My spin today...

ianobrien

Back in the (MTB) saddle after spending some time on the sealed surfaces. Did 28km at a grand relaxed 2hours with some mates.

I'm pondering on heading to Ballyhoura's Monday. I heard something about a 12km loop being created. Is that ready/worth it or will I stick to the Brown?

Wanderer78

ianobrien wrote:

I'm pondering on heading to Ballyhoura's Monday. I heard something about a 12km loop being created. Is that ready/worth it or will I stick to the Brown?

Ah sure why not push on a do the white, could be packed on Monday also, might be an idea to go early

covey123

ianobrien wrote: »

I'm pondering on heading to Ballyhoura's Monday. I heard something about a 12km loop being created. Is that ready/worth it or will I stick to the Brown?

Think the 12k is still only in the planning stage,not sure if started yet.
If you have time on your hands take in tech loops 1 & 2 on the brown & white.

Another thing to add that's more sessioning than clocking up the miles are to do the tech sections near the car park, also one I like to do is loop the last bit of trail that leads to trail head.
If you head back towards the entrance barrier you will see steps heading up on your right, head up these,then turn right.Follow trail until you reach the steel bridge and turn left onto bike trail.
Handy little loop thats a nice and fast and very little climbing involved

ianobrien

Ah well, the plan to do the Ballyhoura's is out. I had the morning free, meaning with travel time I had enough time for the Brown and a Tech Loop or two. "Somebody" changed my plans, meaning I only have an hour or two free tomorrow. That means a dull hour or two on the local roads at home.

prunudo

Paid a visit to slade yesterday, compact hill and was easy enough to figure out my around. Everything seems to radiate out from the aerials at the top. Mellow trails but quite rooty in places, other sections were nice and flowy. Trails seemed generally short so will be interesting to see how they link it all together for the enduro there in a couple of weeks times.
Bit of a trek for me to get too compared to what is closer to home so unlikely it would become a regular visit but still good to see something new.

iwillhtfu

jvan wrote: »

Paid a visit to slade yesterday, compact hill and was easy enough to figure out my around. Everything seems to radiate out from the aerials at the top. Mellow trails but quite rooty in places, other sections were nice and flowy. Trails seemed generally short so will be interesting to see how they link it all together for the enduro there in a couple of weeks times.
Bit of a trek for me to get too compared to what is closer to home so unlikely it would become a regular visit but still good to see something new.

There are better trails with a few jump lines off the back of the hill I think it was. I don't now my way around there that well but the few trails off of the mast weren't exactly flowy and had what felt like a kerb either side of the trail and the few jumps down the front side were wrecked they obviously get used a lot. In saying that it's a nice compact hill and not to pedally. I would have thoguht there are far better spots for the gravity enduro.

prunudo

iwillhtfu wrote: »

There are better trails with a few jump lines off the back of the hill I think it was. I don't now my way around there that well but the few trails off of the mast weren't exactly flowy and had what felt like a kerb either side of the trail and the few jumps down the front side were wrecked they obviously get used a lot. In saying that it's a nice compact hill and not to pedally. I would have thoguht there are far better spots for the gravity enduro.

True, suppose depends which side you park on what you call back but yeah one side was definitely more enjoyable than the other. Noticed that 'kerb' on some trails alright but sure thats all part of it.

Gerry

First proper xc spin in a long time.. we did a nice lap of ticknock, including tech mex ( climbing a chute that was on gravity enduro ). Then another tech climb from the mad nps up to fairy castle, over to the wicklow way, prince William's seat, some amazing new trails around there, then road up to Johnny foxes, burger in the gap then metro and dream track
https://www.strava.com/activities/2454807205

DaveyDave

First visit to GAP this morning. Still pretty rusty on a mountain bike. Second lap of Tickety Boo was going alright until one of the last berms in the open, lots of brake bumps that threw me off, ended up going on top of the berm and washing out. Right wrist took most of the impact, hopefully it's not broken

An expensive, painful and short lived session

fatbhoy

DaveyDave wrote: »

First visit to GAP this morning. Still pretty rusty on a mountain bike. Second lap of Tickety Boo was going alright until one of the last berms in the open, lots of brake bumps that threw me off, ended up going on top of the berm and washing out. Right wrist took most of the impact, hopefully it's not broken

An expensive, painful and short lived session

But is your bike okay though? :pac:

Lemming

fatbhoy wrote: »

But is your bike okay though? :pac:

First question the missus asked me (before she asked me to help her up) after she landed hard on her wrist/arm/ribs on the Byrner at the Gap the other week. I was so proud of her; a n00b no longer :pac:

On a serious note though, kudos to the lads at the Gap & Loughlinstown hospital for sorting her out.

fatbhoy

Lemming wrote: »

First question the missus asked me (before she asked me to help her up) after she landed hard on her wrist/arm/ribs on the Byrner at the Gap the other week. I was so proud of her; a n00b no longer :pac:

On a serious note though, kudos to the lads at the Gap & Loughlinstown hospital for sorting her out.

There's a steady stream of business going from The Gap to Loughlinstown Hospital. It's the nature of what we do, I guess. That hospital has an awesome turnaround time for A&E type stuff like x-rays and breaks. I know where I'll be heading in future when the next bad crash happens me. A mate of mine was in and out within about an hour with an x-ray and stuff. Last break I had, a collar bone, took about 9+ hours in James Hospital A&E.

DaveyDave

fatbhoy wrote: »

But is your bike okay though? :pac:

Fortunately yes as it was a rental! My knee and shoulder took most of it. I've seen people take all sorts of spills and bounce back but I take a spill on a blue trail and I'm out of order

fatbhoy wrote: »

There's a steady stream of business going from The Gap to Loughlinstown Hospital. It's the nature of what we do, I guess. That hospital has an awesome turnaround time for A&E type stuff like x-rays and breaks. I know where I'll be heading in future when the next bad crash happens me. A mate of mine was in and out within about an hour with an x-ray and stuff. Last break I had, a collar bone, took about 9+ hours in James Hospital A&E.

Good to know. VHI is members only now, went there when I separated my shoulder and was seen to before I even sat down in reception. Nice to know I won't need to sit in Tallaght hospital for 8-10 hours listening to all the locals threatening staff!

Lemming

fatbhoy wrote: »

There's a steady stream of business going from The Gap to Loughlinstown Hospital. It's the nature of what we do, I guess. That hospital has an awesome turnaround time for A&E type stuff like x-rays and breaks. I know where I'll be heading in future when the next bad crash happens me. A mate of mine was in and out within about an hour with an x-ray and stuff. Last break I had, a collar bone, took about 9+ hours in James Hospital A&E.

I was well impressed with the turn-around for the minor injuries unit; although it should be emphasised that it's just that; "minor injuries". Someone rocking up with something a bit more serious will be redirected asap so Loughlinstown isn't a one-stop shop alas. The doctor commented to the effect that the mountain bikers are keeping them in business. I was expecting several hours (days?) of waiting a la your typical A&E, so to be in and seen within 5 minutes and out in about an hour was quite impressive. Then again the place was really quiet when we turned up.

Lemming

DaveyDave wrote: »

Fortunately yes as it was a rental! My knee and shoulder took most of it. I've seen people take all sorts of spills and bounce back but I take a spill on a blue trail and I'm out of order

Sometimes you just end up unlucky. Emphasises that you can't switch off on a trail. The missus crashed on a bit of trail she's done dozens of times before without a bother, but because she came off a berm harder with a view to keeping momentum in order to jump an upcoming roller/table the rear wheel kicked out; she saved it and then the rear kicked out again the other way in response to her having saved it and over she went. You would look at the spot she crashed on and think to yourself how could anyone manage to crash there.

I've crashed a few times at the Gap too; mostly harmless and you get straight back up and ride, but did get sucker-punched once on pro-line; happened so fast that the first thing I knew of anything being wrong was seeing the peak of my full-face helmet digging into the dirt and thinking "Sh1t! I'm on the ground! When did I end up on the ground?!". It happened that fast, and then the bike landed on top of me .... Still walked away though albeit slightly bruised; my knee-cap slammed into the one bit of dirt amidst the rocks & roots where I crashed. Never did figure out exactly what caught my front wheel. Lessons? Invest in knee-pads because you'll not always be so lucky, and never switch your attention off thinking "I got this; easy-peasy".

Edit: the above might seem a bit negative but it's not meant to be, nor should it deter you from getting out and enjoying your ride.

Big Nasty

Lemming wrote: »

First question the missus asked me (before she asked me to help her up) after she landed hard on her wrist/arm/ribs on the Byrner at the Gap the other week. I was so proud of her; a n00b no longer :pac:

On a serious note though, kudos to the lads at the Gap & Loughlinstown hospital for sorting her out.

And managed Metallica the next day? What a woman! :eek:

steamsey

Was up Ticknock yesterday. Absokutely beautiful day for it. Trails all riding well. Looked for new trails, found one near where this pic was taken. Plenty of parents and kids on bikes which is great to see. One guy on an antique hardtail cannondale that looked like it was from the 90's. Dreamtrack riding well too, initial section bit more carved out from rain than it was. People walking on Dreamtrack too, it's really a terrible place to walk.

In this pic you can see the mighty sugarloaf and also the GAP on the right where the trees are felled

prunudo

steamsey wrote: »

Was up Ticknock yesterday. Absokutely beautiful day for it. Trails all riding well. Looked for new trails, found one near where this pic was taken. Plenty of parents and kids on bikes which is great to see. One guy on an antique hardtail cannondale that looked like it was from the 90's. Dreamtrack riding well too, initial section bit more carved out from rain than it was. People walking on Dreamtrack too, it's really a terrible place to walk.

In this pic you can see the mighty sugarloaf and also the GAP on the right where the trees are felled

Pics not showing for me?

Peter T

So following on from my thread on fueling out on the trail I set out in Ballyhoura Saturday morning for the blue. Nothing major to report, made it around in 4 hours/ 3.5 hours moving time. Both tech trails are running sweet and they've done lots of upkeep on the trails so its an ideal time to bring some novices along for a taste. I know I've criticized smooth gravel paths in the past but riding a hardtail its nice to give the body a rest in patches.

DaveyDave

Good shout on that hospital in Loughlinstown lads, in and out in 2 hours. Unfortunately I left in a cast as the wrist is broken. Time to dust off the turbo trainer

Oh well!

Icyseanfitz

tried the s4 xc nps yesterday with a bit of coercing by a friend.......holy crap those guys are fit need to get my act together, and a new bike haha

fatbhoy

DaveyDave wrote: »

Good shout on that hospital in Loughlinstown lads, in and out in 2 hours. Unfortunately I left in a cast as the wrist is broken. Time to dust off the turbo trainer

Oh well!

Well that sucks. Sorry to hear that. 6 weeks out.

nak

steamsey wrote: »

People walking on Dreamtrack too, it's really a terrible place to walk.

In fairness walkers have priority on anything that is not an official trail. It's the quickest way for me to walk up the hill from home. Have never met a mountain biker on that trail so most people won't be expecting to come across any.

Gerry

Picked up my new Santa Cruz Bronson on Saturday and headed out to djouce Sunday morning for the long awaited first spin. Well it didn't disappoint. I didn't waste much time on suspension tuning and enjoyed this amazing bike. I went for a custom build after I found a frame and fork deal, so it hasn't got the usual Santa cruz tax. Its billed as a trail bike but to me it's more enduro than any bike I've had before. I've been planning a new big bike purchase for years now, tried a lot of 29ers but didn't find them much fun. This bike will go through anything but can pop it off stuff as well. Ended up doing a few enduro stages and bits of xc as well..
Cant wait to get back out on it.

steamsey

Pic I though I had posted the other day

steamsey

Gerry wrote: »

Picked up my new Santa Cruz Bronson on Saturday and headed out to djouce Sunday morning for the long awaited first spin. Well it didn't disappoint. I didn't waste much time on suspension tuning and enjoyed this amazing bike. I went for a custom build after I found a frame and fork deal, so it hasn't got the usual Santa cruz tax. Its billed as a trail bike but to me it's more enduro than any bike I've had before. I've been planning a new big bike purchase for years now, tried a lot of 29ers but didn't find them much fun. This bike will go through anything but can pop it off stuff as well. Ended up doing a few enduro stages and bits of xc as well..
Cant wait to get back out on it.

Nice - that's the next bike for me if I can afford it. Carbon or alu?

Gerry

Carbon CC frame - yeah I found a nice deal so couldn't let it go
I'd been spoiled with the lend of a very light 26" carbon bike for the past 1.5 years so I didn't want to go up in weight if I could avoid it. Delighted with the bike to be honest. Turns out that even when I thought I was going slower on it I was in fact going faster..

steamsey

nak wrote: »

In fairness walkers have priority on anything that is not an official trail. It's the quickest way for me to walk up the hill from home. Have never met a mountain biker on that trail so most people won't be expecting to come across any.

You're probably right but priority will be cold consolation if you meet someone, who's flying it, at the wrong spot on the dreamtrack,

nak

steamsey wrote: »

You're probably right but priority will be cold consolation if you meet someone, who's flying it, at the wrong spot on the dreamtrack,

Which is exactly why we all need to be mindful of walkers when on unofficial trails.

prunudo

A few times in the past year in both Ticknock and Ballinastoe I've encountered walkers on the official trails. Few signs to remind them of the dangers of walking on bike trail wouldn't go amiss.