Anyone for Cannock Sun 28/4

Hi Everyone,
after a very muddy winter we are back off road again and fancy a sneaky Sunday ride, somewhere other than Beds. To keep things simple we are heading off for just a day to Cannock on Sunday 28th April, should be there for around 10:30.

Let us know if anyone else is interested in joining us.

Looks like some sections of the Monkey trail and Follow The Dog may be closed, but I am sure there will be enough to keep us going for the day?

Cheers.... Dozer, Darren, Sicknote and Les.

Cannock

Just a short post - I had to go up to Cannock last Sunday for middle son's hockey trials. Took the opportunity to ride Follow the Dog and Monkey Trail for the first time. Was a great set of trails - what felt like a lot of climbing was off-set by some really fun descents - nothing too hairy (though I did manage to fall off and bend mech hanger close to the end). Trails were mostly very dry but were suffering a bit with braking bumps in some places. A really good 2.5hr ride that I would recommend if you are in the area.

Toby has further trial on 25th September so I will go round again then if any one wants to join me. I will get there by around 1pm and would probably need to leave again at 3.30 so let me know.

FtD + MT = FAB

After the clock change I didn't feel too bad getting up early on a Sunday morning to meet Roger and Ryan at Cannock to explore the new Monkey Trail (MT).

Uphilla has recently raved about the new MT that splits from Follow the Dog (FtD) but were weren't expecting the FtD to have changed.  But it seems that the trail fairies have been busy everywhere and reinforced the existing sections with huge boulders - kinda like the opening section of Coed y Brenin. 

After a couple of miles on FtD you slip over the busy railway line and road and find the new MT section is much steeper, nicely technical yet flowing.  Unfortunately our young warrior found this too much and once he'd lost the energy to grumble we bailed and took the sign posted short cut back to Birches Valley.

We were pleasantly surprised to find little/no water on the trail after the recent rain. I wonder how long that'll last...

The young'un got a bit more practice riding off-road and the old'uns got to blow away some cob webs.

Cannock has lifted it's game and the trails are a definite improvement providing some decent Welsh/Scottish style riding.  We're looking forward to a return visit so we can enjoy the rest of the trail fairies work :p

Posse; Farqui (5Spot), Roger (FSR), Ryan (teeny iron horse)

Weather; Overcast, slightly misty with a cool breeze

Mechanicals; None

Cannock- The Monkey Trail

Indulgent, I know, but Dangerous and I decided to have a sneaky weekday trip to sample the recently opened extension to 'Follow the Dog' at Cannock.

Rain had just set in as we loaded up, but we thought this might not be such a bad thing with the surface at Cannock. However, by the time we reached Birches Valley all was dry.

Interesting to see how popular this site is on a weekday, there were plenty of other riders about.

Along with building the new section, Chase Trails has also tweaked the 'Follow the Dog', so even this felt unfamiliar in places. A new steep switchback section takes you down to the railway/road crossing to 'Monkey' - we watched others carefully picking their way down and I must admit being 'challenged' by a stepped hairpin!

Across the road is like another world, quite different in character and with hints of Welsh and Scottish trail centres. A steep switchback climb gets your legs warmed up - we would have cleared this had it not been for a lack of grip and resulting wheel spin. The new trails are brilliant and very much 'Red' graded. Fast, twisty singletrack with the odd rocky surprise thrown in. Lots of potential for being airborne if you are feeling brave! It just got better and better. One section has some optional 'Black' rock gardens - David cleared these - I stayed on the red. Climbs are not too taxing and at the highest point there was a viewpoint and picnic spot for a welcome rest.

The 'new' section is fast swoopy with lots of 'berms' - brilliant!

Back across the road a familiar long 'fire road' climb joins the old trail and leads past the Marquis Drive centre. The original fast downhill trail is closed and after another road crossing you join a new final section which maintains the new standard - fast and testing singletrack, the end of one section is a sheer drop of at least 2', a very nasty surprise for me. Then you are into a fast 'jumpy' section with some very big 'table tops' and 'doubles' - all can be rolled.

A definite thumbs up. Sadly I really felt 'off form' for much of the ride - It is quite a while since I rode the 5-Spot and for some reason I did not feel at all right on it. It felt big after the Duster and the lose surface meant quite a few 'moments' with the front wheel drifting off line :-( I really want to go back and try it all again with the hardtail - interested to know whether it will work better or if it was just a 'Bad day at the office'.

As we sat enjoying a post ride coffee at the Birches Valley Cage we spotted a Porsche Cayman pull in the car park with a bike rack on the back - now we have seen it all!

Posse: Dahnhilla; Commencal. Uphilla: Turner

Weather: Very cool, but dry.

Mechanicals: None

Tracklog

More photos

FtDx3

Yesterday Dozer and I consummed the last of our annual leave and sneaked off up to Cannock Chase for some knobbly action. We'd originally considered an assault around Hope and fly down Jacobs Ladder but alas the weather conspired to put dampeners on that idea. With less than favourable weather reports we opted for the less exposed FC site of n.Brum, as it was the wind was howling on the ridges and I bet the Peaks were much worse.

As it happens this was going to be one of the more knarly rides that Dozer has attempted on his new steed and thinking about it the "Ladder" would have probably been too much too soon for the big lad who's still familiarising himself with his rig. Since bedding in his bouncer, he's been concerned that the spring within his Pike wasn't beefy enough - so gradually introducing knarlier and knarlier terrain should give us a better idea if it actually needs changing. Numerous comments on the web all suggest that someone of his "girth" will need a mega xtra stiff coil, not that we know what's inside his...

Yesterday started bright and calm here in the Magic Kingdom so we were soon loaded, stocked up on fresh coffee and heading north. Relatively little traffic meant we made good time and we were saddled up and heading over to the trail head in no time. Damn, the revised opening section is a beaut - being tight'n'twisty with the polished cobbles causing your rig to slither around underneath ya. A few subtle tweaks to our shox's calmed things down a little and after a few miles we were dialled and flicking in/out of the trees.

The trails were dry with hardly any puddles or slime to negotiate, "could this be the same Cannock that's typically submerged" :p

I was very pleased to find the new sections had bedded in much better since my last visit and that they'd not broken up into a sludge bath. There's now a good mix out there that allow you to practice berms, jumps and linking fast/slow open/tight corners - well done to the trail pixies. Actually I found some of the more established sections were faster now as they'd mostly been brushed clear of their loose marbles.

Dozer found a terrific spot to lie down, right in front of 20 youths, after failing to clean a large knarly oblique root atop a short rise. I myself was fortunate enough to have a front row seat, tx D ;)

I'd already warned my companion that I intended to hammer the next section, the sweeping open section just after we'd normally return from the heath. We found that it was blindingly fast and even though it's suffering from huge, long braking bumps I found I could clear most of them after launching off the 1st :D I railed the berms and was soon at the other end with my eyes watering from the speed and g's. I was then so fired up that I blitzed the subsequent cobbled rise in the middle ring.

Finding the final section closed we were soon back at the start and mulling over what our next loop would be. "Head up across the heath for a bite to eat at the cafe?" or "blitz around another loop of FtD?" or "both?". Either way we'd start with the opening section of FtD so after a fairly cautious first loop we both raced off into the splendid 1st section again. With much of the short trail now fresh in our minds we were able to open the taps a little and pick cleaner lines between the obstacles, well almost, towards the end I was looking so far ahead that I completely forgot about a monster puddle which was only brought to my attention by a cold and damp feeling - eek. Much to Dozer's amusement I pulled my soggy boot out of the gloop and chuckled my way back to the finish.

Completing loop#2 we headed over to Birches Valley cafe for a cup a joe and a bagette whilst we blathered about all things knobbly.

Recharged we decided to rip out another loop but found the drizzle had turned the exposed cobbles into attention focusing slippery blotches. Keeping an eye out for the damp bits we still had another fun loop that oddly seemed to dry out towards then end that soon had us both racing for the finish.

Dozers coil Pike didn't blow through it's travel and looked very supple throughout. So D's next big outing needs some pukka knarly trails before his lordship can decide if he needs a firmer coil. My Pike felt much smoother since s.Wales having soaked the stanchions in teflon, although it did start to feel notchy again towards the end of the damp 3rd loop.

Sneaky mid week rides are the best :p

Posse; Dozer (Canyon), Farqui (5Spot)
Weather; overcast, windy, drizzle on loop#3
Mechanicals; none

Cannock - New F.T.D. Section

Apparently due to open this month - a new section added to Follow the Dog trail. See HERE

Cannock DH 30/12/07

Hey dudes.... just thought I'd drop by and show you what I've been up to... I was debating Coed Llandegla or Cannock but after Alex bust his arm on Saturday on a timing run at Cannock*, I decided to go to Cannock and take him out the house for a day.... Some of the better photos below... needless to say, I was on it... even the Rave Racers were saying how fast I was.... Be warned large pics are, large! Note: you can click on the big image when it loads and will bring you back to the blog!