[Closed] Bridges of Dooooooom!

We need the video.

The only way it could be worse is if there was s huge drop off the side!

Looks so innocuous! 😃

We have a similar one locally. No sight line until you’re almost on it. Miss it and it’s quite a big fall into the ditch. Some kids had stolen the bridge a few weeks ago. They were trying to build it into a jump when we found it. 🙄

There was one on an off-piste trail at Haldon that was a round fence pole laid over a (quite deep) ditch. Greasy, mossy, and generally a bit iffy!

Most people got off and jumped/walked it. After a bit of trepidation I managed it twice. Then the trail was closed ☹️

There used to be a nice one in the pentlands- rotten railway sleeper, right angle turn to get onto it, couple of inches of step at each end just to stop people rolling effortlessly over it, and about an inch of mud and leaf mulch on top because there was a swamp just before. It's been tamed now but it got so into my head when I was getting back into riding, it ended up like the far side cymbal guy, "I won't screw up, I won't screw up"

I used to like that long plank at Cannock that branched off the boardwalk near the start of the Dog. The risk of falling into the swamp below so close to the start of the trail was a great feature I thought, but then I'm an idiot.

The Bridge of Thighs looks quite innocuous, especially with the safety tape to prevent you tumbling 10 feet into the stream below.

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But it was a cunning bridge.

Back when the 'Puffer course when the other way, a big muddy dip used to form just at the start of the bridge.

A line on one lap would be ok, but next lap the invisible rock would have been displaced and redirect the rider into the left or right buttress, followed by a slow topple downwards if they were unlucky.

Some of the best riders have paid a visit to the underside of that bridge during the race.

This morning's ice covered, new wood, step up onto, gang plank on the new Comrie Black was 'challenging'...

Northwind, was that one of the several behind the houses at Balerno?

Poet's Glen had it beat, handrails at approx 580mm (back when XC bars measured 570mm...) and at approximately exactly the height of a pair of handlebars at sagged 100mm fork height. Never had the nerve to hit it full speed.

Bridge of Thighs was quite interesting in the puffer last night! Lots of ice. It didn’t get me, luckily. I gather quite a few were less lucky.

Hols, you’re alowed those monstrosities if you rode over them? Hideous!

Epi, that indeed looks like a right bastard. The bits at the side are pedal height, no? So really it looks like you’ve got about 1/2” clearance on slidey wood? Tremendous 🙂

13thfloormonk

Member

Northwind, was that one of the several behind the houses at Balerno?

No but I know the one you mean, my nemesis was at clubbiedean.

The plank bridge at the bottom of Swinyard Hill in the Malverns has nearly had me a couple of times. Great run down to it so you're all pumped and going pretty fast. It looks straight but there's a slight bend on the approach and you also have to make a sharp turn onto the fireroad the other side of it. So inevitably you start the turn whilst still on the damp slippery timbers. I think there may be wire net on it now.

It might be a good time to come clean and share my highly embarrassing ditch interface when messing about on my fatbike on a tiddly little bridge.

In my defence, out of view is an extremely tricky and damp and slippy root at 45 degrees and pointing down into the ditch. Made it a LOT harder than it looks, plus I was having an off day ok!

Skip near the end for the best crash.

🙊

We had this beauty on the wettest, miserablist day of our coast to coast.

Clubbiedean

Ah of course! I tended not to think of that as a bridge as you could just ride past it though 😉