Issue 154 Away Day: Farmer Johns MTB Park

Amanda, Benji and Mark go for a trip out to Farmer Johns bike park to see what’s there, what to wear, and which bike to take.

Farmer Johns (yes, without the apostrophe) is a downhill-oriented mountain bike park with ever-growing dirt jumps and downhill trails. At first glance it looks to be all groomed freeride, with plenty of opportunity for progression, but beneath the surface is a lattice of steep and technical woods trails that share traits with Llangollen, Innerleithen and Dyfi. It’s hard to believe you’ve just driven through a residential area and pedalled across a flat track prior to these lower sections of trail – a real treat, and one that Benji was giddy with excitement about.

Getting parked up and signing on for the day is a swift process, with iPads to fill out a disclaimer and card payments available for your £10 ride pass. On a cold day, the only thing that might slow you down is forcing yourself to leave the warmth of the wood burner and the small dogs pottering around it.

Today there’s me, Benji and Mark. I’ve ridden here before, though it’s been a couple of years since my last visit. Benji and Mark have never ridden here, and to add to that, Mark hasn’t actually ridden a bike ‘properly’ for eight months as he’s been busy launching his skateboarding career (or just avoiding UK winter riding). The morning drizzle has turned into a downpour, so we hide out under the shelter outside the café and wait for the rain to ease. Eventually it does, and we ride the small jump line from the car park to the push-up path.

Having the push-up alongside the trails is great for looking at what you’re about to ride and we make a plan to ride from top to bottom, all the way into the woods. The woods are the only part of the tracks we can’t see, but from memory they’re quite easy to navigate and there’s not too many choices. This memory turns out to have expired.

We all take it easy on the first run, getting a feel for the terrain and conditions, but we lose Benji somewhere in the woods. Since my last visit there has been some major development to the lower sections, and we all split off in different directions. Benji’s direction leads him to a gap jump he spotted too late, and he bends his chainring quite catastrophically. He heads to his van to see what spares he’s got.

Benji is rolling again thanks to having had the foresight to bring an entire bike as a spare part. We spend the afternoon trying to link up our favourite sections into one perfect run, but there’s so much choice in the woods that it’s really hard to make the call. I’m drawn to the trails on the right-hand side, but Benji has gone deeper to the left and comes out all giddy about how good that line is.

“It’s like Llangollen in here!”, he shouts out as he squirms up the slippery push-up out of the woods.

I wanted to practise jumps and drops today, but the dire conditions have made the steep trails in the woods so sketchy that I decide I’ll probably gain more skills from tackling those. A questionable choice, to go from the smooth groomed berms and jumps to the janky, rooty slop, but I’ve got an Innerleithen trip coming up, so reminding myself how to ride with barely any traction seems like a good choice.

“Didn’t want to go for the jumps. Didn’t want to leave for the steep tekkers.”
Benji

Mark has quietly been getting some air further up out of the woods. There’s a group of teenagers sessioning a big tabletop, and Mark gives me a shrug that I take to mean ‘I’m just gonna send it’, so I get the camera out. He clears it, rides over to me and chuckles at the fact he’s not been on a bike for so long. The chilled-out, friendly atmosphere around the midsection of the park is infectious, and as intimidating as it sounds to be riding the same trails as some very skilled teenagers who are filming each other, it really isn’t today. They’re chatting to us, asking me to get some photos, and all encouraging each other to go again.

“I had no idea south Manchester had that much steep”
Mark

Why go?

Farmer Johns MTB Park is incredibly well built and maintained and offers skills coaching on-site through Dirt School. You can choose an introduction to bike park riding, learning to jump, steep and technical skills, or a one-to-one session. Given the accessible location and the cost to ride here, it seems like a hidden gem for working on skills and confidence. The push-up is easy, the trails are long and varied, and there are excellent on-site facilities. The only thing missing is a bike wash.

What we took

Full face helmets are mandatory here, with a strict ‘no ride’ policy if you turn up without one.

In terms of padding and protection, knee pads would be the minimum level we’d go for. If you own elbow pads or back protection, chuck them in the pile. At no point would you feel hindered by armour here, as the push-up is an easy low gradient.

Benji: Orange Switch 6 (Cotic RocketMAX Gen4 as a spare)

Mark: 2020 Norco Sight

Amanda: Cotic FlareMAX Gen5