Carron Valley
- Thread starter Garthur
- Start date
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Cubist
Still wavin'
- Location
- Ovver 'thill
Well, it looks to be pretty friendly in terms of flow. This video shows a couple of sections where it all appears to be quality hardpack trail with whoops, berms and various grades of drop.
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mttWoVfOtQ
The way these two riders ride it shows that all of the steps can be treated as kickers, rolled as step-downs, and the girl in front finds smooth chicken runs through many of them, but tries a few of the steps. The corners are banked/bermed, and that would be some great fun speed riding. It certainly doesn't look too intimidating for a first time.
If you want tips on how to ride the features shown in the video let us know. I don't want to sound patronising if you're already perfectly happy with steps and drops!
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mttWoVfOtQ
The way these two riders ride it shows that all of the steps can be treated as kickers, rolled as step-downs, and the girl in front finds smooth chicken runs through many of them, but tries a few of the steps. The corners are banked/bermed, and that would be some great fun speed riding. It certainly doesn't look too intimidating for a first time.
If you want tips on how to ride the features shown in the video let us know. I don't want to sound patronising if you're already perfectly happy with steps and drops!
Cubist
Still wavin'
- Location
- Ovver 'thill
I'm honestly looking for any tips at all that can help me prepare. Don't want to turn up and the first thing I do is annoy the first person I pass by doing something I shouldn't or fall off at the first bump! lol
I bought a Trek 4300 a couple of years ago, used it a few times on the road then it sat in a garage while I moved house and its only the last month I've dusted it off and started riding it again. Mainly only used it on roads and the odd gravel path here and there. Whole point in buying it though at the start was I wanted to do some proper mountain bike tracks. Didn't even know Carron Valley existed until a work mate told me today lol. Considering I'm not too sure what you mean by "kickers" should probably help with how un-knowledgeable I am.
Watching those videos just now too, looks like i could have some fun and no doubt fall off a few times. I have SPD pedals, would you recommend me not using them at all or keeping them on and using them when I feel confident enough? I've read on the forestry site that it is only 10.5km long so I'm planning on going round at least twice.
Cubist
Still wavin'
- Location
- Ovver 'thill
Brilliant! Firstly, there's nothing there that your bike won't cope with ... it's an out and out XC route, so that's fine. It'll be a challenge in places, but that's what it's all about.
Etiquette. A lot of nonsense spouted, and a lot of ungrounded fears about trail etiquette. GO with the sole intention of riding to your pace and ability, and enjoying yourself. The only true rule is that the rider in front has priority, so if someone comes up behind you breathing down your neck you can do one of two things, which is to acknowledge them and tell them to come past as you find a piece of trail wide enough to do so.... or think "knackers to them" and carry on.
Ride circumspectly. No one cares about what you're doing, so you don't need to push yourself beyond your own limits for anyone else's sake. Have fun learning how the bike behaves on the trails.
Take it easy at first and suss out how the features built into the trail work. Stand on the pedals in the attack position and shift your weight around to change the bike's line and balance points. Weight back over the back wheel down those steps in the video, pedals level with your heels pointing downwards will mean you roll down them without going over the bars. If you feel confident enough, try giving the bars a bit of a tug to get the bike landing on both wheels not the front wheel first. Or just ride tight and keep everything smooth and on the ground....it's your choice!
Above all, enjoy yourself, and let us know how you get on.
Etiquette. A lot of nonsense spouted, and a lot of ungrounded fears about trail etiquette. GO with the sole intention of riding to your pace and ability, and enjoying yourself. The only true rule is that the rider in front has priority, so if someone comes up behind you breathing down your neck you can do one of two things, which is to acknowledge them and tell them to come past as you find a piece of trail wide enough to do so.... or think "knackers to them" and carry on.
Ride circumspectly. No one cares about what you're doing, so you don't need to push yourself beyond your own limits for anyone else's sake. Have fun learning how the bike behaves on the trails.
Take it easy at first and suss out how the features built into the trail work. Stand on the pedals in the attack position and shift your weight around to change the bike's line and balance points. Weight back over the back wheel down those steps in the video, pedals level with your heels pointing downwards will mean you roll down them without going over the bars. If you feel confident enough, try giving the bars a bit of a tug to get the bike landing on both wheels not the front wheel first. Or just ride tight and keep everything smooth and on the ground....it's your choice!
Above all, enjoy yourself, and let us know how you get on.
shyfire
Senior Member
- Location
- Cumbernauld
Carron Valley is just up the road from me but I've never mtb'ed up there (it's the n + 1 ).
I have run/walked the dog round the dam and paths so that's a warning there may be people traffic about. There are signs to stay off the actual runs. I think the carpark now charges not sure how much. Depending on which direction you are coming from the Fintry road up from Denny is easier to drive(and cycle) than up Tak ma'doon from Kilysth.
For future mountain bike expeditions in the area there are also new trails in Callendar estates land outside Falkirk.
Have a good day.
I have run/walked the dog round the dam and paths so that's a warning there may be people traffic about. There are signs to stay off the actual runs. I think the carpark now charges not sure how much. Depending on which direction you are coming from the Fintry road up from Denny is easier to drive(and cycle) than up Tak ma'doon from Kilysth.
For future mountain bike expeditions in the area there are also new trails in Callendar estates land outside Falkirk.
Have a good day.
thanks to Garthur for this post as on holiday near here this week so took a ride out and got to say what a fun time i had . i am not the most experienced mountain bike rider by far so not a lot to go on but found this track to be fast with nice berms to shoot around and some small rocks to get air from . it could do with a few more bigger rock areas for the more experienced to enjoy . i did it on a hard tail with no problems . a big thank you to the 2 guys who i never meet before for taking me around the first time and showing me the route . made it a lot more fun even thou i was slower than them . i know this by the speed they took off on the second time round . well worth a visit