[Closed] Cranham conditions

last saturday was ok, but now.... going by the state Lecky is in.... you might find a few bits that aren't too bad, Buckholt road is probably holding up.

I'm just off up Lecky now - will check out the conditions!

Only taken 40mins to sort ut a Rear mech problem - now I'm off!

Mo - I know you live up there so have a better view of the conditions - but you weren't joking when you said Lecky was in a state!!!.

I've not seen it that bad for a few years. Had to get off and walk far too many times - its like its been ploughed in places!!!

Met MRMO saturday in Cranham it was still frozen then,but thawing out in places its been used to much in the crap weather and the trails are well rutted in places. I would wait till it drys up abit,it will be a mud bath.The portway runs were fine and still fast the rest was slow without the thaw.Hope they recover but they dont look in great shape at present even the wall run looks to be suffering.The run down to the planks is ok and after the bomb hole is fine.

After my ride today I've decided to keep clear of Lecky and Cranham for a while - I think the frost then thaw has churned it up quite badly.

Gonna do some training on the Road bike until the weather has sorted itself out and the trails are in a less fragile condition.

I'm considering doing some trail maintenance down in Craham - get rid of some of those ruts - anyone fancy joining me sometime?

Cranhams my regular ride,4-5 times a week and it has got well bad in places would be up for givin the trails some tlc

Cranham is in a real state I am afraid as is Leki. Cranham is deep slush in the 4 main sections although the wall section (4) was not too bad v's others. Mind you I still have a black arse, knee and arm from sliding off on a frozen grass bank in front of a tee full of golfers on the 17th green / 18th tee area on Cleeve on the 1st of Dec.....joy! Cleeve is soft and very damp as well at the moment, the sheep dip area is very poor.

The whole area needs some drying out. Perfect time to get down to Cwm Carn or up to Cannock!!

PS Bushwacked - have a team of 6 who would probably be up to help do some DIY up in cranham.......will provide the Bovril!

cranham is best avoided in the main right now, most sections are a mess. i dont think recovery was made over the summer! im stringing some dry(er) runs on the beacon and slad/sheepscombe. ill be up for some work o the trails and as i live really near the beacon could do some curry for afters? tangwyn@gmail.com for contact.

Time for a moratorium on Cranham, untill things dry up a bit.

Sounds like we've got a work party coming together...

Just need to work out which bits need the most attention. Any suggestions?

I was up on Cleeve and parts where just a total clagfest... Bring on the sun!

Your attentions are great towards Cranham but just remember till that white house on the left coming from Birdlip,all the woods there are private so you need to do it subtly not park six cars along the road in one spot.I know someone who started to build a run from half way along the bomb hole run down into the woods there and was warned off so be carefull.

re cranham id say shrine, 'forty'(singletracker named this section, white house to the corner and road crossing) and the wall will need some help.

yes, im into sympathetic repair not 'building' as such.

Thats fine Tang but to much activity does attract attention,look what happened in the Portway! mind as you say repairing not building.Portway seems to be the least used.Maybe we can all chip in together and buy a little bit of the wood[nice thing dreams] 🙂

Perhaps the odd "improvement" maybe...

So looks like

Me
Lookmanohands
BigboyXC team of 6
Tang (inc Curry)

Anyone else?

I would be happy to do a couple of hours Saturday morning if anyone fancies it?

all it needs is a little bit of something added to the worst mud spots, in a few places i have added rocks or small branches. seems to work for a while.

I would agree the shrine needs to be firmed up, particularly the section approaching the barrow.

Right then 11 am sat morning @ the shrine?

portway! what a nightmare, i used to ride that in the early 90s and when i moved back to the area i couldnt believe it was the same place.

in general i ride solo and like to pass quietly through all my routes. however cranham is getting more use and a little tlc would be good. i am aware that one mans tlc is anothers north shore! my own rule is generally stay away from the woods/singletrack unless conditions are good.

mrmo tactics sound good.

11am at the Shrine sounds good - although 10.30 would be better. 😀

I'll bring a spade and bucket (like being at the seaside!!) - we can always move on down to other sections if we decide to do more. Not intending to do much building - I'm definately thinking of just stablilzing stuff to make it last before it gets too bad.

So, other than Lookmanohands, who's in for this Saturday then?

By the way - in case you need to get in touch my email is barnt at hotmail dot com - send me a mail and I'll send over my mobile number

Woo goo can we make mud castles? Yep be there about 1030 ish, let's get this sorted for the summer!

ill try to be there, wifes got flu so i might be with the kids (bit small for trail work!) ill bring cake and coffee if i can make it.

Mmm... sounds good.

Milk and one sugar for me please... ;0)

Sorry guys but I am at a 96th birthday party on Saturday lunch....... will forward to my mates to get their help!

There has been a comment that any big groups of people might get unwanted attention by local non bikers so we'll have to make sure we do this reasonably sensibly to ensure we don't cause too much disruption.

Its party time, would be there.... but im working.

Lookmanohands / Tang - The trail guardian has dropped me a line and has requested we call off our good intentions. Can you respond just to let me know you're not going up.

Shame but they are keen to not draw any attention to work being carried out.

At least we can feel good about the fact we were trying to do something positive rather than just talking about doing it or moaning about the state of the trails.

Nice one guys - until next time! 😉

hi there- never mind. who is the trail guardian? is it the owner or on behalf of? or a self appointed guardian? id be interest as ive been riding as a local since 1985 and do care about impact. my own policy has really been to not ride in poor conditions in the woods, however it seems larger numbers are riding in the wet and sometimes ignoring the fact may not be the best course. im into a managed situation involving all parties rather than a mashed woodland and potential closure (has been known). im sure other groups in the country have done something. like it or not the trails are getting more popular up this way.

Policy has to be to keep the trails good by not riding.

Guy called Graham who is a local and a member of one of the clubs - apparently he and other built the trails over the years.

To quote part of his email:

[i]"The Cranham trails have been put in a very basic fashion so to avoid anyone noticing we are even there, (please note: we have never consulted anyone and don't really want to as to not attract attention) we tend to do work in small groups, some times pairs or in my case on my own. As mentioned the last thing we want is groups of trail builders being spotted around the woods. we really do go in stealth mode and just clear narrow trails with a rake, it's kept natural as poss. No more than a trail laid down by the animals really.

As mentioned the trails are taking a bashing but as in all the years I have been riding there, they soon sort themselves out once the dry weather arrives... and it will some day soon.

To be honest it's all best left alone. Hope this helps us all keep Cranham as it is. Last thing we want is to be kicked out. The local ranger is aware of basic trails and rides them himself. Although major work may cause him concern."[/i]

I agree about managing it - The potential issue in the future could be one of widening of trails due to bad conditions - trails becoming more heavily used as they become more visible to people who haven't got local knowledge - more riders being seen - locals complain - then trails closed down.

I think if this does happen then when is a good time to step in and show that while we are enjoying the woods we are also caring for them and making the use sustainable.

Similar work / discussions on Lecky has made biking more accepted by other users of Lecky - if there is a concern about use in Cranham then surely it needs to be addressed before it gets out of hand. (Perhaps)

I'm not close enough to it to really know but this is my perception and thoughts on it and not really sure if this would work in Cranham due to the nature of ownership over there.

lets keep an eye open bushwacked. im sure there is common access right through cranham (?). props to graham and co and all stealthy trail forgers, the result is always 'ride it and they will follow' theres a tipping point between local cheeky in the know trails and open sustainability and we may be getting closer to that place. stay in touch i reckon and get together for a ride some time?

Yeah - we wouldn't even have those trails without their efforts over the years so big thanks to Graham and his crew as you say.

Sounds good - always keen to find new places and I bet you know a few I don't round here..

bummer! was lookin forward to some mud castles. think i know this "graham" guardian. how about a ride sometime guys, when its a bit dryer, be good to see what different local knowledge we have.

Yeah, I think that sounds like a great idea.

HI guys

Someone up there must read this forum as Saturday nights storm nearly cut the Shine trail in two, thus giving the trail plenty of rest Luckly 2 big tress came down but did not block the trail. Would have ment a major detour around these babies. I too have rode in this area for many years and think a meet up with other regulars would be good to swap knowledge.

STS

Ah I can officially say that as of yesterday the whole of cranham is on big bog rest, time to dust off the road bike I thinks 😆

i went for a nightride round lecky last night and doesn't surprise me to hear that Cranham is a state.

Only a few weeks and it'll start to dry 🙂

Mmmm I thinks not! You still riding the bonty mrmo?

Rather than build a trail, and then hope that people don't use it, is it not better to not build a trail in an area that gets in such a state in the first place?

Not trolling, just curious

been using the bonty for most of the winter, my back objects if i go to far!

A few weeks might be optimistic, but usually picks up in march

nickc, its the cotswolds, the choice is mud mud or mud at this time of year.

You can be selective where you ride, which I would say most of the locals do, we all know the bad places and generally avoid them. But that said almost none of the trails in cranham are "legal" for bikes to use anyway, so I think common sense is the best bet!