You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
My desktop changes between about 5000 bike images every 5 minutes. Brings up some great memories. This is one of them:
That’s a trail around Val-Gorge in the Ardeche region of France.
To your right, a cliff face. To your left, a 150m vertical drop.
I’ve sat at the top of jumps and drops at bike parks and been a lot less scared that this. I’m not great with exposure anyway. Three efforts to get it done. I told myself if I didn’t commit to it on the third time I was walking. The issue was I couldn’t quite see how to walk round there with a bike!
Amazing trail. 7km of terror 🙂
Anyway, thought it might make an interesting picture thread...
That's a big ol' pile of NOPE right there.
Am i allowed video?
Biggest thing i ever hit which took a LOT of talking to myself to get done is the new 2020 gap jump on Pitch. Might never go as big again even if it looks like nothing from this
Looks big enough to me! Plenty of hang time there. Lots of issues if you came up short.
"Penalty for failure, dude" springs to mind.
150m to flat with 120mm of travel. Just no.
160mm on my old Aeris. That would have made all the difference 🙂
One pedal strike on the right and that's that! Not sure I'd even walk that carrying a bike.
Current 'Am I going to ride that' scary picture:
Nothing like the OP's pic, but some local trails I discovered whilst out on a scouting session:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/wjRW5ccd/IMG-20190527-141416.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/wjRW5ccd/IMG-20190527-141416.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/sDN6Z0Wc/IMG-20190527-141540.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/sDN6Z0Wc/IMG-20190527-141540.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/022FSwB8/IMG-20190527-140940.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/022FSwB8/IMG-20190527-140940.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
Looks flat, right? The rooty descent of hell was a struggle to walk up, it's about a 40 degree angle. Don't forget to slalom around the tree in the middle of the trail.
2nd pic was from the top of thos descent, shows the steepness a little better.
3rd pic was a nice little drop at the end of the rooty descent of hell, looks tiny but from the tip to the bottom of the drop right under it, was about 4-5ft, so 6-8ft to the (35-40 degree) landing, straight into a catch berm/trees/death.
I have not ridden this.
Is that just above the m25?
OP, I'd not ride that and I'd blame it all on my 840mm bars.
I very much like the look of tallpauls trail, looks north downs’y to me 🤔
Nah, Bluebell hill area, on the north downs in Kent. It's a 600ft chalk ridgeline that goes all the way across Kent. There's a myriad of trails in there - off camber, rooty, some dodgily made, some great. This one was particularly steep though.
Alex - YIKES! I'm not sure I could even walk round there without the bike.
Scary that Alex, not sure I’d ride it.
One that took a few years for me to do is the X line road gap in Saalbach.
Kept looking at it from the gondola and thinking it’s not bad, quite high but a small gap. Then you ride down to it and stand under and it seems massive.
I finally hit it around my 49th birthday after thinking that I’m not reaching 50 and not doing it, as I’d promised my wife I’d take it a bit easier from 50.
This, Portal in Moab...
@5lab - that’s proper exposure. There’s that amazing Swiss (I think) rider pops up on my youtube feed riding rocky exposed stuff that’s just mad. I love the way her has knee pads on!
@ta11pau1 - never looks as steep on camera. There’s loads of really steep stuff here I find really intimidating. It’s worse when you know you can ride it but you still can’t make yourself do it.
@colp. You see that’s a big no from me. I’ve ridden the one on the Plenny black that’s about half that I reckon and that was me done. Fair play for going off that.
@nickc. We never did that on our trip did we all those years ago. I’d have been a blubbery mess. I’m a bit better now but still wouldn’t go seek out that trail if I went back.
Oh 800mm bars I think on my bike. I really wanted some 90s XC 580s!
I saw some pretty hairy looking lines popping out onto the fire road yesterday. In the vicinity of Cwmcarn, I think it was the legendary off-piste that people are always hinting at.
Some of those new lines at Cwmcarn are definitely not for the feint hearted. There is a particularly interesting ladder drop I won't be attempting any time soon. I don't mind steep, rocky, rooty, but big drops/gaps scare the b'jeezus out of me.
The infamous ‘log drop’ at Chicksands. Looks nothing there but it was proper scary. Absolutely blind take off over a log (obviously) and then landing on a very steep slope. So the faster you went the higher you go. But you couldn’t do too slowly as it was a million miles from rollable.
I crashed on it once. That hurt. I also use to ride in on my old DMR hardtail. Not sure the old bones’d put up with that anymore.
And the big ladder to the left of this one. Rolled up to that must have been 50 times. Never did it. Still good to see the old ‘arse over the back wheel’ served me well 😉
My mate Matt (tall bloke on a 26inch wheel bike!) on the ‘Angel of Death’ in the Pyrenees. I think for once I caught the steepness of the terrain.
I walked down there. It was that horrible slow, grab your front wheels and launch you into hard pointy rocks type of descent. I didn’t even try it. Just looked at and thought ‘nope, not happening’.
I'd screeched to a halt by this point - because this **** wasn't planning to at all
Cutting through those hairpins on the of the west highland way as it drops into glen nevis was pretty steep i recall.
Awesome trail👍
A riding buddy of mine went off the big ladder drop at Chicksands years ago on his Marin xc bike. Disappeared nose first and we were reaching for the phone to call the ambulance... Somehow rolled out of it unbroken, never again though!
Alex - great shot - love the way the front wheel is suspended in mid air. Yup, looks proper steep.
@bullet - fair play to him. I was riding a SX trail at the time and I didn’t get off it! It definitely wasn’t rollable. Mate of mine did his collarbone going too slowly off the smaller one.
@rona - thanks. It’s one of my favourite shots. Shame Matt (rider) is looking so grumpy! Maybe be’s just concentrating hard.
This might not be the narrowest of ridge lines but was the first time I'd ridden my bike since breaking my collar bone 7 weeks earlier.
That’s a great photo. Looks narrow enough for me...
This one for me. DH Men at Finale Ligure. Ridden it outside the EWS and it's fine, as it's wide & you can pick your line down it.
However having raced it a few times, it's always the end of a big day on the bike, and the 3 minutes before are an absolute full gas sprint, so the point at which it starts to get spicy you are breathing out of your eyeballs. It's taped awkwardly for the race & there are a sh*t load of excited spectators 'encouraging' you.
Always nervous of that one...
Alex - I did notice his intense focus - pretty sure I would be concentrating my backside off if I found myself on such a trail!
mattkkitch - beautiful - love this viewpoint where you can see the trail snaking off in front of you, and you can anticipate the ride. This type of shot more than any other makes me want to get out on the bike.
@hobnob - another great pic.
We rode the Women’s EWS at Finale last year. In the rain. The guide showed us the mens. None of us fancied it 🙂
Loads of great inspiring (frightening) photos here.
Not sure I'd ride something where there is a definitive 'death likely' option like the first one Alex posted, but I do like some adrenaline inducing options every so often.
Looking back through my images brings this one from many many years ago (about 20).
Was riding along the slippy stones towards the camera after a flood. You can just about see the skid marks, well one set of them anyway! Both wheels slipped and landed on the QR skewers of both wheels, with the wheels over the edge - still clipped into the pedals.
Can't remember how I got out of it, but I didn't get wet so must've done so.
Alex - I went off that ladder drop at Chicksands back in the day - took me many rolls up to it before I took the leap of faith - very scary! Did it the once, successfully and left it at that! Good memories!
And some amazing photos, keep em coming, I'm at work without access to mine!
Hob Nob
This one for me. DH Men at Finale Ligure
Never raced it, but I love that trail. Has changed over the years though, I remember hammering down it, on the guide's wheel the whole way. Next time I rode it, it was just covered in loose stone and I washed out all over the shop, couldn't ride it at all. Following year, perfect again.
I've obviously never ridden one, but those urban downhill courses through hillside towns look like death just waiting to happen. Can't believe the speed they launch themselves down flights of concrete steps....Nutters!
@twonks - wouldn’t want to be clipped in falling into a stream 🙂 well wouldn’t want to be clipped in at all really.
@bigdaddy - I reckon it was scarier than the log drop. It got into my head and even tho every time I went (especially after I did the log drop a few times) I told my mates ‘this time’. But I sort of knew it had beaten me. I’d have been bloody happy with once!
Is that stuff still there? Moved away over 10 years ago
@choppersquad - good shout. Flat out down stair steps inches away from the guard rail. Mental.
That White Line video reminded me of this - oof..
Is it just me who reads the thread title as: 'Am I **** going to ride that!'?
*insert sweary word of your choice here
The Chicksands drops are now ledge style drops with three height options. Obviously they look tame in photos but the highest one is still pretty tasty.
I've not been to Chicksands for years now, didn't realise it was still going. Might have to go back when we are all unlocked!
Never raced it, but I love that trail. Has changed over the years though, I remember hammering down it, on the guide’s wheel the whole way. Next time I rode it, it was just covered in loose stone and I washed out all over the shop, couldn’t ride it at all. Following year, perfect again.
Yep, I’ve experienced the weird gravel, I think it’s where it doesn’t get ridden much, because on EWS week by the time practice comes round it’s a lot more rock.
I could probably also say the same on the fear front for ‘Rocche Gianche’ which was St2 in 2018. (The one where the Pinkbike Privateer wrecked himself). It was the sketchiest ridge line I’ve ever ridden & the exposure on the bit just after the crowds was insane. Then weirdly it was one of the longest, best flow trails I’ve ridden out there 🙂
@al2000 - watched that before. Cant decide which is worse the exposure or the steepness
@bigdaddy - ta or the update. I’m not sure I’d enjoy it so much now. I was going through a phase about 15 years ago of just wanting to jump off things and ride the dual track. Probably have to admit a bit old now!
@Alex - difficult to decide, but on this one I think the steepness just shades it. The roll in at around 4 minutes is ridiculous.
mmm I watched that bit a few times. Trying to decide if my initial reaction of OMFG was appropriate.
Decided it very much was!