There's that roadie book with the top 100 climbs in the UK, but has anyone though of doing the all-mountain/enduro MTB equivalent? Any suggestions for candidates?
Not planning on writing a book, just thinking of rides to take the Pitch on and stretch it's legs a bit.
Criteria:
Must be at least moderately technical and off road all the way.
500m+ of decending
<10% climbing on the way down.
Long enough that people don't ask "and where did you ride after that" when you describe the route.
Bridle Path or other legal trail. So no footpaths.
[b][i][u]Obvious ones............[/b][/i][/u]
Fort William DH runs
Rangers Path off Snowdon
Anything used in the NPS/BDS/SDS/Draggon etc races, although some might be a bit short in relation to the original definition.
[b][i][u]Starters for 10............[/b][/i][/u]
Did Skiddaw on Saturday which arround 950m of climb/decent on the bridleway, but is fairly motorway like, abeit with lots of sharp pointy rocks which eat tyres.
Still well worth doing through if you're in Keswick and have a couple of hours free, it's rideable untill you get over Little Man, and Skiddaw properly starts, at which point the gradient got me, it's probably easier on an XC bike but that'd make it less fun on the way down.
On the way down it's continuous appart from a short sharp rise just as you leave the summit, 4 or 5 gates and spinning up Little Man about 2/3 of the way down. Best attempted with lots of air in your rear tyre (pinch flatted tubeless and the replacement tube!).
Skills required:
Cornering (there's a lot of it, and its mostly loose and fast)
Jumps (optional, but some of the water bars are ditches so it's good to be able to pump them at 30mph otherwise you'll be OTB and into a whole world of point rock related pain).
Not much else, it's just flat out top to bottom.
Video to follow at some point, but the camera stoped working on the last section 🙁
nan bield
Meh, I'm out. Your definition is ridiculous.
Not really my cup of tea but I suppose Walna Scar on the east side fits the bill
Route down from Black Sail pass into Wasdale if you can get up there first.
OK if we gotta keep it legit,
[s]Sty head[/s]Esk Hause to stockley bridge
Nan bield
walna scar
helvellyn
Ben Lomond
Dunkery beacon.
Descent off Skiddaw on the main path is rubbish.
But Ullock Pike however.... (i know it's cheeky)
Helvellyn and Sticks Pass is a cracker.
Y Das?
Sticks Pass is great.
Ben Lomond looks good.
What's Garburn Pass like these days?
Bradley's descent - Ilkley Moor.
Do the Walna Scar descent while you can! Was there last week and they've got a big track machine up there, turning the place into a motorway. Half of it has already been smoothed out!
Whose daft idea was it to give the fells disabled access!?!
or, this is great news, as it means my girlfriend can ride it now.
thanks! 🙂
as for the thread-question, why not list the 96 highestest peaks in scotland, with helvelyn and snowdon thrown in there somewhere so the welsh/english don't feel left out?
edit: good point Stuart, 97 from scotland, cadair idris is good.
Cadair Idris
Because a short section of blustery summit path followed by steep, loose and rarely rideable switchbacks followed by the traditional boggy yomp at the bottom is rarely anyone's idea of a good descent! 😀98 highestest peaks in scotland
I've only done ~30 munros but am rarely inspired to take the bike up the ones I've done, the exceptions being a couple on the Glenshee area and Ben Lomond.
Helvellyn - Dollywaggon to Glenridding via Grisedale Tarn.... grintastic
why not list the 96 highestest peaks in scotland, with helvelyn and snowdon thrown in there somewhere so the welsh/english don't feel left out?
As Skiddaw proves, height doesn't guarentee a good decent, although being the biggest bridleway downhill in England I figured it was worth the climb.
Climachx at Mach should be up there, IMO. As should the Gap descent northwards (assuming you take the loony bridleway with the baby head rocks as well!)
13thfloormonk - Member
a short section of blustery summit path followed by steep, loose and rarely rideable switchbacks followed by the traditional boggy yomp at the bottom is rarely anyone's idea of a good descent!
the O-P dint ask for 'good' he asked for 500m vertical, etc.
imho, 'good' is not easily defined.
imho, 'good' is not easily defined
Mountain biking is 'good'.
What are you after here, is this some sort of downhill Top Trumps? Most of the 500 metre plus descents will be a bit crap I imagine (Skiddaw main track is nothing special, as you've discovered). Take out the height limit and you get a lot more interesting and fun ones in your list. Rheola for instance - less than 500 metres but better than any of the ones listed above that I've ridden.
Ecky-Thump - Member
Helvellyn - Dollywaggon to Glenridding via Grisedale Tarn.... grintastic
Come on Ian ! The Dollywagon descent was a nightmare, one wheel sized water bar after another. Just couldn't get any flow at all, & we know what happened to Callum.... 🙁
Tinto hill in lanarkshire it's right good mile and a half of varied terrain.technical and fast n loose
@ Gary, yes but from the tarn down was about as good as it gets 😀
Descent to Annat in Torridon.
ChristoGinger, our youthclub used to have summer camp at wiston lodge, under Tinto. we used to do an overnight bivvy up there, great times 😀
Y Das?
You ever seen anybody ride that? Looks unrideable to me.
I rode y Das a couple of months ago... hardtail, clipped in, no pads.
I would've taken pads if I'd known.
What are you after here, is this some sort of downhill Top Trumps?
No, just suggestions for rides in the UK that fit my idea of what makes a good ride (i.e. long, technical, fast decents).
Skiddaw main track is nothing special, as you've discovered
I didn't say it was bad, it might not be technical but it was rocky enough to give me 2 pinch flats and the corners up-top are lovely and drifty, the bits of video that did work are enough to make you feel seasick the bikes leaning over so far!
You want to get up onto Quantock mountain, best descents in the UK by far.
Quite a nice one down from Grizedale forest to the south end of Coniston, no idea what it's called but I must go back sometime
hugor - Member
Y Das?
You ever seen anybody ride that? Looks unrideable to me.
Seriously? It's not that bad at all. I'd be gutted with myself if I so much as dabbed on it, and I don't even know what the 5 Key Core Skills and 4 Mental skills are.
I can think of a lot of rougher and techier trails in the Lakes.
500 m descents are few and far between. Carn Ban Mor is one.
The Blue Pig in Midgehole (Hebden Bridge).
Easy to get to
Easy and quite enjoyable push up
Nice scenery
Ground stays pretty decent even in bad weather
Super fast (i'm not sure that it's possible to ride flat out)
Not very technical, but plently of varied and interesting features to play on the way down, so just as much fun on my Mmmbop as it is on my Cove Shocker (completely different ride down).
Cracking little pub right at the bottom of the run
If you push all the way to the top (across the main road), you have about 300- 400m of dirt track, which is so fast that I always feel like i'm going to wee myself. There's an amazing bermed and tight corner on the road about halfway down, and you can honestly feel the G's as you rail it, it's unreal. We've clocked 43mph on the last straight before you hit the main road and into the Blue Pig "proper". That top section gets you absolutely pumped for the actual Blue Pig, I've stacked it so many times because i've just hit sections carelessly fast.
There's also an alternative top section which is a bit slower, but more technical.
i would LOVE if STW/Ragely organised a mini DH race there. It wouldn't matter what you were riding, everyone would stand pretty much the same chance. I'm surprised they haven't already actually. Must be able to get a permit, they tape bits of it off for cross country running etc.
DO IT!!!!
Re. Y Das it's not that tough. Saying that, that was in mince mode and not hitting it flat out. From memory a little bit of careful line choice needed at the top.
I would have been very gutted if we'd have pushed up Y Das to descend past the reservoir. In fact, I would have had a hissy fit.
The Bestest is in a remote back country location, six leagues north of Essex, not for the faint hearted, it will come right at you like a swift northern breeze.
TJ Can Ban mor is rubbish :wink:.
The woods behind nationwide in Swindon
End of thread 😉
don't know if it's 500m but Crug Mawr has to be up there.
Ben Macdui to the Hutchy hut
Bynack More
tinto is great, maybe not worth going right up to the top, but the bottom 2/3rds are great fun, suppose once you are there you might aswell, quite steep and loose though! Never had a decent view from it in 3 attempts mind and felt Like i'd nearly got blown off it once, so that possibly colours my opinion of the top bit!
peterfile - MemberThe Blue Pig in Midgehole (Hebden Bridge)
Think the OP meant a full 500m drop in height....not sure anywhere in Calderdale fits his narrow criteria no matter how good the riding
Think the OP meant a full 500m drop in height....not sure anywhere in Calderdale fits his narrow criteria no matter how good the riding
ahahahah ooops!
500m+ in height???!! 😯
i would have thought getting up there would make most of these "runs" a bit of of most peoples' reach.
swavis - MemberDescent to Annat in Torridon.
Descent to Achnashellach is better 😉
Descent to Annat from the side of Ben Damph is also a cracker. Carn Ban Mor, Morrone, that one into Glen Clova etc....all jolly good fun.
Carn Ban mor, Bynack mor, singletrack off Burma road - all in Cairngorms.
Innerleithen from top of Minch moor
Dollar Law to Peebles
Mount keen
Capel Month to clova
Many, many more in scoltand - just look at a map
what? man you need to go to the top! 😀
the first bit is loose shale/rocks that gets you up to mega speed sharpish, then take the left hand route over the grass as the shale turns to the right - that makes a big old difference. We used to go up loads and on a clear day/evening you can see for miles and miles.
i may have stayed at that wiston place with the bbs as well
i would LOVE if STW/Ragely organised a mini DH race there
its been done.
Some kid also tried to do it 'properly' by advertising a downhill race, using Barely Legal as the top section, down into the lower section of Blue Pig. Good idea - holding a DH race on a footpath! Council or whoever got wind and pulled the plug but there'd been a 'practice day' type thing up there anyway and royally ****ed it up.
Ben Lomond definitely - it's amazing.
I got Given "Mountain biking in Europe" - ISBN: 978 1 906098 31 5
For Chrismas last year.
Its not too Disipline specific and has a fair few locations for you to consider, plus England, Wales and Scotland each have a separate section...