UK Bike Park, Dorset.....

miss notax

Anyone been?

I'm thinking of booking an uplift here shortly as part of my Megavalanche 'therapy', but wondered whether it's really rideable or mega-technical and only for proper DH types?

I want to get more comfortable doing bigger stuff on the Kona, but i'm not the sort of rider who enjoys (or indeed rides) massive great drops or huge gap jumps!!!

Would be interested to hear anyone's thoughts!

Stevo_666

I've not been but I'm thinking of going sometime soon as well. Have a look at some of the youtube footage, some of the runs look quite do-able for mere mortals like me (as in, only started DH this year) - even when you allow for the fact that everything looks easier/less steep on camera than in real life. I did hear from someone who's been that it gets pretty muddy so might be worth waiting until this freakin' rain has stopped for a while!

The other place that was rcommended to me was Rogate - it's a push up but looks pretty good.

miss notax

Hmm, that's interesting, maybe i'll give it a bit of time to dry out then!!!

I think we'll give it a go within the next month, so i'll let you know what it's like

Stevo_666

miss notax wrote:

I think we'll give it a go within the next month, so i'll let you know what it's like

Thanks, a bit of feedback would be good. I probably wont make it for a while - got Cwmcarn to keep me occupied this weekend for starters

miss notax

Enjoy - Cwmcarn's lovely at the moment (was there on Saturday!) 8)

scottfitz

Do it UKBP uplift is better than Cwmcarn's. Has 5 trail open now and they are all good fun, not all with big stuff. I can't wait to go again. i did the uplift on a trail bike so the Minxy will be fine

miss notax

Hmmm, sounds good! Thanks

Stevo_666

scottfitz wrote:

Do it UKBP uplift is better than Cwmcarn's. Has 5 trail open now and they are all good fun, not all with big stuff. I can't wait to go again. i did the uplift on a trail bike so the Minxy will be fine

Interesting - in what way was the uplift better?

Thewaylander

Cwm really only has one trail,

having 5 options that are fairly long is heaven! I really want to go!

Stevo_666

5 decent runs you can't argue with - I definitely want to try it as well.

I thought he was talking about the uplift service though rather than the getting down?

scottfitz

Yes sorry I mean the 5 trails, uplift is uplift all very similar.

miss notax

Well, we have decided to go for it and I am just about to book the uplift for 9th June

I did an uplift at Cwmcarn on Wednesday, and was chatting to some poor chap with a bust ankle who recommended it a lot (the Bike Park, not the bust ankle ).

Stevo_666

miss notax wrote:

Well, we have decided to go for it and I am just about to book the uplift for 9th June

I did an uplift at Cwmcarn on Wednesday, and was chatting to some poor chap with a bust ankle who recommended it a lot (the Bike Park, not the bust ankle ).

Good stuff Miss Notax, look forward to the ride report :-) Would be good to know how the different runs compare to Cwmcarn (which is my 'reference point' for DH tracks)

miss notax

Well, just back from our visit to the UK Bike Park 8)

Really good fun and a great bunch of people. We booked the uplift which is an experience in itself (In an old army-type vehicle!) which takes about 3-4 mins to get you to the top. From there, there are various red and black routes down - each one lasting a few minutes or so I guess. We started on a red which was nice a flowy and bouncy - kind of like the bottom section of the Cwmcarn DH - nothing particularly techy at all but all about the speed and jumps (unless you're me who rides very slowly ). Tried the other reds in the morning and there are other trails with woodwork etc, again all totally rollable, which lead into the same bottom section.

Tried one of the blacks in the afternoon which people had commented was a tad slippery - understatement of the year It was on a chalky base and I was sliding all over the show, completely missed one corner ending up on my bum, and had to walk down a fair chunk of it as I literally just couldn't stay upright! Any kind of angle and the bike seemed to slide - I suppose the answer is to really attack it, but there were too many trees around for my liking :oops:

Anyway, a really good day. It's obviously all a work in progress and more trails are planned, but what they have there is good fun and very rideable (apart from the slippery chalk ). There's somewhere to grab a cup of tea and a toastie at lunch too. I found it a lot easier technically compared to Cwmcarn, but I can see that the skill comes in nailing the jumps, corners etc at speed (as many of the boys did). There are chicken runs around the bigger jumps on the black runs.

I was most impressed by the people though - i'm always a bit nervous doing stuff like this as i'm generally slower and more rubbish than everyone else (and the only girl :? ) but they were a really good bunch, one of the friendliest places i've ever ridden

notax

Agree with Miss Notax, excellent venue, well organised and everyone very friendly. Range of talent on display, from walking over a root to doing a 15ft road gap with a whip...

Really good set up, up to 30 runs a day are possible - although I think we did about 10 :oops: I prefer the set up to Cwm Down but whilst the reds are fine in slippery conditions the middle section of the black we rode was nigh on impossible for a mere mortal due to being steep, wet chalk and routes. I was on an XC Ardent front tyre which was hopeless (big problems getting DH tyres on my Crossmax SX rims - see other thread!) The only way to ride the section would appear to be with big committment and big tyres - but even then, most we spoke to expected to crash and burn regularly...

The reds were really nice, steep enough to be fun and with various choices of line. One option had rollable wood work which could be jumped if in the mood, another rollable doubles and the far left hand route (my favourite Wigly Woo) had a number of decent sized single jumps. Surface on the reds is also largely chalk but far more rideable than the black - in fact neither of us had a tumble on it all day

Will definitely be back and highly recommend it. Great venue. Great day

Stevo_666

Thanks for the write up folks, based on that I think we will be trying to get a trip there organised for next month - preferably when it's dry so we can have a chance of doing the black .

notax

I'd suggest warming up on the reds whatever the weather! Well worth a visit, I'm looking forward to going back on the Santa Cruz Bullit I've just bought, the bike will be capable - still not sure I'd cope with the middle section of the black in the wet though :oops:

Waller99864

Hi all, been reading ur posts about the UK Bike Park, i live in Bournemouth and have not yet been there, i dont have a DH rig but am riding a Specialized pitch pro which should be able to cope with most stuff. i was just wondering if its a requirement to have full face helmets and armor to ride there, i have most Armor but lack a full face helmet.

notax

Armour and full face appear to be optional - there were certainly people there in XC lids. Helmets of some description must be worn. I've not yet used armour or a FF on the Cmw Down track - but will be this weekend. At The UK Bikepark there was a huge mixture of riders from complete XC to pro DH - everyone was very friendly and there were no snide remarks whatever talent was on display at the time. Well worth a visit but if wet I would certainly avoid the black runs if you are not using armour and a FF - the reds are excellent though and plenty to keep you busy all day.