not place, not route, in fact i'm going to limit it to less than 20meters. The kind of bit that makes up for the fact that all the rest of the riding 10 minutes either side is a bit pants, but you'll sil go out of your way to ride it.
Anyone else got some? Theres a track round Repton Scrubs near derby and when crossing west to east theres a loverly set of roots inside a right hand bend that you can hit flat out. Great for overtaking/leaving mates behind on, although they have on one occasion resulted in straighlining into the brambles when i misjudged just how little traction there would be hopping off them back onto the track.
other bits;
big berm at bolehills
a big dusty corner on rutland water circuit, spent many an afternoon sessioning it to the point where both wheels are drifting, and i could stil hit the turn in, the apex and the verge/berm on the way out 🙂
The jump into the car park on hounkirk moor , climbing up from stanage, theres about 50m of off road with a couple of drops, followed by a tarmaked 'ramp' that sends you flying into the air and into the car park
the bit of gravel thats still stuck in my knee from a crash in the lakes
I love the crest on the Gap route, near Talybont on Usk/Brecon.
It is all downhill from there, you've earned it and it is still not a formality.
To cap it all, it was part of my first ever 'proper' ride - comprising blizzard, ill-fitting jogging bottoms, running shoes and hastily bought lid an' all. 🙂
My first fave bit was a little section of singletrack in Epping Forest. Not mega-downhill, or particularly gnarly (dude), but tight, twisty and always surprising. It changes, over the year/s, and you have lovely folk who kindly put logs in unexpected places, to add some spice, so you really have to be alert, to get down it cleanly. Having ridden it for so many years, I always try to hammer it as fast as possible, but there's always bits where you think 'cooduv done that bit a bit cleaner', or 'took that turn a little too wide', so it's always a challenge, never boring.
More recently, I've discovered the Labyrinth at Swinley, which is such good fun. Very swoopy and bermy, with the odd little jump to catch you out, as well as off-camber bits, ruts, roots etc. Very well thought out. It's one to try and follow a rider who's better than you, down, so's you can watch their lines, learn things, push yourself harder.
And Barry Knows Best, at Holmbury Hill, is a great bit of fun; fast and flowing, a few nice berms, and there's a little drop-in near the start, that I one day must conquer. It's an evolving bit of trail, and improves every time we go there. Bugger to climb back up after, though, speshly if you've had a cuppa and a snack at the little shop in Peaslake.
pretty much every 20m section on the descents down Mt Keen and Ben Lawers
No-one knows my local trails so there's no point in telling you all about the best bits 🙂
I could possibly nominate the giant chute on Brechfa Red where you go down a bit steep bit then go up a big hill - pulling loads of G at the bottom 🙂
molgrips- I might know them, I'm in Ammanford and ride West of there too.
Welsh favorites.
Cresting the rise from Nant Llwyd farm to look down into Cwm Doethie and understanding what is to come.
The zig zags under the turbines on Whites.
Anywhere on the Tywi track
The river crossing leading to Moel Prysgau bothy
The Dan yr Ogof descent final hairpin, when you can really let it all go 🙂
France: The middle section on the Col de Joux Vert to point 1680 on the PDS. Or perhaps the rocky section of the GR5 descent from Lac Vert, or a faintly remembered wicked descent near to Chamonix.
The Dr Moiti trail in Volvic has som sublime singletrack sections on it that should never end but unfortunately do.
Iceland- the final 20 m push to the hut at Hvitarnesvatn. or the similar push to the hut at Hveravillir in the middle of the island, at the end of a long, dry dusty day's ride, or the top of the final run down to Hveragerddi..
So much good riding out there...
This bit;
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'Cos Tom and I (the ones in the pic) built it 🙂
Bit more than 20 metres I'm afraid.... but I just loved the sidewinder section of the Penhydd trail. Had me grinning like mad through all the bumpy bits and slinging the bike round switchbacks. Plus the view of Swansea bay at the start of the section is great!
Plus the view of Swansea bay at the start of the section is great!
Really ?????? I must have ridden that half a dozen times and never noticed that view.
Note to self: must pay more attention.
Yeah.... there's even a bench at the start so you can sit and look out
chapeau-chamonix
The steps down from the station bridge.
Took me about 2 months to get the nerve to have a go then about 2 months of practising to get down still on two wheels then about 2 months practising to get down without scraping a knee or elbow.
Theres no roll in so its a standing start, theres 2 180 turns and at the bottom if your going to fast there is a welcoming bus shelter to bounce off.
Annoyingly the local BMX kids go down without even thinking about it.
The fast section that leads up to the black run on whites level at afan. Great fun and just seems to flow.
There's a bit that leads from the Nutcracker into Foxworthy, where it's a gentle gradient and you can just slalom through the rocks. First time I did it, I pushed back to the top and did it again about 3 times.
The bit of rocky downhill on the black section of Whites Level - as I approach it, I keep telling myself "speed is your friend, speed is your friend" but sometimes I bottle and take it a bit too easy on it only to look around and see some kid flying down it on a hardtail 😳
An ace 200m of singletrack in a little wood in Apedale Park and a nice berm the local kids have made round a motorbike trap on Burslem greenway. Nice and high, took me three attempts to pin it. Feel like I've just ridden Rampage cos I'm such a wimp even a little bit of fun makes me feel like a riding god!
There's a smashing wiggly bit on Falla Brae at Glentress, just after the black bit rejoins the main trail. It always sticks in my mind as being particularly noteworthy, even on a great bit of trail like Falla Brae.
Section 13 of Follow The Dog (chainslapper maybe?), in fact pretty much all of FTD from 13 onwards.
A cheeky stretch of trail somewhere in the Mendips. Used to walk it with my dog, long before I discovered mountain biking.
Downhill left hand bend with a tree stump on the outside of the bend exit on the open section of Thetford Black.
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There's a tiny stretch of single track on a local run I do 50/50 road, off road. The trail goes off a canal and into some woods. Not downhill or technical but twisty and flowing. Makes you get out of the saddle for a minute or two and give it the beans.
Some of the local youths have been kind enough to put a jump in about half way round as well. Bonus. 😀
Annoyingly the local BMX kids go down without even thinking about it.
Was watching some teenagers ****ing around in the local castle grounds on Friday whilst supping a pint and they make me sick. Fearless ****ers.
Bless 'um
I was watching some kids a couple of weeks ago in Aylesbury town centre.... skillful little monkeys were doing tailwhip bunny hops! I'm lucky if I can bunny hop at all!
2 sections in our local woods.
first is an open wooded section. taking a right hand turn into the descent, on really loose surface. controlling the speed over some roots, then a gentle left corner, which is quite steep. got to really control the speed here though, as you pick it up fast. but at the bottom of that steep bit is an off-camber right hand, which is impossible to do if you're going too fast. got to get round tight enoguh to set yourself up for straight-lining over some more roots and then down a reasonably steep and gently twisting bit of singletrack.
second bit is 2 hairpins on a similarly loose surface, top one os perfect for drifting round, the second one can be drifted if you've carried enough speed. straight after this is a rooty and rocky rolling drop, spitting you out with about 8m to stop before a road... in itself not too difficult, but you've got to be looking for traffic just as you go over the drop, in case you don't stop...
[url= http://tom-marvin.fotopic.net/c501561.html ]first drifty corner[/url]
There was a lovely wee bit of climb on glentress red, just near tourist trap, but it's just been annihilated 🙁 So, instead it's a wee local patch near mine, a very tight collapsed stream bank then along the stream bed for a few feet and up the gravel beach on the other side then up a rooty section back to the main trail. Lovely...
looking down
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looking up
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mmmmmm.............
sections 13 onwards at cannock do indeed rock, especialy the step-up (ok not realy a steup, more aslight lip mid way up a rise that if you takefast enough you can hop over the crest)
Forgot the parks in sheffield! The one's near the arts tower have a few (vey short'n'steep) downhills to mess arround on. An the one at the end of eccy' road, with all the little diversions up into the woods.
Ilkley Moor, innumerable micro-sections of steepy rocky or muddy descents, most not runnable when the bracken is up, takes years to find them all and to know when to run them. Highlight appears just by the waterfall on the way up to White Wells (on the WW side, not the race track down the other side.)
freeridespain's 'Granada ride'
Now I know you said section, but you could split the whole ride into 20m sections and each one would be amazing in its own right.
It's one of those trails which needs 'skillz' in every area to clean it and ride it well; loads of technical climbs, flowing singletrack, rocky steps, loose gravel, steep chutes...and if you get it wrong a high penalty for failure on a lot of it!
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Also looks bloody amazing at 5:30am as the sun comes up!
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ahh, i need to book a holiday!
"Gary's Back Passage", Lickey Hills, sharp turns, drops and slippery roots,mostly all off camber,dare not dab the brakes for fear of stalling, slow and technical and lasting only seconds, but always makes me grin
