cruzheckler – Member

I don’t video i ride. This however is blower on Parkin clough, widely known as one of the hardest descents in the Peak:

Yeah, except that it’s not actually ‘widely known’ at all… though it is hard.

As far as Potato Alley goes, it is what it is. Lots of rubble and a good laugh. Needs to be ridden fast and loose. And what’s with all the sniping on here? I’m sure most STW regulars are way faster and more skilled than me, but do you really need to rub it in?

Anyone got a route or GPX or whatever that incorporates that Parkin Clough? Looks like fun.

Parkin Clough is not legal and will not help to promote a responsible image of us. Given the number of good legal trails, I don’t think its wise to advocate it here.

Although Google may well tell you where to find it.

I found it – just wondering how to incorporate it into a good ride with other stuff but never mind – I don’t intend doing it on a sunny Sunday afternoon or anything though.

Never knew it had the name Potato Alley though

I’m familiar with Parkin Clough, but in the other direction (pushing and carrying obviously).

I have to agree it is very technical and I am genuinely impressed how fast the guy in the video is riding it. Although it was posted in a ‘I’m a better rider than you, ner, ner, ne, ner, ner’ kind of way. (well actually it’s his mate who’s a better rider, we didn’t see the poster riding it himself)

As far as the Roman Road goes, I’ve ridden the main trail flat out on a hardtail many times before the ‘chicken run’ even appeared but I confess I do now use it even on my Five because it is more fun, faster and flowing. The potato, fist, and head-sized rocks just aren’t that rewarding anymore.

Ploughing through them just for sake of it seems pointless, it’s not ‘technical’ in the sense that Parkin Clough is, it’s just ‘sketchy’ which isn’t the same thing and doesn’t offer the same reward or kudos in my book.

hmmm i must admit ‘potato alley’ does not do a great deal for me, its as someone else has state a bit of a ‘hold on and hope for the best’ type descent…

dont get me wrong, its decent if you like being rattled about, but its not exactly thrilling at the same time….i have ridden it numerous amounts of times, and sometimes i choose to take the so called chicken run, if i dont fancy battering the bike and myself….if you actually go fast enough down the chicken run bit then believe you me it can be almost as scary, you pick up real speed and end up joining the main bit again anyways…..i have done it before absoutly flying then suddenly hit the rocky stuff at way to fast for it to kick the rear end out….

anyways, where on earth is this parkin clough bit? os map link please? sounds very very very interesting, and the riding in the video looks really cool so id like a go!

You lot are hilarious “my 3 year old son rode it on his balance bike”

“so did mine, backwards, after I chopped one of his legs off”

“thats nowt, mine sat his Oxford entrance exam while he rode it”

Parkin clough: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=419546&Y=385072&A=Y&Z=115
Seen part of this wouldn’t have thought it’s doable without a DH bike?

I rode Potato Alley on successive weekends. Slow but steady on the HT, bit faster on the FS. A loose, rather large rock claimed me on the FS.

Never done it so I reckon I’ll have at go on it and the singletrack next to it aswell. Never really thought about doing Parkin Clough before as I thought that would be way off bounds but after seeing that vid I’m game for a blast down there sometime. Only time I’ve been up and down that trail was on foot during the rain and it was a gloopy nightmare.

As for rider responsibility – to a degree I can agree with some trails being taboo but all the trail levelling the Peak Park, Sheffield City Council and Sheff Wildlife Trust have been doing recently and are planning to do in the Peaks makes me just wanna ride anywhere!

anotherdeadhero – Member

You lot are hilarious “my 3 year old son rode it on his balance bike”

“so did mine, backwards, after I chopped one of his legs off”

“thats nowt, mine sat his Oxford entrance exam while he rode it”

Seriously? I don’t think you should be encouraging people to ride balance bikes on that trail. There’s a serious danger of someone being hurt by a STWer going flat out down it on a rigid singlespeed in their dreams…

Is it climbable then?

Is it climbable then?

I seem to remember it was….no? Talking ten years back. I’m sure a STW ride went up it, Pierre, Ben, SteveM, Nick-No-Balance and that lot.
And why is it always covered in ice, and don’t tell me it’s because I only ride it in the winter.

As for rider responsibility – to a degree I can agree with some trails being taboo but all the trail levelling the Peak Park, Sheffield City Council and Sheff Wildlife Trust have been doing recently and are planning to do in the Peaks makes me just wanna ride anywhere!

I see your point, but if the trails continue to widen, they’re only going to get “improved”

oldgit – Member

And why is it always covered in ice, and don’t tell me it’s because I only ride it in the winter.

Sits in the shade and takes a lot of drainage, so tends to freeze up. Once found a helmet in two pieces up there in those conditions. Not nice.

No I’m happy to ride existing trails and not widen them but I’m more than happy to go searching for off piste. I’m just wondering if they are they going to flatten the whole of the Peaks trails into nice safe wide routes or as the result of industrial tree cutting – there’s just starting to be so many

– the roman road from ringinglow is a total disgrace what they have done there,

the trail from bingham park out to the peaks used to be a classic trail which has totally be flattened – its ok if you didnt know what it was like before but damn it was way better,

lady cannings plantation trails flattened by tree cutting,

the dh from win hill to ladybower that cuts along the hill in the direction of the dam wall/bamford was nice singletrack until the tree cutting began,

the dh to the first car park on the way to fairholmes (cant remember the name).

Perhaps its cos I live in south sheffield and these are my local trails – especially Blacka Moor and I’m beginning to hear that sheffwildtrust are going to do trail widening there which are some of my fave trails!!

Now that wharncliffe in north sheffield has been ‘saved’ are we going to be told to go and ride there if you want the rough and tuff stuff???

ferk I’ve gone off on one… oh well.

nbt – I see your point, but if the trails continue to widen, they’re only going to get “improved”

+1 for this.

+2

+3
They don’t even have to widen eg. the Banks.

Careful Sam, you’ll end up being lumped in the naughty boys corner with me and Chris if you are seen to agree with us.

No Haribo for you then.

It wasn’t me. I didn’t do it. Fancy a Peaks ride on saturday if i have my bike working?

Chris cant come out at the weekend, He’s opening a poundstretcher in Buxton. Its a hard life being the self proclaimed keeper of the peak.

Will it have some pink parts so it matches his bike?

I think he’s being paid in pink bits, its the only reason he’s doing it

I can’t see any other reason to open a poundstretcher.

ratswithwings

Now that wharncliffe in north sheffield has been ‘saved’ are we going to be told to go and ride there if you want the rough and tuff stuff???

not sure what mean by this – wharncliffe was included in FE sell off, current access is good but is best described as tolerated rather than encouraged and needs a sensible approach when the possibility of conflict with other users occurs

It’s the hecklers that wind me up, shouting from the back when I’m cutting the ribbon

Is it climbable then?

Was out round the Peak on Sunday and made it over half up way before a gust blew me off course, I was using some of the smooth singletrack bits mind. Got back on the bike and had a flat, fixed it, pushed up 15m or so and carried on riding. So I’d say “Yes” its doable and is better as a accent rather than a decent.

What about the people that litter the floor with jelly babies?

carlos – Member

Is it climbable then?

Was out round the Peak on Sunday and made it over half up way before a gust blew me off course, I was using some of the smooth singletrack bits mind. Got back on the bike and had a flat, fixed it, pushed up 15m or so and carried on riding. So I’d say “Yes” its doable and is better as a accent rather than a decent.

The bits on the side are cheating.

the dh from win hill to ladybower that cuts along the hill in the direction of the dam wall/bamford was nice singletrack until the tree cutting began

That used to be my favourite return route back to Bamford. Have they finished logging yet?
An almost identical trail in Broxa Forest near Scarborough got done over in a similar fashion years ago – bloody vandals!

ratswithwings your forgetting Cut Gate,that has been done over a fair bit too,which i remember before all the flags were put down etc,maybe it had to be done up there and it could be worse,

I aint seen Chapel Gate yet,but reading on here i wont be going to look at it,as its a waste of a downhill to go and ride that now..

Bradwell Edge is another.

Sceaming mile,although was’nt that good anyway imo.

cant see them doing Wharcliffe,especially all the unofficial stuff there which there is alot of.

Blower – I havent done the cut gate loop yet though I have done the Howden edge descent quite a few times and its one of my faves. Do you mean all the flagging just before Howden edge? Didnt see it before the flagging. Looks boggy there?

Looking at that Monkeyspoon website the pre and apres photos of chapel gate look minging.

They are still logging on that side of Ladybower, atleast they were the other week so didnt bother with that trail.

Wharncliffe/Greno woods is now owned by Sheff Wildlife Trust? I was thinking what with the steel city dh and all that money raising that the SWT would be encouraging biking in the woods???

I aint seen Chapel Gate yet,but reading on here i wont be going to look at it,as its a waste of a downhill to go and ride that now..

Chapel Gate is now only good as a climb, waste of altitude riding down it. RIP.

That Parkin Clouhg looks sweet though. Off to check it out tonight

Wharncliffe/Greno woods is now owned by Sheff Wildlife Trust? I was thinking what with the steel city dh and all that money raising that the SWT would be encouraging biking in the woods???

Sheffield Wildlife Trust is raising funds to buy Greno woods and has to raise £1m by July 2012. The SWT is pro-MTB
http://www.grenowoods.com/progress

Wharncliffe Woods is mostly owned by the Forestry Commision (think Wheata Woods between carpark and Grenoside is owned by the City Council)
there is only one bridleway that runs thru Wharncliffe Woods so access is by permission of the landowners

A strategic review of recreational provision is currently underway and plans will be released in due course.Unsanctioned trail building within the woodland is strictly forbidden.

from Forestry Commission website

not very on topic but think issue here is about general right of access to open (uncultivated/unfarmed)land – with that we could stop moaning about a favourite bridleway being reduced to a multiuse people&dogway

Soz but I totally disgree with that last comment. When you get a motocross bikes blitzing past you at 30/40 miles an hour kicking rocks and dirt back at you as they pass by on the Roman Road/Ringinglow section as its been smoothed to normal road standards then I reckon I can moan as much as I want.

Most of these bridle ways are being flattened for motorcross and 4 wheel drive vehicles not for multiuse ‘people and dogs’.

I’m in the “OK, but not great” camp when it comes to Potato Alley. Now if only I could ride it so fast I just skimmed over the tops of the rocks…

ratswithwings yeah all the flagging on cut gate really aye it was boggy but good in the dry launcing off the tufts of peat etc,
and back down to langsett is all hardpack.

Soz but I totally disgree with that last comment. When you get a motocross bikes blitzing past you at 30/40 miles an hour kicking rocks and dirt back at you as they pass by on the Roman Road/Ringinglow section as its been smoothed to normal road standards then I reckon I can moan as much as I want.

Most of these bridle ways are being flattened for motorcross and 4 wheel drive vehicles not for multiuse ‘people and dogs’

of course you can moan as much as you want
point i was trying to make is that the general focus on moaning/handwringing about the loss of some favourite rocky/technical/washed out bridleway to improvement for other users disregards the major issue that the reason we are all unhappy about the loss of these limited resources is that they are far too limited – landowners can grant general access for mtb’s but very few do – for all its pro bike stance the National Trust has no open access policy for bikes, similar Sheffield City Council, Yorkshire Water etc

personally i don’t agree with much of the work done or the logic of why it is being done and the causeway is a byway not a bridleway and my personal preference would be that within the National Park all byways be closed to motorised users but that isn’t a popular opinion

bridalways are not being flattened for crossers and 4×4. do you mean byways?