Sherwood Pines off-piste Sun 22nd Sep

[jonnie brads]

It was awesome, but we were very lucky with the weather.
According to the weather forecast, it will be raining every day up to and including next Sunday. And also every day up to and including the Sunday after that!
But I'm sure that I will still be going out again, I just can't keep away!

I'll let you know

Please do mate Ill Bob down ?

 

[Hinett]

Cheers for the ride today, and kudos to @steve_sordy for the guiding. Brilliant ride loved it

 

[118]

I'll echo everything that the others, who were present today, have already said. Obviously with the exception of, lycra for the masses ?

Thanks Steve. Very much appreciated.
Thanks to all the others, who made the day enjoyable ?

 

[steve_sordy]

I missed this one!

Shall I go or not?

 

[118]

Steve

Has the ranger reported back any improvement on how his bike now handles, post your introduction of a little air, here and there? ?

 

[Doomanic]

I missed this one!

Shall I go or not?
View attachment 19051

Can you actually ride to the descent or do you have to lug the bike to it and start from there?

 

[JetSetDemo]

@Doomanic, well there were 3 big descents, I bottled it as you might expect on 2 of them but Steve, bless him, has done me a great kindness by putting a picture of me on the one I did do, so in the end It would appear I have three balls and only left 2 of them at Home.

Massive respect to Steve for an excellent days ride. @Tunny, yes mate you and Dom would have both loved it, real nice bunch on guys.

 

[118]

@Doomanic, well there were 3 big descents, I bottled it as you might expect on 2 of them but Steve, bless him, has done me a great kindness by putting a picture of me on the one I did do

And the look on your little face, when you realised that you were once again, safe at the bottom, rubber side down, was priceless.. deep breath, check 1, 2, sorted.... ride on guys ?

 

[steve_sordy]

Can you actually ride to the descent or do you have to lug the bike to it and start from there?

We got to that biggest one in stages, and it was mostly 100% ride-able. We all had to push up that last soft sand barrier of about 8'. You can see the other side of it in post #94 above. We came through that gap behind the rider.

Overall, I would say that you can ride to them all. Some short climbs were steep enough and loose enough that some pushing was required but only for short distances. There was one descent down into the old track bed that everybody rode, but then 20 yards to the right we had to climb back up. It looked easy, but nobody cleaned it 100%. I have seen some spectacular falls there! Two guys had to put a foot down within inches of the top, so I'd give them a 95% for that. I have given up trying that one, for the time being anyway. I'm sure that my emtb climbing skills will improve.

 

[steve_sordy]

Steve

Has the ranger reported back any improvement on how his bike now handles, post your introduction of a little air, here and there? ?

I'll be talking to him soon enough. After the ride, once again I thanked him for his generous offer to borrow his bike, I really was grateful. I told him that I was going to buy him a Mucky Nutz for his fork. He replied that it wasn't necessary. I said that I insisted because the next time I borrowed the bike I didn't want to be sprayed with muddy water quite as much as I was that day. He laughed. He had earlier complained about the 2.8" Butcher Grids being too draggy. I'm not surprised as there was 7-8 psi in the front and 11-12 in the rear. He had ridden to work on those! I took a turn around the skills loop with Peaky and he could see the tyre walls rippling! I put 18 in the front and 21 rear and I felt no dragginess. The front never let go, but the rear was sliding out on the corners in a nice predictable way. The rear spun out too often on climbs for my taste.

There was a problem with the 180mm travel Lyrik. The fork had lost 20% of its travel just sitting there. I pushed a zip tie down the side of the upper fork seals and let some air out but it made no detectable difference. The fork pressure was 70psi and I raised it to 100 psi to give me 30% sag when I was in the attack position. He is a little bit lighter than me I guess. Whether that 30% reading on the fork scale implied that I had 30% or maybe only 10%, or was it 50%? I have no idea. It felt like 30%, but how could it be, when 20% was already sucked into the lowers? The shock was a coil shock and I didn't touch it. The bike felt a bit steeper and twitchier than I had thought it would, maybe that was the fork set up, I just don't know. Anyway it was now 10am and I had no more spanner time. That fork problem came back to haunt me I'm sure of that.

That descent that JetSetDemo was so proud of I had done several times before, but totally failed on this bike, twice. Once the front wheel went over the edge, it just felt so wrong that I bottled it, but too late to stop myself from going completely over the edge and off into the brambles at the side. I was taken by surprise by that, so once I'd been helped back to the top I immediately had another go ("I can do this, I have done this!"), only to fail even more dramatically. That first section is really steep and loose, difficult to climb back up. I retired embarrassed!

 

[118]

I retired embarrassed!

Nothing to be embarrassed about chap. Some days it works for you, some days it doesn't. Everyone has those surely. And as you was our guide, we needed you, safe and upstanding..

Be interesting to see if the kenevo reports riding differently. Given what you've said, it certainly should do..

Does anybody like the rangers mucky nuts, splashing their face? ??

 

[steve_sordy]

Steve

Has the ranger reported back any improvement on how his bike now handles, post your introduction of a little air, here and there? ?

I bumped into him recently, but I didn't ask him if he thought my fettling was better for him or not. What I did ask was what had been wrong with the fork (the lost 20% of travel). He told me that when he took the bike to the Pines bike shop, the technician simply pulled off the lowers and refitted them. Problem solved! The technician had seen it before several times.

 

[Ashley M]

Personally, I prefer to meet in the Sherwood Pines car park. It is secure, serviced with loos, cafe and friendly bike shop that also does lots of servicing. It is £6 for all day; you can pay less but too short for the guided ride I've got planned. My view is that the £6 is a contribution to the trail upkeep and new features that keep appearing. Long sections of the red and blue is now completely new and recently opened. In addition, the Forest England rangers provide an emergency service if you get injured where they can get to you. I've never needed it but a mate of mine did an OTB on to rock and he was not a pretty sight! They strapped him onto a spinal board and took him back to their offices to meet the ambulance.
But £6 is £6 and I recognise that many object to spending it if they can see a way to avoid it. This will be the first time that I have run a Pines guided ride starting from outside the Sherwood Pines area.

Hi
id be keen to join up on future rides having recently become a born again mountain biker
Pines car park works for me and I’m happy to pay their fees as you do get some good riding
let me know if any group rides are going on
cheers

 

[Peaky Rider]

Hi
id be keen to join up on future rides having recently become a born again mountain biker
Pines car park works for me and I’m happy to pay their fees as you do get some good riding
let me know if any group rides are going on
cheers

Where abouts in Derbyshire are you Ashley?

 

[Peaky Rider]

Where abouts in Derbyshire are you Ashley?

Okay, just seen from your post in another thread that you are in Ilkeston.

 

[Ashley M]

Okay, just seen from your thread in another post that you are in Ilkeston.

Hi
Actually I’m in Risley

 

[Rahr85]

on topic: if people were to be interested in organising this again i would be interested in joining.

off topic: if you are down nearer notts/derby would cannock chase not be a more enjoyable ride out?

 

[Peaky Rider]

Hi
Actually I’m in Risley

Hi Ashley

Well, it's a bit tricky at the moment but in more normal times a group of us, anywhere between six to twenty meet on a Saturday morning on the outskirts of Matlock. Currently, we are splitting into groups of six. Most are on push bikes due to a mixture of vanity or being a super fit seventy two year old. Average age will be mid fifties but I am seventy, hence the e-bike
The rides are best described as XC but are far more demanding than Sherwood Pines.
If you think this might be for you let me know and I'll give you a few more details.

Chris

 

[Ashley M]

Hi Ashley

Well, it's a bit tricky at the moment but in more normal times a group of us, anywhere between six to twenty meet on a Saturday morning on the outskirts of Matlock. Currently, we are splitting into groups of six. Most are on push bikes due to a mixture of vanity or being a super fit seventy two year old. Average age will be mid fifties but I am seventy, hence the e-bike
The rides are best described as XC but are far more demanding than Sherwood Pines.
If you think this might be for you let me know and I'll give you a few more details.

Chris

Hi Chris
Understand the group gathering issues and as a 64 year old and two heart attacks I’m obviously cautious!!
Very interested so keep me posted
I can give you phone and email if that helps
Thanks for responding
Ashley

 

[Ashley M]

on topic: if people were to be interested in organising this again i would be interested in joining.

off topic: if you are down nearer notts/derby would cannock chase not be a more enjoyable ride out?

Hi
Used to ride Cannock but not been for years
It’s as easy to get to as Pines so I’d be up for it (if it’s not got too difficult for me!)

 

[Peaky Rider]

Hi Chris
Understand the group gathering issues and as a 64 year old and two heart attacks I’m obviously cautious!!
Very interested so keep me posted
I can give you phone and email if that helps
Thanks for responding
Ashley

I'll send you a message as soon as I work out how to.

 

[steve_sordy]

@Ashley M and @Rahr85 There will be more organised rideouts at Sherwood Pines in 2021.
Last time, with the help of @Ontherail 's detail knowledge, routes around nearby Vicar Water were included. I thought they were really good, but overall the feedback was not quite as good as the Pines ride alone. Maybe the problem was combining the two routes rather than having either Pines or Vicar Water? Who knows? One for the future maybe.

Whatever is planned, it will be posted on here under "Rideouts". I'm thinking that it will be March at the earliest, maybe April.

Personally, I haven't been for a ride at Pines since 6th Dec (nearly 4 weeks now). It has reached that stage that Pines does at this time of year, where the water table has reached the surface and every ride is not only very wet and muddy, but is like riding through sticky grinding paste. I can hear my bike being ground into particles. What we need is a really good cold spell to firm up the ground, and some snow to make it exciting again.

 

[Ashley M]

Looking forward to it let’s hope we all get vaccinated by then!

 

[Dustjunky]

Where abouts in Derbyshire are you Ashley?

Hi ....only just seen your post ...I’m looking for some ride outs ...I’m Derby side Belper ..the odd mid week ride would be great ,?

 

[Ashley M]

Hi ....only just seen your post ...I’m looking for some ride outs ...I’m Derby side Belper ..the odd mid week ride would be great ,?

I’m up for any rides as long as I can do them!
Just waiting for towbar on new car to fit my carrier!!

 

[Dustjunky]

Ok mate ?

 

[Javedmr]

Ok mate ?

Guys, if you are doing any rides around Notts or Derby, I'd love to join too

@Ashley M and @Rahr85 There will be more organised rideouts at Sherwood Pines in 2021.
Last time, with the help of @Ontherail 's detail knowledge, routes around nearby Vicar Water were included. I thought they were really good, but overall the feedback was not quite as good as the Pines ride alone. Maybe the problem was combining the two routes rather than having either Pines or Vicar Water? Who knows? One for the future maybe.

Whatever is planned, it will be posted on here under "Rideouts". I'm thinking that it will be March at the earliest, maybe April.

Personally, I haven't been for a ride at Pines since 6th Dec (nearly 4 weeks now). It has reached that stage that Pines does at this time of year, where the water table has reached the surface and every ride is not only very wet and muddy, but is like riding through sticky grinding paste. I can hear my bike being ground into particles. What we need is a really good cold spell to firm up the ground, and some snow to make it exciting again.View attachment 48589

Hi Steve, are there any rides you have put together for May? I'd love to join. Thanks.

 

[steve_sordy]

Guys, if you are doing any rides around Notts or Derby, I'd love to join too
...........................
Hi Steve, are there any rides you have put together for May? I'd love to join. Thanks.

I haven't got any planned at the moment. Pines has had a lot of forest clearance work, with consequent trail diversions and then subsequent off-piste trail blockages from discarded brash, or just totally wrecked! I have been working my way through stuff, an hour here and an hour there to clear up sections for use. Once I'm clear in my head that I can put a route together I'll sort something out. It will appear on the Rideouts section and will be clearly titled, so look out for it!

 

[Javedmr]

I haven't got any planned at the moment. Pines has had a lot of forest clearance work, with consequent trail diversions and then subsequent off-piste trail blockages from discarded brash, or just totally wrecked! I have been working my way through stuff, an hour here and an hour there to clear up sections for use. Once I'm clear in my head that I can put a route together I'll sort something out. It will appear on the Rideouts section and will be clearly titled, so look out for it!

Sure will do thanks.

 

[DaveDog]

If anyone is going for a ride in Sherwood Pines I would love to tag along, I only live about 20 miles away but have never been!