Follow the dog..1st timer

naffa

Having booked a couple of days off work I've been determined to get over to Cannock Chase and ride FTD.
I've only ever done 1 little visit to any trail centre, I went to Nant yr Arian and did part of the Pendam trail so i'm really inexperienced on the trails but I've been reading up, watching vids and trying out some of the techniques on my normal rides.
Anyway I really loved it there.
I did everything finding only this drop I took a picture of causing me problems. I did it twice but each time I veered to the left nad just missed the tree, but getting pedal studs in my knee for my efforts. I dont know if theres a name for this drop?


I was really pleased with my fitness too, I completed the trail in 1hr 3mins 30secs.

flyingmonkeycorps

Took me a while to place that - it's one of the bits you don't do if you do the Monkey right? And the photo is looking back up it? Not sure on the name, but standard advice applies - pivot the bike under you, weight low and stay off the brakes till you're well over it!

Mrs Toast

It’s the end of section 8 of Follow the Dog, although the numbering of the sections doesn’t really make sense any more as various bits have been chopped out (3, 4 and 5, 13, 14, 15 and 16) and added (Tackaroo, and the current long section 8 that goes left through the trees was a replacement for the previous short section 8 that went off to the right down the hill)!

If it’s any consolation, it took me nearly two years to pluck up the courage to even attempt it! You need to approach it at a fair speed, because if you go too slowly there’s a stone that slightly juts out just before the ramp that can knock your front wheel off course. It’s one of those things where the slower you go, the harder it is (not a euphemism), you just need to go into it straight on.

I did everything finding only this drop I took a picture of causing me problems.

Did you manage Werewolf Drop?!

naffa

Yep its on the dog not the monkey and the approach to it is uphill through the trees with a lot of switchbacks before going ober a rock and then down the logs. It just seemed to send me to the left each time I did it but I didn't do it with any great speed.
I did the werewolf drop @ the second attempt. It seems the approach is where the greatest care is needed andthen just using the rear brake on the way down it.
Heart attack hill? Did I do that on the 'dog'? I did 1 decent climb on fireroad but I didn't think it was too bad.
Fave section though has to be from the campsite back to Birches valley centre.

Majski

People who ride at cannock seem to refer to small downramps as 'drops' quite a lot? That's not a drop - it's a bank with some logs on it. Same as the 'werewolf drop' which is just a rocky downslope

Mrs Toast

naffa wrote:

Yep its on the dog not the monkey and the approach to it is uphill through the trees with a lot of switchbacks before going ober a rock and then down the logs. It just seemed to send me to the left each time I did it but I didn't do it with any great speed.
I did the werewolf drop @ the second attempt. It seems the approach is where the greatest care is needed andthen just using the rear brake on the way down it.

I've never done Werewolf Drop, I chicken out everytime. Which is a bit silly, because it's no steeper than the log ramp exit of 8 pictured above, although it's more the turning into and out of that puts me off. I'm not an ambi-turner. In fact, I have the turning circle of a rusty piano.

Heart attack hill? Did I do that on the 'dog'? I did 1 decent climb on fireroad but I didn't think it was too bad.
Fave section though has to be from the campsite back to Birches valley centre.

Not sure, on Follow the Dog the only climb of length is the fireroad from section seven (with the boardwalk) and section 8 (with the log ramp exit). Don't know if people refer to that as Heart Attack Hill, or whether they're referring to Kitbag Hill (which connects the end of the Monkey back to Follow the Dog), which is a lot longer than the FtD fireroad climb.

flyingmonkeycorps

The very first time I did the Werewolf I got my bars stuck between the trees, to the extent that I could sit on the bike not moving. That'll learn me for having stupid wide bars.

welshkev

Majski wrote:

People who ride at cannock seem to refer to small downramps as 'drops' quite a lot? That's not a drop - it's a bank with some logs on it. Same as the 'werewolf drop' which is just a rocky downslope

i did think that, i've never ridden cannock so i assumed that there was a drop the other side with the ramp leading up to it :?