Oct 25
One of SingletrAction’s regulars pontificates on the jargon, and the meaning, of mountainbiking in an effort to answer what at first seemed a simple couple of questions – What is gnar, and what is flow?
Part 1 – The Gnar
First things first. Us mountain bikers have silly names for things…
Oct 07
More rock arriving
What a fabulous day up at Stainburn for the October dig day in fact it was almost too warm, but who is going to complain at this time of year. It was a small crew this month just a 4.1 people turned out so we decided to concentrate on completing the new black rock section on the decent line.
Before you ask the 0.1 was Dave who turned up with a bad back and slightly hung over, medicinal apparently to ease the pain in the back, so he was only capable of poking out a drainage channel and taking a couple of photos on his phone to prove it, but every little helps as they say. Unfortunately he didn’t bring the gillie kettle so no brew at lunchtime!
We started by pulling all the rock out adjacent to the trail and dumping it in the dug out trail bed that had been started several months ago now. This was carefully re-arranged into the latest awesome Stainburn rocked up trail. We also started eyeing up a very nice ‘feature’ rock, it was the only thing left, that we thought would make a very nice entrance to the trail.
The rock to be moved, notice how much was below ground
Unfortunately it turned out to be twice as big as expected and probably weighs close on two tonnes. It remains in-situ until such times as we get the manic gleam in our collective eyes and it will be moved, not sure how far but it will move. It does now have a moat and drainage channel down the back but that’s another story.
So it was back to barrowing rocks from the remains of the wall over by the plantation and it is surprising how much can be moved in a day by a dedicated crew of idiots sorry I should say enthusiasts. We estimate about 10 tonnes in total all of which was pitched and locked into the new trail. All that is left to do now is finish the run in on the corner, something for the November dig day if the weather plays ball.
The stump feature at the end of the new section
But that was not all; we excavate a drainage ditch that was well and truly overgrown in the hope that this will keep the water table a little lower and we re-engineered the run out to incorporate a new ‘feature’ over a stump that was encroaching from the side of the trail. All in all a great day although I think we will all be feeling it for a few days afterwards.
You will be pleased to know we left this new section in a ridable state and would welcome your comments and feedback. But before you say anything it is Black, you have been warned, now get your bike out and enjoy.
Sep 02
It’s official, Peddling is for losers! Winners pump their way to victory, the chainless challenge is back baby!!!!
This time it’s bigger, harder, faster.
Apr 18
Lets not kid ourselves it’s been cold year so far. Dig days up until now have involved thermal layers and when we have swung a mattock into the frozen ground we’ve many times nearly blinded people with the shrapnel. So it was a joy to get up on Sunday morning and find a clear blue sky waiting behind the curtains. A quick breakfast, shove a sandwich, a boost bar, and a bowl for the dog in my bag, and then get my boots on the while the hound goes apoplectic with joy. He knows the signs, its a day in the woods.
Apr 10
Terror! (the steps thereof)
It’s that time of year again! Last year a bunch of the Stainburn Trail Crew regulars took the Warren Boulder Trail by the scruff of its boulders and gave it a cleaning it would never forget. Finding lost trail, redefining the line and giving a few bits of loving repair where it was needed to bring the most technical trail in England back to its former glory.
To make sure trails are kept in this condition, and help them last as long as possible we will be doing the same again for the next month. Starting on the 10th of April evening sessions will be brushing and raking the trails in preparation for what can only be a better summer than last year.
Mar 02
To celebrate the resurgence of Mountain biking here at JD Cycles, we are pleased to announce the first in a series of Demo days. Based at our Ilkley store, we are running a great day aimed at providing customers with a fantastic range of test bikes from a selection of our brands.
The 9th of March will be the first day and we have bikes from Ibis, Giant, Pivot and Scott available to book. We will also have displays of new products available in store along with exclusive ‘on the day’ offers. Throw in free Yorkshire Tea and grub; it will be a great day.
Feb 28
There’s been lots happening over the last year up at Gisburn to help improve the facilities for all you Bikers out there.
There’s a new Car Park, Skills Loop, Café and even a new Trail Head all to look forward to and the wait is almost over.
On 23rd March a special guest will officially cut the ribbon and open these new additions to Gisburn.
We’ve been told there’ll be other events and activities taking place during the day to celebrate.
Dec 12
We must be doing something right yet again, because for the second time this year we’ve had volunteers from LLoyds TSB wanting to help us out on a dig day.
Back in June we had a group of volunteers help out repairing the jumps at Thackley, everyone seemed to have a great time and we got loads of work done.
We were please to be contacted by another group from Lloyds TSB’s grad scheme a few weeks ago, wanting to get a taste of what SingletrAction do on our dig days. We could have picked any one of our current sites but thought it would be the perfect opportunity to continue the good work we’ve already started at St Ives In recent months.
