[Closed] Hully Gully - destroyed

What's happened to it?

I read that the lower section by the ruin got all washed away.

This winter seems to have been especially hard on some trails. A mate said parts of the new trails at Hamsterley are a real mess after the snow, ice and the decision to put on Enduro events on them at this time of year.

I rode Gisburn at Xmas and Hully Gully seemed OK (except at the end near the ruin) so it's deteriorated fast.

I thought they'd repaired the whole section at the bottom corner recently - has it gone again?

I've avoided it for a while now as it seemed to be very damage prone in bad weather conditions.

I rode it several weeks ago, but it was all frozen up so we probably didn't notice it.

Was also up there today and hully gully was certainly erm, sketchy. The bottom section near the ruined buildings was repaired after it being washed away a month ago. As said by nenija above weather has wreaked havoc on a lot of trails this winter. In the past month or so Gisburn has had a lot of snow and ice which doesn't bode well for the trails. In fact the hope line will be closed for three weeks as of tomorrow for essential repairs.

Vickypea - i imagine if it was frozen it was probably ok.

Today it was a mixture of repeated braking bumps and claggy mud.

Ps the new 'swoops' section is a lovely addition. 🙂

Rode there today, hully gully was a slimy mess. If nothing's done its going to get really horrid.
As an aside whoever thinks its a good idea to throw knackered inner tubes into the trees, well you're morons. There were 9 at the bottom of hully gully. Just not on....

Manmade trails in notsmoothshocker so what if its a slimy mess and it has braking bumps I doubt you were riding a 80,s fully rigid setup!
Pretty sure the Gisburn guys/gals would welcome help @ their dig/repair days

http://www.gisburnbiketrails.com/

I'm no fan of man made stuff.. As a change its ok but it's not my weekly ride.
I think if you go to a trail centre there is an expectation on what you might get, indeed they are kind of know for being weatherproof to some degree. All the work to build something that flows like HG is being undone.
To be honest I wasn't that keen on the route as a whole. I sure there are people who think its the best thing ever though.
You're still an idiot if you throw dead inner tubes into the trees though.

Vicious circle innit? The worse the conditions, the more people will head for Gisburn. Hully Gully is a nice idea but clearly cut out of unsuitable material and due to the steep sides you haven't a hope in hell of sticking hardcore on it 🙁

The volunteer sections are the real stand out bits at Gisburn so big up to the volunteers 🙂

Been once and thought it was poorly executed and done on the cheap as did the guy I met and rode with. Poorly constructed and likely to erode badly and become unrideable very quickly was our thoughts. There were already too many alternative, off trail tracks due to erosion, poorly constructed features. Trail creep was ridiculous 🙄

Totally agree that the volunteers sections are the best at Gisburn. Homebaked is a peach!

Wow, that was a positive comment.

I've been going, on and off for years now and admittedly, it's the worst I've ever seen it but we are just coming off the back of the wettest summer in living memory and a winter not much better.

Poorly executed it is not.

MartynS - It's funny yo mention the inner-tube thing, we noticed there was a load of litter about...Mind you we saw three lads who had stopped to smoke Cannibis-cigarette which gives us some insight on the kind of people who ride at Gisburn.

I mean, a joint on a bike-ride?!!? 😯 WTF.

Yeah good call, Home-Baked is brill, the best section there in fact.

I'm local and ride gisburn quiet a lot but I always avoid hully gully during winter as it cuts up bad.

Trekster...... Trail creep? The trail is where it was when it first opened. The issue with hully gully is the drainage.

I mean, a joint on a bike-ride?!!? WTF.

Oh get over yourself

patriotpro - Member
MartynS - It's funny yo mention the inner-tube thing, we noticed there was a load of litter about...Mind you we saw three lads who had stopped to smoke Cannibis-cigarette which g[b]ives us some insight on the kind of people who ride at Gisburn[/b].

I mean, a joint on a bike-ride?!!? WTF.

yes, that really encapsulates everyone who rides at gisburn... well done... i find that sweeping generalisations are usually the best way forward

I would definitely disagree that Gisburn is poorly executed! I think it's a fantastic trail centre.

Regarding discarded inner tubes, I was fixing a pinch at the bottom of hully gully on Sat and noticed a lot of thrown away tubes - real shame.

Big props to all the volunteers up there.

Robgclarkson, you may have the ability to use quote function but what you clearly lack is the ability to read and understand a comment.

For clarification to anyone else, NOT YOU, I wasn't generalising.

Now drop the hissy-fit cos no-one cares.

What am I supposed to be getting over?

I mean, a joint on a bike-ride?!!? WTF.

Disgraceful! I'm sure when Repack Rider and the others started riding in Marin county all those years ago none of them would dream that it would come to such a thing!

I agree about the inner tubes. The bike equivalent of dog poo bags on trees.

I'm not a huge fan of gisburn overall and it does seem to get knackered more easily than other centres, but I think they've made decent use of limited terrain. And the volunteer built bits are by far the best.

I agree about the inner tubes. The bike equivalent of dog poo bags on trees.

Why? Do inner tubes carry diseases that cause blindness in children?

we saw three lads who had stopped to smoke Cannibis-cigarette which gives us some insight on the kind of people who ride at Gisburn.

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Pot smoking demons by the sounds of it.. One of Robin Hood's enemies, Sir Guy of Gisburn (sic) was a bit of a bellend too (Of manye a man the bane according to wiki).. it sounds like a rather shabby neck of the woods all around..
After reading this thread, I'll be sending my kids there when they are naughty..

Pot smoking demons on powerful recumbent motorcycles no less..

As said above, a victim of it's own success.

Trekster...... Trail creep? The trail is where it was when it first opened. The issue with hully gully is the drainage.

He's talking about the whole trail in general and I think he means people cutting corners and/or riding off the trail, which causes organic material to be dragged onto the trail and the original trail eventually gets lost in a sea of tracks. It's a big issue, especially on technical lines, trail builders (volunteer or commercial) try to make interesting twisty lines, but your average numpty just straightlines them dragging organic material onto the trail.

The issues with Hully Gully are many and varied IMO. In theory, bench cutting trail into a hillside should be straightforward re drainage.

"whoever thinks its a good idea to throw knackered inner tubes into the trees, well you're morons. There were 9 at the bottom of hully gully"
Not been since autumn so can't remmeber every turn, but where on Hully Gully is there to puncture?

As said above the very nature of Hully Gully means it's almost impossible to armour it like the rest of the trail. Ideally it should be shut during the winter but that doesn't work, people ignore signs and climb over barriers. The volunteers are in the process of repairs at the moment. So far the bog in the middle of homebaked and the very start have been drained and resurfaced, top of circle has had additional drainage and the bottom of Hully Gully has been sorted. We're on the next section of Homebaked this weekend and intend to work through all the volunteer built sections over the next couple of months. The FC team have also done a lot of work on Bottoms and up at Whelpstone. This last 18 months has been horrendous for the trails, the ground is totally saturated, couple that with numpties riding around the features and you get trail erosion. As builders we're getting more experienced all the time, better at spotting where drainage is needed and in trail line design.

That Thomson bong made me lol, is it the new layback?
[IMG] [/IMG]

Jon - Which day this weekend are you working on homebaked? Might be tempted to join you, but can't see anything on FB. Are you closing it, or will it be a case of dodging the punters?

Dope-smokers on the trails, it's the equivalent of the lads you see at the park in the summer who play football with a can of special brew in hand thinking their jonny ten-men.

I think this thread gives us some insight into the kind of people that ride trail centers. They type that moan about lack of 'flow', and bits of follage in the trail.

I love Gisburn, there is plenty of fun to be had there and it's a good center for meeting other riders. It's in a really beautiful part of the country and I enjoy my odd visit there.

I just wish people would not smoke on the trail and leave the pot till they get back to their big warm 4x4s. Standards should be kept up.

9 free tubes you say, almost worth a trip!

to all the hater's there's only one thing you can do and that is stop your moaning and go give them a hand to sort it. As a trail builder myself I am one of the lads building Cock Hill i know how much work is put into it. you moan about stuff not been good to ride but when you get to something good to ride you go off track to miss it to join back on. SO HOW CAN YOU MOAN! people sort it! without the trail builders you would have nothing.

Dope-smokers on the trails, it's the equivalent of the lads you see at the park in the summer who play football with a can of special brew in hand thinking their jonny ten-men.

I've smoked a spiff part way round a trail. Wasn't my idea but a mate who doesn't bike often produced it and I thought sod it why not. Was quite fun - maybe you should try it.

And I'm probably the most middle class person in the world. Or was that the 'sort' that you don't want to see on the trails? 🙂

Unless they are harming others, why be so judgemental?

maybe you should try it.

Nah yer right ta. The thought of getting stoned makes me feel dizzy.

Same as I wouldn't want to see lager-louts on the trails, I don't want to see pot-heads, not that i'll lose sleep over it mind.

In fairness some bits of gisburn are falling apart, but they are the contractor built bits and the main problem is (imo) lack of trail edging, the volunteer built bits hold up much better. Its still a great and enjoyable trail centre, and they have a high attendance of regular trail builders that enables them to really get stuff done. The recent repairs to the middle of homebaked are the sort of thing they'll probably have to spend this year focusing on having completed the new trail swoopy bit. Encouragement and appreciation are a good thing to give people who spend their sundays in the rain for your enjoyment.

9 free tubes you say, almost worth a trip!

Same as I wouldn't want to see lager-louts on the trails,

And trail builders have my sympathy, it must be a bugger when you take ages crafting a lovely bit of technical trail then some no skills lamer comes along and rides around the edge of it

D0NK - Member
Same as I wouldn't want to see lager-louts on the trails,
better stay away from any singlespeed "events" then

Why... Do you have riders stopping mid-race for a tinny...nah do you chuff.

If you can't see the difference between RIDERS smoking weed on a FAMILY trail and SPECTATORS drinking a few cans at a race then you need to give your head a good shake.

 

Do you have riders stopping mid-race for a tinny...nah do you chuff.

I've seen it done.

I saw a couple of drivers on the m62 this morning engaging in a bit of road-rage, dunt make it right.

Why... Do you have riders stopping mid-race for a tinny

I did a Ladybower loop last year with Woody and stopped for a pint at the Ladybower Inn. It was nice and refreshing but wasn't helpful for the climb afterwards.

martinhutch - Sunday, 10:00am, parking at the start of Homebaked. Probably won't close it, just ask people to walk past for 100 yards.

unklehomered is right, some of the contractor built sections were built up, not down. As a result the sides collapse and instead of riding high most riders drift to the edges making the erosion worse. It's best to dig down so the trail surface is level with the ground. Also better to initially go too wide as well. The vegetation soon grows back to give you singletrack, just means the edges of the riding line are reinforced. We might get to repair some of those sections as well, it's just striking a balance, it's more fun building new trails.

Was it the volunteers or the FE who rebuilt the climb out of the trees up to the crag? I wanted to hug someone when I first rode it after the horrific mess that used to be there.

Agree about building new bits, volunteer numbers can suffer if too much time is spent doing repair works feels more like free labour than rewarding trail creation, and you can't always shove new features in, sometimes it just needs to be 'trail' (thinking of the climb up to the blue berms). Still not been to ride the swoopy setion, will be up soon, looking forward to it!

If you can't see the difference between RIDERS smoking weed on a FAMILY trail and SPECTATORS drinking a few cans at a race then you need to give your head a good shake.

let me just make it clear that I don't smoke pot these days, but come on sunbeam, give yourself a day off..

I mean I realise that people on bikes at trail centres should be taking it seriously and all that, and that going into the woods with your mates on the weekend for a bit of a ride and a laugh is not in the true spirit of STW..

When I visit a trail centre, I am sure to get my game face on and balance my carbs and get some fast times under my belt.. I saw some fellas there the other week that had stopped to have a sit down and a sandwich.. Can you believe that they were [i]smiling[/i] and looking at the scenery..? one of them even had the audacity to be pleasant to the other..

What an arse! I immediately jumped off my steed to remind them that they should be scowling and comparing HR times while angrily massaging liniment into each other glutes.. at least they could have been disparagingly sneering at one another's bike choice, or cruelly mocking each other's failures..

Cycling is a strict and serious discipline and there can be no room for taking time to smell the flowers..
It's this sort of irresponsible behaviour that brings the clean cut upright image of cycling into bad repute

We need to put a stop to this sort of thing or the dirty hippies will be pulling children into the bushes next to shoot them up with dog AIDS and meths

Well when I rode it Saturday before last it was fine, the new white surfacing they had put down everywhere was real smooth.
Only complaint is it made the north shore a tad slippy.

Discussion on trail building / maintenance turns into a debate on pot smoking.

Only on STW [insert rolley eye smiley, with a hint of a smile on his lips]

what about pot smoking trail builders..? The swines 👿

Yunki's having one of his turns again, can whoever's hidden his medication again please return it to him forthwith, before the van with the square-wheels turns up for him...

Yunki - you are a prime example of why we shouldn't smoke pot - Thanks for driving home the point in your inimitable way. 😉

Still not been to ride the swoopy setion, will be up soon, looking forward to it!

you should be, it's a lovely little section. 🙂

Post reported for advocating illegal activity 🙂

Do you have riders stopping mid-race for a tinny...nah do you chuff.

Only on STW [insert rolley eye smiley, with a hint of a [s]smile on[/s] joint between his lips]

FTFY

Unc, that was the FC team, they do a lot of repairs. As volunteers we're really lucky to have the Gisburn Team, they provide equipment, materials, dig with us and do repairs themselves.

Ball sacks donk and you know it.

If you have to smoke pot or open a can whilst out on the bikes you have a dependency problem. Rather thee then me.

On the plus side, after reading this thread I watched a couple of gisburn videos on YouTube and like the look of it. Gonna have to make some time to go up there this year.

If you have to smoke pot or open a can whilst out on the bikes you have a dependency problem.

If you [b]Have to[/b], then maybe.

But what if I just [b]Want to[/b] ?

Am I ok then ?

Seeing as this thread's getting more traffic than the other one I'll just mention the official opening of the new trails on the 23rd on March along with the skills loops, new car park and cafe!

Hi everyone,
Being based in Preston, Gisburn has been my local ride for a long time.
Being in a quite exposed and bleak part of the country it does get battered by the weather, especially in the winter. The snow/ice and slow thaw this winter seems to of done more damage than in previous years having been continually used right through the weather. Hully Gully being the worst affected.
Its become a sloppy, claggy mess instead of the fast flowing trail it once was. I cant remember that I've ever had to pedal so hard to go down hill before. Haha!
But what we do need to remember is that the guys at Gisburn do everything they can to give us a great trail centre. They work tirelessly in all conditions to try and battle the Btitish weather and its tendancy to kick the hell out of the trails.
Yes I do agree it could do with being shut for now before its completely ruined for good but I would like to give a nod to the guys that work so hard to give us these trails.
Cheers
Dave of Downshift
Ps, If you leave tubes hanging in tree you want stringing up by them. Muppets.

If you have to smoke pot or open a can whilst out on the bikes you have a dependency problem.

The midride pub stop is an integral part to lots of peoples rides, it's [b]very[/b] rare I have pint if I'm with a group who does, I'm too busy concentrating on riding (same goes for skiing hols BTW), just my choice I want a clear head and 100% concentration, some would see me as a po faced try hard and they might be right, but just how I prefer it. Remember most of us are riding for fun so if someone wants stop for a mid ride picnic, drink or joint I don't really see a problem (assuming they don't get too inebriated) The idiots leaving energy gels, pastie wrappers, tubes and other detritus scattered around the trails is more disconcerting.