I started out making a best of 2011 video and then extended it to include the last 3 years. Apart from it being previously seen footage to new music, quite a bit of the 2011 stuff is new and there are some older unseen short bits and a few alternate shots that weren’t in the original videos. For more of these videos see the Video pages for the last 3 years.

The bridleways we’re riding are all named, see more info on them on the track pages and you can also view their locations (and much more) on the OS tracks map.

http://monkeyspoon.com/peak-district-mountain-biking-route-map

We’ve (finally) updated the OS Tracks Map and the Route Designer (which was previously a beta version in a separate page). Hopefully we’ll be adding some more routes soon too.

New Features

• Integrated Route Designed
• Improved Routes & Route detail
• Mouse-over titles on marker icons.
• Share Route on Facebook link
• Shorter custom route sharing URLs
• Map area increased to include more of Sheffield
• New URL (Web Address)
• Updated Places & some new pre-drawn lines
• New More Flexible Back-end (stuff geeks get excited about)

We’ve also updated the Tracks page and added some new tracks and updated others:

• Bradwell Edge
• Brough Lane
• Hope Brink
• Roych Clough
• Rushup Edge

Below are the pictures taken there this year:

11-03-24 Bamford Pump Track JI+JK+OS+JR, 7 Pictures by Jeff

11-03-31 Bamford Pump Track JI+JK+JH+TH+JR+, 25 Pictures by Jeff

11-04-14 Bamford Pump Track JI+OS+AM+JR, 16 Pictures by Irwin

I remember the first time I ever found out about Ambergate, it was at least 8 years ago. However at that point I didn’t have a means of transport to get there. So quite a few year past by until I was able to drive and we headed down south,to go check it out.

For those who haven’t been I can best describe Ambergate as a flatter less technical version on Wharncliffe. Although the tracks are no where near as steep or as long as Wharncliffe it shares the same wild west approach to trail building. I mean that as a good thing. With the local trail fairies always hard at work, there are a number of trails in the woods. Some old, that have seen large amount of traffic. Some relatively new loamy trails like the one feature at the start of the below video.

“Downhill trails” are something of a sort after items in Derbyshire, yes we are blessed with stacks of natural bridleways covering a huge range of technical difficulties. But something that you don’t often find are corners. I know this sounds daft but think of your local bridleway most of these are purposeful rights of way that you string together together into routes. They are not often designed with mountain biking in mind. After all what we recognise as a mountain bike didn’t even exist when they were first opened. Riding a downhill bike on a bridleway always feels like overkill, and is something that can get bikers into trouble when sharing the route with other user groups. So places like Ambergate and Wharncliffe are great, as you can get loads of time on your bike. Riding a trail that warrants the use of a downhill bike. Anyway random talk over, having visited Ambergate less than 10 times I know the location of most of the trails I still have yet to master them though.

The Video features various trails within the woods all starting from the main pike. They range quite abit in terms of rider experience. The original mainline being the fastest with a couple of jumps and drops along the way. The Loamy track featured at the start of the video despite being the shortest would probably have to be my favorate. The other trail featured is much tighter to the trees with a good number of turns and roots to catch you out.

11-11 Ambergate JI+JK+JG, 12 Pictures by Jeff

Last Thursday was Shane’s birthday and he’d arranged a ride on his old home turf; Edale. As part of his present Irwin had got him some new ‘aerodynamic’ bar ends (word on the track is Gwin will be running them at the Worlds) and plastic spokey dokies (personally, I was disappointed he hadn’t got anodised aluminium ones, but apparently they don’t exist!).

I (Jeff), Irwin, Shane, Alex (aka That Megson Youff), Nat & Josh rode up from Edale and sessioned the Hollins Cross -> Greenlands bridleway before being joined by Joe (aka ProBow) and Ruari (of This Is Sheffield fame). The track was dry and dusty and we did many runs.

We then headed up the ridge towards Mam Tor and down the bridleway that traverses the back of Mam Tor to the top of Mam Tor -> Greenlands bridleway and then down that. It’s is holding up pretty well from when we worked on it two years ago and is still great fun.

Shane completed his compulsory actions check-list that he uses for all rides we go on:

• Get puncture    √
• Chase sheep    √
• Crash    √
• Rip shorts in an embarrassing place    √

Unfortunately he missed out on top marks, by not using his catch phrase. An honourable stupidity mention also goes to Nat, for riding into a ditch on the way back down the road.

All in all it was a great evening of riding in the sun, topped off with a pint and chip butties at The Rambler Inn in Edale. – Shane needs to have a birthday more often!

11-08-25 HollinsCross-Greenlands+MamTor-Greenlands, 19 Pictures by Jeff.

Well it has been a while, Wharncliffe is one of those spots that you that if you dont ride there for a couple of months, something new will have been built. A new jump, berm or most often a whole new track. And while Truffle Shuffle isn’t the newest addition, it was shamefully the first time I had seen it. Starting next to NEMBA, Truffle Shuffle combines all that is great about Wharncliffe. Technical rock gardens, flat out speed and some steeper sections to test those brakes.

I have not been on the downhill bike as much as I would like and was feeling quite rusty for the first couple of runs. But after much pushing and hanging around we managed to get to the bottom of the track. We then did a run down Alexander Super Trout which is a little more bedded in than last time I rode it!

Jeff was trying out his new tripod, lense and external mic. He learnt a valuable lesson – don’t switch off the mic and forget to switch it back on!

11-07-14 Wharncliffe JI+JK+NH, 18 Pictures by Jeff

“Join our conversation and help create the new Peak District National Park Management Plan

The Join Our Conversation consultation asks for comments on a draft new National Park Management Plan. The plan will be the main policy document that guides what will happen in the national park between 2012 and 2017.”
_{http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/index/news/news-display-page.htm?id=24782}
^{http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/npmpconsultation}

The Peak District National Park Authority are consulting their new Management Plan document and are asking for people’s views via online an survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/npmpbasic (This is also a longer survey, but it is probably only relevant if you read the whole document.) Part 2 gives an opportunity for general comment, which might be useful if you have a view on mountain biking you’d like them to hear. The consultation ends 1st of July (Friday).

It sees Jack Reading (not to be confused with the more local “ing”-less youth) riding Mono6ti, Blackley Hey (aka Potato Alley) and somewhere else in a far away land. It’s interesting to see the difference in what a rider in the elite category of world DH can do on your local tracks.

Playing in the Peaks – Jack Reading from George on Vimeo.
“Join Jack Reading as he spends a day riding both DH and XC in his back yard, also known as the Peak District. Please LIKE my facebook page : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gee-Milner-Films/183750188314560“

The Chapel Gate track in Edale has been resurfaced and turned into a smooth motorway. The long and very rocky track was previously considered by many, us included, to be one of the most technically challenging (legal) tracks in the area. This is a sad day for mountain biking in the Peak District.

Last Tuesday we went up and took some pictures of the new state of the track, although we only had time for pictures from the bottom of the main section.

11-05-18 Chapel Gate Track, 11 pictures of the current and previous state of the track.

10-01-21 Chapel Gate JI+JK, 16 Pictures by Jeff & Irwin.

Whilst the smoothing out (or “sanitising” to some) of technically challenging tracks in the Peak District often results in out cry from mountain bikers in online forums and in discussions with fellow bikers out on the tracks, there are a few more complicated issues at play with this one.

• Chapel Gate is a BOAT (Byway Open to All Traffic), so walkers, mountain bikers, horse riders, horses and carts ( ), motor bikes, quad bikes and 4×4 vehicles can all legally use it.
• Derbyshire County Council are responsible for maintenance of the track and the cost of doing so. The Peak District National Park Authority has helped with the assessment of the track.
• They are aware that the track is popular with mountain bikers, but bikers’ enjoyment of the technical challenge of the track isn’t their priority (assuming they appreciate it to start with – how would they know?).
• The main section of the track cuts across the hill side for 1km, with about a 0.5km² area draining onto it – that’s a lot of water in the winter. (See the map…)
• The plastic drainage pipes, fitted some years ago, were inevitably uncovered by erosion and the pipes were crushed and shattered by the weight of vehicles (exercising their legal right to use the track). Arguably if maintenance had been done earlier a lot of damage could have been prevented.
• The failure of drainage lead to a lot of water going down the track, causing, and greatly accelerating, a lot erosion. At the bottom of the main section, at the gate where it flattens out, all the water was draining off into a farmer’s field, carving a deep trench and spewing out soil and debris from the track.
• Some sections (particularly the bottom of the main section) became a deep gully, down to the gritstone bedrock, this led to the grass bank being used and eroded as the main line was either impassable, difficult, or less attractive to users (walkers could legally do so as it’s Open Access land).
• Doing nothing was not a long term option. – When assessed for Sustainability by the Peak Park it got the worst score possible.
• It might have been possible to have done the maintenance in a way that would have left the track in state more enjoyable to mountain bikers, e.g. embedding large rocks in the top surface, but this would certainly have taken longer and cost more.
• The estimated cost to repair it was £200,000, with a further £20,000 annually for maintenance. (Estimated some time between 2006 and 2009.)
• In December 2010 the Peak Park launched a six week consultation on a proposal to trial banning motorised vehicles for a year and half. No decision has been announced yet.
  EDIT: On 3/6/11 it was announced that it would closed to motors for a year and half.
• Between 1st March 2011 and 31 May 2011, the track was closed for the maintenance work.
• Work is planned on other local BOATs, but probably (hopefully) won’t be as severe:
  • Long Causeway, Stanage – “Significant repairs” already done
  • Brough Lane, Bradwell – Maintenance imminent
  • Bamford Clough, Bamford – Maintenance and improvement to the safety of concrete parts
  • Pin Dale, Hope / Castleton – Currently has problems with vehicles going off the track
  • The Roych, Chinley / Edale – Currently has problems with vehicles going off the track
  • Hurstclough Lane, Bamford – To be assessed for maintenance
  • Shatton Lane, Shatton / Abney – probably ok, being monitored
  • There are more further afield (this the links below)

Sources and further info:
Chapel Gate Experimental Traffic Order – Peak District National Park Authority
Sensitive routes – Peak District National Park Authority
Chapel Gate Route Management Plan [PDF] – Peak District National Park Authority
Vehicles in the Countryside: March 2011 [PDF] – Peak District National Park Authority
LAF Vehicle Sub-group Meeting 5/8/2010 [PDF] – Peak District National Park Authority

Whilst it would be easy to agree with banning vehicles from Chapel Gate, and other places they can legally drive, based on the damage they cause and subsequently cost, it’s perhaps a short-sighted view. Assuming a ban would be followed, where would they go instead? Would this increase traffic and therefore erosion and cost of maintenance on other BOATs? Would they then become like Chapel Gate and get similar bans? Would this lead to more illegal use and damage in less sustainable areas or on bridleways mountain bikers value? Another valid question is; can the council (and therefore taxpayers) continue to pay a lot of money to maintain the enjoyment of a relatively small user group?
Hard problems don’t have simple solutions.

As mountain bikers who enjoy technically challenging rocky descents and don’t enjoy smoothed out sandy motorways suitable only for family leisure cycling, we a take a certain amount of pleasure in seeing such “improvements” returned to rocky mayhem by the elements, but will this take much longer if vehicles are banned?

There are many good examples of self-sustaining rocky technical tracks, Hope Cross DH and Gores being two (bridleways). One thing most tracks will benefit from, though, is targeted maintenance; stopping water flowing down the track or draining dips where it collects and becomes a mud bath. The only question that remains is who will do this targeted maintenance, where are the fabled trail fairies?

Mountain bikers want maintenance to be carried out in a way that’s sympathetic to their use and enjoyment of the trails – that’s only going to happen if mountain bikers are involved in doing it. No one is going to come and ask us how we’d like it done if we don’t get off our back sides (or saddles more likely) and do something ourselves.