Cannock Chase Frozen Solid

Well another great day out thanks to Nick. Cannock Chase is really good fun and especially so when it is all frozen solid...............no mud.........yipee!
The trail is about 7 miles round and has an excellent mix of single track and gravel roads. There is not too much climbing and there are lots of fast flowing singletrack sections to test your skills.
Quite a gang out today, Eleanor, Nick, Matt Hornby, Kevin, Rob Jones, Andy Boyle, Richard, Gareth and Steve, apologies if I forgot any one.
Not satisfied with one run round we went again then had some lunch before going yet again! Still helps when you know what is coming. Probably the funniest thing was Gareth and Matt both finding it impossible to ride the one metre wide boardwalk without falling off the edge, particularly galling for Matt as he managed to ride the bit that was only six inches wide first time round!
Anyway a good day out and thanks to Nick for organizing it.

Cannock Chase 19 Dec

Come and have a go at the recently improved Chase Trails. Follow the Dog is 7 mile intermediate cross country course with plenty of varied terrain. There is also a downhill area a short ride away which is worthy of a look. Cafe, shop etc on site. See http://www.chasetrails.co.uk/index.php for more information.

Meet at 10am at the Birches Valley car park, WS15 2UQ, GR018171 and use the lower car park to avoid the Christmas tree sales.

Delamere Sat 5 Dec

If you think Delamere Forest is all firetracks and too easy...... come along and we'll show you some trickier bits! Loads of flowing singletrack too.

Something for everyone. All abilities welcome. Bike hire from tracs by the visitors centre if you need it. http://tracs-uk.co.uk/

Meet at the station cafe at 10am as usual for a couple of hours or so, then a bit more after lunch for those who fancy it.

A good ride for the 7 of us who braved the mud. Video shows Andy on the notorious bridge!

North West Cyclo Cross

While some of us were enjoying the Llandegla trails Kevan and Eleanor were giving it everything to enhance their strong showing in the North West Cyclo Cross league at St Helens. Thanks to Matt Edwards for the pictures. You can find out more at http://www.nwcca.org.uk/ our own event was the first counter in this season's league.

There are events most weekends and mountainbikes can be used. I might have a crack at the Macc Wheelers Supercross on 27 Dec to burn off some of that turkey and Christmas pudd.

Llandegla 21 November

If you haven't ridden these superb purpose built trails then you don't know what you're missing. They have even constructed some new ones for us. Meet at the centre at 10am. All abilities welcome as there are a wide range of trails to suit all levels of fitness and skill. Bike hire also available if you book. See http://www.coedllandegla.com/ for more information. Mobile reception is none existant up there, so don't be late.

Delamere 7 Nov

Kevin approaches a boggy bit back in the "summer".

All abilities welcome - meet at the station cafe at 10am as usual - we'll ride over to Primrose Wood via the new obelisk at the top of Old Pale.

If you haven't ridden with us before, just turn up, you are most welcome. We regroup frequently and won't leave you lost in the woods. Delamere is the best place to come along and find out what we do. We shall end up back at the cafe in time for lunch, followed by some more trails for those who fancy it.

Don't forget that bike hire is available from http://www.tracs-uk.co.uk/

Brownbacks Hope Series Lee Quarry Race

This was Ross riding one of the May races, but he was flying again today to leave the rest of the Weaver Valley contingent in his wake. Matthew and I had a battle which lasted most of the 2 hour race and Derek did much better than last time(when he crashed) finishing on the same lap as Matthew and me.

Mathew making it look easy? ...well pretty tricky actually...and it was!

Kevin had his first crack at mtb racing and loved it, saying he'll do it again. We all got back safely without any mishaps on this very demanding course. Thanks to the Brownbacks team for organising it, we'll be back next year if I have forgotten how gruelling it was. Loads of fantastic action pictures at http://clearshot-photos.com/bike%20gallerys/Brown%20backs%20r3%20s2/index.html and http://ikam99.co.uk/ikam99/Lee_Quarry_181009.html

Meanwhile Kevan has been riding cyclo cross (2 races this weekend) in the NWCCA league where he is well up in his category - well done Kev.

Leave your comments here to let us know what you thought about the race. Results should be at http://www.brownbacksracing.co.uk/ and http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/site/BC/cyx/cyclo_cross_results.asp soon.