What a nice bunch of people! Bigfoot rides a very muddy Cannock Chase February 2011.

Hello, we are The Bigfoot Mountain Bike Club and we like riding bikes!   We want you to enjoy it too, no matter what level you ride at or what type of mountain biking you like.   Have a poke around and if you want to say ‘Hi’ then drop us a line from the contacts page…and hope to see you out on the trail soon!

The club is run by a small, but beautiful formed committee to ensure everyone whom want to ride has that opportunity, so let me introduce the 2012 heads of state…..

Chairman – Jason Ayres  – chairperson@bigfootmbc.co.uk

Vice – Chairman – Paul Wherton

Membership Secretary – Steve Rendell – membership@bigfootmbc.co.uk

Treasurer – Mike Purnell

Easy Rider Co-ordinator – Susanne Klein

Also we have our Webmaster, Andrew Maddison and CTC Insurance Co-ordinator, Janet Clarke helping behind the scenes as well.

Members

A recent surge in new riders has taken the number to over the 100 mark, 102 to be exact which is  fantastic.  Interest from new riders is still very strong and I am sure that will pick up as the days get lighter and we move to warmer months.

Please remember that 3^rd party insurance is now a requirement for any new or re-joining member, which is £15 per person. You can see the full details on the latest membership form http://www.bigfootmbc.co.uk/images/2012Membership.pdf. All members re-joining will be required to complete this new form as it also captures some additional information, the In Case of Emergency (ICE) details for example. You specific ICE details will also be added to your membership card and it will be a requirement that you carry this on all rides, god forbid anything happens. This is important due to the vast number of members we now have in the club.

Cash

£426 give or take a bit.

Security

Unfortunately one of our members recently had their bikes stolen which is tragic…… We must all be aware of security and taking the best precautions to prevent this and to all ensure we have the correct insurance policies in place that will cover any replacements.  Many house hold polices, if you read the small print, do not cover bikes or if they do they are talking about “Halfords specials” not the ones we have!!  Also for security you should be looking at spending at least £100 per bike on security….that is a damn good chain that are £80 plus, high grade lock £30 as well as ground chain anchor £35 and garage defenders £30.  This may seem a lot but spending £15 on a low grade chain is just not suitable.  Remember it’s all about prevention and making it as bl00dy difficult as possible to have your prize and joy stolen.  I will be putting up a separate posting on Security this week detailing recommendations on:

-       Insurance

-       Do’s and don’ts for the web site

-       Recommendations for home security including chains, locks, anchor, etc.

-       Transportation to and from rides

Club kit

Current status is all monies in, club design agreed and signed of and today (Monday 20^th Feb), so order has been officially placed with Kalas.  Hopefully we will have the kit in time for the HONC on the Sunday 15^th April.  Also on a similar note we will need to have a club photo day so we can get a picture of all our club members in their new club kit.  This can then be used on the website, etc. to freshen some of the pages.

Events

The Events tab http://www.bigfootmbc.co.uk/events/ lists all the bigger goings on this year. Have a peak and see what’s what. We have the HONC, Wentwood and various road Sportive’s over the next 2 months with good representation from club members.

Movement has been made by Paul W and Susanne for the Bristol Bike Fest on the 9-10^th June.  This should be our big push for club participation and teams, so read the notes on the web and get your names down if you are interested (any ability) so teams can be pulled together http://www.bigfootmbc.co.uk/2012/02/bigfoot-main-eventrichey-bristol-bike-fest-2012-june-9th-10th/

Cranham Update

Mike P and CC-CC still moving ahead with NE and a meeting arrange between NE, Bigfoot,CC-CC and Slam69 for the start of March to discuss the route forward.  This should give as very good indication of the path we are to take.  It is difficult to call the outcome until this meeting has taken place. The forum and this link http://www.bigfootmbc.co.uk/2012/01/cranham-update/ has the latest updates for you all. I say it every month, thank you for your patience and staying away whilst this gets resolved for the future.

Rides

Standard club rides up and an AWAY day to Rhayader and the Elan Valley (Sun 4^th March) on the guide.  If there is a particular area or ride someone would like to have, please let me know and we will get something arranged.  Ashton Hill has been mentioned as well as skillz days.  The later we will certainly look at when the conditions improve under wheel.

Newport velodrome track sessions for club members to be arranged.  Once booked full details will be posted on the web site.

Trips Away

Wales trip 21^st-22^nd April – suitable for all riders.  Please see the ride link for more details and to register your interest or to ask any questions http://www.bigfootmbc.co.uk/2012/01/event-wales-weekend-nant-yr-arian-and-rhyader/

Alps off road week 8^th-15^th September – Ed and Mike P are going to Les Arcs to do a Trail Addiction backcountry week 8 to 15 September.  If you are interested in going please see this link for more detail and to register your interest http://www.bigfootmbc.co.uk/forum/yeti-chat/bigfoot-holiday-abroad-2012-ideas/page-2/

Alps road 5 day event 28^th May – 6^th June – still spaces if you are a keen roadie and want to tackle some of the classic Tour De France climbs.  More details and to register interest please see the following link http://www.bigfootmbc.co.uk/2011/10/alps-road-tour-2012-club-trip/  .  Myself, Mark S, Paul N and Peter N are currently going.

Scotland  7 Stanes 26^th  -31^st July provisional – register your interest http://www.bigfootmbc.co.uk/2012/01/events-away-trip-to-7-stanes-very-long-weekend-blue-red-black/

Posting on the web site

As we have more people using the Bigfoot web site just a couple of guides on what go where:

- Anyone adding a ride please ensure they using the grading system which can be found on the “ride” tab on the web site. This should be included in the ride header as well as the description. Also include the start location (brief description as you may nowhere but does everyone else)and a map link if possible, the length of the ride in time and a brief one liner i.e. singe track fest, jumps, etc. so all riders have a good idea of the style of the ride.
- Anyone thinking of coming on a ride, if possible, can they post a comment against the ride, even if it is a “maybe” as it really helps the ride leader understand the numbers.

- “News” items on the main page should be for the bigger headlines like away day write-ups, holiday write-up, peoples personal achievements, big up and coming events.

- “Forum” for general club chit chat. If you are unsure always start with the forum

If in doubt start with the Forum please!

After our  recent Bristol octoberfest success in October 2011 with our teams all getting fantastic race results some in the top twentys and even a podium finnish lets get back out there and do our best.

You have the choice of / 6 or  12 hour ; team, solo or pairs and a 3 hour novice events, all open or old gits.

The team events are fun for all and it also lets us have some interclub competition, so if you have a score to settle or a point to prove lets do it on the battlefield or maybe you just wanna have fun, please people thinking of competing solo let me know and we can all share the benefit of the easy up and support and camaraderie of others, lets work together to make this work.

http://www.bike-fest.com/bristol/

For any advise or support and arranging teams contact PAUL W  / on/ paulwherton@gmail.com or wherty@blueyonder.co.uk

http://www.bike-fest.com/bristol/

Yes, time flies. And we need teams.

I am calling especially on you, Easy Riders and all new members in the club.

These are very social events when done as team events. Between the laps you have time to chat to your fellow racers and the finish is always  nerve racking. So is the start. The atmosphere is brilliant.

We need names for Easy Rider teams and of course for other teams as well.

May I dare to ask whether we could muster a ladies team?

So put your names forward.

As many of you know myself and former Bigfoot member Mark Churchill started this fine club many moons ago when i had my former shop in Southgate Street, in Gloucester. The shop name… “Bigfoot Mountain Bikes”. In those days we were all about mountain bikes and even made our own for a short time. The Club kicked off due to many riders who raced wanting to be part of some sort of team, her’s a few below…

Well that was then, now a few years on we’re back where we, belong selling mountain bikes under the Slam69 name.

Since Slam69 started a few years back, its been associated more with the youth market, specialising in all things jumpy but you’ll be pleased to here, with our resent move into larger premises we are now able to offer a much wider range, which thankfully now includes quality mountain bikes. We currently stock GHOST and are about to take on KTM and ORANGE, with the later a brand we’ve always wanted to sell when we had the old shop. We also have a distribution side to the business now and supply Polish brand Dartmoor Bikes to the UK.

In all the years since the original shop I’ve been a cycle mechanic amongst a lot of other cycling based activities; too many to mention here, so the workshop is what our business has always been based around and it still is. I’ve just put a short intro in the workshop section on here.

Of course i have’nt been doing all this on my own, far from it, in fact my wife Sheila has been there from day one and still is. Now, the business includes my Grand daughter Millie too along with part time mechanic local rider Joe Gamlin. We all ride (well i plan to0) so now our way around a bike.

So to cut to the chase, we’re back, as i mentioned we are now stocking bikes, we also parts, spares and some clothing. We sell URGE helmets, Royal and a new brand soon to be introduced plus we can supply just about anything. We are a Hope specialist, soon to be a FOX service centre and a lot more.

The shop is situated on Gloucester Business Park, Brockworth an enjoys lots of free parking right out side the door.

Future plans for the coming year include demo days from the shop; there are routes into Cranham from the shop, we’re also offering uplifts from the shop, you park at the shop, we drop you on top of the hill, you enjoy your ride and get the fun of coming back down to be greeted by fresh coffee and cake, and possibly the odd BBQ.

So there you have it, we’re back and looking forward to meeting everyone.

all the best

Graham, and the slam crew.

As usual the race comprised of two 1 mile laps running, two 5 mile laps biking and then another two laps running. All offroad on a combination of fields, woodland tracks and bridleways. It’s definitely a different beast to the endurance events we seem to favour. Go as fast as you can for as long as you can!

Personally, having stumped up with my ancient trail clogs, I was slipping a fair bit on the runs, not to mention getting a dose of calf cramp on the second run. Also found the snow quite energy sapping on the bike compared to my recent tarmac efforts. I don’t think I could have taken the corners any slower if I’d tried, although seeing a few of the slow speed wipeouts, I’m not sure there was a good way!

That said, still very happy with my 31st place, a fraction over 82 minutes. I would argue the relay teams where different people do the runs and the bike sections shouldn’t be included in the solo results list, in which case I would sneak into 29th place! Top thirty! With a bit of statistical work I reckon I can rule out a few others and make top 10!

Timmy Two Teams was again in his TBAS colours and I think raced home in 7th place. I didn’t see Dom, but assuming he was number 217 (checking the results), he was about 90 seconds behind me. And also Steve H was there flying the NextDayTyres flag. Another great performance from our 50+ gang!

Unfortunately Andrew missed out on the fun as he chose to stay home nursing his man-flu!

Will try and find some photos in due course.

Cheers to DaveH guiding.

The shop is mainly for road and BMX at the moment but they have a couple of shiny 29ers too!  However, if there is anything specific your after…. they will try all they can to get it in for you!

Address is; 76-78 Eastgate Street, Glos, GL1 1QN

Tel – 01452 300366

Email – slipstreamcyclesuk@yahoo.co.uk

struggling uphill

Yes, I said the route would hold up well in winter. And yes, I am eating my words. Mud fest is the better description. Here are the names of the brave who did not mind being splashed a little bit or pedalling and not moving forward: Ed, Dan, Kev, Dom, DaveW, Andy and Susanne. After an innocent warm up on a country lane we hit mud, never ending mud, the sticky type, where you pedal and do not move. And the slippery type, you know when you go downhill and the bike is all over the place. It was cold on top of everything and my feet go thoroughly soaked when I crossed a puddle  which was more like a lake, just after we crossed the A417. On the descent after Elkstone Ed   learned the difference between sticky mud and slippery mud the flying way. It could be that I made Dave to dismount as well by choosing suddenly a new line. I did not see either. I was concentrating like crazy not to loose all control over my bike. The following ascent was  mud toture. When we reached the top , we had done 1/5 of the loop in 1h, had 3 punctures so far and were doubting whether we would finish the ride in daylight. Andy called it a day and cycle back on the escape route one. We soldiered on. It must be open season. All around us we could hear shooting. Just after Colesbourne we split into two groups: Dom, Dave and I went ahead. Kev, Dan and Ed stayed behind to fix another puncture. It became easier. A lot of the track was now country lane. When we reached Leckhampton Hill we passed another hunting party. The pheasants came down left and right. I thought: pedal faster, I do not want to be hit by a dead bird or scattershot. Then it was Dom’s turn to split off and go home for lunch. Dave and I waited for the others to catch up and together we returned to the car park at the Royal George. 3hours15 min of perversely enjoyable riding.

In reality the mud looked more empressive