monkey trail @ cannock what to expect???

beany123

been to cannock a few times now and have always stayed on the dog trail but thinking about whipping round the monkey on sat, what can i expect??? is it just more of a physical test or are there bigger dropoffs etc to contend with????

lawman

quicker more technical, no real drop offs as such, a few rock gardens and some crazy fast alpine style descents, on the whole just a touch harder imo but massive fun

oldguynicebike

I would say the monkey trail is way harder than follow the dog,but have a go anyway,its a fantastic ride!

.blitz

The Monkey is no more technical than Follow The Dog - there's nothing that isn't rollable. Biggest difference is that there's hardly anywhere to switch off and take a breather like there is on some of the flowy, cruisy sections on the Dog; it's seven miles of relentless red trail.

But like Follow The Dog, The Monkey has plenty of short cuts and escape routes. If you're unsure about riding all of it, go down the link trail from the Dog, cross the railway & road and head straight up the fireroad (instead of going right) and you will pick up the Monkey trail at the start of the Lower Cliff section or you could carry on up the fireroad (keep going) and pick it up at the start of the Upper Cliff section. Upper Cliff is a good sampler for the rest of it.

Choose a dry day, take it easy and enjoy!

Mr_M

I'm another one who'd go with "it's harder / more technical" than FTD - but I'd also agree with blitz - there's nothing that isn't rollable.

Biggest issue I found was the trail surface condition - it's very much been a victim of it's own success combined with the long hot period we had late spring / early summer. The surface never eally got a chance to bed in properly an as a result has been very badly cut up - way way more than the usual braking bumps. Look ahead and choose your line carefully though and you'll be fine.

x-isle

I know of a few people who are used to trail centres in Wales and come to the Monkey trail and get confussed when they find it tough on the legs.

This is probably down to the fact that the climbs are short and sharp as compared to the long slogs at some Welsh trail centres, then it's a quick blast down, before doing it all again.

The Monkey is more demanding than the Dog, but if you have done the "new" ending of the Dog with Werewolf Drop and the rollers, then thats the sort of thing to expect on the Monkey.

The 2 main descents - Upper and Lower Cliff on the Monkey are a joy, a big joy! However, they are very rideable and easily taken slowly if tearing down is not your thing.

It's red (apart from the few optional blacks), so you know that there shouldn't be anything waiting to catch you out, as already mentioned everything is rollable and everything is also avoidable should you want to get off and walk it!


Have some fun!

latexkat

did you do monkey? What you think

BorisSpencer

As said above, the surface has got very cut up.
On the old bits of the dog I used to find that as long as you stayed high on the berms you could find a smooth line, but some of the Monkey is cut up all over and can make a speedy hardtail ride a bit "hang on and pray". Some of Lower Cliffe is now quite reminiscent of the old chain slapper.

x-isle

Yeah, it is a bit cut up, however, whilst really unnecessary they do add a litle bit of a challenge and at least a lot of the ruts on the berms are low down so you can ride high and around them.

The odd thing I've noticed is the braking ruts just after some of the jumps? Really wierd, I guess it certainly makes landing on a hardtail a bit of a challenge.

darren555

To add to the other comments, there are also some excellent tight switchback sections on the climbs that focus the mind. It's a great way of distracting you from the actual climbing.

ddraver

x-isle wrote:

I know of a few people who are used to trail centres in Wales and come to the Monkey trail and get confussed when they find it tough on the legs.

That was me on Friday.... :oops: The two trails together are certainly intense! I had a great time, It was nice to something with some different, geology, style and feel to the trails here and the singletrack;fireroad ratio was impressively good!! I ll be back soon when I ve found out a better way between the A5/M54 or M6

If you fancy a taster, go straight on over the railway crossing from dog and straight up the fireroad, the last section of Monkey is on your left (which was my favourite bit of the whole trail!). If you don't like this bit then you ve not lost much time...

ChickyChick

Rode this for the first time on wednesday after doing the dog for a while. Its a superb addition to the dog, the climbs are in my opinion far harder than any on the dog, i think its because they are short but sharp..and after each climb seems a worthy descent, no climbing with disappointing descents afterward here! go for it, enjoy!

jonnyboy66uk

Done both of them for the first time yesterday, The monkey is more demanding but so much more rewarding. Do it for the first time and just stay focused and take a breather when you can and enjoy, Dont need to go mad on this one to enjoy. Then do it for the second time and enjoy even more!! Although after two times round i was somewhat knackered!

:P