Length: 4.7km
Time: 0.5 hrs
Grade: Red
Rating: 4.5/5
The Freeminer trail
has been a feature of the Cannop cycle-centre for as long as I can remember.
Traditionally this is a fairly classic, natural singletrack route; weaving Its
way through the pine forests leaving a distinct line in the moss strewn forest
floor.
In the
face of the Verderers trail, the Freeminer trail has recently been given a
major facelift. Extended to 4.7 km (this is a short loop - but so much fun) the
route now squeezes in three good descents, a doubles line and some awesome
berms and blends them seamlessly with the original root infested lines, which
makes for a really good red trail.
Gossip suggests that
further changes are afoot with plans to extend the red further - this would be
fantastic for the centre. The FoD volunteer trail builders never tire and are
constantly looking for new ways to improve the trails. They are currently adding
a series of fly-off jumps to this trail to add a bit of extra spice to the
intermediary section of the second descent.
The Freeminer starts
from the same point as the blue graded Verderers trail but is immediately
distinguishable from its tamer neighbour. With the blue being heavily surfaced,
the red is a mixture of several different trail types but it mainly switches from
natural clay-based, heavily rooted singletrack to lightly dressed easier
rolling sections. There a few slab lines, some skinny lines & some rocky
bits too. The dressed sections make up much of the new work with large
proportions of the original route still in tact and hiking up the technical
level.
The trail also
changes in general character at certain points. Although predominantly beneath
tree cover it can feel fairly open one minute and the next, the trees have
closed right in hugging the trail tightly - the first descent cuts through a
fairly dense section of the forest before a sharp rocky climb and emerging out
on to a recently felled section with expansive views over the forest.
The second descent
is completely new and offers a quick dose of fast, big-bermed fun before
slinging you straight back on to the old rooty lines, with a few additional
berms thrown in. The speed gained could rattle fillings loose but, more
importantly, brings the old sections to life. Where they once sapped speed they
are now flippin awesome.
Another brief climb
then delivers you to the third descent, a relic of the old trail, which has had
similar treatment. Although retaining much of its original character the
introduction of the odd berm has ramped up the speed some what...
The net result of
the recent interventions is like a mixture of trail restoration and pimp my
trail. What ever you want to call it, the Freeminer is now the first trail I
ride when visiting FoD. It's fresh and interesting to ride. It packs lots of
content in to a very small trail and as it's short can be ridden repeatedly.
Even better, when
one gets bored they van either have a pop at some of the DH tracks, the
Verderers trail or tackle any of the vast network of trails hiding in these
woods.
If you go down to
the woods today, your in for a red surprise.
