February
8
2010
Thanks to everyone who came along to the weekend up at Gisburn Forest. The whole thing went down really well and it was great to see each person progressing in their riding. There were drop offs, double jump, extreme mud and root slither, cornering, steep roll ins, line choice, pumping the trail, bunny hops, riding with flat pedals and tweaking body position on the bike. Good craic in the group and great hospitality from the Dog and Partridge where people stayed, ate, drank and watched the video footage of our days out on the trails and the downhill tracks.
Here’s Nigel throwing in a bit of entertainment for us all.
Nigel Page rides up the roll in at Gisburn Forest from Ed Oxley on Vimeo.
January
28
2010
I’ve been using this wax based chain lube for a while now and really rate it. It works well in both wet and dry conditions and once applied you don’t need to degrease your chain. I’m just rinsing the grit from my chain, drying it with an old towel and re-applying the lube. There’s no big faff and it just works well.
The dudes from Squirt have now sent me a big box full of the stuff and if you come on one of my skills days I’ll give you a sample bottle to try for yourself.
You can find out more, get a free sample or make an order by contacting Squirt:
email info@in2dust.co.uk
phone 07789 075 818
January
21
2010
The snow has gone at last and I’ve put plenty of new dates up for ‘Stop Crashing’ my fundamental mountain biking skills course. There are also new dates up for the ‘Flow’ and the ‘Black Magic’ courses which are the next, more advanced level. All courses are run at both Lee Quarry and Gisburn Forest
Great news from Tony Lund, the Lancashire County Council Countryside Officer, about new trail building.
“First some news about trail building, tenders came back in just before Christmas and Back On Track (Rowan Sorrell’s crew) have won both the tender for new trails in Lee Quarry and for the new trails in Cragg Quarry. The plan is for them to get started on the trail construction just as soon as the snow and ice have gone. So all being well we should have some spangley new trails ready for use April/May this year.”
As well as running my skills courses and private days I’m going to be working as part of Rowan’s team on the trail building project. This is a great opportunity for me and I’m really going to know these trails inside out. The new skills area at Lee Quarry will be one of my main training locations.
As well as five new skills lines featuring drop offs, tabletops and berms there are also plans to build a Pump Track at Lee Quarry. Work should be complete by April this year. Cragg Quarry will also be developed with red and black graded trails and Rowan thinks that this area will be the jewel in the crown of the whole project so far. Think rollers, berms, jumps and tons of flow all with the biggest views you can imagine. There are also plans to form a volunteer trail building group for the area to help shape the trails that we will be riding in the future. More details will emerge over the next few weeks.
Don’t forget as well that the Singletrack Classic Weekender is approaching. Tickets are already on sale and I will of course be helping and will have a role in the lead up, as well as at the event itself.
I think it’s going to be a busy year!
January
7
2010
Great Rock / Ragley Bikes Snow Riding from Ed Oxley on Vimeo.
The devil makes work for idle wheels so I went out to the woods with my bike and video camera today and tramped up and down having some fun and getting some clips in the snow and sunshine. Can’t work at the moment and I thought it was time to stop moaning about the weather and get out and embrace it.
I live up a hill so all rides start with a descent and end with a climb. It was fun, apart from the face plant into a wall! Luckily I was saved by my beard.
Music is Pon De Floor by Major Lazer.
January
5
2010
Took a break from moaning about the snow today and went for a ride in it. It was pretty hard to find the trail in places and the climbs had to be walked. Rode some fun descents though and took the Ragley Ti down some tech steps just to keep my hand in. You can’t beat the confidence you get from sticking a slack head angled bike into the unknown. At times the sky and all of the ground was the same colour and I felt like I was free falling.
A beard full of snow and ice is a great feeling and like all good natural fibres it provides good insulation and breathability. Have to say I feel sorry for all the beardless gents out there. Your faces must be freezing.
Hopefully normal service will resume soon and I can get out on to Gisburn and Lee Quarry to do some work!
December
20
2009
I’m very proud to have won the Best Singletrack Magazine Feature for 2009 as voted by the readers of the magazine. I wrote the story of me and my son Nial and how we have made riding mountain bikes one of the most important parts of our father and son time. Thanks if you were one of the people who voted. If you haven’t read the article it is in issue 50 of Singletrack Mountain Bike Magazine available in print or to download from the online shop.
http://www.singletrackworld.com/shop/acatalog/singleissues.html
Best Singletrack Magazine Feature
Winner: ‘Man & Boy’ by Ed Oxley
“This was the closest category with only a handful of votes separating the candidates. Ed’s feature must be one of the most genuinely moving pieces of writing in a mountain bike magazine for quite some time. The best man won.”
Here is the boy himself in action yesterday on the frozen downhill tracks at Storthes Hall near Huddersfield
Nial on the Ragley Ti from Ed Oxley on Vimeo.
December
15
2009
I picked up the Ibis Tranny test bike from Singletrack today. Like the Heinz soup it comes in several varieties! It’s in a singlespeed/dirt bike build at the moment and I’m looking forward to taking it up to my usual playgrounds to see how the hardtail Mojo rides. Fox 32 100mm bolt through fork and Atherton Pro finishing kit are all looking pretty sweet.
December
14
2009
Just in, this lavishly decorated Giro Xen. I haven’t had a helmet this funky since I had an Etto in the early 90s.
For the record mine was black on purple. I imagine the Japanese tattoo derived colour fest of the Giro will look as much ‘of it’s time’ as this nineties head case does today.
December
13
2009
Ian was one of my first clients. Coming from a road riding background, he wanted to race off road and so came for a one to one day up at Lee Quarry. Following that day he raced the Brownbacks cross country series in the ‘Have a Go Hero’ class. He did rather well, winning a race and finishing second in the series overall.
As part of his winter training he’s coming back for more skills training. We’re doing regular 2 hour sessions up at Lee Quarry to develop his technical off road skills. We’ve been working on pumping the trail, using the jump line to perfect timing and body position.
Going back to do it again
I haven’t worked at Lee Quarry for a couple of months and it’s really good to be back up there. Look out for open group days at Lee Quarry from spring 2010 and please get in touch if you want to book a private day. If you’d like to come for a half day (3 hour) or a 2 hour session, I am taking bookings on weekdays only.
December
13
2009
Look out for more collaborative weekends in the future. In the meantime here’s Nigel hitting a road gap in Delamere Forest on a ride we had there recently.
Pagey’s Gap from Ed Oxley on Vimeo.
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