New trail opens at Haldon Forest Park
But FC giveth and FC taketh away
Haldon Forest Park near Exeter now has a new trail. Called the Ridge Ride, it's a 9km (6 mile) route. It's graded red and is described as "highly technical", incorporating rock gardens, berms and steep descents. We've learned to take these trail gradings with a pinch of salt - there doesn't appear to be any baseline or standard, so the stated grades vary wildly between centres. Clearly it's not a flat, wide gravel track though...
Haldon Forest Park Manager, Louise Bell says, "The new bike trail is going to be a huge asset to Haldon Forest Park. It will complement the existing network of trails that we have. The trail is very technical and will appeal to experienced riders whilst the other trails are more for families."
That's the good news. The bad news is that the existing "red" trail, opened less than four years ago, has been closed, joining the freeride area that shut down earlier this year. The old trail was seven miles long, so the new developments have actually decreased the total trail mileage by a mile.
The development of the Ridge Ride was helped by funds from Devon County Council and Devon Renaissance. It's a pity they couldn't have found a few quid to keep the old trail open too - Haldon Forest Park runs to 3,500 acres so we're pretty sure there'd be room for two. Still, it's only £1.50 to park, a new cafe opened in April, you can hire a bike on site and there's a Go Ape ropes-and-ladders thing should you run out of trails to ride...
More details at www.forestry.gov.uk/haldonforestpark.
Clearly it's not a flat, wide gravel track though... I think you'll find that it actually is, They have reduced the technical difficulty of the trail almost none existent, the routes are entirely graveled up with scant regard to the fact that during the next storm they will be washed away, and there isn't a single bermed or cambered corner which the cynic in me thinks is a speed calming measure. I've been riding this for a few weeks now, and you can still access a number of the great parts on the old Red Route, which had some great technical sections. The new route is to be honest best described as a family route which more twists and turns than the old blue route. Still it's actually quite fun at night
Posted: 06/11/2009 22:16
Yep it's like that all the way down. The FC have ripped up an awesome section of berm to berm flowing riding into a rock garden and super narrow/little too close singletrack forest section. Other sections the FC have ripped up are a rooty nightmare of switchbacks and lovely little rocky descent...not to mention the free ride jumps and northshore. I normally wouldn't complain but I shall because the attempts to help out with trailbuilding and digging have always fallen on deaf ears. From what I can gather, Haldon Freeride project is shut down and the FC have stamped their foot down
Posted: 09/11/2009 18:17
Didn't really want to comment on the digging that's going on in rest of the forest 
The old route did suffer a couple of years back, when half the hill fell about 30feet during a particularly wet and stormy couple of months. after that despite the number of people myself included who offered to "save the red run" the FC seemingly forsook the place.
It did have a number of lines that were perpendicular to the slope of the hill and thus acted like channels for stormwater, so in a number of ways I can see that a lot of the FC's work is just trying to save the forest from collapsing.
Still it's not nice when they seemingly rip up good trails for no good reason other than spoiling fun.
Posted: 10/11/2009 11:15
It did have a number of lines that were perpendicular to the slope of the hill and thus acted like channels for stormwater I guess if it was that shoddily-built then it may have been easier to replace it. Pretty poor for a four-year-old trail.
Posted: 10/11/2009 11:33
Of course, if anyone fancies sorting it all out, there's an interesting job going 
Posted: 10/11/2009 11:54
Looks pretty tame to me (and I ride a Spesh Rockhopper...  )
Posted: 11/11/2009 17:14
Yeah but gawton is DH only! The FC have gone ballistic Nazi up at Haldon...you used to be able to park your car on the side of the road then they put mounds of earth to stop you, you used to be able to ride some shortcuts or 'the rat run' the put trees across it. Haldon doesn't want Mountain Bikers Haldon want's middle class middle aged, BMW drivers to ride quietly for 50mins, come back to the cafe area, purchase some of the pottery and carving wares, get a leaflet for the overpriced 'Go Ape' before leaving for home. crock of bollocks
Posted: 17/11/2009 17:55
You lot aren't going to like this- but I'm going to say it anyway...I think you are wrong. Haldon's old trail was a messy, unsustainable and often frustrating experience - the "awesome section of berm to berm flowing riding into a rock garden and super narrow/little too close singletrack forest section" was short, very easy and took about 45 seconds to ride....hardly epic! The only bits which I ever felt offered any technical challenge at all were the rooty descent in the woods (which was falling to pieces frankly), plus the section out the back with its little rock garden and bermed area (which is still part of the trail). To say that the new route is "a speed calming measure" is simply daft - it is so much faster than the old route it's ridiculous - I rode it for the first time yesterday (in the wet at dusk) and hit over 30mph easily in a couple of places. In fact I would guess that the people saying it offers "no challenges" should try going a bit faster, as rapid transitons of direction on fast flowing turns is where the challenge lies at Haldon. All trail centres have a different character - otherwise people wouldn't bother travelling to them. If every trail offered the same feel and features why ride any others? Haldon is (imho) all about flow - it's smooth and makes the most of it's minimal changes of elevation. I actually though that the outward leg was pretty entertaining - far, far more so than the original route. Ever ridden Mabie Forest in the 7 Stanes? It has some similarities, it is faster than Mabie in places, although it desn't have Mabie's switchbacks. However, Mabie is a muddy, unrewarding trail which lacks any sensation of speed and flow - I would say I'd rather ride Haldon than Mabie any day. Sure, there are areas that could be improved - the first half is where all the fun is, and the return to the car park is a bit of a drag - but the overall experience is a fun, fast-flowing trail which feels much longer than the one it replaces - despite being roughly the same length. To simply attak the new trail as viciously as you guys have here is simply self-destructive. Basically you are saying "I want more trails with more challeges" - but at the same time you are trying in the strongest terms to dissuade people from visiting and riding it . How will that help? If people don't visit and spend money in the car park/ new cafe (which is really, really excellent btw) etc there will be no ongoing investment, the trails will close and nothing new will get developed. Who wants that? And no, I'm not a BMW driving sunday rockhopper riding middle class Exeter dweller (who are just as entitled to ride and enjoy bikes as you are, again helping the sport you love). I've been riding for 21 years (startd as a kid, now in my early 30's), own a fleet of MTB's - inc high end 5" and 6"full suss trail bikes, a hardtail and an 8" tarvel DH rig to name a few. I'm an experienced and qualified MTB guide, I've raced all over the UK, and this year alone have ridden for 5 weeks in the Alps (including natural trails and Bike Parks at Morzine, Les Gets, Les Deux Alpes, Alpe D'Huez, plus the PassPortes Du Soleil and the Megavalanche), Andorra (natural and Vallnord trails), 4 weeks in Spain (all over Andalucia from coastal trails to the Sierra Nevada and beyond), plus UK trail centres at Wolftrax, Fort Bill, Learnie Red Rocks, the Cairngorms, Skye, Glentress, Innerleithen, Ae, Dalbeattie, Newcastleton, Mabie, Kirroughtreee, Coed-y-Brenin, Penmachno, Gwydyr, Nant-yr-Arian, Climach-X, Llandegla, Afan, Cwmcarn, Brechfa and Bristol - plus natural trails all across the south west. The point of this is nopt a pis*ing contest - I am trying to show that just because a few people who claim to be experienced, technical
Posted: 16/12/2009 14:13
ooops - my text was too long! ...experienced, technical riders are shouting about how poor they think Haldon is does not mean that their opinion is accurate. Some of the things that have been said on here are frankly ridiculous - comparing the FC to the Nazis is unacceptable. As an organisation theyare one of the greatest advocates for our sport in the UK - whether you feel trail centres are "real" MTBing or not, the more people who are encouraged into our sport and the bigger our profile becomes the better a deal we will continue to get from government and public alike. It's about time someone stood up for Haldon and the unneccesary dismissal a few people are shouting about it - and I will happily debate this with anyone who cares to take me up on it! Anyway, you'v heard my thoughts and credibility, and I think that the following needs to be said: "I rode the new trail at Haldon Forest yesterday and had a great time - I thought some of it was really good"! (Cue tirade of abuse) 
Posted: 16/12/2009 14:25
It has a similar vibe to Mabie (not terribly long, often in dark forests, lots of contouring and quite an artificial feel) - but it's faster and there's not really much in terms of low-speed tech. Much of it is narrower than Mabie's singletrack though, but the overall feel is what I was getting at. There's still work ongoing now - but a couple of laps will keep most people entertained...I rode the old trail quite a lot of times - this is an entirely different proposition!
Posted: 16/12/2009 14:31
You were lucky, etc... ;-)
Posted: 18/12/2009 09:40
My beef was that said trail, shouldn't be a red, a) it involves the family trail. b) not that technical. But the trail itself is ok no real problems, just daft people exaggerating how tough it's supposed to be. But I do hold out hope that they'll put some really good stuff in around the hill, coz when I was there, the diggers were going flat out around the fire roads.
Posted: 18/12/2009 20:53
I have to say, I find the new trail very dull. Yes, I could ride faster around it to make it more difficult. I could also ride down Haldon Hill if I wanted to just go fast. A few years ago, Haldon was a great venue, offering a mix of official and unofficial trails for riders with different tastes/abilities and the potential to really expand upon the more technical aspect of cycling. Now, it offers nothing but a series of overly-sanitised gravel pathways, normally full of wandering families. The fact that the FC are actively de-commissioning existing trails indicates their disinterest in what most people would call 'proper' mountain biking at this venue. I had a chat with one of the FC workers when they were finishing this new trail. He expressed to me how the staff there were hugely frustrated by having to destroy the existing trails and prevent new ones being built unofficially, but orders were orders. I'd perhaps suggest that the mark of a good trail centre is that it should be worth the effort of travelling to. I only live in Barnstaple (~1hour away) and I wouldn't bother travelling to Haldon nowadays. I'm quite often in Exeter for work, and wouldn't even bother then.
Posted: 13/01/2010 06:25
I've been thinking about this a fair bit - as it bothers me, I want our local riding community to encourage riders to visit the area - not put them off it! To try to help I've created a video on you tube which shows quite a lot of the route... The problem is the FC have constructed a trail which is designed to appeal to less experienced riders as well as more experienced ones. All of the more experienced riders I know who have ridden there had good fun - but (as with everything in life!) those who feel they have had less positive experiences are always going to make the most noise about it....how many of us have written a letter of complaint compared to the number of us who have written a letter of thank? I think the same thing has happened at Haldon. But the problem is this; if we put people off going to Haldon the number of visitors will suffer, as will the proportion of "serious" ridersvisiting. These two aspects combined will have the effect of a) reducing incomes and b) changing the demographic further towards the family market. a)+b) = no investment in the trails that some of us here clearly want Haldon to build! So it's a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy! We need t encourage riders tovisit Haldon and increase the demand for more technical features at the same time. That way it will be financially viable for the FC to put in more tecnhnically challeging sections/ new trails in the future. Personally, I have plenty of time for anyone who rides a mountain bike offroad, at any level! The more people who ride MTBs the greater the prospects for the sport we all love!
Posted: 09/02/2010 16:08
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