TheCorrective

Pump and roll - Updated with pics

2012-01-15T08:46:00.000Z

Thanks again to everyone who turned up to dig today at Bushcombe.

We started by walking down the track to check for fallen branches, then decided to work on the bottom section to improve the flow and to bring it up to the same standard as the top.

One group were adding a small catch berm to the off camber left after the small root drop. The other were building up the last left hand berm to stop Alex face planting there. They also added a couple of rollers to the final straight.

The plan for the next few weeks is to continue to work on the lower section as well as extend the DH down the hill. The climb is progressing well with a few riders attempting it, looks like we may need a few small changes but it will not be long before we have Bushcombe loops!

We hope to see many of you again on the 5th February for the next official dig day. Keep your eyes on the Facebook page for the latest details.

Leckhampton XC Video

2012-01-08T22:33:00.001Z

I just found this treat from one of out student members. Great inspiration to go out and put a ride together just over Leckhampton.

Lecky Solo from Richard Teague on Vimeo.

TheCorrective.com mk3

2011-12-28T23:04:00.001Z

The web monkeys have been busy over the winter months and we now have a pretty new website that I hope will work beter on mobiles. Any problems or suggestions for it then please hit the contact button on the flash new menu bar!

661 Mini Downhill FoD: Round 1

2011-12-06T23:11:00.001Z

Sunday 4 December saw the return of the 661 Mini Downhill mountain bike series at the Forest of Dean for 2011/ 12. The race, which attracts 300 riders, enjoyed strong participation from a number of Cheltenham-based enthusiasts keen to make their mark on the field. Cheltenham and County Cycling Club were represented by a team of 4 racers.

A strong crowd lined the full length of the classic "Ski Run" track to watch the action up close. Good weather conditions ensured very tight racing - where only the smallest mistake could cost several positions in the final reckoning, although a "best of two runs" format gave everyone a second chance if needed.

In a packed Senior Men (18-29) field of 91 entrants, Cheltenham and County rider Alex Hazle acquitted himself admirably after a four year break from racing, with a time of 1:16.34, placing him 51st overall, 10.74 seconds off the winning time.

In Veterans (40 plus), young-at-heart Roger Smith continued his progression in the racing scene with two consistent runs within 1 second of each other, with a best time of 1:26.38 putting him 18th in class in a field of 24.

In the Masters category (30 to 39) Cheltenham and County had two entrants in Adam Powell and Rich Dade. Both were keen to put in strong performances and after two runs, Rich Dade managed to edge the local battle with a time of 1:13.70 placing him 13th in category, just 4/100ths of a second faster than Adam's time of 1:13.74 which put him 14th out of a field of 51.

Overall some really solid results to build on for club riders at the next round of the series, which takes place at the end of January.

Words - Rich dade

Image - Loz Webb (Roots and Rain profile)

Full results and photos - Roots and Rain

Christmas Festive Ride

2011-12-06T23:01:00.000Z

In place of our traditional Christmas Carol ride we have decided that the MTBers and roadies will team up for a short festive ride around adorned with all the usual festive kit on TUESDAY 20TH DECEMBER.

We will depart from Central Cross Drive at 19:15 and take a leisurely route on the road around and end up at The Cheltenham Motor Club. The final details of the route are still being put together. It is a great opportunity for us all to get together as a club and have a good time. We hope many of you will support this ride. Please don't hold back on the festive decorations on your bike!!!

I am reassured that for you 'proper beer' drinkers an advance party was out today sampling a range of their splendid ales Kinver and Salop – zesty pale beers, Kingscote and Tom Long hoppy Ales, Robust Stout Ale are all on at £2.50 pint.

For those unable to join the ride we'll aim to be in the bar by 8.15 Merry Christmas from your road and MTB sub-committee

Cranham track closures - Updated

2011-11-02T18:30:00.000Z

Some of you will be aware that the recent change in ownership of some land within Cranham Woods has resulted in some of the long established MTB tracks coming under threat from closure. I have been on a bit of a fact finding mission to see what the state of play is and how we can minimise any loss of trails in this area.

Which area of Cranham are we talking about?
Coming from Birdlip, where the road splits, taking the right turn to Painwick (Buckholt Rd), the area starts here, on your left, and continues all the way down past the Sawmill, the Little Red House and to the post box on the left where there is a turning. I've linked the start and end below.
Start
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ll=51.819701,-2.119723&spn=0.000007,0.003439&t=m&vpsrc=0&layer=c&cbll=51.819627,-2.1199&panoid=zZtLnHU3NwGg1noG9yK-4w&cbp=12,230.86,,0,0&z=18

End
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ll=51.819353,-2.141138&spn=0.000007,0.005472&t=m&z=18&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=51.819392,-2.141353&panoid=9ttyS_a2EHWLtxuf9Uaagw&cbp=12,140.72,,0,0

For those familiar with the trails, this includes "The Shrine" and the twisty DH trail that comes off it and the short section from the Sawmill to the open area where there are signs for no fly tipping / dumping. There are also tracks that cut through here from when you come from the Campsite direction and cross the Slad road into it.

Update: It is with regret that I have to report that the restrictions on us are wider than I first thought. Yes we have this issue around the Shrine area as it is private land. When I heard that signs were being erected by Natural England about no MTBing, I assumed this was on this bit of land. It isn't. It affects all the remaining routes we use down to the A46, includes the Wall, UB40, down towards Coopers Hill, the works. Essentially, if it SSSI and NE are involved, we're only welcome if riding bridlepaths. This will be a major loss of the enjoyment we have here.

Why has this situation recently arisen?
This land has recently been purchased and the new land owner who is not in favour of Mountain bikes using it. This is combined with Natural England's displeasure having a duty to look after it as it forms part of the Cotswold Commons and Beechwoods SSSI.

Do cyclists have a right to access this land?
Others may have their opinions and know more on this but there are no legal rights of way for cyclists, although walkers are allowed some form of access by right (I think). Put simply, this is private land and the owners do not want us using it, although they have expained the reason for this as environmental concern.

What contact has been made with the owner / Natural England about this?
I have spoken to Mrs Tyson who now owns this land (with her Husband). She was appreciative that someone from a cycling group has made contact with them as it gave her an opportunity to explain their reasons. It appears it is the large quantity of MTBers that are using the trails that is the issue. She is concerned that track construction is uncontrolled and damaging to the woodland. The digging of some jumps there is a big concern. I have suggested that we could assist their duty to help conserve the land by assisting with work parties to clear unwanted scrub and other work they need to do. Natural England's rep Paul Hackman is also concerned about the damage to this SSSI.
The response I got from Mrs Tyson was that they were not prepared to negotiate and if we wanted to, come back to them in a couple of years when things had calmed down.
I have got the address of the Tysons for reference so we can make a formal appeal to them.

So what now??
Signs are apparenetly being put up by Natural England stating no cycling in this area.
Policing this ban will be nearly impossible by the land owner although they could try and tear up the trails / block them.

However....
I think we have, as a responsible organisation, a duty to do our best to work as hard as possible towards an amicable solution. The Tysons will soon see over time that trying to alienate riders from tracks they have enjoyed for many many years will only cause themselves and riders hassle. The way I see it, if we can get agreement (and possibly financial backing from the club) to have a select number of tracks to ride there we make them as sustainable as possible and this might mean importing stone onto areas that traditionally "bog up" and then some signage indicating where riders are allowed to ride. We can have regular meetings with the Tysons to hear concerns thay may have and help out with some non-bike related conservation work there too.

We can't force riders to stay clear of this area until such time we have a mutually beneficial agreement in place (if we get one...) but I think we should at least make riders (club and non-club) aware of the current situation. If we as riders start getting ugly about it, it jeopardies our chances of settling this in our favour.

I will be speaking to the Club Committee about making a formal representation to the Tysons and at least getting a meeting arranged so we can argue our case.

I will be liaising with Bigfoot MTB who I know built many of the trails in this area and seeing what their opinions are on this. If anyone is aware of other "clubs" or "groups" that regularly ride this area, please let me have their contact details and I will inform them.

This is not for me to decide, but I think it would be prudent to avoid the area for the time being on club (or non club) rides. I'll leave that decision to individuals.

Felling on the Racetrack
The Racetrack is blocked in two places at the moment due to tree felling. See pics attached. I spoke to one of the contractors doing the work and he reckoned it should all be cleared in a couple of weeks. Please be careful if you try and ride this, especailly in the dark!!! This bit of land we are not faced with any opposition to our use, it's just all the rest!!!!

Bushy dig day - Nov 13th 2.30pm (DH and XC)

2011-11-02T10:44:00.001Z

It's been a while but now the ground is getting softer the next round of Bushcombe dig days is about to start. I know a few of you have been enjoying what we've put in up there this year, so we've got some plans to extend, alter and improve what is already there.

On Sunday 13th November we are planning to make our way to Bushcombe (meeting at 2.30pm at the car park) to ride and take stock of what we have. If you want to go up earlier feel free and we'll meet you up there.

The ground may be still quite hard so it maybe that we start by checking the track over and seeing what needs work along with cutting some brush away to form new lines.

Other items of focus for this dig season are that we are keen to start looking at other lines for DH and, with the Cranham situation developing , creating an XC'able line there. This may sound like a massive task but I think we are only looking at the bottom 1/3 of the hill which needs something put in to ride back up as the exisiting trails and the Land rover tracks form a nice network in most areas and I think we could have something in place quite easily with a bit of graft and using the land well.

So if you fancy trying your hand at designing some lines, both DH and XC come along we'd love to hear your thoughts and we'd be happy to point you in the direct of some of the areas most suited for this to save you scouring the area. Or if you just want to come to dig and ride feel free.

Everyone welcome!

Forest Saturday

2011-10-18T22:36:00.001+01:00

Thinking that winter was on the way a few clubmembers booked on the Forest of Dean Uplift (www.flyupdownhill.co.uk)to get some practice in the wet conditions. Sadly winter was not tobe seen and we had to ride dry dusty trails. The uplift service wasexcellent as usual and it was nice to ride some changes to thetrails. The new jump on Corkscrew provided a few smiles and the bermsat the end of Sheepskull were amazing if you were brave enough toclear the jumps and not brake into them.

Special mentions should be made to Barnaby whocompleted his first ever uplift day (see its not so scary) also toRoger and Tim who missed out on the uplift but rode up to meet us atthe top.

It was also good to meet a few of the members ofthe Bristol Mountain Bike Club.

The only damper on the day was my bent crank/pedal which resulted in an early trip home and a tiny hole in Timstyre. Sadly I do not have any photos from the day so you will have tomake do with a few shots of my rear tyre, it is currently running 8holes in the tread and 5 in the side-wall (see Tim your hole wasnothing!)

New clothing now in!

2011-10-18T21:10:00.000+01:00

We have just recieved the first batch of club colours loose fit long sleeved jerseys. These are ideal for DH, BMX or even if you want a more casual look on the trails. I hope to see a few riders racing the Mini DH in FoD wearing these!

We have XS-L in stock so feel free to contact Alex if you want to try something.

The price is subsidised by the club so you only need to pay £31

Leckhampton Rally - video

2011-10-10T19:47:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Barnaby for this great little video from the 90th Anniversary timed session up Leckhampton.

Lecky 90th Anniversary DH rally. from Barnaby Tompkins on Vimeo.

Leckhampton Rally

2011-09-23T21:04:00.000+01:00

The Club Birthday DH event was a timed rally up Leckhampton Hill. The format was one hour per track with unlimited timed and untimed practice runs then one official timed run. Four riders turned up for the full event but more appeared to complete in the final stage. The times were recorded using the clubs Freelap poles and timing watches.

Track one was the BMX track from the top, down the chute, taking the long route to the next push path. The finish gate was on the straight before you drop on to the walkers track (so plenty of time to slow down). To those that do not know it so well, this section is all about sprinting and holding speed through large corners. Nothing too technical here just power and confidence! There we no particular problems with this section as everyone knew it well, though I did have an off track moment on the first practice run.

Track two used Dragons Tail, this drops from the middle walkers path to the top of the quarry. We used some tape to force the riders around all the corners then off the main line to take in a drop before finishing just after the ‘tail’ berms. By forcing the corners made this section a lot more difficult especially turning 90 degrees on rooty steps. During the practice period everyone had some off track moment, it was clear that consistency would win through on this stage. Roger deserves special credit for his crash on his race run. I did not see it but it sounded like he smashed through a tree!

Track three used Marshall Law then through the bomb hole in the beeches area. This track is one of the most technical on the hill with a good mixture of speed, tight corners and rough trail. Again everyone knew this track well so everyone was fine tuning their lines to save as much time as possible. First practice runs showed it was going to be close with Rich getting 40.25 and I got 40.24 (and no we were not following each other).

So the overall results were fairly close with Alex M taking the fastest overall and two of the stages. We hope to hold more of these sessions in the coming months, good practice for the FoD mini DH series!

Results:         BMX track     Dragons tail     Marshall law     Total

Alex H           33.67         28.41            39.26            101.34

Alex M           32.52         25.57            35.65            93.74

Rich D           32.19         30.69            39.66            102.44

Roger S (HT)     36.72         54(crash)        46.31            137.03

John H                                          39.68

Bran                                            36.69

Jake(rear brake only)                           49

Dancing with thorns - updated

2011-03-20T21:27:00.004Z

Sunday was the first official ride on the new Bushcombe track and what a perfect day with the sun out in full force. The track was dry and grippy which resulted in faster than expected riding and great jumping. People turned out in droves with fifteen different faces, and we have two new members as a result of the work we've been doing up there. There were some photos / videos being taken, check out the Facebook Group for more media.

Club has got one nice track now for our use!

Bushcombe on pinkbike.com

Rich D's Full run from Barnaby Tompkins on Vimeo.

Bushcombe video - first cut

2011-03-15T22:27:00.000Z

Thanks to everyone who has put in the hard work over winter, just a couple of dig days left now before we can shred the track all summer!

Keep your eyes on the Facebook Group to see what is happening up there.

Barnaby has put together this excellant preview of what is to come...

Bushcombe - first cut from Barnaby Tompkins on Vimeo.

2011 Forest of Dean Mini DH Round 3

2011-02-23T22:04:00.001Z

Not many photos this time but Rich sent over this nice little report.

The final mini DH of the season saw a return to Ski Run, but with an interesting start because of the forestry works. The new line started off looking nice but with 300 riders practicing their lines it soon turned into the evil child of Mr Rooty! The rest of the track was pretty slick and the mud and roots at the bottom section in particular were on hand to catch out the unwary.

Despite some drunken promises from others at the club dinner that they would be giving the event a go, Rich Dade was the only club member racing this time round, managing to get 18th place in the masters out of 47. Thanks also to Graham for the photos and Mike D for popping along and lending his support to the event.

Suspicious Combi Van

2011-02-15T20:22:00.001Z

Please read the message below from PS Tim Hutchinson reference new information related to bike thefts.

Please could you urge cyclists to keep an eye out for a white Vauxhall Combi van on '05 plates. There will obviously be lots of these around, but we have reason to believe that one is connected to thefts of pedal cycles.

Clearly we don't want to receive a report of every such van, as the vast majority will be used by totally legitimate and law abiding members of the public, but if any are seen in suspicious circumstances, we would very much like to hear from people. Either email me if it's just general info, or if it requires more immediate attention, ring the contact centre (0845 090 1234).

Also, I did hear a vague report of a pick up being seen up at Daisybank recently, with the occupants watching the bikers intently. I have no idea where that report came from and no further details. Again, if anyone has anything they want to tell me, please encourage them to drop me a line.

If you are followed home by this car or any other please report this to the local police (0845 090 1234) and lock your bikes up in your house for a while. Cars have been known to return only hours later to take the bikes. Carefully choose your route home so that you cannot be easily followed and keep an eye over your shoulder.

2011 Forest of Dean Mini DH Round 2 with photos

2011-01-25T14:46:00.001Z

Another good club turn out at the second round of the FOD mini DH competition this weekend. Corkscrew was the race track (first time it has been used in a race) and it looked to be flowing beautifully, with a whole host of new lines opening up as the racers aimed for faster ways down...

In the masters category (42 riders) both Charlie Williams and Rich Dade competed, the latter on his Commencal hardtail... Charlie came 11th with a 1.04.14, and Rich came 29th with 1.08.07.

Garry Higgins rode in the Vets and came a well deserved 11th out of 26 with a time of 1.05.81

Thanks as always to Graham for the photos and to all those who turned out to support.

Next round is Sunday 20 Feb - the more the merrier! Click here to find out more : www.minidh.co.uk/

December Snow Ride

2010-12-19T18:42:00.000Z

A little snow is not enough to stop the Saturday rides, actually it is usually one of the busiest rides of the winter. From the photos and this video it looks like a great expedition.

Photo and Video thanks to Graham Haller

Winter FoD XC

2010-12-14T18:37:00.001Z

It looks like there was another classic FoD ride on Sunday with stunning weather...

Photo and GPS thanks to Graham Haller

View the route at BikeHike
Download the GPX (right click and save)

2011 Forest of Dean Mini DH Round 1

2010-12-08T20:18:00.000Z

Despite the sub zero conditions the club put forward a strong team for the first round of the 661 Mini DH. The classic FoD track 'Ski Run' was used with sections getting cut up and muddy during the practice session. Some of the wooded sections ended up very dark during racing, some riders optted to ride without their goggles!

Rachel just missed out on another podium and Charlie actually crashed at the final corner on his first run so lost several vital seconds. Rich deserves a special mention for consistant fast runs ending up as the fastest club member and 9th in Masters.

Cheltenham & County CC represented by:

Rachel Vicary (Ladies) Best time= 1:35.53 Position= 4th / 10
Stuart Bond (Seniors) Best time= 1:24.98 Position= 46th/ 68
Richard Dade (Masters) Best time= 1:19.88 Position= 9th / 52
Alex Marshall (Masters) Best time= 1:21.77 Position= 16th/ 52
Charlie Williams (Masters) Best time= 1:23.17 Position= 19th/ 52
Roger Smith (Veterans) Best time= 1:35.03 Position= 20th/ 23
Garry Higgins (Veterans) Best time= 1:24.21 Position= 8th / 23

Photos from Graham Haller

Bike stolen plus dodgy Peugeot 106

2010-12-01T19:20:00.000Z

A week old 2011 Specialised Enduro Comp FSR (stock photo below) has been stolen from a workplace in Charlton Kings, We suspect he was followed there by a pair of lads in a small silver Peugeot or Renault reg V or W_06 plate.

In a separate incident a club member was on way up to Cleeve when a silver Peugeot 106 with 3 lads overtook, one lad lent out the window and shouted to pull over. The reg was V or W and they were 17-19 year olds.

If you are followed home by this car or any other please report this to the local police (0845 090 1234) and lock your bikes up in your house for a while. Cars have been known to return only hours later to take the bikes. Carefully choose your route home so that you cannot be easily followed and keep an eye over your shoulder.

Civic following people home

2010-11-10T15:23:00.000Z

A rider has been followed home recently by a group in a car. We don't have a registration at the moment but the car was described as a 98 or 99 style Honda Civic, navy blue and quite dirty.

If you are followed home from Leckhampton by this car or any other please report this to the local police (0845 090 1234) and lock your bikes up in your house for a while. Cars have been known to return only hours later to take the bikes. Carefully choose your route home so that you cannot be easily followed and keep an eye over your shoulder.

Working hard at the FlyUp

2010-11-05T23:38:00.014Z

A few lucky club member managed to blag a Friday off work to try out the DH track modifications at Cwmcarn, in preparation for the New Year ride of course. Sadly a mini bus breakdown and a lesser known Fabien Barrel meant that the uplift was cancelled. The back up plan was to quickly book the remaining spaces on FlyUp at the Forest of Dean.

As usual the service was excellent with as many runs as you dared in the low light conditions. I think most people has a few minor off's or moments through the day, including Roger carefully mastering the star-jump dismount and Ian nearly landing on him. We wish a big get well soon to the random rider who had a nasty crash and a broken collar bone. The conditions were a real mix of dry under the tree cover to sloppy in the open areas. The most embarrassing failure was Alex's attempt at a 180 en-route to the trail which resulted in a flat tire and a miserable run.

I think in total everyone managed a dedicated 13-14 runs, the last few were using the force with the low light. After the bike and body hose down the day finished with a classic FoD cake, perfect end to what is becoming a classic days riding.

Cheers Adam for the photos.

Club Quantocks Ride

2010-10-30T22:39:00.012+01:00

After months of anticipation Barnaby really pulled it out of the bag with this ride for sure. Somehow 21 riders managed an epic day with nearly 1000m of climbing. Top group, top tracks, top day. Well done B, more like this to come I hope.

Minutes after the group photo was taken Garry took a high speed tumble on a decent. He was showing off his injuries in town later though and no permanent damage I think. Andrea snapped her mech hanger and Rich converted her to a single speed - and this still didn't slow her down.

Big thanks to all who made the curry / beer session after the ride. 25 hungry souls (no B, not Cotic Souls..). Best Madras I have ever had and that's no joke. Chilli pickle still playing havoc with me now though!!

View the route at Garmin

PS I have cobbled this information together from the emails if anyone has a more comprehensive report please drop me a line.

Bushcombe winter digging

2010-09-01T15:14:00.000+01:00

As many of you know, the Cheltenham and County Cycling Club have been building trails on local farmland for the last year and a half. As the summer fades away and the undergrowth dies down we are starting to plan how we can really make the venue something special for next year as well as preparing it for winter skids.

There are 2 tracks being developed, a classic DH style course and a freeride trail with ladder drops, bridge jumps and plenty of berms. Both trails need continuing development during the darker months along with designing and building new lines, which is why we are looking for more riders and trail builders to come and help.

The first dig session will be Sunday 19th September 8am-12. Everyone is welcome to come along to our sessions and we try to do a bit of riding after. Keep your eyes on this site for more dig and ride dates, if you would like to be added to our mailing list please ContactUs.

Photos: Mike Dunsby and Graham Haller

Corrective Racing: Round 2

2010-07-08T21:14:00.000+01:00

To follow on with last weeks timed sessions we will be riding against the clock at Bushcombe this Thursday. You will be glad to hear that I went up on Saturday and cleared all the nettles and grass from the track so no stings or scratches. I modified a couple of corners as well making then a little easier, still plenty to challenge everyone though (and ridable by all).

I hope that we can run the full length of the built track so looking at times around 45 seconds, if lots of people turn up or it is too slow a turn around we can shorten the timed section.

You can think of the times as a race, or just as personal challenge. I find that I ride completely differently against a clock compared to just cruising.

I will be getting there at 6pm to put out a little tape and get some practice in, but remember club members can ride there any time in the week.

I hope to see lots of you up there on Thursday