Escort at Bike Park Wales

I know people’s perception differs but any views on this?

Looking at the videos of Escort, it seems more like the trails I ride and like, with some steep, rocks and roots but no massive gaps or drops (which I’m too broken to go at).

But BPW have it at the harder end of the black scale?

Not sure they allow cars down the trails.

?

I’d imagine there’s some available in Merthyr Tydfil, but quality might be an issue.

Bit kinky that

but quality might be an issue.

Hmm.. now, what are you saying??

Supply and demand, Dez.

😈

I rode it for the first time at the weekend, there was one corner where the guy in front of me came off on the roots and mud. It was slick and really hard to even walk down in those conditions.

It’s a really short trail with a couple of tricky corners, it’s not really that steep. It would be fairly easy in the dry.

I searched for a video, and the owner of said video said that it was very steep, which is the thing you don’t often see in pictures and video. So I’m guessing it’s hard because it’s steep 🙂

It is massively easier in the dry. In the wet there is bugger all traction, I’ve had trouble standing up on the off camber traverse in the wet. There is one drop near the bottom after the rooty right hander that isn’t rollable, but it’s avoidable. The rest is a nice ‘natural’ technical trail, the switch back is a bit steep.

It looks more technical than the reds. What colour should it be?

don’t the blacks have qualifiers at the start anyway? S’why I avoided them (being also injured, I might add 😉 ! ) Plus the reds were so damn good.

Yeah but the qualifiers don’t really mean anything. Escort has a 1ft step qualifier you can roll off.
Even 50 shades has a very small gap quali then a couple of much bigger drops (6-7ft) further down the trail.

As per yorkshire, the Escort quali is easier than the trail, unlike the Dia Hard quali (IMHO).

Ah if BPW say it’s black, then it’s black.

I’ve squared up to the start of it a few times and changed my mind.

Really depends on your experience I guess, if you’ve spent your riding ‘career’ riding cheeky “natural” stuff around your local woods you’re probably better prepared for it that someone who’s honed their skills at the TCs – goes the other way on the big jump lines.

I don’t like none of ’em – despite scaring myself silly in the Alps and Whistler over the years I surprisingly wimpy at BPW – I rode almost exclusively Blues for the first couple of years and have only started riding the reds recently.

Thanks all, I shall in that case have a careful look at the said welsh escort before I commit and wear suitable protection if I decide I’m up to the challenge.

I liked the reds there last visit but didn’t enjoy the gaps etc on the blacks one bit = steep twisty in the dry is preferable for me if that is what it seems to be.

I liked the reds there last visit but didn’t enjoy the gaps etc on the blacks one bit = steep twisty in the dry is preferable for me if that is what it seems to be.

I find BPW slightly different, love the blues as they’re fast, flowy, smooth and have fun jumps. Dont like the reds as much as in my opinion they are much rougher between features, I like the blacks as these to me as smoother between features but the features might be bigger/taller/scarier, although that black after the tunnel is one long gnarly rock garden is quite rough!

Escort is certainly one of the easier blacks.

Ignoring trails with big jumps (as some people get on with jumps and others don’t)…

The most obvious comparison, being tech natural singletrack, is Half Cut which is a whole lot harder with the “sharp corner to low speed drop” feature. In fact the only non-jumpy-tech feature at BPW I haven’t ridden yet.

The natural tech part of 50 Shades has a rock garden which is also harder.

The drop ins on Rock & Roll used to be scarier.

Deep Navigation / Zut Alors while not as steep are far, far rockier.

Coal not Dole / Pork Belly – though more constructed, don’t have any huge gaps or rock gardens or anything – are of comparable difficulty to Escort, at the easy end of the black grade.

Looks more like a Granada to me?

But BPW have it at the harder end of the black scale?

BPW website list it as ‘black’. What do you mean?

Is that Fearne Cotton ?

Is that Fearne Cotton?

White silk I think

It’s not that steep, just one bend before the drop, just stay high.

Wish there were more trails like that at BPW……2 – 3 min ones.

Pedlad – if you like that stuff you are better of getting to the off piste stuff nearer Afan.

I live just down the road and I have never been…

Coal not Dole / Pork Belly – though more constructed, don’t have any huge gaps or rock gardens or anything – are of comparable difficulty to Escort, at the easy end of the black grade.

Wet or dry Coal not Dole and Pork Belly don’t ride much differently. Having ridden Escort dry, greasy over firm (like ice skating), and wet/soft it is a different proposition when wet to compared to dry. Dry it’s comparable to them, though different character. Maybe that says more about my (lack of) wet riding skills.

Wish there were more trails like that at BPW……2 – 3 min ones.

I agree. I like the more natural trails. I think the problem is that they don’t stand up to the same amount of traffic as well as the armoured trails. Maybe it’s no coincidence that those 4 natural trails are at the far end of the park with only one decent trail heading to them. Traffic management?

It was this suggesting it’s a harder black than Zut alors

Trail guide