Off to the Lakes next weekend and thinking of stopping off en-route to ride Follow the Dog?

Is it worth the detour off the M6 Toll?

My mum and dad rode it last week – they're in their 60's and didn't think really think it was worthy of it's red grade.

how much is the M6 Toll, £3.50?

Yes its worth it for a short blast.

Its as good as anything in Scotland, but without the midges or Scotch locals.

Good fun, but one of the few trails I wish I still had a hardtail for, I imagine it's a laugh on a singlespeed as well.

Its not a bad trail and its getting better all the time but it is best fun riding it as fast as you can. None of it cant be rolled by a 60YO I bet they only pottered through the berms in the woods and on the DH section.

It hasnt got the big rocks of Coed Y but who cares?

My mum and dad rode it last week – they're in their 60's

😀

Yes, well worth a trip.
From recollection nobody ever made a claim to it being the gnarliest most rad-dude' bit of trail ever. But for a couple of million Midlanders its less than an hour away & is enjoyed by young & old.
It is best ridden when quiet, & it's very good for a night ride, but when busy it can be quiet frustrating having to keep slowing.
Stu & Postierich, to name a few off here, have done some bloody good work & its a credit to them.
Nice bacon roll also.

Its as good as anything in Scotland, but without the midges or Scotch locals.

In crazyland maybe?

Only worth a trip if you're stuck in the area IMO. Otherwise I'd get up to the lakes earlier and do a short ride up there.

Its as good as anything in Scotland, but without the midges or Scotch locals.

say WHAT!?

its good, suprisingly so for the midlands, i was plesently suprised with it.

it is NOT comparable to trails oop north or over in wales imo

Cheers for the advice.

Was not looking for anything to taxing, just looking to break up the journey, have some fun, a cuppa and a bacon roll, so sounds ideal.

I'll see if my mum wants to join us. 🙂

Postierich, … done some bloody good work & its a credit to them

😆

I took my bike down to Brum to visit the in laws. Wish I hadnt taken the hassle of taking my bike. Just drive onto the Lakes. If Scotland is like FTD then heaven help us all!

BTW- if you are local apparently in the know there are loads of good bits.

yea its good fun, as someone said, the whole thing is rollable, my parents hahve done it as well, but the faster you go the more challenges there are, including a few fair sized stepups and sections that need a fair ammount of skill to pull off quickly without crashing.

I thought it was pretty decent for a bit of a ride. I really enjoyed the DH stuff in the Stile Cop bit, I was very suprised how well made it was.

Keep on driving to the lakes.

Ftd DH bit? You mean the chainslapper descent? Hardly classed as DH! I only go early morning to avoid M5/M6hell otherwise it'a not worth the hassle

RD, he means Style Cop DH not Follow Your Dad.

Stay away…………….

There's nothing for you here !

This is a local trail for local people……………………………………………………………………………………………… ➡

As others had said keep going on the M6 and get to the lakes,been there once and rode it twice to see if it was better second time around,won't be going again

No, it provides about as much excitement as james blunt concert, dull dull dull dull. Other bits of the chase are good though so ask some of the locals on here if you're stopping off and I'm sure they'll take you to the good bits 😀

won't be going again

Me neither – there's one good bit 'monkeysomething' but the rest is dull IMO.

Not worth detouring for.

Either blast straight up to the Lakes and spend the extra time up there or try somewhere else on the way. Depending on where you're coming from you could divert from the M6 onto M62/M60/M61, have a ride at Rivington and get back on the M61/M6. any number of people here (including me) could give you a good Rivi route.

Or M54/A5, ride at Llandegla, M56 back to M6 North

Postierich, … done some bloody good work & its a credit to them

feeling very embarrassed here I,ve done a few hours here and there nothing substantial I pay my dues ie member of Chasetrails and try to advertise dig days and pick loads of litter up.
Need to do more but riding takes up most of my time!!!!

Scruff on the other hand is de master of unofficial stuff 😆

As Higs said Rivi is not much of a detour and has soooo much better riding

It is worth detouring being that it is so close to the M6Toll! It is quite good considering what they have to work with. Alas not all areas are blessed with advantageous geology.

I would take the negative posts with a pinch of salt, they are eithe rjust far to gnarly freeride gods or their middle age 6" skill compensators have reduced pretty much all terrain to the equivilant of a towpath 😀

riden on ridgid singlspeed!no big boingy skill compensators for me on the chase! and still dull 😀

If you're in the area then yes it is worth doing. I wouldn't trek halfway across the country to ride it (nor would I to Grizedale for example) but then it was never meant to be a huge national draw but seems to have become popular with a lot of people which is nice for them.

It'll take you no more than an hour to do a lap there's a decent enough cafe, good bike shop and loads of parking at the start so if you've got time to kill then why not.

A pretty mellow intermediate trail is all it's ever been, we've added a few more interesting bits over the last 18 months or so and the new trail we're building will pick things up a level but if people really expect that much from a 7 mile trail built in a pretty flat rock free area of forest then they are clearly going to be disappointed.

Stu
http://www.chasetrails.co.uk

I would take the negative posts with a pinch of salt, they are eithe rjust far to gnarly freeride gods or their middle age 6" skill compensators have reduced pretty much all terrain to the equivilant of a towpath

Agree that it needs a hardtail to get the best out of it, but even then it's basic at best – probably the equivalent of a blue run at a decent trail centre.

If I go these days, I tend to go to Stile Cop.

Stu Grizedale has some great riding on the bridleways going through it

Right then, f uck it.

Come to all the forum willy wavers who hate it, what else do you expect from the trail?

I'm getting really intrigued now at the amount of people who stick their head up over the parapet to snipe and jibe at soemthing that's never claimed to set the world on fire.

The current counter is showing 2000 visitors a week so take off a lump for Apollo riding chavs and families with kids slowing other riders down and that could still be 1000 riders a week using the trail. Now with the scope for riding all the unofficial stuff on the Chase that shows the trail is pretty popular with a broad spectrum of riders.

I've ridden the trail over the years on a variety of bikes (as Scruff will confirm) and it's ideal on a hardtail, singlespeed, rigid whatever. Of course it is, it's a flatish forest with no rocks, roots or really steep stuff.

Come on for f ucks sake.

Fieldmarshall, if you have the time and the inclination pop in for a couple of laps have a cuppa and a sarnie and carry on to the Lakes knowing you added another trail to your list, simple.

Ernie, yes sorry, by Grizedale I meant North Face. Worth a ride if you're there but not a special trip over a long distance. Just like the Chase which can offer a days worth (just) of riding on a variety of stuff albeit flatter than the Lakes.

"A pretty mellow intermediate trail is all it's ever been, we've added a few more interesting bits over the last 18 months or so and the new trail we're building will pick things up a level but if people really expect that much from a 7 mile trail built in a pretty flat rock free area of forest then they are clearly going to be disappointed"

Stu, don't get me wrong, it is a nice mellow trail, but when the "natural" trails on in other bits of the chase have better flow or are more technical then you can't blame the geology. The old trails at thetford flow beautifully and that's flatter than a kippers dick!

st – don't hate it, I just wouldn't go out of my way to ride it. As somewhere to blast round for fitness it's ok, although not great – no decent climbs to speak of. It's not technical either. What it is good for is as a family trail to introduce people to mountain biking, however it's not a red trail by any stretch of the imagination.

I ride it occasionally, as the only other trail centre nearby is Sherwood Pines, but if I've got the time, I'd much rather go to the Peaks and do something rocky and technical.

FWIW, the two bits I like are the new rock garden near the start, and the skinnys. The rest is a bit boring and samey IMO.

I take the point about the limits of the terrain, but I enjoy Stile Cop loads more, and that's not a million miles away.

I honestly don't see how any keen mountain biker who regularly rides in the Peaks, or at other trail centres in Wales or Scotland, can really rate the place.

Well picking up on a couple of those points.

tazzymtb, the flow argument has been levelled before and we'd never agree on this, I get to ride most of the off piste stuff and personally don't see FtD being miles below that in terms of flow, it's a very personal thing. I've always taken the attitude to ride FtD fast and get the most out of it on the day. And I agree that flow isn't dictated by contour lines. There is always the potential for people to feel that opportunities have been missed but it is inevitable that in some cases compromises are made in the interests of making a long term sustainable trail (plus a load of other sh-it that goes on)

Kramer, I'd love to have Peaks or Lakes trails on my doorstep. As for Stile Cop having been involved in building there for the last 5 years I understand but bear in mind that off all the hills on the Chase Stile Cop is one of the highest. This shift in terrain in such a short distance is what we've tried to exploit in Phase 2.

As for other riders rating the trail it's all relatively surely. I for one would never compare the major trail centre in much more rugged terrained area to FtD (or vice versa I suppose) and this in my experience over the last 6 years is where the crux of the issue lies. Cannock is no Sctoland, FtD is no Glentress and you can put together a 20 mile plus ride on the Chase avoiding all of FtD.

Flatter than a Kippers dick!! I like that one 😀

If your wanting to break a journey do it, i enjoy popping round it when on the chase. Tea and bacon butty afterwards, then you can get stuck on the M6 around junction 17-19, but at least you had a ride to stretch your legs.

The chase is a great place!

Stu, go home drop a pill and i'll see you in 90 mins for a dog blast….lol

Blast it, it's good fun. Nothing too challenging.
Singlespeed ideal in my opinion and always seems faster than those with gears.

I would take the negative posts with a pinch of salt, they are eithe rjust far to gnarly freeride gods or their middle age 6" skill compensators have reduced pretty much all terrain to the equivilant of a towpath
rigid 29er you mean?

i wasn't haveing a pop ST, i said to me it was worth the 40 mins(no traffic) but not worth the 2 hours (normal rush hour traffic)journey to get there, as i said on another thread, if you are used to hills and gnarl cannock will seem tame, if you are used to pan flat and towpaths (my local habitat) it's a nice change, but given the 2000 riders, most of whom turn up on a saturday or sunday are there the only time i can be, it's hard to justify the petrol

Come to all the forum willy wavers who hate it, what else do you expect from the trail?

I don't expect anything from it. What it misses (and always will) is 'vertical' simply because it is in Cannock Chase, not the Peaks, Lakes or Snowdonia.

I don't dislike the trails in Cannock Chase and if I lived round the corner I'd happily use them but asked the question "Is it worth breaking a journey to the Lakes to ride FTD?" my answer will always be "No – spend more time in the Lakes or detour somewhere better"