Todays ride - Willingen, Germany
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Posts: 257
Well i finally got my arse into gear and went to Willingen today. I have been meaning to check it out for ages, and for various reasons just haven't got around to it.
I went with the sole intention of checking out the freeride and dh side of life down there, the xc stuff will be top of my agenda on my next visit.
For starters i am no DH'er or FR'er, and my only past experience is at Cannock and Aston Hill. Also, i don't ride a dh/fr rig, just an Orange 5 built to take a bit of 'ommer (It will take more than i am ever capable of throwing at it probably).
Anyway, today was a blast. I tipped up, got a half day lift pass for 16 euros and headed straight for the freeride course. I rolled it all first time down, just to get familiar with it. It is very similar to Llandegla black sections to be honest, maybe a bit steeper in places though and a lot longer. It is silky smooooooth though, with very few braking bumps. It's nice and wide, perfect for beginners imo. Loads of margin for error. There are some trickier lines, and some of the North shore is pretty scary too (Well it was for me anyway). I did it about 6/7 times in all, and even i was getting some serious flow going over all the jumps.
The DH course was an entirely different beast. I was WAAAAY out of my depth
. The biggest gaps i've ever seen and rock gardens that were more boulder fields than anything else. I walked most of it as i'd forgotten my abseiling kit!!
Anyway, i'll definitely be going back soon.
Here's a couple of pics. Apologies for the blurred pics, i had arm pump and they are off my phone.
I went with the sole intention of checking out the freeride and dh side of life down there, the xc stuff will be top of my agenda on my next visit.
For starters i am no DH'er or FR'er, and my only past experience is at Cannock and Aston Hill. Also, i don't ride a dh/fr rig, just an Orange 5 built to take a bit of 'ommer (It will take more than i am ever capable of throwing at it probably).
Anyway, today was a blast. I tipped up, got a half day lift pass for 16 euros and headed straight for the freeride course. I rolled it all first time down, just to get familiar with it. It is very similar to Llandegla black sections to be honest, maybe a bit steeper in places though and a lot longer. It is silky smooooooth though, with very few braking bumps. It's nice and wide, perfect for beginners imo. Loads of margin for error. There are some trickier lines, and some of the North shore is pretty scary too (Well it was for me anyway). I did it about 6/7 times in all, and even i was getting some serious flow going over all the jumps.
The DH course was an entirely different beast. I was WAAAAY out of my depth
. The biggest gaps i've ever seen and rock gardens that were more boulder fields than anything else. I walked most of it as i'd forgotten my abseiling kit!!Anyway, i'll definitely be going back soon.
Here's a couple of pics. Apologies for the blurred pics, i had arm pump and they are off my phone.
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Comments
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Thats looks friggin epic mate nice pics. I see what you mean about it being silky smooth, ground looks good and solid. Did you have a go on that dropoff from the northshore? :? Dont no if id dare to be honest0
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Looks like a pretty fun route, and a pretty fun bike to do it on. Nice going.0
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That looks awesome, not sure I'd ever be able to leave.
One of the guys in the German office lives just down the road from this: http://www.bikepark-winterberg.de/
Looks like another awesome place to ride. No idea where it is in relation to you though.0 -
OH NO Dan wrote:Did you have a go on that dropoff from the northshore? :? Dont no if id dare to be honest
Errr no :oops: . I will next time i'm there. I made a lot of progress throughout the day, but didn't want to push it too far. Most of the north shore stuff had a 3-4 foot drop at the end, and i'm currently only confident on anything less than about 18 inches. I'll get there though.Cat With No Tail wrote:One of the guys in the German office lives just down the road from this: http://www.bikepark-winterberg.de/
Looks like another awesome place to ride. No idea where it is in relation to you though.
Winterberg is about another 20 mins down the road from Willingen (Willingen is about 1hr 20mins from home). I am planning on going there soon too. There is more there for FR and DH, but less so for XC. I think that the DH at WInterberg may be a bit more progressive than the world cup course at Willingen. Apparently you need a full face helmet to be allowed to use the trails at Winterberg though, which i haven't got yet.0
