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lemmy · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 7:00 pm Post subject:

Only an ounce though.. Nothing to get excited about!

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Mudtrail - Singletrack, Freeride and Downhill in the South East

Waterproof your riding gear

robbo · Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 7:06 am Post subject:

Right - it's rubbish but then I haven't ridden it in a while so it may be better than what has been there before.

I rode the loop Sunday night and the type 1 stone that has been put down is pointless. They said they would never use this stuff again, but they have obviously forgotten about that. It's rubbish, everytime you get some speed up you hit a bend and wash out on the stones. Very frustrating, no flow and not much fun. They've even ruined the bits I fixed when I was working on it.

And the freeride - oh don't get me started.

Just be careful on the see-saw at the bottom as it''s now split right down one of the supports. Reported over a year ago and nothing done Evil or Very Mad

They are making too much money out of car parking and lattes to do anything good with the area.

abruce · Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 5:22 pm Post subject:

"They are making too much money out of car parking and lattes to do anything good with the area."
aha, so true...
i don't know what they're doing with all the money they make there...
With the parking and go-ape and the huge rent they charge the bike shop they must be minted...

i rode the stone-covered berms just after they were opened... i was hoping they would properly bed in and get really nice and flowy.. but apparently not.. I think a good bit of mud to stick all the rocks together a bit more would make a huge difference..

still, on a hugely optimistic note; its a lot better that when i rode it before last! (but thats not really saying much)
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A.BRUCE PHOTOGRAPHY

Pires · Elite User Joined: 04 Mar 2008 Posts: 592 Location: TW

I think its fair to say that its better than it was, (the loop that is). Desite the stone, at least you can ride it without becoming a cropper to vast bogs. Now you just become cropper loosing the front end.

Your right Robbo, flow is definately an issue as there are very few lines that seem to flow past a few bends. However there are a couple that had me grinning on sunday when hitting them at speed (especially as you re-enter the single track opposite the entrance and the run down from the Quarry)..... either that or I was gimacing in fear of loosing the front tyre! Wink

The new stone covered berm section had the 4 of us go back for a 2nd, 3rd and 4th (Lem) ride, but I think we all agreed that the start flows fine, the stones are a pain and the jumps and last 3rd are slow. It would be far better taking you down the hill from the last bend with a big berm and a run down to the single track from there (maybe with a few fast jumps? Smile

)...... anyone know who is responsable?? Crying or Very sad

I think its fair to say things have improved, but there's just something else to fix now. Also is just throwing stones down without solving the drainage issue the right thing? Surely once it starts p*ssing down again (whens that Lem?), it will just be bog with loads of stones in it!!!........................................ YAWN bored of my own voice now!!
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Ben03 · Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 9:15 pm Post subject:

More type pne laid? (goes and bangs head on wall). Berms though!!?

Has been on the agenda to hit the single track for a while now, have just got back from a round at Bewl which which was nice (on the 15in STP).
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jab uk - South East Mountain Biking

abruce · Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 5:46 pm Post subject:

I rode bewl yesterday! it was suprisingly fun... think i did it in 40 minutes this time, though not sure as i rode to and fro also... though i had to hop and dodge to avoid killing some poor lost duck Confused

i'm thinking of doing the classic 'bewl-bedgebury challenge' tomorow... hope the weathers okay..

aha, yeh i think we're maybe being a bit harsh Pires, there has definitely been a lot of improvements....
its just frustrating when they go and do blatently stupid stuff...
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Pires · Elite User Joined: 04 Mar 2008 Posts: 592 Location: TW

abruce · Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:27 pm Post subject:

well Pires, i just don't know what i can say to that.... wow, true.
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A.BRUCE PHOTOGRAPHY

robbo · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 6:59 am Post subject:

The fact is that within the 'club' there are plenty of enthusiasts that know that the trails should have been built properly in the first place. The original design was poor and the build was completed within a short space of time to coincide with the end of the financial year - ie spend the money or we loose it.

When I got involved in the club they were all saying that they would never let this happen again and there were representatives from the FC within the club! I even met the contractor who built the singletrack and although he is a lovely man, he is a groundworks contractor whose only previous relevant experience was building motocross tracks for his brother.

The club members had CTC training and within this we learnt about adapting the existing trails to improve the flow. We went through draineage solutions in detail including bench cuts, rock armour and rolling grade dips (check me out Wink

).

So, all this good work has gone out the window and the contractor has been shipped in to dump a load of type one everywhere. Surely they must know that this is just another waste of money, as the loose stuff will be washed off and it will bog up once again. This is just treating the symptoms and not the cause. Smacks of limp wristed management going for a short-term quick fix to keep this years car parking fees up and hopefully get some memberships renewed again. The timing also looks similar to when the course was originally built - when is the FC's financial year end I wonder?

The singletrack, just like everything else down there, needs to be closed, re-designed and re-built to a far higher standard, by experts and not entusiastic club members with insufficient time and resources. The boggy areas need to be re-constructed with rock armour (embeded rocks in the trail) and proper drainage using rolling grade dips and pipework. The overall flow should come from the design stage and on the ground improvements can and should be made, with simple tactics like clearing bushes on the inside of corners, so you can see through and judge speed better. The freeride area needs a total overhaul and re-build (I think there might be a pretty good design in the hands of the FC already - I wonder who did that Confused

) I agree that you need a club to help maintain trails, but you should not put the cart before the horse, by asking the club to build them.

That's my ten quids worth, I'm off to make money, as I work in the private sector and don't have a huge budget to sit on for 11 months and then blow on rocks. Don't hold your breath on this one - it would take a month of monday's to get some progress at Bedge and I doubt they have sufficient quality management in the right places with the right knowledge and incentive to get off their arse and do something about it.

Ben03 · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:01 am Post subject: