the Monkey Trail ride

hunting down, a photo by rOcKeTdOgUk on Flickr.

i've not been to the new trail at cannock even though it's been open a while. a combination of the horror of the M5/M6 and how busy it's reported to be at weekends have contributed to keep me away. three days off allowed myself and Andy to pay a visit. Hmmm, well i can't say it's my favourite trail centre, it's well worn even though it's quite young, most of the trails away from the fire roads have a rut running along the centre, making changing lines a chore. the downhills and berms have suffered from inexperienced riders panic braking and as a result the berms especially are ruined, designed to enable you to carry speed into a corner they are no longe able to do this, you don't expect a 1/2 foot drop at the top of a berm. a shame, but not unrideable, but the trouble is inexperience causes it and it causes new riders to brake because of the drops in a self generating way.
even with this it was a fun trail with some good downhills, i struggled on the slick from drizzle smooth slab sections and i always seem to get lower back ache at this trail. given the lack of proper riding so close to Birmingham i can see why it's so popular
ride 121
15 miles
total 1967
commute 949
total+commute 2916