Whitwick / Coalville / NW Leicestershire Riders

Not sure I’ll make it this week.
Went out Sun and my bike sounds like I’m dragging a bag of spanners!
Bottom bracket has gone – new one arriving with postie Weds hopefully but no time to fit the sodding thing.

Lights are a deffo based on last week – I need some new ones so will be interesting to see what you lot are sporting 💡

Yep, I’ll be there, hopefully my new light which should arrive tomorrow 😀

I’ll be there with my brand new cheapo lights and without a clue how long the battery will last. I think I have some yellow lenses for my glasses somewhere too so will bring those too if I can find them…

Good luck with the BB, rascal!

Should be 2 of us coming on Weds.

I’ll be there, missed last week due to going away early on Thursday.

Got two more guys coming along tomorrow!!

Used to live in Breedon on the hill and would recommend the old railway line from the quarry up towards Derby where you can get onto the canal, very flat and fast!

Make sure you carry your permits 😉

Bugger.
Combination of shagged bike and preparing plastered bathroom for a weekend DIY onslaught means I won’t be there tomorrow when there seems to be a bit of a gathering – typical!
Have fun in them there dark woods kiddiewinks and watch out for the scary monsters 😉

Ah bugger. 10 minutes late looks like I missed you. Currently scouring the woods for you.

I was also a bit late but we all managed to meet up fairly soon and went off for a cracking ride through the woods of the area thanks to the local knowledge of Mr Scandal. All finished off with a nice pint of Cumberland Ale. Lights were definitely needed, especially for those who left the pub via the woods!

Numbers doubled from last week – hope to see you all again next time!

Oh, and rascal – you mentioned swithland woods somewhere up above. Couldn’t make it this time but let me know if you’re (or anyone else is) going again. It’s only 2 miles from home so i’m always up for a ride there if I’m about.

There were 8 out last night? Who in total?
Wanted to come but factors conspired against me.
Can’t make next next either – arse!

Will deffo be there in 2 weeks though…with my shitty lights.
Looking forward to seeing what mini-suns you’ve got strapped to your lids and bars 😉

We were 9 by the end (well, eight and a half after I had a total fitness blow-up after no time at all). Sorry to everone who had to keep stopping to let me catch up. I’ve just got to suck it up and get some miles in – the only way to get bike-fit, really. I’ve been a bit lax since about June if I’m honest.

A fairly eventful ride. A mechanical within 50m of leaving the car park (apologies again from me :oops:). A fairly heft stack heading down to the boardwalks in Gracedieu (hope you’ve got some feeling back in your leg, Sam). And some tracks that I didn’t know were there – cheers to Scandal for those – I didn’t know that the path at the quarry continued around that side to the road. Also well done to Scandal for managing to not to go OTB after coming down off the viaduct – that would have been quite painful!

Great pint of Cumberland Ale in the Rag n Mop – I was wrong, beer does taste good after a ride, no matter what state you’re in.

I’ll really try to make the next couple of weeks, but it might be difficult. Monday is a bank holiday, but my work deadlines for next week remain as they would for a full week – child drop-offs in the mornings mean I can’t get in early to make up for the lost day.

“Here, have a day off, but you’ll have to work twice as hard to catch up after it”. Great

See you (hopefully) next wednesday evening.

Yes, thanks all for last night,enjoyed it, and hope to see you next week.
Alan.

Great ride, thanks everyone – hopefully should be able to make it along next week too.

Hope most of you are still up for tomorrow evening – I’m still hopeful, but I’ll only really be able to say for sure at about lunchtime tomorrow.

My bike will be in the boot of my car whatever, so if I’m a bit late I’ll pootle around the woods a bit and try to hook up.

I found a lot of stuff in Cademan on Saturday that I never knew was there – I doubt I’d be able to find it again as I was riding up rather than down it, but you never know………

P.S. Lights will be essntial from now on methinks.

Going for a few boozes at a mate’s 30th so gonna have to bail again – lightweight!
Will be there next week though for def – with shit lights 😆

Hi All

Apologies for the absence on here from last week, was a pleasure to lead (badly) I should be out tomorrow unless anything pops up at work.

We just going to have a blast about in the woods or do people want a loop type ride?

Play it by ear?

See who turns up and what the consensus is.

Thankfully I did my 23 mile-ish loop on Saturday with no bad effects, so I’m hoping last Wednesday was just a fuelling issue having been at work all day. Granted, though, the pace of my ride would not have Wiggo worried.

How’s about riding out from the car park, down to the reservoir, back up through the ‘field’ onto the mad mile, then a bit in the woods?

We could then decide whether to ride near the quarry before a pint at the end, whilst potentially mopping up any late-comers in the woods.

However, I may be one of the late comers if I get shat on at work, so prob best just to meet up and decide from there!

I should be there, hopefully on-time this week!

I’ll leave it up to you guys to decide on a route or a play in the woods since I don’t know my way around there anyway – either is good with me 🙂

That’s three for tonight, then.

My day has been oscillating between be able to make it and not.

Got in an hour early to really try to get ahead, instantly have something dumped on me that took almost exactly an hour to sort!

I don’t want to jinx it, but I am now pretty certain I am going to be there (last minute stupid requests notwithstanding).

I WANT A NINE TO FIVE JOB! The annoying thing is that I’ve got one (on paper).

Can’t make it tonight, other commitments to tend to I’m afraid, have fun 🙁

Well,

Last night’s ride went well – passed off without incident – fortunately, seeing as Scandal’s front wheel came loose (lucky it was on a pootling along bit).

The ride itself was the three of us (Scandal, Muddyfool and myself) and featured massive hip jumps, gapping of huge rock sections and near vertical climbing.

Well, perhaps not, but it did highlight that there is easily enough stuff around here for a regular evening ride. We looped out near the quarry and monastery, dropped to the reservoir, and came back up to the woods off road. Then did the woods and viaduct in the dark.

Local interest feature of the ride was the ‘Blair-Witch’ section to the partially built log cabin (no duelling banjos were heard, thankfully).

Lots of trails with real potential were noted – now it’s simply a matter of remembering where they are……

Rounded everything off with a pint in the Rag n Mop.

Cheers to Scandal and Muddyfool – see you (and a few more?) next week.

Yeah, excellent ride last night with a bit of everything (except perhaps massive hip jumps and gapping huge rock sections – some of the climbs/descents were vertical enough for me though!).

My first properly dark ride, and the Blair Witch bit was indeed pretty spooky and a bit of a highlight – totally different to the rest of the woods. I’d never be able to find it again, but that applies to most of it except the car park and the pub really… and those were hard enough to find in the dark!

Thanks chaps, see you next week.

New light arrived today, and tyres that don’t rub the frame should be fitted again at the weekend. Roll on next week!

I would say I’m very doubtful for this week as I’ve just found a crack in my frame!

I’m seeing what can be done vis a vis warranty etc, but I doubt I’ll have a rideable bike by this time next week.

Do your best to keep the ride going and I will see you soon.

What time an where do you start from an what day I’m in swadlincote I like doing night rides, Is there anything fun round where u go then

We tend to start from the small car park on Swannymote Road on a Wednesday evening at 6-30pm.

I’m not technologically proficient to do a map link, unfortunately, but there is one at top of the second page of this thread from fathomer.

There is enough good stuff for a two hour evening ride, easily enough to vary the ride as well. I would put the trails as moderately challenging in daylight, so the flat light of dusk or with lights makes it quite involving in the evenings.

Due to my slight problem (see above) I am not likely to be there this week, but if you use this thread to arrange to be there, then you’ll be fine.

As mentioned above, I won’t be making the ride this week. Wednesday evening is the first opportunity that I have to take my cracked frame back to the shop. I’m hoping this will initiate a rapid-response warranty replacement from the manufacturer, but in reality I’m probably going to have to wait a week just to find out if I’m due a replacement. Sad face.

Unless anyone can suggest where I can scrounge a bike from, I doubt I’ll be making next week either. It’s a bit cheeky, I know, as I have only met the people on here once or twice, but does anyone know where I could borrow a bike from for next week?

I’m keen that we keep the ride going as I hope we can sort some day trips to the Peaks etc as well as having an evening blast in the week.

Have fun on Wednesday.

I hope to be there with my noisy bike – you won’t be able to see it after 8.30-odd but will WILL be able to hear it. Hoping a few turn up so I can see what nice lights I have to buy after seeing yours – decapitation by unseen low-lying branch is a real possibility 😕

Rascal.

Good to hear that one of the founding members is going tomorrow – should keep the weekly ride going. Get scandal to show you the monastery downhill to the reservoir if he’s there – probably the best bit of last week’s ride.

I am (obviously) not a happy camper at the moment – I’m a bit in two minds about getting a warranty replacement.

If I get one, it’s obviously good as it hasn’t cost me anything, but if they turn me down, I have my eye on a very nice On-One 456 EVO frame that looks perfect…………..

But that’ll cost me £225!

Either way, I reckon I’m out of the NWL wednesday night ride for a couple of weeks at least 🙁

Ouch that doesn’t sound good Danny! We were just talking about cracked frames last week too!

How tall are you? I’m 6’1″ and have an xc hardtail that isn’t exactly built for descending and has low-grip, fast-rolling tyres on, but you’re welcome to try it. I’ve made it round Cannock and Llandegla on it and only crashed once at each! 🙂

Let me know if you want to give it a try and we’ll sort something by email or whatever. Good luck with the warranty!

EDIT: oh and yes I should be able to make it tomorrow too, rascal.

Danny

I saw your thread about the crack a few days ago and thought ‘I wonder why he just doesn’t get it welded – it’ll be fine – it’s steel’. Then I just checked. It’s not steel. That’ll be why you aren’y getting it fixed then 🙄

Hope you get sorted soon or maybe even take up Muddy on his offer…

We can’t make the Wednesday evening rides, but was wondering where the Blair Witch part is and Is there a way down from the monastery to the reservoir that doesn’t include about 1/2 a dozen gates?

Muddyfool.

Thanks for the offer. I might just take you up on it next Wednesday if that is ok!

I’ll have to see where I’m at with getting a new frame and building up etc, but I doubt I’ll be much further on by next Wednesday, so XC hardtail sounds good to me.

Susie. In short the answer is ‘no’.

You have to deal with five ‘lift the bike over’ gates to go that way. The main problem is that the path crosses a track that is marked as strictly private, I think they go in for pheasant shooting around there, so likely to be very protective.

It’s still a worthwhile track IMO. The lifting the bike thing just counts as ‘upper body work’!

We’ve got to face facts, really. The area is actually quite good for ‘local’ riding, but the majority is footpath or track in the woods. Unfortunately that means we can’t really complain about gates.

Obviously the best thing would be for landowners, local government and mountain bikers to grow a pair and agree that bikes can use ALL ROWs, but that everyone has to behave themselves. Yeah, right!

Susie.

I forgot about the Blair Witch bit you asked about.

You’ll have to get scandal to show you that! I think i can just about remember how to get to it, but it was dark.

The trail itself is just a meandering path, but it comes out in a clearing that you wouldn’t know was there. There is a partially built log cabin and a very nifty looking bit of north shore style trailbuilding.

We only labelled it Blair Witch because it was our first properly dark ride of the season and we went for a bit of an explore away from the main tracks in Cademan.

That’s one of the best things about night riding in my opinion, paths that are just flat and meandering in daylight become a lot more involving and interesting in the dark.

My doorstep trails are Swithland, the park that cannot be mentioned, and Beacon Hill. These were becoming so familiar to me by the start of 2012 that I was getting a bit bored if I am honest. But I bought some lights and started to solo night ride, my perception of what is ‘easy’ soon changed on icy nights, especially earlier this year when we had the big drifts type of snow!

No problem Danny, let me know how things are looking early next week and we can sort something out if needed.

The ‘Blair witch’ bit isn’t all that exciting, Susie, was just something quite different to the rest of the woods, especially in the dark. Not interesting to ride – the north shore bit was just a very short ramp with a big drop on the end. I couldn’t find it anyway but it probably wouldn’t be good to post the exact location in a public forum since someone’s obviously put a bit of effort into building so making it public might mean getting the wrong type of attention from whoever manages the woods.

Scandal lives really close though so might be willing to show you another day if you’re really curious!

Who’s in tomorrow then?

Can’t make tomorrow at work till 18:00 but will be along next week for sure!

Won’t know till tomorrow morning, had a pretty heavy off on Sunday and bruised my arm which has been getting gradually easier everyday. So fingers crossed!

Oh, crap news about the frame Danny, hope you get it sorted.