How do you ride the nasty slab inthe Dalbeattie skills loop?
lochussie
Posts: 276
I don't mean the slabs on the red route, these are all easy enough. I mean on the black bit of the skills loop. It's big, steep, has a bottom right to top left 4-5ft high almost vertical band and a crap run in and out. Roll it: looks like over the handle bars. Hit with speed and get some air: run in and out don't look the best. More than I was prepared to try without the full facer and armour.
Any tips?
Any tips?
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any vids of the slab in question.www.bearbackbiking.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrDelcol#play/uploads
hd vids
http://www.youtube.com/user/topasassin#play/uploads
http://www.vimeo.com/user2514116/videos0 -
lochussie wrote:I don't mean the slabs on the red route, these are all easy enough. I mean on the black bit of the skills loop. It's big, steep, has a bottom right to top left 4-5ft high almost vertical band and a crap run in and out. Roll it: looks like over the handle bars. Hit with speed and get some air: run in and out don't look the best. More than I was prepared to try without the full facer and armour.
Any tips?
When I was up there I did the skills loop but can't remember anything that difficult.
What I didn't like the look of, however, was the 'qualifier' before 'the slab' on the full red/black route. Did you do that? I can't remember it exactly, but it just looked like a short yet ridiculously steep drop to a flat ledge and another drop. The only thing during that trip that I didn't at least have a go at - I couldn't see a line that even had a slim chance of me not faceplanting.0 -
must admit, i chickened out of the qualifier as well, sometimes you just gotta feel the trail, and on saturday i had no love for the qualifier, did the walk of shame down it.
Gotta balance giving it a go with possibley breaking summat, being off work etc, so actually no shame at all. Just good sense.
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Not just me then who failed the qualifier
I actually thought the slab was easier, well only a touch maybe! I did attempt the qualifier but sort of bodged it about a quarter of the way down so gave up, so went straight to the slab, couple of seconds later hit that point of no return and within a second was at the bottom, still upright and in one piece, god knows how though lol Vis Unita Fortior0 -
No pics I'm afraid. It's much harder than the qualifier, with that you just roll the start slowly and pick up speed through the rest, no worries. I do remember qualifier being more intimidating a couple of years ago, but better skills and switch from HT to 6" makes a big diff!
You could easily miss slab I'm on about on the skills loop, the route to it starts vague and then has a wee rock ridge and North Shore bit. It starts on the right just before the skills loop turns into the main trails.0 -
Ahh the Qualifier, can't say Iever done it myself either.
However I did witness two guys from what looked like the Irish XC team, clean it on race hardtails without so much as dropping their saddles, made me feel a bit silly walking passed it on a 5 inch full sus!0 -
No that's the qualifier and slab out on the red route. Much easier. You push back up so you can do it again, cos it's fun.0
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The crap thing about that slab is that you miss out one of the better bits of singletrack on the route unless you go back up.0
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Yeah, the black route to the right of the slab is more fun than the slab, once you've done it once.0
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colintrav wrote:
it's what the yoof call sessioning, but to you and me and the other "more mature" riders would call practicing, see it's how you get good at something.Fancy a brew?0
