Gisburn - New Trails & Hub open 23rd March

stumpyjon

The new trails, cafe, skills loops and bigger car park all open on March the 23rd at Gisburn. It's been a long time coming, another casualty of last year's terrible summer.

We're having a bit of a low key openning event on the 23rd with a mega superstar coming to do the honours (well they are someone most on here will know ) plus a few fun things to mark the openning.

The new cafe will also be joining in on the openning, based at Stephen Park it's ideally situated next to the new car park for pre / post and possibly mid ride fuelling if you're doing two laps.

If you think you might come and give the new trails a go, post up so we can get a rough idea of numbers. I'll put more info up on here and www.pmba.org.uk as we get closer.

mcnultycop

Excellent. Going to have my first trip to Gisburn in the fist week in April.

frankspencer1979

Won't be able to get back to Gisburn 'till April I think, but this is brilliant news, looking forward to checking it all out. Will the cafe be open 7 days a week? And will there be parking charges now? (Just so I'm prepared!)

Also, just thought I'd say I think what you're doing up at Lee Quarry with the way marked routes is a great idea. I'm not averse to map reading, but not having to stop and check the map at every junction will make for a more enjoyable ride. Look forward to having a crack at them!

thelonegroover

Do you have details of how to get to the new car park from the current Cocklet Hill car park.

stumpyjon

Should be a map up on www.pmba.org.uk in the next day or so with all the new trails etc. but it's dead easy to get to. Go past the entrance to Cocklet Hill and take the next right just around the bend. Drive up that fire road, go straight across at the staggered cross roads (that's where the existing trail crosses over) and you'll soon see the new car park on your left just before you get to the open fields. Barriers don't come down to the 23rd though.

thelonegroover

stumpyjon wrote:

Should be a map up on http://www.pmba.org.uk in the next day or so with all the new trails etc. but it's dead easy to get to. Go past the entrance to Cocklet Hill and take the next right just around the bend. Drive up that fire road, go straight across at the staggered cross roads (that's where the existing trail crosses over) and you'll soon see the new car park on your left just before you get to the open fields. Barriers don't come down to the 23rd though.

Great thanks, will there be any charge?

stumpyjon

From the 23rd, yes, £3 in the new and old car parks, proceeds to go back into trail maintenance.

The Northern Monkey

Wish I could get to this, I'll be back up north but probably coming back on the 23rd so can't make it.

Rode Gisburn not long ago and the work that the volunteers have done is absolutely brilliant!

frankspencer1979

Great mega superstar for the opening, gutted I can't go!

stumpyjon

Great Mega Superstar = Guy Martin

compo

Arrogant by all accounts think he is something he isn't. Thinks he is God's gift of a motorbike racer yet he hasn't won much of note. Also plays up "I'm just a lorry mechanic" if you ask me.

Still good publicity for it. And I look forward to sampling the new stuff, especially the cafe!
Well done to all involved

frankspencer1979

Can't really comment on his superbike skills as I don't follow the sport, I just like his genuine enthusiasm for the subjects of the TV prog's he's done.

thelonegroover

What's he like at mountain biking, he'll probably turn up with something fashioned from a truck chassis.

compo

I've heard from someone who has ridden with him quite a bit that he thinks he is better than he is, but isn't too shabby either

frankspencer1979

How'd it go, what with the weather and that?

compo

Was postponed wasn't it?

stumpyjon

Yep got postponed, doubt we could have got to the forest yet alone ridden the trails, the local roads don't get gritted / plowed.

peter3hg

Anyone know the conditions up at Gisburn? I was hoping to go tomorrow but don't want to find it covered in snow.

mcnultycop

I'm heading up to Gisburn for the first time tomorrow. Anything I need to know?

RichardKS

Anything you need to know?

Well, both new and old car parks are in use. The new car park has a pay and display parking charge machine but it's non operational at the time of typing.

There was a little bit of ice in a few places today, but absolutely nothing to worry about unless you're a first time off-roader.

If you use the new car-park the signage is spot-on for you to find the little skills loop area (which is fun) and then the newly built single-track 'start trail' which leads you onto the existing trailway.

ETA if it's your first time there and you use the new car park there's a chance you may miss a bit of good riding near the end of your ride. I observed riders today missing out the last, good, section of singletrack and berms and just going back to the car park via the main area of stone buildings and new,wide, road (where the cafe should be I think). I can't remember much signage at that point (because I know my way around) so it may be worth considering your route at that point.

HTH.

mcnultycop

Cheers for that. I'm OK on the bike, not super-gnar by any stretch of the imagination though. I'm going to the full 8 with Hully Gully I reckon. I'll keep my eye out at the end so I don't miss anything.

mcnultycop

Well that was good fun. I did the 8 including Hully Gully and also the Log Ride section (minus the skinniest log).

Gisburn may be my new favourite trail centre - I'll hopefully hit it a little harder now I know what to expect.

I loved Home Baked (although I did bottle the steepest rock section, like usual it looked a lot worse at the top than at the bottom) and Swoopy was really good too. All the trails seem really well thought out, and climbs are rewarded. I need to get a bit fitter to manage some of the more technical climbs, as I was just losing momentum, but found most of it ride-able for my ability.

I had a couple of minor offs, one in Simon's Swamp as a kid in front of me just stopped and I had no where to go (fair play to him, he was on a rigid bike) and one just climbing up to what I presume is Whelpstone Crag, as I just lost a bit of momentum climbing up onto a rocky bit, then fell off sideways.

The section as described by RichardKS above, where I saw my car in the new car park but followed the signs back was definitely worth riding, a relatively gradual climb then a really nice multiple bermed section that flowed really well.

The only bit I didn't enjoy was Hully Gully, just because of the conditions, it was really cut up and incredibly slippy (not in a fun way). I imagine in the relative dry in summer it'll be a great section, but I think at the moment it should probably be closed to prevent it cutting up any more.

I'll hopefully get up there a few more times this year.

stumpyjon

We'd love to close HUlly Gully for the winter but people actively destory the barriers and remove the signs. We've had it happen on the Hope Line recently, was closed for a few weeks whilst it was reshaped, people decided to ride it and as a result have trashed the surface before it set. That was fenced off properly. Alaso had some of the Harris fencing (big metal mesh fences) ripped apart as well when they were closing off the new sections.

mcnultycop

I saw that on the Facebook page. The Hope Line looked open on Tuesday, there was no indication it was closed at all (I didn't ride it in any case, I didn't know what it was like so didn't want to risk it).

frankspencer1979

Visited Gisburn today. The new car park and visitor hub all look pretty swish, didn't venture up to the caff as I'd assumed it was shut. Really enjoyed the trail out of the car park, and the trail back (feel the rhythm is it?) Had a couple of cracks at the skills section too, although I was surprised to find a family having a lovely walk round it :? Christ, it's not like there's not enough signs!!

Most importantly, I finally beat the rock steps in homebaked. I've bailed every time I've approached them in the past, but i decided today was the day. I know some people will look at this and think "what the f@cks wrong with you, just ride down them," but I had it in my head I'd definitely end up face planting a tree or something, but no more!

mcnultycop

Those steps looked horrific from the top. When I walked to the bottom of them they looked like nothing at all. I'll hopefully ride them next time...

stumpyjon

I reckon they're nearer black than red (and I put the top step in!). They feel worse at the moment with all the erosion down the left hand side. We've plans to rebuild the edge and probably put in an easier rocky alternative.

Official opening has been re-organised for this Sunday if anyone's around.

tarbot18

I rode gisburn last week and loved it , it lulled me into a false sense of security for the 1st mile or so with the smooth gravel trails then it got into the forest and became nice and technical .
Enjoyed the rocky areas too especially the steps in the black section and hully gully is brilliant scared myself shitless but great.

After doing llandegla , the marin trail ,Coed y Brenin The Beast and cannock chase id say this is the most technical and requires the most skills out of the above although its not as physically demanding as the marin or the beast as the hills are short and not very demanding but because of that i think ill do 2 laps next time as i enjoyed it so much.

RichardKS

Was there yesterday. Whilst packing up to go, in the new car park, two 5 series BMW's arrived and drove through the car park, out through the ride and walk way, along the 'multi-user' trail and all the way up to the stone circle hub where they parked as if to unload their bikes to go riding.

I watched for a few minutes, gobsmacked at the apparent ignorance. After a short while they appeared to realise the error of their ways and proceded to drive back along the multi user trail and use the car park like the ordinary people. Takes all sorts...

Kowalski675

compo wrote:

Arrogant by all accounts think he is something he isn't. Thinks he is God's gift of a motorbike racer yet he hasn't won much of note.

I'd like to see you follow him round the TT circuit, or Oliver's Mount, lol...

Kowalski675

frankspencer1979 wrote:

Can't really comment on his superbike skills as I don't follow the sport,

He's extremely fast, in a way that (as with all riders of that calibre) normal road riders like me can never even hope to comprehend, never mind achieve. Whether you like him or not (I'm undecided) he can ride a bike.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O9CQZkk ... detailpage