STW ride Sherwood Pines Exploration – anyone?

Mine is Chris, and this is me

http://www.vimeo.com/3451197

That vid is great Chris 😆 Made me smile.

And i’ll most probably be on this, but with black tires 🙄 :

ohhh, I might be game for this..

mine is … dawson – well I do have a first name, but nobody uses that even my kids call me Daddy Dawson…

I wouldn’t want anybody to think that i was ignoring them if they shouted using my ‘real’ name!

Jon – Jonathan – oi! – Tricky – J

any of the above

Don’t worry about the rally, it’s been cancelled due to low entries according to their website
http://www.robinhoodforeststages.co.uk/
So should be fine to go riding, trails are really nice at the moment, drying nicely. Good choice on the day as following weekend there’s over 100 horses at an Endrance event there.

I’ll be up for joining the fun. Not sure what bike I will be on, depends on a warranty claim I am trying to get resolved.

Should still be up for it – will probably be on my Scandal and answering to the name Andy!

😯 17 people. The woods will have never been so busy.

who of you are local then? I know a few trails but wouldn’t want to call myself an expert

I’m localish (Nottingham) and know a fairly decent slice of the better singletrack at Sherwood Pines.

I’ll be riding this marvelous beast.

I’m localish, from carlton in lindrick about 20 mins away, me and some guys from work ride most wednesday nights in pines, so know quite a few trails.
I think you tagged along last year didn’t you Jim?

Aye, yes I did.

Must make sure my lights are charged up fully next time! 😳

Yup. Know a lot of the trails around there. Live in Woodborough, so a 15min journey in car.

Not riden there in a month or so as i’m at uni in Sheffield, but home that weekend.

Jim its only a couple more weeks and then you wont need them

Yup, very local, in the woods with 10mins from home on the bike. I’ll come if I can, but think I’m away next weekend

Are you going to organise a route then jon? You’re the man with the map after all 🙂

Here’s my stab at a route (will make sense to regulars)

cafe, down to the first fire road x roads after the field, across the corner, up the singletrack to the old watchtower, into the woods, 200yds, right through the trees until it pops out on the fire road, straight back into the trees, pick up the old black training route then the new red section down to the dirt jumps, down to the center parcs service road gate then along the woods on the singletrack, back up the sandy section to go ape, into the visitor centre, then back out into the woods?

I would suggest that we do the new intended Kitchner (sp?) route, then go and find other bits of singletrack as well. I did the new trail, with a little corner cut off in 45 mins.

So gives us plenty of time to go out and find the un-marked trails.

Hi Anthony, I will post a few route suggestions next week on this thread

I’m still gonna come over with some mates, we know the area quite well and you could be riding trails you never have before. 😉

i’m from Worksop, about 20 mins in the car.

Its about a year since I last rode Sherwood Pines, so I’m willing to follow the regulars

hi there. wil be joining you out as i’ve just been asked by gravy. being local and all that,(only ride in there 3-4 days a week), we should be able to take you round some of the better tails.

oh yeah. when i rode on wed night ,the trails were in a reasonably good condition with only very localised mud, wil update after tomorrows ride 🙂

Been for a blast around Kitchener trail this morning – The dry bits are bone-dry, the wet bits are still very muddy. On the whole, a pleasant ride though.

I just wish they would start work reinforcing some of the muddier sections as they just continue to get worse.

believe they’ll start doing repair work with new budget

@adey205 – so I hear.

They need to do something about having gutters on the outside of bends as well, They are bleedin’ dangerous IMO. On the outside of a fast bend you expect a berm, not a drop off.

That’s it. I feel better getting that off my chest 🙂

Couldn’t agree more daim, those gutters are just stupid. There’s a couple of sections where you can get a bit of flow going but the majority of it just feels awkward. Could’ve been so much better…opportunity missed perhaps? Also been up this morning, alot of folks going the wrong way round, giving me dirty looks cuz I didnt get out of their way….cant they read the tiny felt tip markers? 😉

I have just uploaded a wet diversion route to the routes section of my website. I’m not saying it will but just in case it rains.

http://www.sherwoodpines.synthasite.com or somthing

If you haven’t had the Fallguy’s map emailed to you, you can download it from the same place.

Not sure its repair work that’s needed. Finishing the job off more like. All they did in some sections was to walk through with a chainsaw and then called it a cycle trail.

Definitely agree with the gutter comments. What were they thinking? Left handed bikes?

Has anyone actually spoken to ‘whoever-is-in-charge-of-the-trails-project’?

I wonder if they are actually aware of the concerns of the riders? If not, then maybe it will never be completed correctly.

abductee’s comment about walking with a chainsaw is spot on. There is no trail in those sections, just a path through the trees that get’s ever more unrideable. I reckon there is a very real danger that it could all end up being a missed opportunity for Pines. The scope is there for some lovely flowing trails and singletrack but if the trail design and build is just left to Clixby’s with no close rider/trail designer input and feedback then it will end up being mediocre at best.

I might be calling this too soon as it is clearly not finished yet but when will it be too late?

I’m off next sat, and am keen to know if I’m writing off the ‘pines to easily. I’ll have the car to so will have space for a bike +1, if anyone needs a lift from Derby way.

Probably too late now daim as I think the route itself is basically finished. It doesn’t appear to have been designed with much, if any rider imput, more a case of let the digger driver decide! Ironically, some of the best bits are where the original trails have been used. Still, musn’t grumble, it is only up the road from me…I may take a chainsaw next time though! (covert trail building anyone?)

There was an initial invitation to get user involvement but then I heard that the there were no replies forthcoming from Rebeca Mayo. See the following link
http://www.bikemagic.com/news/article/mps/uan/5882
I think the person in charge now is Chris Bray
http://www.forestry.gov.uk/newsrele.nsf/AllByUNID/79750B74F3E39485802573530042A0E1

I don’t feel able to go and give feedback alone because I don’t think that I will be taken seriously. This is why I set up my website in the hope that I can get a number of users signed up on my forum. This will be like signing a petition and give us some clout and also the ability to organise dig days.
http://sherwoodpines.synthasite.com/
I only have me plus 1 other person on the forum at the moment and it’s a bit lonely having a discussion with my self

Abductee, try to find me on Saturday and I have all the info you need, you might then realise why the trails have been done as they are. Twang, the work wasn’t left up to the machine driver at all, Clixby’s were under constant supervision and had very little poetic license available to them which is a shame as they are also bikers.
I went along to the Pines today and rode alot of Clixby’s trails which although aren’t perfect were holding up quite well even with all the bad weather through the winter. Will see you all on Sat morning.

Abductee, try to find me on Saturday and I have all the info you need, you might then realise why the trails have been done as they are. Twang, the work wasn’t left up to the machine driver at all, Clixby’s were under constant supervision and had very little poetic license available to them which is a shame as they are also bikers.
I went along to the Pines today and rode alot of Clixby’s trails which although aren’t perfect were holding up quite well even with all the bad weather through the winter. Will see you all on Sat morning.

We did the new Kitchener trail on Saturday for the second and possibly last time. I really think its a missed opportunity, maybe its the conditions at the moment but its just dull! I agree with the comments about the gutters as well..the flowing bits are rare enough without your flow being interupted by slipping into a gutter on the outside of a bend! Plus maybe its just me, but long sections of very muddy, twisty, stumpy, uphill are just a bit soul destroying..Having said that, I like the start..but it soon gets to be a bit of a chore.
I know comparing it to somewhere like the excellent ‘follow the dog’ at Cannock is a little unfair because the terrain is dissimilar, but the difference in fun is significant! I would n’t recommend anyone travelling a long way to the Kitchener trail..
Not to p£ss on anyones Cornflakes re the OP of course!

Lesley

Hello all,

I’ve started a fair old debate here haven’t I!?

I think the joy of Pines is the hidden stuff – as far as i was aware the Kitchener isn’t ready yet – but some parts of it are very promising. Think about the section before the chainsawed wood/mud climb; flowing, bermed, manageable for beginners, but enough for more skilled riders to play with – perfect really for a range of riders.

Pines has always had a problem with drainage – something I guess the ditches are there for. I dunno, but I just slowed down a bit on the corners and rode them as if there was an obstacle there, which in theory there was. Re: comparisons to FTD – it must be personal preference cos I just didn’t enjoy it that much. I did only have a couple of hours there when I went but I just found it a bit lacking and the hidden gems in pines more fun.

Abductee – I’d join the group happily if it wasn’t google discussion forum – I’ve too many logins tto reemember galready without another. Perhaps we could get someone from pines down later in the day for a discussion?

crikey, this has gone a bit serious!

can we just ‘go on a bike ride’?

(and then put the world to rights re: trail design afterwards) 😉

yes! please!

It was better than this in the early 90’s when there were no trail centres. back then people couldnt whinge about something someone else had built just because they didn’t enjoy it.

Pook…I’ve always fancied Sherwood Pines & I couldnt care less if its crap because its all about getting out & riding. A shame, but I don’t think I can make this Sat though, Weekends have to be booked well in advance in our house (young kids). Fridays are better due to my companies 4-day week.

On a different note, if anyone ever fancies sampling some of Cannock Chase’s other trails I could string some nice bits together for a few hours ride.