Epping Forest Autumn Radness!

I'd have thought Epping is quite good for a CX bike? Nice and loamy rather than slidey clay mud.

There are parts of the Forest where the trails have worn through to the clay, but there aren't too many. A CX bike is ideal for most of the stuff there. Just need to take the fast rooty sections a little slower*

*Unless you're Indra

CX bike in Epping is the most fun imo, even on more rooty sections just be balanced and light on the bike. As long as you keep on looking ahead it's fine haha.

Being under-biked for Epping will be more fun than being over-biked, imo.

You will still see £3k + all-mountain/enduro, 6" full suspension 'rigs' parked up at the tea hut. The middle-aged men riding them will usually have terribly serious looking expressions on their faces.

we'll be at bike park wales for radlolz

Just watched a vid of "50 shades of black". Is that on the menu?

Maybe. Depends if I can get over the stupid drop off of death at the trail head.

The bit at 1 min 42 secs? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bTOkxKtdxg

No....the've skipped it here, but there's a ramp-drop immediately at the trail head, designed to prevent people who can't ride to the trail from riding the trail.

Oh yeah, saw that on another vid. Good idea though. I always like to take noobs over a couple of small obstacles early on, so I can get some idea of their ability :-)

It's a good idea but the execution is dangerous

Actually, did you mean this?

No - it's different. That's the drop on to the Red trail.

As jedi pointed out it makes sense to discourage people from riding trails beyond their ability but putting the big features at the head, where you have no momentum and whole load of people watching arguably makes for an even more dangerous environment.

Oh, right you are. That's "Vicious Valley" :-/

I don't really do 'air' so they all terrify me.

At BPW the trail head for Fifty Shades is shared with the newest blue trail Terry's Belly, the run-in trail diverges and the "qualifier" for Fifty Shades is the little gap jump seen at around the 1 minute mark in the vid BareNecessities showed.
There is no ramp drop off at at the trail head. Maybe there was one before Terry's Belly but not now.
The qualifiers make sense because if you can't do them under pressure and in full view of spectators (and they are generally easier than such features on the trail itself) then this means less able people don't injure themselves on big features.

the little gap jump seen at around the 1 minute mark in the vid

Ah, looks like this bit, I think?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvvE_vEz7uc

It's changed since that. The proportions of the jump are similar but the transitions are now rock and boulder formations, and the exit transition is slightly trickier. They've made it look more gnarly whilst keeping the fundamentals of the jump virtually the same.

Ah well, the basic idea is good. I'd much prefer somebody fell slowly into the mud near the beginning of a ride, than got out of their depth later, when we hit a faster section*

*Difficult to go that fast, when there's a fat old man in the way.

I don't really do 'air' so they all terrify me.

Last time I rolled up to that a few times but pooped myself each time. Felt pathetic.

@t_w sounds like they've changed the entrance to Fifty Shades then, because last time I was there there was a ridiculous ramp right on the head. Not because of its size, but because you landed flat, and because you had to belt it across the marshaling point to get enough speed to stand a chance of not dying horribly.

In other news my XC race on Sunday is cancelled. What a shitty week. Is Epping fun planned?

Is Epping fun planned?

It should be. The weather forecast looks lovely!

So, you've got an XC bike, with no XC races and CX races, without a CX bike :-(

So, you've got an XC bike, with no XC races and CX races, without a CX bike :-(

Yeah fucking brilliant, eh?

I was going to ask why you wouldn't use the XC bike for CX.

Then I remembered that you have a frighteningly expensive rear derailleur.

Probably gets too clogged with mud.
http://youtu.be/5l4aZ9qL9bM

Yeah, they do change things at the trail head quite often. It has to be the new Terry's Belly trail that prompted this as, being a Blue Trail, they can't have a drop such as you describe to start the run in.

XO 11 speed and ain't teh cheap, no.

But I've never busted a mech whilst crossing - lack of megawatts probably