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Some of the Qualifiers are appropriate to the features, but some are just dictacting the potential skill levels.
Some trails confuse me though, Locomotion for example which is 2/3 of the way down Sixtapod, but has some pretty decent drops on it.... bigger than most drops on the 'drop' trails weirdly enough. But i'd expect it's not that hard to end up on it by mistake if going down Sixtapod.
A470 is on my list of 'meh' after my last crash there, but that little drop off into it is absolutely horrible.... horrible horrible thing.
horrible…. horrible horrible thing.
the little wooden platform? Don't have an issue with that personally, like Bonnieville which I've heard others say they find challenging. I think it so depends on how you first encounter them as whether they give one pause for thought. If you hit them right the first time, they never feel that bad subsequently I've always found the drops on Coal not Dole as my personal bug-bear...
Was a BPW on Saturday - put me into the "what are they whining about" bucket. Had a great day as always. I did 7 runs in the morning uplift session without pushing it. Only did three in the afternoon session before calling it a day as I wanted to save my self for the next day. Only time I queued for the uplift for more than 2-3 mins was at the start of the afternoon session when I arrived at exactly the worst time and had maybe I had a 10 min wait as they frantically loaded everyone on.
Other notes;
- Bike wash now free (think it was a quid before?). Can get queue-tastic if you time it wrong though.
- Still never seen that monster sized bus running - just seems to sit around looking impressive!
- Food better (but found it perfectly OK before)
- Check in seamless
- Shop friendly and helpful
- Bus drivers all in great humour
- Still seems to be nowhere near enough parking even with recent added capacity. I just make sure I turn up nice and early. Not sure what they can do about that one really.
As it is also mentioned on the thread - was at BMCC on Sunday. That was fantastic, as it had been on my visit last year. I pretty much did the Blue every run, with a sprinkling of red options on the bottom half. Got ten runs in without pushing at all - and that was with me stopping at 14:30.
horrible…. horrible horrible thing.
Weeksy cordially invites the “I’m a better rider than you ner ner” responses 😂
Quite excited to say, will be there Weds with Jr and will report back how brill a time we’re having.
weeksy Full Member
Some of the Qualifiers are appropriate to the features, but some are just dictacting the potential skill levels.
Several trails have qualifiers that primarily dictate a certain skill level at riding drop-offs, then proceed to have no further drop offs along their length. That's just silly.
v7fmp
Free Member@northwind – what issues do you see with the qualifiers?
They're often irrelevant to the trails and that's counterproductive, stops them working as effective qualifiers and at the same time puts off people- paying customers- from riding trails that are appropriate to them.
Vicious Valley- woodwork step/drop, nothing else like it on the rest of the trail, puts people off (and that's a big deal for this trail, since it's the first tech red, basically the door to the reds and it's shut for some people for no reason. ChrisL who posted here is your perfect example.
Escort- just a notch cut in a log step, easier than the rest of the trail, no qualifier effect, and gives no idea of the trail. Guarantee you that people have ridden the quali, thought it'll all be fine, then come a cropper.
Dai Hard- a gap jump, for a trail with no gap jumps, put me off riding the trail for the first couple of visits but it's just completely inappropriate (this one's double ironic as it's been rebuilt completely, but still isn't relevant.)
A470- irrelevant to the trail, puts people off and ALSO invites people in wrongly-this is me, the first 50 feet or so of A470 says "You'll love this" and then it totally changes.
These are the ones that stick in the head. I'll give Coal Not Dole and I suppose Halfcut a pass since the qualis aren't really appropriate to the trails but they're cool big signature features in their own right, but halfcut's double weird since as far as I can tell they've just smashed this big rock drop at the top and the rest's the same as it always was?
2 things had always stopped me doing A470. 1. The horrible qualifier drop and 2. There was always a queue of people waiting to ride into it.
That was until last Monday when I got there and there was no-one else around, did the drop in which is completely out of character with the rest of the trail thinking "what the **** was I making a fuss about for that?" Then rode the rest of the line often thinking "Aggghhhhhh!" it appears big jumps scare me more than hucking off a drop to flat along Insufficient funds, ACDC or any of those others I'm always going too slow to clear. Probably because my timing/technique sucks and I've been bucked more times than a rodeo rider.
Yeah the qualifiers are a bit off, I remember the original Dai Hard and Enter the Dragon; ETD used to be my favourite (until 50 shades popped up) and it had that awkward drop which was kinda relevant, there's a few drops but they're all fast rather than awkward but the big features are all jumps rather than drops, the big tables, & the gaps entering the woods. But then Dai Hard has the gap jump (admittedly it's tiny) but no real jump bar the wee road gap on it
Then they built 50 shades and gave it a stepup as a quali, all the features I can think of are drops on that trail
RE Vicious valley, is that the one with the little road gap or is that Wibbly Wobbly? Always mix those up
All that said, Sixtapod has no quali but that can be the most dangerous trail once you're at mach10 and trying to double the humps up
@Northwind - ah ok, i see what you are getting at. I personally haven't had a problem with any of them (not trying to blow my own trumpet), but i can certainly see how it can put others off riding trails that may well be within their skill set. Or vice versa.
And now i think about it, i probably do avoid Dai Hard due to the double. I can do it, but wouldnt want to ride a trail littered with them, as its not my strong point. But as you say, it sounds like i am missing out on the trail as there arent any along it?!?! An odd choice by BPW.
I can't remember the names of them but I can't do at least two of the qualifiers on the red trails and have no problem on the trail itself. The blacks I can't do, qualifier or trail!
Dai Hard- a gap jump, for a trail with no gap jumps, put me off riding the trail for the first couple of visits but it’s just completely inappropriate (this one’s double ironic as it’s been rebuilt completely, but still isn’t relevant.)
A470- irrelevant to the trail, puts people off and ALSO invites people in wrongly-this is me, the first 50 feet or so of A470 says “You’ll love this” and then it totally changes.
agree with both of these points. I'm a terrible jumper (drop offs, comparitively good). I've never done DaiHard because I assume it was all the same.
and I did A470 once, did the quali easily (possibly didnt even notice the other trail to the left) and then got stuck on a jump line I have no business being near.
"Dai Hard- a gap jump, for a trail with no gap jumps, put me off riding the trail for the first couple of visits but it’s just completely inappropriate (this one’s double ironic as it’s been rebuilt completely, but still isn’t relevant.)"
I rode Dai Hard quite a few times before they added the qualifier, it's one of my favourite trails at BPW. I still can't ride the qualifier, full commitment gap jumps just completely psych me out - I carefully mince around it and then ride the rest of the trail quite happily (not super fast but I don't recall ever holding anyone up!)
Haven't been for at least two years now, I miss it! The techy reds and easier tech blacks are my happy zone, could do them all day long. Get a bit scared by the speeds and g forces on the swoopy blues at full pace (and any slower feels a bit of a waste of an uplift) and am too rubbish at jumps to enjoy the jumpy trails. Think I might take the hardtail next time!
chiefgrooveguru
Free MemberI rode Dai Hard quite a few times before they added the qualifier, it’s one of my favourite trails at BPW.
Am I remembering right that the log double quali used to be for a different trail? I remember before they changed the start and removed the shelter that there was a bloody awkward drop quali with railings on either side but I can't really quite get my head around how it all worked.
“ Am I remembering right that the log double quali used to be for a different trail?”
I don’t think so. In the early days there were no qualifiers anywhere. They added them after maybe a year or two, and Dai Hard got that bizarre gap. Was the awkward drop into Enter The Dragon?
Yep, arkward drop was enter the dragon. I've twice seen huge stacks from that qualifier gap - the landing is a sharp edge and quite high; you cant just ride off and hope for the best.
Anyhow I'm done with BPW - the price hikes are a complete joke and over the first lockdown they made a good mate redundant and then put his job up 3 months later with a significantly lower wage.
Ah thanks for that, brain was failing me.
Things I do like about BPW qualifiers: the Dai Hard gap is a totally inappropriate qualifier for Dai Hard, but is pretty much ideal for Blackadder, which is now accessed by the same start and was built years later. But Blackadder has its own separate qualifier which is way more suitable for Dai Hard. Psyche!
Never understood the rating on Dai Hard, it's the qualifier that makes it black!
I remember being distinctly worried at a race which included dai hard, having been put off previously by the qualifier. The stage started just after the gap, was a massive relief it bore no resemblance to the trail.
I used to ride BPW when working that way and had a few spare hours, I don't anymore as its just not viable to buy a ticket and do a few trails.
Interesting info on Dai Hard, i know the small creatures want to hit some blacks next time there in 2 weeks, so was wondering which we should tackle... Although i'm more worried about me than them !
Its still got some pretty hefty drops on it
Yeah just watched a couple of vids on it... i think i've got the drops, they don't look any bigger than locomotion drops.
Well, as per the OP’s original question, after today I’d say he was unlucky amd maybe they didn’t have enough buses on. We queued for the first bus in the morning, briefly. Then 4 buses arrived, and we were whisked up. Rest of the day, no queues. Also, the (free) bikewash - only one was working but the queue was short and there was nobody waiting til we’d nearly finished.
Absolutely brilliant day 😁
Still never seen that monster sized bus running – just seems to sit around looking impressive!
I was there Sunday and indeed it does run as we went on it, I was so excited it's the only photo I took!
The ride is a bit smoother but the clutch was on-off so still got knocked around a bit.
Managed 7 runs in the morning without too much trying - this after my daughter crashed 2nd run down ripping a new SRAM Eagle GX mech off, like they are easy to come by! I spent the rest of the morning shoving her into the qualifiers so she could get some momentum into the trails. Overall it was probably good for her riding as she couldn't ease off on features and drops for fear of loosing speed.
Once we waited 5 mins for a bus but usually they were there loading bikes. We thought our 6th uplift at 12:40 would be our last but the attendant suggested AC/DC into Rim Dinger would be possible, we did them and were on our next uplift at 13:10. The driver for this uplift was telling riders to hurry on at the bottom and off at top so he could be on his break at half one. I think he was mostly being jovial but it could be taken the wrong way and he did blast off back down the hill.
I was surprised to see some pay per lift ticket holders as I thought uplift was sold out - they were being made to wait if there was anything of a queue. My wife managed 4 runs on a pedal pass as she "didn't want to do too much" so only 5 on an uplift ticket would be disappointing - for that many I'd probably prefer a pedal pass, take my time and spend the savings on lunch.
@enigmas:
Anyhow I’m done with BPW – the price hikes are a complete joke and over the first lockdown they made a good mate redundant and then put his job up 3 months later with a significantly lower wage.
Would he have been a driver there? Heard they had let a few go and was shocked when I saw the advert for new ones and how little they were offering. 20hr contract and £8.93 IIRC.
Dai Hard- a gap jump
Been a while since I have been to now but I never jumped this as the roll in seemed too slow for me without some mad cranking, which to me is not how a jump after a roll in like at bow where it's uphill onto it so you can't get going before dropping in.
Still never seen that monster sized bus running
We went on it Weds, didn't see it Thursday.
I’ve ridden the gap jump qualifier for Dai Hard but I haven’t ridden the trail because I’m not comfortable with gaps.
We were there yesterday and it ran smoothly enough. Queues were a touch longer after dinner, no queue for our last run. Drivers all friendly.
Got a go in the big bus, which was cooler that the minibus's much to my suprise.
A great mix of ages and plenty of ladies too which is great to see.
I'm still not good enough to hit the landings on AC/DC and still phsyched out by steep and tall jumps. In fact I wish they would build a trail that feels like that section of Norkle that leads to the uplift from top to bottom 🙂
Merthyr rocks blue is not dissimilar to the blue leading to the buses.
A great mix of ages and plenty of ladies too which is great to see.
I noticed this in the week. On one bus ride it was a 50/50 split male/female. After that huge bizarre thread on here a little while ago, I thought it was quite telling. Plenty of young women getting into the sport.
Merthyr rocks blue is not dissimilar to the blue leading to the buses.
I'm sorry, whatnow?! Merthyr Rocks is just a short version of Rim Dinger (runs parallel to it). Love em both, personally, but I wouldn't say they are fast and flowy like Norkle.
I can’t remember the names of them but I can’t do at least two of the qualifiers on the red trails
Only been once and did see a bloke lift his bike past the qualifier...
Ive been a few times, and only ever seen the big bus running once and actually got on it. It feels smoother than the others but boy is it slow. However it is good for taking more people to the top in one go.
I've seen lots of people not bother with the qualifiers, think its bonneyville with the horrible drop off at the beginning which ive seen a fair few people carry their bike down and carry on riding, that drop has always put me off riding the trail.
I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to drop offs and jumps as i think about it all far too much and then it gets in my head, despite knowing i can ride them fine as i have done most of them previously.
think its bonneyville with the horrible drop off at the beginning which ive seen a fair few people carry their bike down
I don't think that drop's particularly hard, it's daunting, but lands pretty well (I only know this as I blithely went off it without really noticing how big it was) the thing I've never really got is that the trail after it has nothing like that feature. The opposite is true of Coal not Dole, entry has no qualifier, half way down there's a drop equal in size to the qualifier on Bonneville!
doomanic
Full MemberI’ve ridden the gap jump qualifier for Dai Hard but I haven’t ridden the trail because I’m not comfortable with gaps.
Admittedly some time since I've been, but the qualifier was the only gap on Dai Hard when i went. It was a really nice trail after that
The opposite is true of Coal not Dole, entry has no qualifier,
Coal not Dole has that slightly awkward double rock step qualifier?
Coal not Dole has that slightly awkward double rock step qualifier?
Yes, I look at it and think if I had any talent I’d gracefully clear the pair in one. But I have no talent so gracelessly clunk down one then the other
nickc Full Member
I don’t think that drop’s particularly hard, it’s daunting, but lands pretty well (I only know this as I blithely went off it without really noticing how big it was) the thing I’ve never really got is that the trail after it has nothing like that feature. The opposite is true of Coal not Dole, entry has no qualifier, half way down there’s a drop equal in size to the qualifier on Bonneville!
I agree. Bonneyville is one of my favourite bits of trail at BPW, I really like it. I am however awful at drops, so Bonneyville's qualifier infuriates me. I can cautiously roll it but the chances of me dropping it are pretty slim. It requires a fairly specific skill and it's not a skill required anywhere else on Bonneyville.
I'm fairly certain that this year's trip to BPW is the first time I've ever been able to do the qualifier drop for Vicious Valley, and again that's testing for a skill that's unnecessary on the trail itself.
Vicious Valley- woodwork step/drop, nothing else like it on the rest of the trail, puts people off (and that’s a big deal for this trail, since it’s the first tech red, basically the door to the reds and it’s shut for some people for no reason. ChrisL who posted here is your perfect example.
Escort- just a notch cut in a log step, easier than the rest of the trail, no qualifier effect, and gives no idea of the trail. Guarantee you that people have ridden the quali, thought it’ll all be fine, then come a cropper.
But to be fair - doesn't that lead into Surfin' Bird & BonneyVille that have slightly bigger features?
PrinceJohn Free Member
But to be fair – doesn’t that lead into Surfin’ Bird & BonneyVille that have slightly bigger features?
The only features on Vicious Valley and BonneyVille that require drop skills are their qualifiers. Surfin' Bird has anything that requires the level of drop skills required by the Vicious Valley qualifier either. For me at least the skills required by the Vicious Valley and Bonneyville qualifiers are orthogonal to the skills required for those trails.
But to be fair – doesn’t that lead into Surfin’ Bird & BonneyVille that have slightly bigger features?
No surfin bird has its own drop which is smaller than the bonneyville one.
Not done coal not dole so cant comment on that.
Completely agree about Escort, tiny little notch cut into a log that you can just ride over and then whoah where the hell did this come from.
The drop into viscous valley is ridiculous given the rest of the trail, i remember the first time i went it put me off riding it, in the gap before my next visit i went to see the jedi for a day of training, walked upto the viscous valley drop and remember saying to myself, thats tiny what was i scared about and went off it and popped off with no issues at all.
Hate the mind games that come with this sport.
in the gap before my next visit i went to see the jedi for a day of training, walked upto the viscous valley drop and remember saying to myself, thats tiny what was i scared about and went off it and popped off with no issues at all.
pretty sure it got reduced (or rather the trail below built up) at some point. You can just about very ungracefully roll it now.
Irrelevant if you ride it "correctly" as the landing was unchanged
I have been to BPW on a few occasions over the years and have always had a good trip. Even when I had to go to hospital with my son, or had to wait with a friend who had hurt themselves. Staff were very helpful. The balance between a big bike park and smaller, more family vibe venture is a difficult line to tread.
Interesting comments on the qualifiers, I thought it was just me! I do think the Locomotion first drop is way above my pay grade; but part of the fun is working up to these features and challenging yourself to get down stuff in one piece.
Locomotion first drop is way above my pay grade;
All the drops on the reds have this strange visual effect where they look like you are jumping into the void with about 6ft drop to flat, even when the actual step is about 6 inches.
pretty sure it got reduced (or rather the trail below built up) at some point. You can just about very ungracefully roll it now.
It hadnt changed between the two times i went, it was very much my own perception of what was big at the time.
My first time visiting bike park wales was my first time at any bike park i was very much a novice who had only ridden cross country trails local to me.
All the drops on the reds have this strange visual effect where they look like you are jumping into the void with about 6ft drop to flat, even when the actual step is about 6 inches.
I thought this was just me, i think its the angles they place the rocks in front of the drops, just enough of an angle on the lip to obscure your view of the trail ahead.
I saw someone attempt to roll it and they got it a bit wrong. They did get up and laugh about it but it just looked awkward, think they bottled it when they got close with too much momentum.
I thought this was just me, i think its the angles they place the rocks in front of the drops, just enough of an angle on the lip to obscure your view of the trail ahead.
Its definitely a thing. When you know the trail and you are happy to fly down it, its great. Going down it blind when you arent sure whats coming, its less fun having to stop, get out the trail, admonish yourself for stopping when you realise how tiny it is, check the trail is clear, push back up to get a decent run in, then repeat for every drop because what if they get progressively bigger?
Contrast to (the red at) antur stiniog, you can pretty much slow to a trackstand 3 yards before the drop, pick the exact pebble you want to land on, release the brakes and drop of it perfectly. Then add speed the following run.
Yep. Though arguably, it's better for a drop to look bigger than it is- probably prevents some accidents, and makes it feel more awesome.
If you want a real stinker, try the first drop on Bomper at BMCC- it's got a big change of horizon so you ride up, think right I got this, then suddenly as you approach the whole feel of the thing changes so as you approach it suddenly feels like it's doubled in size... It's another one that the actual drop is pretty small, especially if you do it slow and short but it's a great exercise in sightlines.
There's a ladder drop at tignes which was the biggest thing I'd ever done at the time, and it's the exact opposite- lovely run-up, totally flat woodwork, all the featureless landing area you could possibly want, no distractions, no horizon at all- it's a masterclass in making it easier. (unless you hate woodwork)
ayjaydoubleyou Free Member
All the drops on the reds have this strange visual effect where they look like you are jumping into the void with about 6ft drop to flat, even when the actual step is about 6 inches.
There's one on either Snakebite or Insufficient Funds that is an extreme example of this, as you approach you have absolutely no view of what's on the other side of the drop but when you get to it you discover it isn't actually a drop at all, just a slight lip with a log across it, and the trail rolls gently downwards on the other side of the log.
Northwind Full Member
There’s a ladder drop at tignes which was the biggest thing I’d ever done at the time, and it’s the exact opposite- lovely run-up, totally flat woodwork, all the featureless landing area you could possibly want, no distractions, no horizon at all- it’s a masterclass in making it easier. (unless you hate woodwork)
Captured for posterity:
The rider who tried the drop before him had more difficulty with it.
When you know the trail and you are happy to fly down it, its great. Going down it blind when you arent sure whats coming, its less fun having to stop, get out the trail, admonish yourself for stopping when you realise how tiny it is, check the trail is clear, push back up to get a decent run in, then repeat for every drop because what if they get progressively bigger?
I don't see it like that. There is no trail anywhere that I like riding more, than a trail I haven't ridden before.
However, I don't expect to be able to ride new trails I've not done before without perhaps stopping and looking at the more challenging bits. No shame in that. Just makes sense to do that. Once you've done it, you build up to hitting everything. That's the challenge and fun of it imho.
Do world cup downhillers just blast down a new track without looking at lines etc? Nah, they stop and learn the track so they can take the lines they can confidently do, then repeat until they're full whack.
The trouble with people having expectations in terms of grading means either they get hurt when something doesn't quite fit their idea of that grade and they've ridden into it without looking, or, trails get sanitized until they're lacking in any real technicality to take that out of the equation.
I don't know why anyone should have an issue with having a quick look at something they're about to ride off.
It's very difficult to standardize grading everywhere. I think you can only give a hint.
A lot of the blacks at BPW for example can have big gap jumps, or at least there is a point where you're too fast to roll but not committed enough to jump the slump, and the black at say Laggan doesn't have stuff like that. Instead it has extremely technical and committing roll-ins and drops etc.
At BPW I can ride all the blacks but jumping isn't my strong point so I end up not bothering. On the other hand, I absolutely love Laggan black and am always quite surprised that it actually exists as a public trail 😃
Trail gradings don't, and shouldn't tell you exactly what's coming. That would be horrible.
But yeah, hopefully bikeparks don't go the same way as retail parks. Homogenous and sanitized.
The trouble with people having expectations in terms of grading means either they get hurt when something doesn’t quite fit their idea of that grade
Hmm, me and my kid have only ever crashed and got hurt on blues. I wonder if the grading normally doesn't have a lot to do with crashes - complacency, tiredness, silly mistakes more common, I'd bet.
However, I don’t expect to be able to ride new trails I’ve not done before without perhaps stopping and looking at the more challenging bits. No shame in that. Just makes sense to do that. Once you’ve done it, you build up to hitting everything. That’s the challenge and fun of it imho.
That is kind of the difference between "trail" and "DH", and BPW kind of exists between the two. THere are so many trails there that I, and most of my friends) dont generally ride a trail more than twice in a day.
At a trail centre (or unoffical woodland singletrack) I'd expect to make a continuous run down a trail blind. Not a brilliant or clean or quick run, and there would certainly be room for improvement on a subsequent run.
On the other hand, somewhere like CwmDown, its only 1 track, I'd happily spend a day there improving each run, and that would include some stopping and inspecting. Similarly in Morzine I have spent an afernoon lapping the Pleney black run, each time round I would do (or do properly) one more feature. That was an excellent day.
Hmm, me and my kid have only ever crashed and got hurt on blues.
the blues if you are doing them sort of properly - going up round the berms etc - you'll be doing 20mph easily, on a surface as hard as concrete. thats quite a whack you'll take with even a mall mistake.
The idea of a sighting run or sessioning parts of the track is very much a DH thing and not expected at trail centres and IMO mostly not at bike parks.
I'm trying to think whether BPW has any features that are really out of place, I can't think of any off the top of my head. I find uncontrolled speed is more dangerous than anything else.
going up round the berms etc – you’ll be doing 20mph easily, on a surface as hard as concrete. thats quite a whack you’ll take with even a small mistake.
Exactly 🙂
dc1988
Free MemberThe idea of a sighting run or sessioning parts of the track is very much a DH thing and not expected at trail centres and IMO mostly not at bike parks.
With easier trails, sure but I don't think that holds at the harder end. For most people some stopping and looking will definitely be part of the day at Laggan black frinstance, and probably at Learnie. Sometimes refusals, sometimes "I am on a terrible line" but mostly pre-planned "this looks horrible, let's have a look". And lots of "I failed, let's try again"- see Kirroughtree.
I guess the other difference is "riding the trail" vs "riding the feature". Trail centres do tend to be a sum of their parts, something like glentress red or black you're not really supposed to be thinking OMG did you see that ONE MASSIVE FEATURE, it's supposed to be a big round experience and the trails are mostly designed to be ridden as a whole and with continuity. But not always. Laggan black's definitely a collection of features with some trails inbetween. Innerleithen's short black is like that too. That changes the effect of stopping, too- if it's a "ride the whole trail" sort of a deal then stopping can be pretty intrusive and break the flow but "ride the features" trails tend to have stopping and starting built into the design.
The idea of a sighting run or sessioning parts of the track is very much a DH thing and not expected at trail centres and IMO mostly not at bike parks.
In the UK, yes, but I've been to Whistler where there's plenty of standing on the trail and puzzling. Perhaps it's just how we ride?
I’m trying to think whether BPW has any features that are really out of place,
One of the best things about trails centres is that you can ride what you like, but also poke your nose down harder stuff to see if you're up to it.
If you know you're an "all the blacks" type rider who's riding a bike to suit and is happy to trust the course designers to roll everything blind at the exit speed from the bit you just did, fair enough.
For pretty much everyone else, a stop and a look at stuff you're not sure about/ can't see as you ride in is also absolutely fair enough.
Pausing and sussing out the best lines through visible stuff is maybe more of a DH thing, but anyone who's interested in progressing their riding could do with a bit of that here and there.
Skills vids are full of it, any coaching session will have a good slice of it too.
Here's Rob Warner looking at some alternative lines through some flattish rooty turns.
Super super days riding. The trails were dry, fast and flowing... However they were a little on the scary side at times. Especially A470 which was quite daunting after my last crash there. We also did AC-DC which was somewhat unpleasant ! No flow or fun to that one.
Mostly we did Sixtapod into Willy waver, trying to lower my best times and improve throughout the day, which i seemed to manage well enough, so really happy with that. The Bird was superb, but that sort of trail is exactly what LLS geometry bikes thrive upon, fast flowing, swooping. But i do also think the front tyre being back to the Vigilante helps me along as well. However, that doesn't mean i won't get the G-170 because i still will, i still thinks it's more what i need and want at the moment.
My lad as always was silly fast and smooth ! One of the other youngsters lobbed it and had to sit out 90 mins to recover and get a bit of movement back in him.. He's ok though and didn't seem to hold him back once he eventually got back out 😀
The buses were efficient, the drivers were ace and friendly... nothing to dislike 🙂 I don't think we waited more than 2 mins before getting onto a bus... straight up, straight down, there were always 2-3 busses waiting as we got to the line.
Sounds good Weeksy.
I had my first visit to Black Mountain Cycle Centre yesterday and it was fantastic. So good that I think it's knocked BPW off the top spot as my favourite destination for a day of uplift.
The best bit about BPW is it is well laid out and the runs are planned top to bottom, the drops that have been mentioned are all able to be taken at speed, or slow, they have good run ups and are mostly flat take offs, or even slightly upwards and going to downslopes, so have a better margin for error.
I need to get back again soon, still have a rebooking to take, i think the talk about how many runs and so on again is down to what you do, i tend to reach the end of the day with arm pump and just sore due to repeated jumping/landing and so on taking it out of you, a trip down the likes of rim dinger at speed will have those forearms burning!
Yesterday was the busiest I’ve ever seen it. There were so many buses on, the most we queued was probably five minutes, but mostly we walked straight on and left straight away.
Great day.
Went last Saturday.
Very busy but the uplift was running like clockwork and we never had to wait more than five minutes. Did the blues all day and they were in the best condition they've ever been in. Credit where its due.... everyone seems to be doing a grand job.
Went on Monday too - first time in ages due to Covid etc.
Must admit, got there early doors and was shocked how busy it was but to be totally fair to them, the uplift rocked, probably the least amount of queuing I have had there ever plus they looked to have around 10 buses running.
Managed 10 uplifts, could have done a couple more but a combination of the heat and lockdown cake saw me bow out at that. the good thing about BPW is that even when it's busy, once at the top and people spread out a bit it does quieten down a fair bit on the runs. Hope that rider on A470 that had the bad off is okay too. Overall a great place
It honestly felt like the break and then the covid restrictions did them some good- could be wrong, maybe it would have happened anyway. But before, it always felt pretty minimum effort, and it didn't really have to be very efficient, it all just had to work. Then with smaller busloads etc everything'd get harder and everything would have to be more efficient and smooth. I reckon some of that's carried on even though the restrictions have relaxed.
Or, could be just coincidence, or a deliberate strategic change. But it definitely seems like they've come back stronger, at a time when they could probably have just reverted to minimum effort and people would still have been grateful just that it's open again. Regardless of the reasons, it's great, I really hope it lasts.
I agree - having heard a few reports of uplifts being rammed I was expecting a queue fest on Monday, especially based on the number of cars and people bimbling around the cafe area but I wrong.
When I got to the end of Norkle - my eyes nearly popped out of my head, I was execting 2 or 3 buses for the 10am roll off but there were loads
I think there were always 3 or 4 buses just arriving or waiting at the bottom during the day and the guy by the little gate kiosk had it dialled and just pointed you to a numbered bus. As usual all the staff there are great and super friendly - they must have the patience of saints when it comes to all the goons (me included) getting the straps twisted all the time.
good to see people sticking to their mask rules too
I was supposed to be there on Monday, but bailed as I'm still suffering from Covid (would've been my first time there)
My mate still went, and was the first person on scene at the A470 crash.....healing vibes to the guy, safe to say he's going to be off the bike for a while 😔 My mate is a handy rider and has spent a lot of time snowboarding off piste etc so is fully aware of the risks involved in our sports etc. He was so shaken up by the guys condition that he went home once the first responders had taken over.
I honestly think threads like this actually help.
If you realise you're getting some bad press on biking forums then hopefully you'll try to rectify any negative publicity. It certainly looks like someone's listening and that can only be good news. Nearly £50 for a days uplift sounds a lot but after a day there I challenge anyone to say that's not great value for money.
@Tom-B that was a friend of mine who crashed on A470 Monday. He's in good spirits and is home now. I've seen a photo and I was shocked but seeing that in person must have been upsetting.
Thanks to anyone who helped him.
Im at BPW today after some FOD off piste yesterday and the thought of that accident has reigned me in a bit.
For me, A470 is just almost instant disaster if you try and ride it... The first couple you can land flat and that 'kinda' works.... but the rest with the lips on are either full send or full fail. If you roll over the top it's OK, but that's as good as it gets... as soon as you semi-launch, you're in a point of almost binning it.
I crashed there recently pretty hard... so this last time i went down i basically whimped every single one. The only reason i went down is because one of the 11 year old 'senders' needed shadowing... well, as much as you can shadow an 11 year old who's buggered off after 2 turns 😀
I'm not sure if i was making sure he was safe or he was making sure i was !