Howler in Tracton

Tracton is probably the most famous stomping ground for mountain bikers in Cork and has seen many facelifts over the years but over the last few months it has seen major work at the hands of Coillte. The back of the woods has been felled dramatically leaving the area feeling very different to the rest of the woods. Thanks to John Galvin of Coillte, they have left the majority of the existing track undamaged but with only the bombhole requiring a change of route. Brian Mc Carthy (Mcstud) and other members of the club have put in savage work clearing the debris and creating the new line through the bombhole over the last 2 months. 

With that in mind, 5 of us headed out for a spin in gale force winds today, myself, Yogi, Kennedy, Jon Hynes and Ronan. For most of us, it was the first time riding there since the felling had commenced. Once Kennedy had changed out his handlebars (don't ask) we made our way up to the tunnel where the fun times began. The tunnel never wears thin, especially with the sneaky overtaking line down the steep chute which spits you out in front of unsuspecting riders on the mainline. We knocked out 2 laps with plenty of stops to chat about how brilliant adjustable seatposts are. The wind made the newly exposed section hard work with a climb into the wind toward the bombhole. I can only imagine how much fun its going to be in the summer if we get a dry spell, especially with all the new line options around the stumps. In general, the loop was quite dry except for the extension to TNT which was great fun once you kept the speed up to keep the tyres from clogging up too much. Lots of jealous faces eyeing up my swamp things which were super impressive as always. 

We finished the day with a quick sessioning of the downhill section off TNT which was nicely slick but amazing fun all the same. I was eager to try it out with spd's having only ever ridden it with flat pedals. It was tricky enough trying to keep clipped in and I felt kind of restricted but I think a day sessioning it with them would help me no end if I have any intentions of using them on the downhill bike this season. Riding the Morewood Mbuzi on the track was so much more lively and controllable on the twisty track than my downhill bike too. It really is some bike, its amazing you don't see more of them in this country. Al Maxwell of the Bike Rack in Dublin recommended it to me over 3 years ago and I have been so grateful to him ever since. It replaced my Santa Cruz Blur 4X which I still reckon to be one of the best handling bikes I ever owned. Its now owned by my brother Yogi, sporting a tasty orange powder coat finish and top class build as pictured below.

I don't think I will ever get sick of riding Tracton, it continues to challenge and impress. We are blessed to have such a quality track on our doorstep. 

Welcome Back Hilary

Mt Hilary was and probably still is the home to one of the longest downhill tracks in the country and was built a good few years back by the 021 Racing team. It has hosted the  downhill National Championship and a handful of NPS rounds and helped raise the standard of downhill tracks when downhill was starting to really take off in this country. The track itself is split into three sections, each divided by a crossing of the firewood. 

The top section is on a fairly gradual gradient with a host of berms and small jumps and a nice scattering of roots and it finishes with a jump onto a steep cliff face, all of which is very rollable. Even though the gradient isn't that steep, it is very easy to maintain speed with very little need for pedaling which is a credit to the route picked down through this section. 

Once you cross the fireroad you drop down into the second section which is steeper and a bit more twisty which reduces the speed but you need to be on your toes to avoid being flung onto the many stumps that litter the track. The section finishes with another steep drop which is a variation to the track used back in the day. I don't think this works that well at the moment but thats another story. 

A quick burst down the firewood and you slingshot into the third section where the men are separated from the boys. This section has been a bone of contention between trail builders and the forestry commission alike due to the steep gradient and sandy soil type which leads to major drainage issues. The track traditionally took a very straight line down the mountain which is never ideal as the rain water will travel the same route and lead to massive gullies when you have surface that is easily destroyed by running water. Anyway, the section includes the famous open section which is rock minefield covered in sand. Anytime you rode down this section you could expect to be forced to take a different line to the previous visit due to the erosion and gullies….but it was amazing fun….flat out lunacy on some of the roughest terrain found at any race track in the country. From there the track got much steeper and technical with some massive berms saving riders from break neck speeds and burning up your already raw arm muscles from the heavy braking. It was the only track that i can remember racers complaining about arm pump in every uplift back to the top for another run down the amazing track.

I have not been back to the track for many years as other venues like Clashnacrona and Cahir have become the staple diet of downhillers in Munster. Myself and Alfred went back there today for a blast from the past downhill session with Alfred borrowing my 2-Stage Elite 9 and I brought my Morewood Mbuzi. The awkward fucker had to change the brakes around on my bike and being a 10 stone lighter readjusted the air pressure in the forks and the rear shocks. Its a serious hike to the top but spirits were high reminiscing on the fun we used to have booting down the Mt Hilary track. 

We finally got to the top and the view was spectacular with the beaming sunshine and low lying fog below us. We hit the first 2 sections in one go, fairly gingerly as we sussed out all the old lines. It proved to be a trouble shooting run with me having to lower the saddle more, turn off pro pedal (muppet) and Alfred having to re tighten one of the swing arm pivots. Second run was way more fun and i followed Alfred this time, staying on pretty much the same line until he dropped me near the end of the second section. The third run was superb as we picked up the pace and started having more fun flicking the bikes around and hopping off and over stumps and roots, big beaming smiles at the bottom.

 For the fourth run we decided to try a full run including the unknown third section. I planted myself early in the first section on a small awkward jump which brought me back down to earth. The third section was a disaster, we came in way too fast into it and was greeted by a maze of nasty roots and ruts. The open section was a mass of gorse and gullies and pretty much unrideable. We got to the steep chute and the gorse disappeared so we took off again, out of control, and i hit a nice sized pothole flinging me over the bars again. I didn't see Alfred again till the bottom where we exchanged stories of near death experiences and agreed not to try it again. 

Another hike right back to the top which totally knackered us so we decided that one more go at the top two sections would be enough for the day. I crashed again on that stupid fuckin jump but not as bad as the first time and bate on down trying to catch the Latvian who was now flying as he got used to my bike. We got back back to the car totally wrecked but not as bad as my dog Jack who was as bate out as i have seen him in a long long time. 

It was a brilliant day out and definately on the list for a another visit.

Welcome back Hilary.

Stan

Feck Off Mr. Frost

The weather has been a disaster in recent months with the extended cold spell being replaced with rain for the last 2 weeks. Not exactly great weather for my favored type of biking at the moment, dirt jumping. So, with the rain holding off for the last 4 or 5  days I thought this weekend could see the good times returning. I ventured down to Kev's gaff after work on Friday with the bike in the boot and i thought at least the pumptrack would be up and running and maybe i could do a little work on the jump line for a decent session on the Saturday.

When i got there i met Sean Swanick working on the third jump which has been given a facelift and a boost in size. I took a walk down to him and couldn't believe the how damp the track was, total mudbath!!! Gutted. There was still frost and ice on the track and it looked like it had just been bucketing rain, unreal. The frost had lifted the surface of the track by a few inches making it boggy and there was no chance of it drying up with the temperatures remaining very low. It could be a long wait for the track to be dry enough for even a session on the pumptrack. 

So, i threw on my convict overalls and got stuck into the digging with Sean and we got through a nice bit of work on the landing for the third jump. So, fleck off Mr. Frost and give us back our tracks ya bollix.