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 RIDES NEWS 21 / 09 / 04
 

Stainburn tech treat opens

SingletrAction have completed the long awaited technical descent on the Boulder Trail at Stainburn Forest.

It's been a really busy few months for all the guys at SingletrAction, North Yorkshire's Volunteer Trail Building Force. Not only have we completed the longest technical man made descent on the Boulder Trail, we've managed to squeeze in time to completely re-design the website (www.singletraction.org.uk) and produce a map for all the trails in Stainburn Forest.

As you can imagine, voluntary organisations struggle to run slick, professional websites and produce high quality leaflets to promote themselves and the trails. However, SingletrAction have been dealt a great hand in the form of a number of new recruits, due mainly to stories on Bikemagic. Not only do we have a fantastic trail building crew, there's also a web designer and a graphic designer on the books. The result is a high quality map (available at local bike shops in the Leeds, Harrogate and York triangle) and a fresh, minty new website to promote the important work here in North Yorkshire.

To coincide with the new website and maps SingletrAction have busted a gut (and the odd wheelbarrow or two) to complete the latest, technically challenging, man-made XC section to the Warren Boulder Trail. Sponsored by MetCom Computer Specialists, the trail is divided into two sections known as the MetCom Skidmark and MetCom Amusement Arcade. This trail is in addition to the Boneshaker that opened earlier in the year.

The MetCom Skidmark is a long technical downhill section that includes "Steps of Terror", "Follow the Arrow" and "Aldo's Twin Jumps". Riding the Skidmark you begin to realise that the trail is aptly named and not just for the amount of back brake used!

After Skidmark comes the MetCom Amusement Arcade section, including "Wall of Death" and "Hump Backed Whale". This section is in the same technical vein as the Skidmark but is almost all uphill! If you like a challenge then this is the climb for you. The name is no accident either. From a spectator's perspective watching some of the SingletrAction boys attempting to ride what they have built, the Wall of Death and Hump Backed Whale put huge grins on scared faces.

Without question the man-made trails at Stainburn are a hard technical challenge. Don't come expecting an easy ride! However, they're also great fun, before you know it you're enjoying yourself in a fear junky kind of way and find yourself going back to attempt and repeat sections of the trail you didn't clear the first time. All this with the SingletrAction Trail Builder's motto zipping through your head: "It's Good To Be Scared".

Thanks as well for all the compliments the trails have received from riders we've met at the trail and in the local area. If you haven't tried it yet get up there and see for yourself.

Next Trail Building Day at the Warren Boulder Trail, Stainburn Forest is 10:00am, 3 October 2004 (meet in the car park, you cannot miss us for barrows and tools). Everybody's welcome throughout the day.

If you would like any further information, have any comments, questions or suggestions please go to the new website.

Can't find a map at your LBS? Send an SAE and a cheque for £1.50 made payable to SingletrAction to:

SingletrAction
C/o Bang & Olufsen of Harrogate
77 Station Parade
Harrogate
HG1 1ST


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Discuss this article, 1 of 4 messages, read more:
cooky!  
Posted: 21/09/04 15:30:55 55
went up to play on this today as i had a day off work... aside from it being very windy it was a lovely day.

i've been up a couple of times before with a friend who told me to barrel down the trail after him "it's rocky" he said, no sh*t! anyway, today was an adventure for me, go visit and see what had been updated/finished and i was pleasantly surprised... it's all good, i can't ride it all but it's all good. there's one particular section of the lower trail (2nd one built iirc) right at the end which scared me silly, from being pinged about like a pinball from the rocks i couldn't bring myself to roll the vaguely stepped rock outcrop.

the one thing i love (and that scares me silly) is when you zip from the carpark onto the trail and ...
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