Rideout Sun 9th Aug Vicar Water and Sherwood Pines

[markfitton]

Well I won the falling of prize.... twice , your not even trying got a great pedal scrape as well. Thanks Steve and Jim for organising the day, it all went really well.
I got back to my daughters birthday party, had some food and wine then kept falling asleep.

You can just make out the two colliery towers next to Steve in the middle, near where we started.

 

[markfitton]

 

[Zimmerframe]

Well I won the falling of prize.... twice , your not even trying got a great pedal scrape as well. Thanks Steve and Jim for organising the day, it all went really well.
I got back to my daughters birthday party, had some food and wine then kept falling asleep.

You can just make out the two colliery towers next to Steve in the middle, near where we started.



View attachment 37782

The invisiframe on Steves bike is amazing !

 

[billwarwick]

The invisiframe on Steves bike is amazing !

Yes, these bike thieves are getting more brazen every day.
plus, it looks like a casting session for Pirates of the Caribbean.

 

[steve_sordy]

Thanks for posting the pic and the data @markfitton

Jim (aka @Ontherail) is second from the right.

Where that shot was taken is probably the highest point in the area, certainly everywhere else looked lower than us. Jim took us up there to do a specific descent. It is long and steep down the face of an old slag heap, the top of which the above photo was taken. It is heavily rutted from scrambler bikes and water run off. The sides of the descent are formed of brambles and gorse competing with each other for dominance. It is steep enough and loose enough that once you set off, you are going down - with or without brakes. I've done it three times and didn't enjoy it once, not one bit. @myapes said he knew a way around it, so of course I followed him. It was great, at first! It was steep and the surface was covered in roots that were snaking all over the place. Then it got really steep, and heavily rutted, and loose, with brambles and gorse competing for dominance! With a big muddy watery morass at the bottom. Yikes! No going back now! Stopping half way down to take a photo did not occur to either of us and @myapes is a professional photographer!

The mud in the morass was very liquid and set like dirty concrete all over the rear of the bike frame and the wheel rim. It needed an extra soaking in Hope's Sh1t Shifter to get it off. It ruined my magical invisiframe, made for me by leprechauns out of pixie dust and unicorn snot. But it's easier to find my bike now!

 

[steve_sordy]

My mobile is still dodgy, so I can't add the pics I took to this thread!

Will do asap, but it may take some time.

 

[Zimmerframe]

My mobile is still dodgy, so I can't add the pics I took to this thread!

Will do asap, but it may take some time.

Do you think you could sketch something ? Or use another mobile to take a picture of your screen ? or plug the phone in and connect to the file system? Or use google photo's and let it auto upload them ? or do the 1000 words is worth a picture .... ??!

 

[steve_sordy]

Do you think you could sketch something ? Or use another mobile to take a picture of your screen ? or plug the phone in and connect to the file system? Or use google photo's and let it auto upload them ? or do the 1000 words is worth a picture .... ??!

All of those are feasible, but I'm not going to bother. I'll wait until my phone is fixed.
Have patience! I can use their arrival to announce the next Rideout!

 

[steve_sordy]

Phone fixed, so here are the pics!

This is 7/8 of the group, (not me obvs). The only three who's username I know for sure is @Ontherail (left) and @myapes (3rd from right), and @markfitton in thr middle. My apologies to the rest of that fine bunch of riders.

This one below was taken at the top of a very steep loose climb to what looks like an old railway line. You can see the desert in the background to the right. An estimate of the angle of the embankment is close to 45deg. It's about 50 feet high. @Ontherail is determined to conquer this one. He tackles it head on and has got half way up. I cheated and took it an angle, but I still only got half way up! Everybody else either pushed up, rode and pushed, or went round it. Very difficult to push up, even with walk mode. From there the group went to the left down the other side of the embankment. Equally steep but deeply rutted and rough. I've done it once, but not that day. Not all attempted it and of those that did not all cleaned it.

This next feature is a short but intimidating descent. Angled roots, mud, rutty, sticky out bits, a big log to divert around and a big bed of brambles and nettles to fall into if you get it wrong! Again, not all attempted this one. I have done it once and considered myself lucky to have escaped in one piece. I got injured just taking the photos! There was blood and everything!

And again from a different angle, @Ontherail this time. (@myapes in the background leaning on my bike).

And one stout-hearted soul (@markfitton) had a go at climbing it. Several attempts. 10/10

Here is a shot of @Ontherail in the fishbowl. It's a gulley with a steep entry and exit from the sides (this shot) and the ends. The objective is to ride in then out. Everyone did this. Some did other more challenging ones, but I don't have any photos of those.

This last one is a picture of the start of the half-mile long trail at the edge of the desert. It is wiggly through the trees, lots of up and down stuff, stumps and roots, short climbs, short and steep descents. It is really high speed fun! No other pictures. And we know that pictures rarely do justice to that sort of stuff anyway. (Use your imagination). But it's a real hoot. We all did it twice.

I was expecting that when the group was going over the styles(three of them) that there would be an opportunity for a proper clusterf**k shot. But everyone was actually so well-mannered and organised that they passed without incident. Not worthy of a pic.

I know several Forum members wanted to come to this, but timing and circumstance prevented it. @Ontherail and I will organise another soon.

 

[markfitton]

that's me on the climb, more trials than mtb two attempts and stuck on that last root, both times. I don't think I fell off on that one

 

[markfitton]

thanks one again for the day and the pics Steve.

 

[j_s]

@markfitton any chance of getting a copy of that gpx file please?

Cheers
James

 

[markfitton]

@markfitton any chance of getting a copy of that gpx file please?

Cheers
James

yep , can you tell me how to do it . pm me so we can sort it out

 

[markfitton]

Guys , was coming back past Sherwood pines today so I popped back in for another go. Thought I would be able to pick up the red trail from the car park.....mistake.

i eventually found my way on to the red, Miles into the forest and had a great ride round , I realised on the way back the nearest point is where we found the guy on the deck at the bottom of the something alley.

then followed cycle route 6 back to the car park., through the gate we went past several times.

I even managed to find the downhill sections. If you don’t know your way round without a map you could be lost for days..... I even saw a deer.

happy days...

 

[steve_sordy]

Guys , was coming back past Sherwood pines today so I popped back in for another go. Thought I would be able to pick up the red trail from the car park.....mistake.
........
I even managed to find the downhill sections. If you don’t know your way round without a map you could be lost for days..... I even saw a deer.....

It is easy to get lost in that place, there is no mountain top to steer by and all the trees look the same. Only the regular trails are signposted, nothing else is, so once you go off-piste, you can be lost very quickly. There are two electricity pylons passing through Sherwood Pines, one National Grid on the steel lattice structures, one lower voltage on wooden poles. Mostly parallel to each other, so they are great to navigate by, but only once you find them! The trees get in the way of seeing them.
I have seen loads of GPS tracks taken by other riders and I sure wouldn't rely on them. I have even plotted my own, but the phone signal was so erratic, I just got lots of straight lines connecting the places where I got a signal. I have spent hours and hours getting lost, finding myself and getting lost again. On a cloudy and overcast day, I was even reduced to observing which side of the tree had most moss in order to establish where North was! I was on the point of having a compass added to my Xmas list when suddenly it all came together. I then created my own map to navigate by and it was really useful for a while, until the Forestry Commission removed 10,000 tons of wood! But I know the area so well now that I never consult the map except on rare occasions.

 

[j_s]

I've found most of the places we rode around apart from the big bomb hole that we sessioned. Any tips Steve how to get to it?

 

[Ripping g]

Any date on a ride out ?

 

[steve_sordy]

I've found most of the places we rode around apart from the big bomb hole that we sessioned. Any tips Steve how to get to it?

Tricky! The best I can do is to refer you to post#32 above. Eakring Road crosses the map from left to right. In the centre of the map, just above Eakring Road is a hand symbol. Its there, but unless you recognise the terrain, I doubt you'd find it.

Best thing is to meet up with me the next time its not pi$$ing it down. From the weather forecast that looks like this coming Sunday 30th Aug.

 

[steve_sordy]

Any date on a ride out ?

I haven't spoken to @Ontherail yet about it, I believe he's on holiday at the moment. He mentioned September last time the subject came up.
I'm going on Sunday 30th Aug if you are free, @j_s may turn up too. I'll give @myapes a bell as well. Just Pines on this occasion.

 

[Ripping g]

I haven't spoken to @Ontherail yet about it, I believe he's on holiday at the moment. He mentioned September last time the subject came up.
I'm going on Sunday 30th Aug if you are free, @j_s may turn up too. I'll give @myapes a bell as well. Just Pines on this occasion.

Time you planning to be there cheers

 

[steve_sordy]

@Ripping g and @j_s For Forum rides, I normally plan on being ready to ride at 10:30 by the Sherwood Pines Cafe veranda as it gives everyone time to get there. But I could drag myself out of bed early and get there for 10am.

PS: @Ontherail will deffo be there; @myapes is still waiting for his replacement motor, but may turn up anyway on his rattling Merida.

 

[j_s]

@steve_sordy I'll aim to get there for 10 to 10:30. I'll ride in from Blidworth. I may bring someone with me who isn't on an ebike but will warn him first that we we won't hang about. I might leave him on the red run and see what he thinks.

 

[steve_sordy]

@steve_sordy I'll aim to get there for 10 to 10:30. I'll ride in from Blidworth. I may bring someone with me who isn't on an ebike but will warn him first that we we won't hang about. I might leave him on the red run and see what he thinks.

Unless he's super fit it might not work too well. I rode with my daughter's partner who is ex-British triathlon team, 25 years younger, and I had to slow down even for him (and he really is as fit as a butcher's dog!)

Can you be a bit more specific with your arrival time, I'm not keen on hanging about for half an hour. I'd rather agree we all meet for 10:30.

Looking forward to riding with everyone!

 

[j_s]

He's likely to come along but we will be there much earlier and he'll set off home when I meet you. 10:30 I'll meet you , gives me some leeway if we are running late earlier in the day for the first ride

 

[steve_sordy]

@j_s and @Ripping g

In the absence of any other suggested time, 10:30 it is then by the Cafe veranda overlooking the big field. Sun 30th Aug

I will let @Ontherail and @myapes know.

 

[j_s]

Cool, see you then.

On the way to the desert area where you come in from the blue trail and along the ridge the Mx guys ride on was swampy as on Sunday !

 

[j_s]

@steve_sordy Do you know if there is a bike wash at the visitor centre or bike shop?

Cheers
James

 

[Ontherail]

@steve_sordy Do you know if there is a bike wash at the visitor centre or bike shop?

Cheers
James

There is a jetwash at the side of the shop, just pop in there to buy a token.

 

[j_s]

There is a jetwash at the side of the shop, just pop in there to buy a token.

Cheers @Ontherail

 

[steve_sordy]

The weather overnight will be dry, waking to early sunshine, before going into "partly cloudy" but dry. Temp 14degC, humidity 68-63%

@Ontherail , @j_s and me will be meeting at 10:30 by the cafe veranda. @myapes will also be there, motor permitting.