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Some riding advice please, am gradually getting the lady into mtb'inf and taking it easy so I don't put her off. Last weekend's trip to do the blue at langdegla got the thumbs up but rather satisfyingly was 'too smooth'.
Cannock is about the same length...but what is the technical grade like? 'red' is pretty meaningless!
Any advice welcome
Loads of braking bumps so not too smooth in a lot of places. The Monkey bit has some bits which might frighten someone new to mtb but everything is rollable and it's more fun the faster you go 🙂
Theres a rocky bit leading to a boardwalk at the start, that & the Warewolf drop towards the end are about the most difficult. You can ride around both though. Probably not as smooth as Llandegla, but its no rockfest.
Enjoy the final run from the campsite. Its a lovely bit of trail.
Its a lovely bit of trail.it was even better when it was a mix of cheeky singletrack and sneaky bits before some trail center buffoons came and wrecked it. 😉
Have not done Llandegla Blue, but the Black is more akin to Cannock Monkey Red, if that.
My wife is new to mountain biking too and did not like Llandegla Red - too much uphill and not enough fun compared to Cannock FTD. As said there are a few bits including drop down steps and a couple of uphill tree routes, but enough for a beginner to get their teeth into.
My missus preffered Llandegla red to FTD and generally found there were more pushy weekend warriors harrying her at Cannock (possibly because the trails are a bit narrower)
to go to cannock chase and ride the man made course is to completely miss out on what the chase has to offer.
I have been mtbing the chase since 1988 and think the best fun can be had doing a big loop R Ranges/North to Shugburgh > across to milford, back up sherbrook valley> check out the view from the glacial boulder and round back to the ranges.
Planning on going to Cannock tomorrow as well with a timid new rider and I was thinking of all the things that he might unwilling to do or unhappy with, including annoying people behind him wanting to go twice as fast as he is prepared to go...
Found a ride at Chase from bikely which sounds a bit like fotorat suggest. Might give that a go instead?
[url= http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/WMB-48-Cannock-Chase-Staffordshire-Intermediate ]41KM at Chase[/url]
Cannocks shit end of
The follow the dog trail should be fine as the next step. I suspect she has the MTB gene if she's thinking 'degla blue is too smooth....that's a good sign! 🙂
Oh apart from that one bit. the long technical fast swoopy bit
if any one goes off piste early morning and sees some funny folks with daft wheel sizes and one gear say hi, it may be us 😆
Enjoy the final run from the campsite. Its a lovely bit of trail.
Amen to that...love that stretch! [i]'Tackeroo'[/i], named after the campsite.
Cheers for all the advice...a bit of feedback:
She said the first part was not really her scene (& I can see why) - windey windey in the trees, lots of people rushing up behind, busy busy on a saturday. It got better & then after the Monkey trail split off it all went quiet & was much better. The last bit won points back.
Disappointing cafe compared to Llangdegla but that's really not the reason to go there!
Any further suggestions of trail centres for beginners in the NW well received. Ta!
As some of the guys mentioned Cannock is just too busy some times and I was surprised to find compared to other places a bit of a negative atmosphere, full of knobs with all the gear and no idea. We went with some of the local lads who showed us some side trails away from FTD and TMT which were good.
Have a look at Gisburn Forest as that's not that technical, and the black bits you can just cut out.
Have a look at Gisburn Forest as that's not that technical, and the black bits you can just cut out.
You mean this?
Red Grade Trail (Difficult 18 km)
Highlights include the volunteer built trail of Home Baked, gnarly rocks of Whelpstone Crag and the roller coaster ride down Hully Gully - as close as you can get to dancing on a bike. Follow the red arrows on the timber posts. Look out for any warning markers. Along this route are optional Black Grade lines and features. These are marked with a skull.
How does it compare in terms of tech-ness to FTD? I see it's a wee bit longer...
Hi Pintofbest been offline a few days..yeah gisburn forest that's the one. Those bits you quoted sound worse than they are I reckon and you can cut out bits like hully gully if you want. To be honest though you can ride that as fast and hard as you want or just roll it slow.
There are some clips on youtube if you want a look.
[url=
Forest Video[/url]
@ Anthem X, now that looks fun.
also liking the novelty local accents 😆
Llandegla blue = cack.
FTD = fun
Right having done Llandegla a couple of times recently and Gisburn for the first time on Sunday, i'd list them in this order -
1. Cannock
2. Gisburn
3. Llandegla
Cannock is much more fun and has me wanting to do it again as soon as i finish (FTD and monkey that is) Gisburn and Llandegla do not do that to me (I did Gisburn in the wet/mud, i would like to ride it again in the dry)
bit of an outside suggestion!my gf got into riding a few years ago, her favourite then, and still now is nant yr arian near aberystwyth.
super smooth man made sections, super flowy, always quiet, nice mix of manmade and natural - which has a nice techy river section, nothing scary, always a winner! to be honest i love it to, guranteed good time.
it does have one long long climb at the end but a great place to try!!
cannock gets VERY busy so maybe not reccomended!?!?