[Closed] Train Addictions' Guide Groupings: flawed?

Stopadoodledoo - Member
Thing is, I don't get the attraction of going to these places that split you into groups. What if you were shit but your mates good, or the other way round? I go on holiday to ride with mates and have a laugh, would be pissed if I was split off and put in another group.

It reminds me of the signs at funfairs 'If you're not as tall as Scrappy the Cowboy, you can't go on this ride'

just replaced with 'If you are incapable of riding over a wet root, you shouldn't have wasted your money coming'

Do many people go on holiday with people of wildly varying abilities? I certainly wouldn't plan to go on a guiding trip to somewhere like TA in that scenario. Of course, if there's a group of six (or so) of you, you'll get your own guide if you want so it wouldn't matter.

Would everyone still have a laugh for a full week if they were having to tone down the riding massively to accommodate one rider, or if you were that rider and feeling out of your depth trying to keep up?

Yes they do. I have a couple of mates whose ability on a bike differs greatly to others but the key point is that we are all mates; we go riding to have a laugh, not to be marginalised into different groups depending on ability. Sure, in the past we've been away in a larger group and at certain points will split into smaller ones so that people can ride the stuff they enjoy but on other days, we'll all make compromises so we can stick together.

If there was six of you on a guided holiday and one got split off into another group, you wouldn't see them until the evening and then the conversation would be along the lines of 'We all had a proper laugh today, rode some proper mint trails, dicked about. What about you?'

'I got stuck with a bunch of Dutch blokes in lycra who hardly spoke a word of English and only wanted to ride the Teacup Trail all day. Can I go home now?'

A bit of an over-exaggeration but you see my point?

The average Hebden descent is steeper/harder than the average Lake District descent IMO so it's fair enough. Yes there is much gnarlier stuff in the Lakes if you seek it out...

Stopadoodle

Similarly, if you just want to ride with your mates or partners, even if you do have to wait for them now and again, then we certainly won't be the ones to stop you. You are on holiday, after all - and the number one priority is having fun!

It seems they let you choose, shock horror

heard of the Singletrail Skala?

it's a little like rock climbing scale. a bit nerdy, but lets people know what level they are at and if you say a certain trail has S4 sections, but mostly S2 then people know that they'll be able to ride most of it.

i think it is a good way of summing up a skills level as most people can relate to it.

http://www.singletrail-skala.de/

click the Jack for google translation....

Hebdens level with Fort Bill???

Parts of the Peaks are alot harder than Hebden too.

Weird. Who wrote this?

I'm not a level (but prob 1-3 8) ) I vary and I hate anything that groups, has formal groups or tries guaging us mountain bikers.

Stick it up your arse trail ****ers.

Stopadoodledoo - Member

Thing is, I don't get the attraction of going to these places that split you into groups. What if you were shit but your mates good, or the other way round? I go on holiday to ride with mates and have a laugh, would be pissed if I was split off and put in another group.

You can choose to ride with your mates, or you can choose to ride at your level. It's not that complicated! What the guides are doing is avoiding throwing you in too deep, or landing you with some stranger who can barely ride, it's in nobody's interest. All just common sense.

I've been on a holiday with a company that didn't do groups and you know what? It's pretty stupid.

Hebdens level with Fort Bill???

Have you ridden the WC track at Fort William hora? It's not actually that scary for the most part. Obviously it's very hard to ride it like the pros do.

Bit hard to compare 'Hebden' which is a place with lots of trails, and one track at Fort William. If you ride cheeky there's some terrifying stuff in Hebden.

cheeky Lakes is hard too or Peaks.

Never been to Fort Bill. Alot of Hebden is cheeky[s]?[/s] Would love to be shown anything that I dont know/tried

Anyway, as interesting a side discussion as the whole guided group thing is, the main point remains that their trail classification guide is a load of bollocks. I wonder if Hebden Bridge would be up there if Singletrack weren't based there?

There is terrifying stuff in lots of places. As mentioned before, why is Hebden singled out when, apparently, the Lakes, etc., are taken as an average? Should we all aspire to ride Hebden to achieve the hallowed TA Level Six grade? Bullshit.

TrailAddiction won't arbitrarily split you up from your mates (even) if there's a wild difference in abilities.

They were excellent the year we went, and most of the groups that came together rode together, or they paired up similar groups of friends on ability.

But I've been on other holidays where the level of riding has been a shock to some people, even on the more basic trails. I was just happy not to be at the back 😉

Its all good. Alles klar.

Nevis red is a techy trail. The harder slabs on Lagan black are damn tricky, as hard as anything I attempted and failed at in Sierra Nevada or Molini. I will manage a clean run before I die but I only visit once a year at best. It's a long way from SW England!

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All that way to ride a trail centre (laggan)
Far more challenging stuff closer ya feel me?
Cheeky hebden cheeky lakes cheeky peaks sort it out

Thing is one of the best cheeky bits isnt even cheeky. Its unclassified leading into a bridleway...

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This is what they really need, out on the table over dinner night 1 during the get to know you session, this is what this thread is about isn't it?

No because someone who can ride big wont be able to fight, write poetry or make love for toffee. Seen the pro's? 😉 😆

They look like overgrown children.

Once again, another person has missed the point completely. I was talking about trail classifications in the UK, not rider classifications but I suppose that wouldn't have led to the inclusion of your funny ruler joke, would it?

As far as I can see, only bland has been doing virtual press-ups on the beach in this thread.

this is what this thread is about isn't it?

That's only a 12" rule

That reminds me a joke...

A captain wanders into the mess one evening to find his crew all shouting and cheering while huddled round the table.

They all go quiet when the captain arrives;

"What the hell are you lot doing!? What are all these lines on the table?!" he demands to know

Sheepishly one of the crew replies "We're, erm, measuring all our willies to see who has the biggest captain"

All the crew look at their feet nervously, expecting the captain to be mad

"Ha! Well, give me that chalk and I'll show you boys what your captain's made of!"

With that, the captain takes the chalk, whips down his pants, leans against the table and draws a line.

Delighted that his line is the furthest from the edge by a small margin, he declares himself the winner.

The other sailors look sheepish again;

"Erm, we were measuring from the other side of the table captain"

🙂

Legend- she only won the whip-off contest, we won the lets not break our bikes contest.

When I first read the Trail Addiction levels I thought they were a deliberate mickey take

Regardless of technicality or exposure, I can descend any almost any trail generally conceived as 'rideable' WITHIN my comfort zone / safely.

I thought that was quite a bold statement. I wondered if the 2 locations were

Fort Bill I really do this for a living

Or Hebden Bridge code for I spend a lot of time on forums

The sea captain story is inconclusive

[i]Once again, another person has missed the point completely. I was talking about trail classifications in the UK,[/i]

Just like you have "missed the point completely" about the function of the grading that you're complaining about.

Everyone's a winner

I've been riding in Hebden for years.

That bit of towpath behind the sewage farm was properly dangerous a few years ago - someone could have fallen off on that and got a nasty graze.

Cheers, Pete.
2.5 and quite happy with it.

I know all the standard stuff in Hebden, riverbed, chipps, kebab st, Bluepig, that steps-turning bit up from blue pig and down the face/from the top of Heptonstall but I'm sure there are bits that I'm missing? 🙁

Stopadoodledoo - Member

Once again, another person has missed the point completely. I was talking about trail classifications in the UK,

Well, if that's the case why did you call the thread Trail Addiction's Guide Groupings: Flawed? You seem to have missed your own point, which you've got to admit makes it hard to complain if other people do too.

Trail classification in general's always a fudge, because difficulty depends on skillsets, there's no one difficulty level.

Hora, I"d be grateful if you showed us round sometime.

I've lived nearby for years and am embarrassed that I don't know half of it.

Trail classification in general's always a fudge, because [s]difficulty depends on skillsets, there's no one difficulty level[/s] some people see it as a challenge to their masculinity/riding skills/home trails.

FTFY

Hah. Yeah, that too.

That more than anything! The first year we went there was a big group that were properly upset by Mrs L making them look like mincers!

scruff - Member
Legend- she only won the whip-off contest, we won the lets not break our bikes contest.

That's weird, when we were there she won the whip-off, but we won the lets not tumble down the side of the mountain on our face contest 😉

I may have missed your point due to obscurity but it was heading towards measuring & my trail is harder than your trail BS
I was honest with my white room grading and was not disappointed.

I'm always wary of people who like to tell you how good they are or how hard their trails are...
We did a mega trip where 2 guys were going on about how tough and gnarly everything was, the guy guiding/running it said "You should see the lakes" he had just been taken for a locals special tour the week before 🙂

this thread is really special.

Don't get me wrong. I take a holiday to Scotlands highlands just once a year for biking and munroing and include laggan wolf trax as a good rainy day option because it's nice and sheltered.

I know all the standard stuff in Hebden, riverbed, chipps, kebab st, Bluepig, that steps-turning bit up from blue pig and down the face/from the top of Heptonstall but I'm sure there are bits that I'm missing?

Barely. Scratching. The. Surface. 😉

Its all relative but I'm surprised that "Hebden Bridge" (which is a sweeping statement because theres trails from easy to fkn super doopa hard and everything inbetween) features so highly.

this thread is really special.

+1

To the OP, I'm guessing their grading is fundamentally not flawed - I've never read any complaints about TA.

Is it just me that was expecting something like alcoholics anonymous but for train spotters for this thread, going by the title?

I imagine it must be tricky trying to gauge riding ability to make sure guests are challenged but not hospitalised, but I also imagine that the majority of folk filling out a form like that exaggerate their level - perhaps they have a system of just knocking 2 levels off from folks responses and starting from there on the first day!

I imagine it must be tricky trying to gauge riding ability to make sure guests are challenged but not hospitalised, but I also imagine that the majority of folk filling out a form like that exaggerate their level - perhaps they have a system of just knocking 2 levels from folks responses and starting from there on the first day!

When I was a student I worked for a ski company. in the first few weeks I worked there, when customers wanted to buy kit, I used to ask (incorrectly) "what level of skier are you?" and was generally met with a response of "super douper advanced" from guys would went on one weeks ski holiday every year, to "meh, i'm about average" from guys who had done multiple seasons but were so used to being surrounded by other talented skiers. Another great one was the indignant "I've been skiing for 20 years young man!", great, well done, so you've done less than one season's skiing and spaced it out over two decades, congratulations 🙂 The 18 year old on his gap year has as many weeks on snow.

Some people, when they are passionate about their sport, just don't like admitting they are average or below average at it. They talk the talk and all that, but strangers in shops or in the car park generally don't get to see them ride/ski etc so it doesn't matter how great they claim they are.

It turned out to be far easier to ask people how many weeks on snow they had and the type of skiing they actually did, rather than aspired to in the pub (easier said than done). Anyone would could actually count the number of weeks wasn't "advanced" 🙂

It's so hard to judge your own riding too. If you're always riding with better riders, then you'll tend to say "well, I'm alright" though the reality is you'll probably end up better than the guy who's the big dog in a local group of dobbers.

Daveyboywonder cough cough show me and I'll ensure your train runs ontime 😀

Deal! September is looking free for a ride...

Tbh i wouldnt be impressed till i saw at the top level - cleans kilbo path on a fully rigid dutch town bike .

Would blow this fabled hebden bridge out the water im sure 😉

Dealo!

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