Mountain Bike Trail & Event News

The committee (as in Steve Dowie, Robert Nayler, Nick Caller and myself) met with Kevin the Forestry Commission District Manager (who has the final say on all we do) at the woods on Tuesday 24th January.

The outcome was very positive with agreement that the Forestry Commission will start to investigate improving facilities at the Northern End of the woods. These include provision of toilets, a snack bar or small café and hopefully a resolution to the parking problems we have.

Any changes will take some time (at least a year) since it will require planning permission and also a successful conclusion to the current negotiations between the Forestry Commission and Southill Estates over management, liability and revenue issues. Will keep this updated as more information becomes available.

www.bedsfattrax.org

Some of you may have heard rumours of Chickshore closing due to Insurance Issues relating to "wooden constructions" - it also impacts the DS and 4X start ramps.

Thankfully due to the support of both The Forestry Commission and Southill Estates there is a 6-month reprieve while a long-term plan on investment and liability is sorted out. During this time The Forestry Commission will handle liability issues.

Many thanks to all those involved in this, especially Steve Knight of the Forestry Commission. Following a Civil Engineering audit by The Forestry Commission some of the older constructions will need to be removed and any future building will require authorisation from them.

www.bedsfattrax.org

Bristol Trails Group is carrying out monthly trail building days on the Avon Timberland Trail over the next few months and they're eagerly looking out for new volunteers to help.

So if you fancy spending a few hours outside in the company of local mountain bikers to improve parts of the Avon Timberland Trail, you can contact Anthony at the Bristol Trails Group on 07712 650857 or visit www.bristoltrailsgroup.com

The next trail building days are planned for Sunday 19th February and Saturday 4th March, from this date they will run at least once a month.

The Bristol Trails Group was set up a couple of years ago. The group is made up of local mountain bikers who have an interest in improving mountain bike facilities in the Bristol area. Since the group became established they have been organising regular trail building sessions in Aston Court to encourage volunteers to help build new paths and improve some existing sections.

The Ashton Court trails are now in a pretty good condition thanks to the group and attention is now switching to the more remote sections of the Avon Timberland Trail in 50-Acre Wood. Parts of the Trail in 50-Acre Wood have been re-routed to improve the ride and to make it is easier to carry out trail building.

Tarmac, the owners of Durnford Quarry, have been supportive throughout the project and continue to offer free stone to the Avon Timberland Trail. The stone will be used to build up sections of trail and provide a stable base to the paths so that the surface remains dry and compact.

Improvements to the paths in 50-Acre Wood are likely to continue for at least the next 6-months but hopefully by the end of the year the trail will be in great condition.

The Irish Cycling MTB Commission Downhill Committee has forwarded us the following riders as members of the Irish downhill squad from which Irish teams will be selected in 2006.

Despite the deadlines stated for submission of CVs this is not yet a closed squad so any rider who thinks they may be in with a chance may still forward their CV for consideration.

Junior
Dan Wolfe
Paul Cummins
Richard Smith

Elite
Gerard Wolfe
Ben Reid
Andy Smith
John Lawlor
Stephen McClintock
Darren Quill
Alan Cogher

www.irishdh.com

The course will take place on Thursday 16th February 2006 and will be run on the same format as the previous DeVo2 courses and the course is for DeVo regulars and riders who are looking for race specific technical skills training.

If you haven't been on a DeVo course before and would like to check the suitability of the course please visit www.astonhill.com

At last Hamsterley trails have finally got the tractor and trailor up and running. They can cater for around 20 - 25 riders. The bikes will be fastened to an upright bar to keep them separate and avoid bikes on bikes.

Uplifts will start at 10:15am.

For more information visit www.descendhamsterley.co.uk