Wednesday 6th Feb Sherwood Pines 10am

[Couchy]

Anyone else want to meet up next Wednesday at Sherwood Pines, Maybe a ride round the red with some off piste and bike park thrown in prob a couple of hours worth 15-20 miles ?

 

[steve_sordy]

I'm in!

What time to meet and where?

 

[Couchy]

Car park 10am ish ? As an aside were you there this Tuesday ?

 

[johnc]

I'm up for that!

 

[Couchy]

Sorted then, I’ll be in this

EE382478-F9E3-4E32-BDF4-A1ABF1E0964C by Tony H, on Flickr

 

[billwarwick]

long shot, but could you all do Thursday or Friday instead of Wednesday? No problem if not.
Steve, did your battery issue get sorted?

 

[johnc]

I'm easy. Or both, I'm free all week.

 

[steve_sordy]

@Couchy No I wasn't there on Tuesday. 10 am is fine by me, ready to ride, or just turning up?

@billwarwick I'm OK with Wed, Thu or Fri. I'll leave it to Couchy to decide whether to change from Wed or not. It wasn't the battery it was the charger - full details in the thread.

 

[Couchy]

Can only do weds next week for me as it's my day off, sometimes take thursdays as well in future though
Assuming dry or at least not raining then 10am in car park, don't mind if ready to go or unpacking theres no rush

 

[billwarwick]

Ok, no problem. Perhaps sort something out in the future enjoy

 

[steve_sordy]

Can only do weds next week for me as it's my day off, sometimes take thursdays as well in future though
Assuming dry or at least not raining then 10am in car park, don't mind if ready to go or unpacking theres no rush

"Assuming dry or at least not raining". I will take this to mean the forecast weather at Pines, not whatever people wake up to where they live. I have organised a lot of guided rides and I have lost count of how many people don't turn up because it is raining against their window when the alarm goes off, yet we have a great day's riding! I have attached a link to a weather forecast that I find pretty accurate for Sherwood Pines, especially for the next 3 days.
Kings Clipstone, England 10-Day Weather Forecast - The Weather Channel | Weather.com

If the precipitation is 20% or below, I don't even notice it at Pines because I am mostly in the woods. I would still go right up to 50% unless the forecast was 50% heavy rain. The thing to avoid is high wind, because a) it is dangerous, with all the timber falling, and b) the trials might have been closed by the time you get there.

Currently, Wed 6th Feb looks like the last good day before we get rain every day for a week and the trails bog up.

 

[Couchy]

Yup I'll be there to see what the weather is when I get there. If it is a thunderstorm we're in the cafe and chatting but as you say if it's light rain or dry we'll be out

 

[johnc]

 

[David Miall]

Hi chaps, is there a diary of rideouts available?

 

[bikerider007]

Hi chaps, is there a diary of rideouts available?

as for the official forum rides would need to ask @Rob Hancill .. as he is the Pied Piper for the rats.. otherwise they are made on an adhoc basis

 

[steve_sordy]

So there are three going currently:
@Couchy @myapes and me

It should be a good ride out. There will a few hours of light rain in the early hours and then tomorrow will be most cloudy with very little precipitation (5%). Temp will be in the range 6-8 degC, which is almost tropical for the time of year!

I will be on blue Focus Jam2 and I'll be mostly wearing black.

 

[johnc]

Silver Merida, haven't chosen my outfit yet!

 

[Couchy]

Black Scott, mainly black gear but you can’t miss my white bus I’ll be straight there after school run maybe a few mins before 10am. Mate will be with me on his blue Scott in a blue transit.

 

[billwarwick]

Would have liked to be there but too honest to pull a sickie ?

 

[Eeh (bah gum) biker]

Ive been at Sherwood Pines today - generally quite dry overall the open bits are quite wet . should be good fun for you guys if it stays dry .

 

[Couchy]

Great to meet you guys and thanks for showing us round Steve, will be there next time !!

 

[steve_sordy]

Thanks Couchy. Today's ride was my first outing an emtb where I was riding with other emtbrs, so I was really looking forward to it.

Couchy and his mate Reese were there, as was MyApes. We set off shortly after 10am and did mostly off-piste, diverting occasionally onto the red for the good bits. We also left the Sherwood Pines area and went outside the Forestry Commission controlled area to the other side of the old railway line. There is a 50'-60' embankment to ride down on the other side and it was quite loose. So loose in fact that I couldn't get my bike back up it unaided! I tried walk mode but the rear wheel just would not push the front wheel over a root, spinning out instead. Holding on to a tree, Reese leaned in from above to help. As soon as Reese got hold of the front wheel and hauled it up, I slid back down almost to the bottom! The other two rode down, shortly followed by Reese but all three decided to stay down there and rode off paralleling the embankment to find a shallower angle to climb out. Oh what fun!

There was a steep drop back into the old railway track that I showed the team. MyApes went to check out the steep drop off a rock which was half way down. While he was stood there, a walker said the predictable "you're never riding down that!" Err yes!

That's Couchy on the left, Reese in the green at the start of the descent and MyApes in the blue. Couchy and MyApes are checking out the drop which can't be seen from the top where Reese is stood. The bit from Reese to the other two was very loose indeed and it made controlling the bike direction a bit of a challenge, that and the scramble bike ruts! I believe the walker took a pic of me descending and he will be sending the pic to Couchy, that is if he identified the correct person!

After about 90 mins, Reese bent one of the gears on his cassette and Couchy had an appointment to go to, so they bid us their good byes and left. MyApes and I pressed on for another couple of hours. To my delight, I discovered not only that MyApes was the same age as me, was of a similar standard, but that we lived only 10 miles or so away from each other. We both agreed that this first ride together would not be our last.
Don't you just love Forum rides!

 

[Couchy]

Summed up nicely, was good to ride with experienced riders and get bits of advice through the ride. Won’t be the last time for a forum ride and glad we found more stuff at Pines we didn’t know. Maybe next time we’ll get a few more to enjoy the ride

 

[johnc]

Top ride today lads. Thanks very much Steve for your brilliant leadership. Which I'd done the shoot. Next time!

 

[Couchy]

Steve I have the video of your drop, it's in facebook messenger so can't grab it out. Do you have a facebook account ?

 

[johnc]

Can't you save it to your phone from messenger then do whatever you want with it. Works with my iPhone.

 

[steve_sordy]

Steve I have the video of your drop, it's in Facebook messenger so can't grab it out. Do you have a facebook account ?

No I don't, nor my wife, but my younger daughter does. I'll ask her for the contact details.

Edit: Got them now. I'll start a conversation.

 

[Couchy]

Can't you save it to your phone from messenger then do whatever you want with it. Works with my iPhone.

Yup that’s what I’ve done just having a brain fade moment ?