new area of singletrack and technical short trails today - one of those things that just makes you happy!! Conditions surprisingly good today albeit with some slippy man-eating roots!! Only one crash (back wheel flipped by a root) which makes a change!! Looks like a few other cyclists have found some of the trails, but otherwise no evidence of riders on most of the area. Forbidden bliss!!
10pmix noone could find anything from your vids if they didnt already know where they were, you've edited them pretty good from that point.
You could do a better run thru WW though if you included the gully section some call Trench Warfare 🙂 best bit of the network along with the logrolls - but maybe you do and have left it out or chopped the edit up and I missed
I can't believe people need help to find that stuff - so many riders must just cruise round eyes closed...
PS good call on Plastic Dreams - happy days 😉
very very soggy last night. man eating roots! had to have 2 baths when I got in last night, one to wash the mud off and one to wash the water from the first bath
How are conditions over there atm?
Heading over tomorrow, currently running high rollers or time for mud x?
not too bad. some soggy bits certainly but my ardents were fine on Sunday and my high rollers were more than up to the task last night.
cheers 10pmix 🙂
@sth, rain last night.
I haven't ridden your other tyres but my Mud X are on and staying on until spring at the earliest, tho I regard them as a more all-round tyre than mud specific anyway.
It's as wet as it ever tends to get up there. All rideable, but very soggy.
thanks matt and njee 🙂
is there any parts that are drier, was planning pitch and winterfold assuming yogs is a boating lake?
Nope, since they did loads of work on it a few years ago it's fine. There's one big puddle, where there always is, and the bottom bit is wet, but not horrifically so.
Parts of Pitch were dry - the top of Graveyard Shift was, but the T-trails were really wet. Telegraph was fine, BKB was fine, Surferosa was pretty wet. To be honest I didn't deviate from my 'normal' trails, like I say they were all totally rideable. Didn't do Leith on Sunday as I only had a couple of hours. Probably the worst was the one on Winterfold that goes off Barhatch Lane, the one ostensibly 'built' by MBR, no idea of the name.
thanks for the info, njee
I agree njee that one ( with a RH berm nr the start and a great bombhole 1/2 way? ) was pretty soggy a few weeks ago and it hadn't rained much then.
I think the soil there is much peatier and that is a problem for drainage.
Eg Bronson and Ewok Village were both lovely on the same ride.
It's just normal Autumn conditions, perhaps even better than average.
We don't get much of the gloopy clag other parts of the country can suffer from.
Go ride, get muddy, have fun.
the "MBR" trail is terrible for drainage - much like the mag!!!
It did seem pretty crap! I don't really think it's that great either, got worse since it got popular for sure!
i quite like it when properly dry.
the berm is nice and then if you stay left into the bomb hole you can actually drop the whole thing 😛
mattjg - MemberIt's just normal Autumn conditions, perhaps even better than average.
We don't get much of the gloopy clag other parts of the country can suffer from.
Go ride, get muddy, have fun.
Yes but its a 3.5-5hr round trip and as you seem to have a micro-climate of your own down there its always worth checking. 😉 🙂
Pitch was a bit slippy and winterfold was fun yesterday.
Thanks for the info.
Ah fair enough, for me it's a round trip of nothing.
I did a twilight run down from Coldharbour last night, some puddles and clarts but nothing that would spoil a ride.
Damp and foggy today.
I should clarify that according to my delectable live-in partner, who comes from Co. Durham, 'clarts' is runny sloshy mud, whereas 'claggum' is think and heavy, like you get where horses have been churning up a bridleway.
@sth u can mail me by the way, see profile
Nice and quiet today in the west - Puttenham, Britty, Crooksbury etc
Missed the rocks and scree from the Lakes last week - but experience gave me much more confidence down here.
Conditions seem surprisingly good. Only one crash on aborted jump!!
really great ride today, finally managed to get some quality time in winterfold and found some great trails. Very quiet too!
Leith Hill was 'Lethal Hill' yesterday. Those tricky pink roots were everywhere. Causing all kinds of mishaps and misdemeanors....
10pmix - that's near the top isn't it? Hope it didn't hurt. I was thinking of popping out later to see just how slippy it ws.
mashie - shhhh!! 😉 There are only a few routes in SH remember - Barrys, Youg, TRoad and SL - the rest doesn't exist (at least in public :wink:)!! I am joking here BTW!!!
Walking on Redlands on Sunday morning and saw what I think were 2 policemen on Quad bikes at the bottom of a recently re-built trail up there. High vis jackets etc - appeared to be waiting for riders to arrive. Loads of signs up on the trail from the forestry commission with the usual warnings etc. Later in the day a mate reported a number of muddy police trail bikes passing through Westcott. Another mate reports that the various rangers are talking to each other about a bit of a clamp down on bikers.
Might be a good idea to tone it down a bit with the man-made stuff? Redlands resembles Whistler in places at the moment - not very subtle.
saw what I think were 2 policemen on Quad bikes at the bottom of a recently re-built trail up there.
But are they allowed to chase you down footpaths on said quad bikes? 🙂
Re-built trail? Is someone resurrecting the start of MA (or something else)?
[i]Re-built trail? Is someone resurrecting the start of MA (or something else)? [/i]
Something else (FW)
@teamhurtmore t'was halfway down toward the car park. Only thing damaged was the seat rails which bent to about 90 degrees so the seat was pointing nose down. Amazing the forces at work when landing on the front wheel from 5ft in the air...
Rebuilding at Redlands? Too soon! At least wait until the foresty work is finished 😯
Amazing that video's flatten out the steepness. Hope you are OK?
If I understand where you mean, I have only recently found that whole area. I thought initially that you video was where the track drops off sharply to the left past some rhoddie bushes. But your crash is on a flat bit. Its a funny area - some great stuff but parts still way beyond me though. Never seen another bike there during the week!!
@teamhurtmore Diplomatic way of saying "that was never 5ft!" 😀
It was as I had time to think "oh crap, this is really gonna hurt" whilst in the air.
The section in question is a series of drops in a row along a ridge including a 10ft drop which has been built up by some naughty trial pixies to clear an overhanging tree before dropping right to the bottom. I shall not be attempting that anytime soon...
10pmix - I didn't mean that honestly!! I'm not brave enough to do that on mtb yet, but know what you mean from skiing. That slow motion moment in the air when you are wondering about the pain is well known!!
Doesn't sound like a trail for a novice on a 100mm travel hardtail then?
I spent some time in the Windy Willows area today, but I just hadn't realised it was more deciduous than evergreen
I fell off several times - there was more grip on the logrolls.
Headed West and it was much grippier and quite a bit of snagging in cars going on too.
Lovely but muddy out today, quiet in holmbury, busy around leith due to Evans ride it! But it's getting to a stage now where the hills need a rest, so winter road training for me till March 12.
