Dreaming of Cleethorpes

I really, really want to go to Buck Beck Trails in Cleethorpes. The spot formerly known as Gypo. These days I’m mostly riding pump tracks with Junior on his balance bike and I’m itching to make some progress into actual dirt jumping. It looks like the perfect place to do this.

The main obstacle is that I’m waiting for a weekend where there are no pre-booked family obligations and no rain. It’s like waiting for the next total eclipse. It might never, ever happen.

Any locals on here? Anyone ever ridden it? Is it as good as it looks in the videos?

Just posting because I’m stuck at work watching the rain pouring down my windows.

Wow. Things have changed there!

I’m itching to make some progress into actual dirt jumping. It looks like the perfect place to do this

Whereabouts are you? Bolehills BMX track in Sheffield has a similar albeit smaller vibe (smaller in land area, there’s  definitely still some massive jumps). Probably various other spots dotted about all over.

Those Cleethorpes trails do look sick though.

I’ll be visiting Bolehills asap. It’s been shut until the opening jam last weekend but now I’m just waiting for a dry day when I’m off work.

The problem with Bolehills is that they usually put all the effort into the massive stuff and I haven’t hit jumps like that in 20 years. The smaller stuff has always been a bit ‘meh’. The new first straight looks mint though so I’ll try it out.

I just fancy Cleethorpes as a change of scenery. It looks like a mini La Poma when the sun is shining. There’s a Premier Inn on the beach so we can make a family weekend of it.

It’s not the complete shit-hole it used to be. Lot of money being spent on the seafront.

Get some fish and chips at Papas on the pier while you are there!

Take a walk down to the Fitties too and the bottom of the town.

But if the tide times fall wrong for you you’ll barely see the sea! 🙂

Have you been to Charnock? That’s got some good progression DJ stuff as well as the pump track. Ant, who runs the place is really keen on skills development. I think they do jams/coached sessions most wednesday evenings in the summer.

Or there’s always Monkeybumps if you want to chuck yerself in the deep end…

The new first straight looks mint though so I’ll try it out.

The first straight was (more than) big enough for me when I rode it last year. Think my coccyx still hurts from looping out…

Papas on the pier

Oh my lord. Went with my mum… a veritable feast of fish, chips and sprouts. All deep fried. The meal was two colours. One of the colours was white and you couldn’t eat it as it was the plate. Everything edible was yellow.

Industrial sized portions which didn’t actually clog arteries but oh boy were we full. Had to skip dinner later and definitely no room for pudding. Interesting venue and as it is on the pier, going to the bogs felt like you were walking down to have a dump on the beach.

Have you been to Charnock?

I’m a semi-regular but the dirt jumps are still a work in progress and it never stops raining so I’ve missed the handful of sessions that they’ve had. The track is vastly improved since it was tarmac’d.

Or there’s always Monkeybumps if you want to chuck yerself in the deep end…

One day, one day. I’d like to build myself up to that level but I might break myself trying.

@rickmeister

LOL! This was my wife’s ‘Fish Cob’!…

@the_muffin_man

username checks out.

Something fishy about your wife’s baps!

Not Papas, you want Ernie Becketts in the market place or the Globe. Steels (also in market place)if you want to go upmarket.

But if the tide times fall wrong for you you’ll barely see the sea! 🙂

That’s generally considered a good thing when it comes to the North Sea.

Have you seen the North Sea coast recently? Where I grew up used to be all sewer pipes and burned out cars, now it’s almost, dare I say, ‘beautiful’?

The coast is yeah… I grew up near one of the nice parts. But the sea itself that’s another thing entirely.

Well it took a few months but we finally visited GY95. We actually went down a day early and stayed overnight which having seen the place, was unnecessary. Not to be harsh but we wont be rushing back! Yesterday was so grey and bleak, if it got any darker the street lights would have came on. Junior loved it though, which is all that matters, and it meant we didn’t have to do a 3 hour round trip in a day.

The trails are great. Only the small section was open, which is more than enough for my abilities. The jumps are small but perfectly formed. It means you can practice the techniques of hitting proper jumps without going massive. Pulling up off a steep kicker feels mint, and nose diving into a steep landing feels awesome. It’s nice to remember how jumping actually feels without having to clear any 10 or 20 foot gaps.

Not sure how often we can visit given the distance but it was well worth a look.

Go on then, I’ll stick in an action shot…

Nice. That looks fun.

Your original post inspired me to show my wife and kids the video and it gave them a completely unrealistic view of where I grew up!

Which was more like… Meggy’s lads and cod-heads, Harry Ramsdens, ten-spots from Babs in Nunny, a mate’s dad getting hospitalised when he tried to stop kids burning a car in the Spar car park in “Scaffa,” boarded up houses and schools wiith shattered glass covered tennis courts.