Pic of the Day

First ride out on my new Raymon Trailray E160 10.0! Loved it. 31.6 miles and 3812ft climbed and back!

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First ride out this calendar year into the Cheviot Hills which straddle the border between England & Scotland ..in the summer months we are never away from this area ..but in winter due to it's ability to hold onto water it becomes more than a bit of a bogfest ..so avoided in favour of more trail centre type riding .
Starting in Alwinton alongside Wayne , Phil & Nance..on a cold but bright morning the first 10 miles or so are a climb up to the Border Ridge with only two real drops of note on the west side(s) of Whiteburnshank ( forest road ) & a fantastic grassy descent on Yarnspath Law down to to the Usway Burn ( where my only pics were taken) ..
It was quickly becoming apparent that due to the stiff WSW wind & the effect of the cold temperature we would have to reassess the planned route and cut a fair chunk out of it ..and after a lunch stop where the Border Ridge meets The Street on the side of Mozie Law ..cut even more off road out of the route when Wayne's motor decided not to turn on again ..resulting in 11km of non-assisted riding..but with two fantastic downhills.. before Phil ( who had ridden ahead with Nance ) came back with his van to pick us up at Linbriggs 3km shy of the finish but at the foot of the last biggest climb ..(cheers Phil) .
A bit of an epic ..which also included an unscheduled careering off the side of a rocky downhill for myself with no control of the bike resulting in an otb and a good old smack to the head with a touch of concussion ( ?) ..hard to tell as the damage has been years in the making !
Hopefully Wayne's motor gets sorted quickly ..(its still with a full years warranty)..as our Cairgorms trip is on the horizon..
Thanks to all for a great day out regardless of the setbacks ..and to Nance who got the beers in at the Rose & Thistle at the end ..👍🏻
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First ride out this calendar year into the Cheviot Hills which straddle the border between England & Scotland ..in the summer months we are never away from this area ..but in winter due to it's ability to hold onto water it becomes more than a bit of a bogfest ..so avoided in favour of more trail centre type riding .
Starting in Alwinton alongside Wayne , Phil & Nance..on a cold but bright morning the first 10 miles or so are a climb up to the Border Ridge with only two real drops of note on the west side(s) of Whiteburnshank ( forest road ) & a fantastic grassy descent on Yarnspath Law down to to the Usway Burn ( where my only pics were taken) ..
It was quickly becoming apparent that due to the stiff WSW wind & the effect of the cold temperature we would have to reassess the planned route and cut a fair chunk out of it ..and after a lunch stop where the Border Ridge meets The Street on the side of Mozie Law ..cut even more off road out of the route when Wayne's motor decided not to turn on again ..resulting in 11km of non-assisted riding..but with two fantastic downhills.. before Phil ( who had ridden ahead with Nance ) came back with his van to pick us up at Linbriggs 3km shy of the finish but at the foot of the last biggest climb ..(cheers Phil) .
A bit of an epic ..which also included an unscheduled careering off the side of a rocky downhill for myself with no control of the bike resulting in an otb and a good old smack to the head with a touch of concussion ( ?) ..hard to tell as the damage has been years in the making !
Hopefully Wayne's motor gets sorted quickly ..(its still with a full years warranty)..as our Cairgorms trip is on the horizon..
Thanks to all for a great day out regardless of the setbacks ..and to Nance who got the beers in at the Rose & Thistle at the end ..👍🏻
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Bleak and exposed.
 
Marvellous write up my wordsmith friend @The Hodge.
There was more water than I thought there would be and the ground in most places proved to be very heavy going which just saps the life out of the battery as well. Great day out in stunning scenery and great company. Never seen as many walkers on the hills. Damm Covid/Robson Green. 😂
Never saw a soul up there back in the day but good that more folks are enjoying such a fantastic area.
 
@Alscott595 Congratulations for the new bike and thank you for the pics. How did you get along in that area with the Hans Dampf on the rear? Did it work in the mud? I am asking as I was considering Hans Dampf or Big Betty for the rear when changing next time but some say Hans Dampf is not doing so well in muddy terrain.
 
The North Shore has some BIG drops. I have been riding by this one for several years thinking, "it looks like the size of the one on Dirt Merchant (Whistler Bike Park) and If I wasn't by myself...." and then I ride right on by it!

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Long time since I did any jumping and never anything as serious as that .
 
The North Shore has some BIG drops. I have been riding by this one for several years thinking, "it looks like the size of the one on Dirt Merchant (Whistler Bike Park) and If I wasn't by myself...." and then I ride right on by it!

View attachment 155564
I heard that the North Shore Municipality (?) is coming down hard on some of the features. Eg; 8’ high skinnies. A few serious accidents will do that.

The trail building volunteers on Burke Mountain are aware of the potential fallout. The 50’ drop near Crystal Falls, on Burke, just got torn down. But another feature springs up.
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This hidden feature remains secret …for now.
I like things a little closer to the ground.

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I heard that the North Shore Municipality (?) is coming down hard on some of the features. Eg; 8’ high skinnies. A few serious accidents will do that.

The trail building volunteers on Burke Mountain are aware of the potential fallout. The 50’ drop near Crystal Falls, on Burke, just got torn down. But another feature springs up.
View attachment 155575
This hidden feature remains secret …for now.
I like things a little closer to the ground.

View attachment 155576
No way for me. Thats to close to base jumping ! 🫣😂

Reminds me of an HSE article in a big companies magazine and what does guys might say to those constructions (building & using). Made we wonder for long if this was a serious article. But hey, when they come for an HSE audit you know they are serious. But still interesting that there are employees having time for such letters and others responding in such detail.

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No way for me. Thats to close to base jumping ! 🫣😂
I think Base Jumping is more regulated than some of these MTB features. Can you spot the deficiencies in that feature? …there are many.

Many of the trail builders here stay within the regulations for building trail features …but some don’t. When the risk is identified in writing to the landowner or interested parties …some form of action can be taken.
 
It looks like the landing is on flat ground.
The "landing" is about 3m to the right and has a decent transition of at least 40 degrees with a 10m run out until you MUST make a 90 degree right turn or hit one of several large trees. There were visible tire tracks, so it is doable!
 
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