Forest of Dean Mini DH 26/01/14

Hey guys,

I've had a little bit of time to test the bike now and I'm really getting on with it! Over the weekend I raced a Mini DH at the Forest of Dean with the AberMTB crew. Having never been there before, I wasn't really sure what to expect. The track which was used was Sheepskull which was apparently one of the more pedally tracks there. This turned out to be a little bit of an advantage on some sections of the track although overall, the track was still more suited to a 180mm - 200mm downhill bike.

Practicing on Saturday was a good day of riding. It was very hard to learn a full track in a day and half which meant some of my racing lines were questionable to say the least. My main problem was the roots section towards the top of the track. There was a few different ways to go with the high line up and over some slightly off camber roots being much faster. I found this section the most difficult part of the track because I just couldn't seem to remember any markers which would aid me to point myself at the right line.

My mega was pretty faultless over the whole weekend which I was really pleased about. I had put some dual ply Maxxis Minion DHFs on in preparation for the weekend and it was the right choice. The track was really wet but not greasy so luckily I wasn't jealous of all the folk on spikes. Other than changing tyres, tyre pressures and fork/shock pressures, my bike was setup the same as how I ride it everywhere else. I ran the fork a little softer than usual to help cope with the ruts and braking bumps.

So by now you're probably wondering how I did in the rankings? Well, I shall tell you. My first run earned me a 1.43.89 which I was fairly happy with. It was consistent with a good pace all the way and no mistakes. I remember considering not doing a second run when the weather turned worse but after a long wait I pushed back up the hill to do another run. The track was in a similar condition to how it was on the first run. Very wet, but with a surprising amount of grip. On the second run I was a bit more aggressive and on some sections it payed of but I made some minor mistakes which gave me a time of 1.44.70. My placing was 46th out of 93. Overall I was 101st out of 296. Although I was not completely happy with my result, I understand that the Mega TR is a 130mm bike made for trail and all mountain riding. Taking this into account I think I can be happy with my result.

I really enjoyed the event but I'm not too sure whether I'll enter another. I want to concentrate more on Gravity Enduro as it is more suited to my bike and it doesn't involve as much standing around which is something that niggled me at this Mini DH event. Cheers to the event organisers for putting on a good show and the AberMTB crew for helping with lifts, accommodation a food!

Holiday in Fort William

Back again,

I can't believe I forgot to do a post on this! This year was no different to any other year. We would leave it until the last minute to book a holiday. This is mainly because my parents can never agree where to go. My mum always wants to go to a hotel in a warm country to relax and take in the culture whereas my dad would rather go somewhere cold (he burns in the sun) where he can sit by the side of a lake and fish. He also doesn't like having to travel on planes to go on holiday. He usually gets his own way. This year I jokingly suggested that we go to Fort William after a biking trip there with some friends was cancelled. My dad took this seriously and found a nice log cabin about a mile away from the Nevis Range.

So this was a dream come true for me. I had access to the gondola assisted red route and world famous downhill track as well as Ben Nevis and many other natural trails. A week later my dad had persuaded my mum and had booked the place.

A few weeks before we were due to set of, I had saved up enough money for a GoPro HD Hero2 and Chest Mount which would allow me to film my riding. As I had just passed my driving test my mum thought it would be a good idea for me to do some of the driving to Fort William and while we were on holiday. This would be the first time I had driven with a bike rack, we use one which overhangs off the boot but we decided to take the wheels off just to be on the safe side. As I had only just passed and the the roads can be pretty narrow in the highlands I was glad we had taken that precaution.

On the first couple of days there, I decided to do a few evening rides just to try and find some natural trails. I didn't find much but then again I didn't venture too far because I didn't want to get lost on my own! On one of these evening rides I did manage to find a few natural trails though which were very steep and loose but so much fun.

My first visit to the Nevis Range was with my dad and brother to ride the 10 Under The Ben trail which I was fairly disappointing with. There was lots of fire road climbing with not much of a reward. In one particular instance we climbed for quite a while only to descend on a dead straight piece of single track with no features. Considering this route was graded as a red, it could have been a bit more technically demanding.

The next time we visited we rode the Witch's XC trail which was also graded as a red. This had much more fun single track and was a pretty fun loop. It was not very physically demanding but I would have been more than happy to do a couple of laps of it to fully appreciate the sections of single track.

A friend had planned to be in Fort William at the same time as me as he was heading to the Isle of Mull for a holiday. He took a slight detour and stayed in a bed and breakfast for a few days in order for us to get some quality riding in. We had planned to ride Ben Nevis on of the days but due to bad  weather we changed our plans and ended up going round the Witch's trail again. It was quite amazing to see what a difference trail conditions make to your speed. On the day where I rode with my dad and brother it was bone dry. I was using a 2.35 High Roller 60a on the rear and a 2.35 Minion 60a on the front and my wheels were just washing out all the time. It felt as though I couldn't maintain any speed due to loosing grip. When I rode the trail with a friend the day after it was slightly damp, not soaking with lots of puddles but just enough to make the trail surface 'stick' a little better. I was using the same tyre combination with the same pressures and it just felt like I could hammer the bike into corners with confidence. This allowed me to maintain much more speed on twisty sections. You could say that it was because the second time I knew what was coming up but it genuinely felt as though my tyres were sticking much better.

The day after, me, my dad and a friend set off to ride Ben Nevis. My dad was walking with us mainly to keep my mum happy but also for the self achievement. We rode up the main bridleway which was pretty rocky early on then seemed to flatten out in the middle section before becoming much more rough and jagged near the top. I would say we rode about 40% of the way up and pushed the other 60%. My dad got to the top about half an hour before me and my friend mainly due to how awkward the terrain was for carrying bikes. When we got to the top we got the obligatory bike above head photo's and had lunch.

Bit foggy, I'm the one on the right!

Unfortunately I've been extremely lazy and haven't processed the footage I got from the GoPro yet but what I can say is that the descent was amazing. there was a bit of everything really from fast smooth bridleway to rocky steps to loose jagged scree. It was good fun stopping at the really difficult sections and having several goes at getting down them trialsy style. Some of the walkers were not too pleased with us due to the fact that we would overtake them, then get a snake bite or a mechanical, then they would walk past us, then we would overtake again. That went on most of the way down the mountain but we couldn't help it! On the top section I decided to pin it and see just how fast and loose things would get. Bad idea. Turns out my derailleur got pretty loose and managed to tuck itself nicely into the spokes to that was our first mechanical. I managed to bend it back using brute force. I decided to keep it far into the cassette for the rest of the descent.

The rest of the mechanicals were all snake bites from hammering our wheels over the rocks. I think we racked up about six flats between us, but it was well worth it for such a sick ride.

The next day we got a gondola day pass and did several runs down the Downhill Track and gondola accessed red route. I first followed my friend down the red as he had ridden it before. The wooden northshore on the top half of the trail was so grippy. I couldn't help thinking even with the chicken wire it would be a different story in the wet. That thought of what could happen if you run wide remains in the back of your mind when riding northshore like that. I had a couple of brown pant moments where I would jump and land awkwardly or shoot offline coming out of a banked corner but overall you can carry lots of speed if you are precise with your cornering.

The next last half was fairly rocky. It almost felt like a mountain bridleway rather than a purpose build bike trail but I like that. the thing which gave it away was the fact that there was reliable drainage to keep the water away.

Here is a GoPro video of the red run, sorry the quality is a little poor. I had to compress the file to allow it to upload.



Nevis Range Red Trail from Jack Reeve on Vimeo

Next I rode the downhill track. It took a little bit of persuasion to get my friend to ride it. In the end I said "You won't get this opportunity very often and you'll regret not riding it in the future." He did one run and I was happy for him that he had given it a go.

The track start off being quite smooth with a few gravelly turn before it turns into full on carnage in the middle section, you are hammering through rock gardens leading into gravelly berms. Your hands are already pummeled by this point (mine were anyway). You don't get to experience the full track which world cup riders smash, instead you miss out the road gap and hit a rocky track which takes you down to the start of the motorway section. This has some double decker sized tabletops which take allot of speed to clear. I was getting about 3/4 of the way along them at best. You are pedaling flat out along this section before you are shot down a few steep section and into the finish area. By this point you can barely release your hands from the bars due to the arm pump.

Here is another GoPro video, enjoy!:



Fort William DH Track from Jack Reeve on Vimeo

We got five runs each on that day. I rode the Red three times whereas my friend rode it four times. I rode the downhill track twice and my friend rode it once. At the end of the runs my suspension was pissing oil. On one run it had dribbled down the fork leg and got dangerously close to the disc rotor. Both of these tracks take it out of you and your bike but they are well worth doing. Plus you get 15 minutes in the gondola after each run to rest your broken hands before sending it down the mountain again. Bonus!

My dad, brother and I also rode a Kinlochleven ride which we dug out from MBR. It had won some award for the best natural trail so it sounded very promising. My dad enjoyed that day even though the sun was scorching and the midges were helping themselves to our flesh. My brother, not so. He's more used to riding well maintained flowy bits of single track so he ended up pushing lots of sections. I was surprised how well my dad coped on that ride. He had bought himself a Giant Anthem X5 just before booking the holiday. before that he didn't ride off road very often. He had a 90's Specialized Hardrock which he used for commuting. The ride took the format of a long rocky fire road climb up to a dam before descending very varied single track all the way back. I think it deserved that MBR award.

See the rider on the left of the photo?

Rock jump near Red Hill

I found this little gem of a trail a little while ago. I was a little annoyed I hadn't spotted it sooner though because it runs right along side the main track down towards red hill and even crosses over it at one point. At the top of this little gem is a choice of paths, a steep and smooth hill or a rock drop-off.

I had seen this rock drop-off before but hadn't been able to do it on my hardtail. With my new bike I gave it a go. It was a bit overgrown but still great fun!

Mini Downhill Style!

I've been fed up and sat in the house over the weekend as the weather has been utter crap. It's been raining and storming all weekend which has prevented me from going mountain biking. On Monday night I set my alarm for half seven AM. I just thought, Sack it! I'm going to go out tomorrow whatever the weather!

I woke up tired, stumbled down stairs had my fruit and fibre, cup of coffee and a big glass of water. I then went back upstairs now feeling less tired, took a shower and got dressed into my mountain bike gear and finally sorted out my camelbak. I knew there would be a high chance of rain so I stuck my Irn Bru Jersey on and packed a coat for if the sky turned gnarly. I set off at about ten past nine. Quickly, I adopted a steady pace along the tarmac and fire roads. I reached Captain Cooks Monument at quarter to ten feeling pretty fresh still. I took a nice single track trail along towards a trail which I like to call 'The Rock' (See Below)

I rode this trail but didn't ride the rock itself because it was wet and I didn't want to wake up in A&E. As I got to the end of this trail I rode along a fire road style track to get the beginning of a new-found track which I wanted to try. I don't know what this track is called but I see it as a kind of mini downhill track. It's quite hidden and out of the way but it's a fun little track to ride. 

I had been there before today but not ridden any of the big jumps in the track due to me still being on my Scott Hardtail. I thought today would be a good day to come here with my new full suspension bike. The biggest jump in this trail is a big step down jump. It took me a few nervous run-ups until I finally did it. It was the landing which was putting me off. It was probably one of the steepest landings I've ever done. Unfortunately I was on my own so no-one was there to film the jump. Anyway here are some crappy phone pics:

The Step Down

Take off...

Big enough :)

Steep Landing

Carlton Bank

On Sunday I decided to go out biking. I wanted to go somewhere which could offer me some more technical riding. A mate suggested Carlton Bank which is a good location with many routes spanning out from Lordstones cafe. I agreed, this would be a great test of my Reign 3's performance. It's probably about a six mile on-road ride to the cafe from my house which doesn't sound too bad but when you consider the climb which we had to endure to get there and and the weight of my bike, the task starts to feel much harder. I am very surprised with the climbing capabilities of my Reign. It's no climbing goat but it just seems to get you up there. When we got to Lordstones cafe we decided it would be best to follow the stepped path to the top of Carlton Bank. The Reign was making light work of the steps, it was hauling me on through. I eventually stopped due to my lack of energy, had a little rest while my mates pushed their bikes up, then I pressed on and rode all the way to the top. Once we got to the top we stopped for a while to catch our breath for this monster of a descent.

Saddles dropped, we ripped down the start of the downhill track. After the first few turns I came to a large jump with a landing ramp. I gave it a go but halfway towards it I realized I had not got enough speed to make the jump but it was too late to pull out, so I ended up landing between the jump and landing ramp making a bit of a fool of myself. Luckily my mates were far enough behind that I could give it another go. As my mates can confirm, I am very determined when it comes to my riding. I will usually give something another go if I muck it up or even crash. On the second go I hit the jump and landed it well. I followed the trail down to find a massive step down jump. I braked and stopped before it as I didn't have the nerve to hit it before seeing it first. Once I had checked it out for myself I got a run up and jumped it. It was a very hard landing so I must have done something wrong. I felt the shock and fork bottom out simultaneously which was worrying. I checked to see if their was any damage to the bike which their wasn't. I carried on, coming down to rather large jump. I did the same and inspected the jump first then hit it. First time I wasn't carrying quite enough speed but I still landed fine. I had a few more goes at this to improve my technique. after a few goes I was hitting it well with enough speed to land on the landing ramp.

At the point where the downhill track crosses another path we decided to divert to head towards Clay Bank. I had got some adrenaline from the jumps on the DH track, time for some XC now. We headed along this path for a few minutes with me leading the way. I was hammering along enjoying myself when I came to a raise in the path, split by a rock, I took the path to the left of the said rock, bad mistake. I couldn't see that the path curved to the right until it was too late and I didn't have time to turn. This bad line choice resulted in my front wheel washing out and getting caught in some ferns, me face planting onto the dry mud and my watch snapping clean off my wrist. I got up thinking I had broken my jaw or something but it turned out I had grazed my arms and chin (this is still numb as I am typing). There are some crashes which are actually quite enjoyable for me. Most of the time I crash superman style I.E over the handlebars and flying through the air. This is usually fine as I get a sort of slow motion feeling of flying through the air which is actually quite nice. Not this one. One second I was enjoying the trail, the next I am on the floor wondering if I've broken anything. I tidied myself up after I'd stopped feeling slightly dizzy. we pressed on down some nice bits of single track until we reached the road. I was hoping for a nice easy ride home on the but unfortunately it started raining pretty heavily which meant I had to clean my bike when I got home.

Overall it wasn't one of the best rides to be honest, but I was mightily impressed with the way the bike performed on the downhill track. Here's a short video of me doing one of the Carlton Downhill track jumps.