So, I do realise that this will probably make me come across as a bit of a “aren’t I so good tit” but I promise that it’s not the case. I really don’t think that I’m particularly good, and want to get better, that’s the point, I am 30 not 15, and get a bit scared of wheels of the ground stuff.
/disclaimer

I have been riding for a couple of years now and am Nottingham based, so most riding has been in the peak. Now I read a lot on here that the Peak is really rocky and technical/scary. But having taken trips to Canada (Squarmish/Whistler) and Scotland (Glentress/Inners), I just find no down hills “technically” challenging in the peaks anymore (riding generally off the dark/white peak books).

They are all (seemingly) wide rocky descents where the challenge is avoiding walkers, and not really steep enough to be “interesting”. Basically nothing I come across makes me want to stop, get off and have a look at, or feel nervous riding (on a 130mm fs).

To put this in perspective, the other day I forgot my helmet, and our ride encompassed, The Beast descent to Ladybower “one of the hardest most technical descents in the peaks, will make you wish for 6” of travel and a full face”. And I wasn’t concerned about riding it, I just thought, I’ll go a bit slower. Similarly people laud Cave Dale as really hard “needing trials skills to get down” and this seems to be pretty straight forward.

So to the nub of this long winded post:
I know that there must be plenty of more interesting stuff (Wharncliffe etc…) to explore that is off the guidebooks.

I think I need to find some better riders to ride with to continue to improve.
Anyone with patience willing to let me tag along on a ride this weekend sometime and show me some fun stuff off the beaten, walker littered Peak tracks?

Wharncliffe has lots of dh tracks that’ll make you think on a short travel bike. The marked xc isn’t that great though.

a) If they’re boring and easy, you’re going too slow (I agree that trying Cavedale flat out on a busy Sunday afternoon is probably not a wise move though…). I’ve been riding the Beast for well over a decade, and I still can’t pedal the whole way down it – even on a 7″ bike, so more still to be learned.

b)Get an OS 1;25000 map and look at it. No really, *look* at it.

c)Then rearrange your work life so you work at weekends and can ride during the week 😉

But having taken trips to Canada (Squarmish/Whistler) and Scotland (Glentress/Inners), I just find no down hills “technically”

I’ve never been to Canada, but happy toa ccept it is the MTB land of milk and honey the tourist brochures tell us it is.

But GT/Inners? Assuming you mean the red/black trails and not some hidden off piste tracks, technical? Really? With the exception of the last two black sections (Bitch and Wormhole?) there’s absolutely nothing to think about, just point down the track, lean into corners, pump over jumps and avoid the trees.

I guess you have tried Black Rocks and Shining Cliff Woods?

This could have been written by me not so long ago, then I realised that there’s a huge difference between “getting down” something and riding it with speed and style. A good bike allows me to get down the Peak bridleways, but I’ve still got a LOT to learn about riding fast.

I wasn’t concerned about riding it, I just thought, I’ll go a bit slower

So you admit there is room for improvement then. You don’t have to be concerned about riding something for it to be hard. I’m not concerned about riding the Beast – I wasn’t concerned 20 years ago when I was on my old rully rigid Hard Rock – but I recognise it isn’t easy to ride fast and smoothly.

It’s been a few years since I rode there, but you could try the descents around Hollinsclough. They change depending on weather and how many motorbikes have been up and down them, but often have sections that can’t just be rolled like the Beast. I’d show you round but I think I’ve done my elbow some mischief when I stacked it yesterday 😕

b)Get an OS 1;25000 map and look at it. No really, *look* at it.

c)Then rearrange your work life so you work at weekends and can ride during the week

I can go months without touching the beast, jacobs ladder etc – said before but get a map and go for a wander

The great xc isn’t marked though

😀 😉

Riding a bridleway is never going to be as tech as riding a bike park with ‘stop and think’ features. For that you want Wharncliffe, Greno, Farmer Johns – or lay off the brakes, go faster and get creative with line choice. That’s where a lot of Peak tracks really change into fantastic riding.

Cave Dale as really hard “needing trials skills to get down” and this seems to be pretty straight forward.

You rode down on the grass didn’t you :p

It took me at least three attempts to get through the first 100m after the gate with anything aproaching fluidity.

It took me at least three attempts to get through the first 100m after the gate with anything approaching fluidity.

The top bit still gives me the willies. Love it. Cave dale is almost the perfect bit of trail.

fr0sty125 – Member

I guess you have tried Black Rocks and Shining Cliff Woods?

I’m guessing he hasn’t. Techy enough riding for anyone in that area if you know where to look! Still challenges me and I too have

taken trips to Canada (Squarmish/Whistler) and Scotland (Glentress/Inners)

amongst plenty of other places….

Shining cliff and drum hill woods have some tough stuff (big drops etc) or there is the off piste stuff round ladybower as said grab a map and explore a bit.

Thanks for the input, I know that I can ride the same suff better/faster/more fluidly, and look for different line choices on the way down,I am under no illusions that I am gods gift.

What I am looking for is more of “those” features that will make me think about how to get over them “at all” let alone “better”

I will be around shinning cliff this weekend anyway, and I havent ridden there and am happy to explore to a point, what does concern me, is that I dont want to go off exploring by myself, trying to push myself to ride scary stuff with no-one around.

I wouldnt want to take my usual riding partners onto a ride looking for stuff that would scare me, as they would have a pretty rubbish time tbh.

Hmmm, if it’s getting too easy on your 130mm FS, get a HT? The trails aren’t going to get rockier in your lifetime, the plates move far too slowly for that. I have ridden HT for 99% of my 24 year mtb experience, including regular forays into the Peak. The 1% on a FS I found it did make the Peak easier and faster but I felt overbiked when I wasn’t in the Peaks. Fortunately the FS made the decision for me and broke so I went back to a HT. Riding an MTB/bike isn’t all about the tech and the gnar.

Why not start traveling further a field? Lakes for instance have a weekend there

In general we do a rotating month (base in Manchester).

Week 1 local mile muncher (mileage muncher 25 mile minimum) easy local riding straight out the front door.We do find a bit of techy stuff as well.

Week 2 15-25 mile tech stuff plus bridleways localish Rivington Area

Week 3 Delamere, Philips Park etc short but fun stuff

Week 4 Big Ride currently The lakes.

Next year the big rides will be all in Wales

This is not set in stone be we tend to be out 3 out of every 4 weeks 🙂 Just mixes it up a bit and keeps thing interesting 😀

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Mojo-Trail-Diaries-Episode-1-part-2-2010.

Joking aside I got a HT to make my local Surrey Hills trails more interesting, don’t get me wrong there is plenty of stuff I cannot ride or even attempt there but to be honest I don’t want to try as a few big face plants off reasonable sized jumps has calmed me down a bit, that plus a few stories of mates injuries and seeing some folk not riding for 3-6 month whilst recovering ( and paying for treatment)

Other point would be to ride somewhere else for that sort of challenge … as above Wharncliff woods, how about Woburn – that’s reasonably close to you I think

variety variety variety

When you heading to shining cliff black rocks etc OP?
You would be best there on an evening than a sat/sun afternoon, less chance of confrontation as its all a bit cheeky
Happy to point you in the right general direction if you want?

@iain – would you be up for leading a sneaky ride round that way? Must start & finish at pub : )

Are there no footpaths?

IGMC

Try some muddy, claggy field edge rides in the south in winter. That’ll cure you!

Aye – please don’t do Black Rocks and Shining Cliff on sunny weekends!

mid-week for me, hopefully.

I thought I was good at riding until I began riding with properly fit and good riders – eye opener for me. Ride with people who are properly fast and try and follow them you’ll probs find your not as good as u think and those runs you think you are killing will bevome far more challenging

you’ll probs find your not as good as u think…

‘fitnessischeating’ doesn’t claim to be very good, he’s just bored of peak district bridleways.

which is fair enough, most of them are pants. There are some lovely bits, but it’s tricky/impossible to string them together into a long ride, without including loads of tarmac.

riding faster is an option, but it’s a little antisocial, and as he says

…What I am looking for is more of “those” features that will make me think about how to get over them “at all” let alone “better” (or faster)

there’s loads of excellent trails around, but you won’t find them in a guidebook, most of them aren’t even on a map…

I can see how the main peaks bridleways could get boring if that’s all you ever rode. Aside from riding faster, try them all going the ‘wrong’ way (some are great, others not so much), explore a bit and maybe ride some non-bridleway trails? The guidebooks are pretty good to start off with, but the real beauty of the peaks is that there are so many trails in a pretty small area. Once you get to know the area a bit, you can start to link up bits of trail and invent better rides.

I live in the peaks and my Strava ‘heatmap’ (link) seems to suggest I don’t have much variety in my life, but I’m nowhere near being bored yet.

Ian, getting out that way post work is a possibility at the moment, although it might be a bit of a pain as I work the wrong side of Nottingham city, and getting out of Nottingham in rush hour is desperate! (I usually cycle to work) and I don’t really want to leave my bike in the car, public car park. I got as far as Sherwood pines yesterday at 6.30

Thanks ahwiles, I think you kind of get the point, I know that any of the “fast” boys would leave me for dirt, even down those bridleways, and I do enjoy rides out round the peak but would like to seek out more “features” to ride reasonably locally, for the express purpose of getting better and more skilful.

I think perhaps I have taken the wrong tact, and should have given the thread a title and OP saying…

I’m currently the fastest rider in my group, and want to try to improve my technical riding, and want to explore more of the peak area “DH” type riding, but this is not of interest to my current riding group.

Anyone ride in a “quite” fast group, around the peak area, Wharncliffe etc. who wouldn’t mind an enthusiastic improver on a trail bike tagging along one day?

Kinda know what you mean. I got bored too, always wanting to find more features and bigger stuff but injury has put that too bed. Just enjoying riding the less gnar trails atm but +1 faster and backwards – some are far better the other way round.

What about Manchester Mountain bikers – ride in the peaks, yorkshire, wales, lakes, alps, cumbria.

There’s 10 rides this week alone from cut gate, marple to the alps & wales.

New members i’m sure are always unwelcome 😉

Banks
I could do but moving house next week so it wouldn’t be for a while
I don’t know it all by any stretch, have my little routes but there is a lot more out there I’ve not found yet
Maybe check out the derwent valley bike club website they do weekly rides

Faster groups are good fun even on very familiar trails.

I went out with a slightly faster ride a fortnight ago with Shortcut and Jo, familiar trails, ridden slightly quicker, ended up utterly muttlering myself after dropping into a bombhole at higher speeds than I’d usualy roll into it due to the que of slower riders, then got fired out the other side onto my head 🙂