Those woodland trails....so sweet. Really great video. Let's hope they don't destroy them. It really makes you realise there really isn't much true wilderness in the UK. Imagine living somewhere like Canada ......
Yeah, some lovely trails in there for sure mate; scary, but lovely 😃. As for living in Cnada, would be fantastic but I would be very wary of getting SMASHED by a bear 😂
Another great vid 👊 Completely agree with your comments regarding the FC, they don’t own the land, they just think they do. It’s public land they merely manage. We have the same issues local to me 🤯
Thanks mate. I think one of the really frustrating parts is that they know that they're not going to stop people building trails, so blocking these ones (with felled trees that they aren't going to get any revenue from) seems a bit pointless really. Sure, they weren't exactly easy tracks but there was no features on them; no (obvious) doubles, drops or the thing that really get to them, North Shore stuff. I do get the whole liability thing but if they are fighting a losing battle, why don't they try to come to some sort of compromise? I guess that they will say that there's the North Face trail (and that awful 'freeride' area) to cater for mountain bikers but they are, and always have been god awful and not what a lot of people want to ride. Yeah, there's a ton of bridleways in the forest and some of them are fantastic but there's more risk of injury on those and potentially worse because it could be between a rider and a pedestrian. I am glad I got to ride them before they 'go' though - was quite nervous down a couple of them 😃
Really is mate, and it's been too long since my last trip up there. Knee is fine - happens all the time (both are ruined anyway from years of crashing) 👍
Some fab looking natural trails mate and awesome conditions. The haters will always hate ,and organisations with power like the Forestry Commission will always have people working for them that get a kick from exercising their power over others. Ultimately, we should feel sorry for those that have no other pleasures in life than policing others.
Yeah, they really are ace trails, most technical I’ve ridden in a while for sure. I just think it’s very short sighted of them, especially as they don’t seem interested in talking to the builders
Exactly, really don't get it; they know new stuff will appear too. Amazing trails and I only scratched the surface - way more techy than they come across as in the video though!
I remember the last time all too well 😬🤣 not sure if i would fare any better on these either, looks sketchy as hell 😱 I’m sure the GoPro doesn’t do them justice, cracking looking trails though if you can ride them haha, great video, perfect weather for it ( apart from when sweat gets in your eyes). Shame the forestry commission have to spoil things 🥲 great topic, well worth discussing 👍🏻
They're not as silly as the stuff we found last time but they're a step up from the stuff we usually ride for sure - think Candy Wood but steep!! Sweat in the eyes was a real issue, not about to moan though as I would rather have that than the months of grot we've suffered 😃
Great video mate, those trails looked crazy, they were testing you, so I know how technical they must be, but also your kind of heaven 🤩 Forestey Commision is such a tough one, as I agree with the idea of it, it just needs to be run by more accepting or modern people. MTB community overall is really respectful I've found, shame the FC cant get that detail correct. Congrats on the new dad as well 🤣🤣 Record shop tomorrow, time to get the album 👍🏻
Thanks mate, they are very special indeed; not as special as the 'special' ones were on the other side but special enough to make me do a small poo. I do wonder whether the FC are a bit more controlling in the Lakes because of where it is, but they must know that it will be a constant battle. Never mind, new trails are always fun 👍
Totally agree, I've started riding more in the Lakes especially Grizedale and Claife Height's. I've not done any off piste stuff yet. Those trails look awesome and no more dangerous than the bridleways. If everybody is courteous and considerate ( not bombing past walkers at ridiculous speeds ) does it really matter where we ride. Surely diluting the number of places we ride causes less erosion to over used trails?
Absolutely mate, and people riding trails like this leads to less interaction with other trail users. I love the bridleways in Grizedale but on a decent weather day like this was, it’s very stop/start on shared trails (and I am sure that some don’t stop, buzzing walkers and annoying them).
Great place to ride and Some good points well made. Its a shame that we’re in a time when we don’t feel like we engage is discussion and debate without pre empting the backlash. It has made me want to get back and explore for sure so the FC will be fuming 😂
Thanks mate, so much good stuff in the forest; you could base a long weekend around it and ride fresh stuff each day (and there’s plenty more nearby too). You are right about discussion too, I reckon a fair few avoid subjects like this through fear of backlash but I like to be a bit controversial at times, as starting such conversations is invariably beneficial. Made me laugh when I found that trail that they had blocked, had been replaced with another one - the one I kept crashing on at the end 😂
@@Stopadoodledoo We have ridden Grizedale a fair amount but when the tracks going down to coniston got destroyed we kinda stopped going. Was aware there was more stuff on the satterthwaite side but not really “explored” it much. We were supposed to go and do just that a coupe of weeks back but the weather was looking bleak. What I don't understand (and made a similar point in a recent lee quarry edit) is how they manage to work around these supposed issues in Scotland and to a smaller but growing degree in Wales (thinking specifically Gwydir which now has an official dig group etc). It seems to be a very “English” problem. The FC have encouraged riding in Grizedale with waymarked trails, well stocked bike shop, hire bike fleet, cafe etc and then let the trail go to complete ruin and then are somehow suprised and upset that mountain bikers have made some worthy trails to ride in the area. Not to mention that they use it for Enduro’s every so often. It just doesn’t make any sense. Meanwhile there’s new trail centres and new trails popping up left right and centre in Scotland. confusing to say the least!
@@MindfulTrailBiker That's kind of what I don't understand too; why can't they work with the guys who are digging there and see what compromises can be made? There were no 'features' on the ones I rode and to be honest, if someone (trying to say it delicately) who wasn't at the level required to ride them set off down one not knowing what it was like, I'm pretty sure they'd stop and turn round pretty sharpish. The North Face trail is a joke, always has been. I've done the full loop of it once and will never do so again (a couple of the climbs and traverses are useful though); the bridleways in the forest are far better. It's definitely worth a visit to ride these ones though (you probably know where they are) although I can imagine that they would be a bit fruity in the wet, to say the least !!
@@Stopadoodledoo Funnily enough I have set off down one of them trails in the wet and turned round and pushed back up after about 10m as it was clearly too much in them conditions which is exactly what we agree is the sensible and self preserving way to ride unknown tracks. It’s very strange. I think FOD is perhaps the only English trail centre that is bucking the trend and has a healthy community/FC relationship with each contributing to building new and maintaining old trails (of which many are off piste style tracks). So what’s the issue at Grizedale?
@@MindfulTrailBiker Maybe it's because it's in the Lake District although the fact that it's a working forest (which they regularly clear fell) kind of negates the 'preserving the natural beauty' argument. You would kind of hope that BikeTreks, having relocated there, would be trying to work with the FC to look at what trails, etc., are available and maybe work on new ones and maybe they are, but it doesn't seem to be doing much. If they were to put bike specific trails in that were actually worth riding then it would have the potential to be really popular (despite the awkward route to it 😃). I guess it is anyway, but from an official perspective it doesn't really cater for the Enduro market at all. I imagine even the XC / trail guys ride the bridleways rather than the North Face; don't think I have ever met anyone with something positive to say about it, at least as a full loop.
Just hearing the word strava makes me think of scrawny looking guys with skin tight shorts with padding that makes them look like they've pooped themselves and gives me a little shiver... but I was interested in the heatmap thing you mentioned so I went against my instincts and had a look to see if my local (only) super duper secret trail was on there and lo and behold it is. Which gives me all sorts of weird vibes. MTB is very minor here (If I tell the heat map to only show MTB activity there is literally none for the whole country, so no one is recording as MTB and/or very low activity) so I don't think anyone is out there scraping strava to hunt us out but it makes me think it's only time until some ding dong on their Amazon bike with Aliexpress e-bike conversion shits the place up or has an accident and it's game over for everyone.
Heatmaps has definitely added a new dimension to cheekily built trails, more so than when Strava was a thing but heatmaps wasn’t. We’re all aware that Strava opened up the visibility of previously unknown stuff through people recording and naming segments but the latter part was limited; heatmaps shows everything that’s been ridden and to an extent, how much (hardly used, probably not worth looking at if there’s nothing else in the area). It’s definitely a useful tool for the curious but must be a pain for the trail builders. Ironically, us muppets who film on such trails often get flack for giving away the locations and trails, probably by some who are recording their rides. Totally agree if people are making it obvious in their videos where places are but, as with this video, saying Grizedale wouldn’t give it away unless you knew where in Grizedale I was (and it’s a big forest) and if you do, then you probably already know about the trails. I could do a whole different video prattling on about this 😂
@@Stopadoodledoo I'm conflicted on the videos. I can see both sides. Logging to strava has to be a sin though. With a video even if you show everything from your house to the trailhead it can be difficult to work out where the trailhead actually is. So if you skip a bit of the start of the trail it's obfuscated enough really. Logging to strava though.. I can literally put the heat map in one tab and align google maps in another tab and work out the exact location and get directions. 😂
Awkward one about those trails, we all love to ride them and will continue to ride them. Only thing that really bothers the forestry is that because it's not actually an official trail on their maps, people ride them and try to claim when they come off. Tbh though, majority of us will just admit we were riding like a cock when we fall off 😂
That’s a big part of the problem mate, goons who fall off in places where they’re not supposed to be and then cry about it being too bumpy to the landowners 😂
They are mate; showed Andy (Trail Finder) one of them 👍😀 I gave Marc and Christian a tour of some of the best ones a few years ago (including Claife): ruclips.net/video/Zfd75jvJksk/видео.html
Those woodland trails....so sweet. Really great video. Let's hope they don't destroy them. It really makes you realise there really isn't much true wilderness in the UK. Imagine living somewhere like Canada ......
Yeah, some lovely trails in there for sure mate; scary, but lovely 😃.
As for living in Cnada, would be fantastic but I would be very wary of getting SMASHED by a bear 😂
Another great vid 👊 Completely agree with your comments regarding the FC, they don’t own the land, they just think they do. It’s public land they merely manage. We have the same issues local to me 🤯
Thanks mate.
I think one of the really frustrating parts is that they know that they're not going to stop people building trails, so blocking these ones (with felled trees that they aren't going to get any revenue from) seems a bit pointless really. Sure, they weren't exactly easy tracks but there was no features on them; no (obvious) doubles, drops or the thing that really get to them, North Shore stuff.
I do get the whole liability thing but if they are fighting a losing battle, why don't they try to come to some sort of compromise? I guess that they will say that there's the North Face trail (and that awful 'freeride' area) to cater for mountain bikers but they are, and always have been god awful and not what a lot of people want to ride. Yeah, there's a ton of bridleways in the forest and some of them are fantastic but there's more risk of injury on those and potentially worse because it could be between a rider and a pedestrian.
I am glad I got to ride them before they 'go' though - was quite nervous down a couple of them 😃
Agree 100% with you mate, they cause more habitat destruction chopping the trees down and leaving the hills a mess! Great vid mate.
Thanks mate, they definitely go overboard when blocking trails 👍
A fantastic area to ride! Especially in good weather! Hope the knee fairs better soon!
Really is mate, and it's been too long since my last trip up there.
Knee is fine - happens all the time (both are ruined anyway from years of crashing) 👍
Some fab looking natural trails mate and awesome conditions. The haters will always hate ,and organisations with power like the Forestry Commission will always have people working for them that get a kick from exercising their power over others. Ultimately, we should feel sorry for those that have no other pleasures in life than policing others.
Yeah, they really are ace trails, most technical I’ve ridden in a while for sure.
I just think it’s very short sighted of them, especially as they don’t seem interested in talking to the builders
Totally agree with you Jase. Not causing any harm to anyone. Looks like some good stuff there.
Exactly, really don't get it; they know new stuff will appear too.
Amazing trails and I only scratched the surface - way more techy than they come across as in the video though!
I remember the last time all too well 😬🤣 not sure if i would fare any better on these either, looks sketchy as hell 😱 I’m sure the GoPro doesn’t do them justice, cracking looking trails though if you can ride them haha, great video, perfect weather for it ( apart from when sweat gets in your eyes). Shame the forestry commission have to spoil things 🥲 great topic, well worth discussing 👍🏻
They're not as silly as the stuff we found last time but they're a step up from the stuff we usually ride for sure - think Candy Wood but steep!!
Sweat in the eyes was a real issue, not about to moan though as I would rather have that than the months of grot we've suffered 😃
Looks so good. Never done the grizedale bits but deffo going to go. Great vid
Thanks mate and yeah, they’re bloody great. Looks like these may be short lived but new ones will definitely appear 👍
It has been a while lovely weather and tricky trails. Love it 🤙🏽
Thanks Dave and yeah, it's felt like far too long 👍
@@Stopadoodledoo Yes buddy. I know exactly how I feel with the weather. The trails are drying up nicely 💪🏽👍🏽
Nice video Jason, very naughty!!😂.
I'm a bad bad man, Tat 😂
Quality vid and commentary as usual 👏🏻
Thanks, appreciate it. Always a bit easier to achieve when it’s great weather and a great location 👍
Awesome stuff! 👍
Thanks Ant. Looking forward to seeing your footage from Scotland 👍
Great video mate, those trails looked crazy, they were testing you, so I know how technical they must be, but also your kind of heaven 🤩
Forestey Commision is such a tough one, as I agree with the idea of it, it just needs to be run by more accepting or modern people. MTB community overall is really respectful I've found, shame the FC cant get that detail correct.
Congrats on the new dad as well 🤣🤣 Record shop tomorrow, time to get the album 👍🏻
Thanks mate, they are very special indeed; not as special as the 'special' ones were on the other side but special enough to make me do a small poo.
I do wonder whether the FC are a bit more controlling in the Lakes because of where it is, but they must know that it will be a constant battle. Never mind, new trails are always fun 👍
Totally agree, I've started riding more in the Lakes especially Grizedale and Claife Height's. I've not done any off piste stuff yet. Those trails look awesome and no more dangerous than the bridleways. If everybody is courteous and considerate ( not bombing past walkers at ridiculous speeds ) does it really matter where we ride. Surely diluting the number of places we ride causes less erosion to over used trails?
Absolutely mate, and people riding trails like this leads to less interaction with other trail users.
I love the bridleways in Grizedale but on a decent weather day like this was, it’s very stop/start on shared trails (and I am sure that some don’t stop, buzzing walkers and annoying them).
Looked a gd day out bro. iv not been on any decent trails in months lol
Thanks mate. Probably won’t make you feel any better by telling you that I did the Worlds End loop the following day 😂
@@Stopadoodledoo Gd lad n ffs u cudda invited me lol oj did u av another gd day tho bro
@@DizRidesMtb Certainly did mate, was tired by the end though (especially doing two days on the trot)
@@Stopadoodledoo All adds to the fitness eh. Not that id know lol
Great place to ride and Some good points well made. Its a shame that we’re in a time when we don’t feel like we engage is discussion and debate without pre empting the backlash.
It has made me want to get back and explore for sure so the FC will be fuming 😂
Thanks mate, so much good stuff in the forest; you could base a long weekend around it and ride fresh stuff each day (and there’s plenty more nearby too).
You are right about discussion too, I reckon a fair few avoid subjects like this through fear of backlash but I like to be a bit controversial at times, as starting such conversations is invariably beneficial.
Made me laugh when I found that trail that they had blocked, had been replaced with another one - the one I kept crashing on at the end 😂
@@Stopadoodledoo We have ridden Grizedale a fair amount but when the tracks going down to coniston got destroyed we kinda stopped going. Was aware there was more stuff on the satterthwaite side but not really “explored” it much. We were supposed to go and do just that a coupe of weeks back but the weather was looking bleak.
What I don't understand (and made a similar point in a recent lee quarry edit) is how they manage to work around these supposed issues in Scotland and to a smaller but growing degree in Wales (thinking specifically Gwydir which now has an official dig group etc). It seems to be a very “English” problem. The FC have encouraged riding in Grizedale with waymarked trails, well stocked bike shop, hire bike fleet, cafe etc and then let the trail go to complete ruin and then are somehow suprised and upset that mountain bikers have made some worthy trails to ride in the area. Not to mention that they use it for Enduro’s every so often. It just doesn’t make any sense. Meanwhile there’s new trail centres and new trails popping up left right and centre in Scotland. confusing to say the least!
@@MindfulTrailBiker That's kind of what I don't understand too; why can't they work with the guys who are digging there and see what compromises can be made? There were no 'features' on the ones I rode and to be honest, if someone (trying to say it delicately) who wasn't at the level required to ride them set off down one not knowing what it was like, I'm pretty sure they'd stop and turn round pretty sharpish.
The North Face trail is a joke, always has been. I've done the full loop of it once and will never do so again (a couple of the climbs and traverses are useful though); the bridleways in the forest are far better.
It's definitely worth a visit to ride these ones though (you probably know where they are) although I can imagine that they would be a bit fruity in the wet, to say the least !!
@@Stopadoodledoo Funnily enough I have set off down one of them trails in the wet and turned round and pushed back up after about 10m as it was clearly too much in them conditions which is exactly what we agree is the sensible and self preserving way to ride unknown tracks. It’s very strange. I think FOD is perhaps the only English trail centre that is bucking the trend and has a healthy community/FC relationship with each contributing to building new and maintaining old trails (of which many are off piste style tracks). So what’s the issue at Grizedale?
@@MindfulTrailBiker Maybe it's because it's in the Lake District although the fact that it's a working forest (which they regularly clear fell) kind of negates the 'preserving the natural beauty' argument. You would kind of hope that BikeTreks, having relocated there, would be trying to work with the FC to look at what trails, etc., are available and maybe work on new ones and maybe they are, but it doesn't seem to be doing much. If they were to put bike specific trails in that were actually worth riding then it would have the potential to be really popular (despite the awkward route to it 😃). I guess it is anyway, but from an official perspective it doesn't really cater for the Enduro market at all. I imagine even the XC / trail guys ride the bridleways rather than the North Face; don't think I have ever met anyone with something positive to say about it, at least as a full loop.
Just hearing the word strava makes me think of scrawny looking guys with skin tight shorts with padding that makes them look like they've pooped themselves and gives me a little shiver... but I was interested in the heatmap thing you mentioned so I went against my instincts and had a look to see if my local (only) super duper secret trail was on there and lo and behold it is. Which gives me all sorts of weird vibes. MTB is very minor here (If I tell the heat map to only show MTB activity there is literally none for the whole country, so no one is recording as MTB and/or very low activity) so I don't think anyone is out there scraping strava to hunt us out but it makes me think it's only time until some ding dong on their Amazon bike with Aliexpress e-bike conversion shits the place up or has an accident and it's game over for everyone.
Heatmaps has definitely added a new dimension to cheekily built trails, more so than when Strava was a thing but heatmaps wasn’t. We’re all aware that Strava opened up the visibility of previously unknown stuff through people recording and naming segments but the latter part was limited; heatmaps shows everything that’s been ridden and to an extent, how much (hardly used, probably not worth looking at if there’s nothing else in the area).
It’s definitely a useful tool for the curious but must be a pain for the trail builders.
Ironically, us muppets who film on such trails often get flack for giving away the locations and trails, probably by some who are recording their rides. Totally agree if people are making it obvious in their videos where places are but, as with this video, saying Grizedale wouldn’t give it away unless you knew where in Grizedale I was (and it’s a big forest) and if you do, then you probably already know about the trails.
I could do a whole different video prattling on about this 😂
@@Stopadoodledoo I'm conflicted on the videos. I can see both sides. Logging to strava has to be a sin though. With a video even if you show everything from your house to the trailhead it can be difficult to work out where the trailhead actually is. So if you skip a bit of the start of the trail it's obfuscated enough really. Logging to strava though.. I can literally put the heat map in one tab and align google maps in another tab and work out the exact location and get directions. 😂
@@donpalmera yep, that’s what I do, as well as OS Maps for remote areas
Awkward one about those trails, we all love to ride them and will continue to ride them. Only thing that really bothers the forestry is that because it's not actually an official trail on their maps, people ride them and try to claim when they come off. Tbh though, majority of us will just admit we were riding like a cock when we fall off 😂
That’s a big part of the problem mate, goons who fall off in places where they’re not supposed to be and then cry about it being too bumpy to the landowners 😂
The bridlepath at Grizedale are ment to be good see trail finder
They are mate; showed Andy (Trail Finder) one of them 👍😀
I gave Marc and Christian a tour of some of the best ones a few years ago (including Claife): ruclips.net/video/Zfd75jvJksk/видео.html