Forum

Hi all,

New to the forum! Not sure why it's taken me so long to join because I've been riding Brox woods for a couple of years now.

The main reason I've joined now though is to see if anyone knows what we can do to get the trails cleared up. Went for our first ride out there last week (haven't been since last year!) - the restoration work and winter has really taken it's toll
The one thing those trails have got going for it is the flow - and with all the fallen trees that just isn't happening.

So, being totally new to this I was wondering if anyone knows what the best way is to go about clearing things up?

Can we get "any" help at all from the council - or is it totally up to us?

If it's up to us (I'm sure it is) - would anyone be up for a bit of volunteering to get some of the trails sorted?

I have zero experience in this - so hoping we can get some guidance from those that do have experience and perhaps knows a bit about adding a few "features" around the hard-to-budge obstacles that will last

Anyway, this is just to get the conversation started...

Hi Zee,

I would say that the council wont be interested at all.
I be more than happy to help to sort out some trials there but I'm not sure what the forestry people would think about it if we start putting in jumps and berms on or near public paths , I can hear health safety screaming no.
but saying that there is no harm in asking them if we can make a trial which is fitting to the area and doesn't stand out like a sore thumb.

You never know they might think it's a great idea but never had or can't put the funds to do something like that.

Steve

Some areas are ok , others will eveolve as riders learn to ride over fallen trees etc..

I can appreciate that Jedi... and I'm all for challenging myself but there are a lot of fallen trees now that are just too big to ride over and so ruin the flow quite a lot.

Thanks Steve. I'll give some more thought on how to ask the council. The priority is to just get a few of the bigger obstacles out the way.

In the meantime... hopefully we can drum up some more interest....

Where are you talking? the entrance to endor?

Sorry - not sure where endor is exactly.

One of the routes we like goes along Hedgerows Woods and loops back around the skirt of Cowheath wood.
If you're unsure of that one - if you park in the Brox Woods (East) carpark - then go down the firetrack until you get to the fence. Go through the fence (over the ditch) and then go down to the right and hug the edge all the way around it can actually bring you right back up to where you started. It's
a 10min loop at a push. We affectionately call it the Loop of Doom on Strava (see pic)

Is Endor around there anywhere?

I'm just over in Cheshunt so let me know if theres any heavy lifting to be done

When mother nature provides gifts, the trail gnomes are expected to get creative and make good use of them

What a great example of a little 'wood diy' to overcome fallen trails and add a bit more fun to the trail, but clearly the powers that be wont be too pleased if huge jumps are built or people start to injure themselves, Danbury is a great example of where it is tolerated and now even has official signs put up to warn walkers of bikers, this is mainly due to the fact that the 'built' features blend in well with the exisiting bombholes, etc and in fact its hard to see what is natural or 'man made', Warley was another spot where it was tolerated for some years, however this looked far from natural and many of the jumps were accompanied by a 5 foot hole next to it which looked a bit unsafe and as we all know, this has now been flattened.

Yeah don't start me on the five foot hole thing.

Please anyone who is going to the trouble of taking a spade out with them for a little trail "fettling"
Then also take a plastic sheet or groundsheet ... get your dirt from some distance off trail and drag it back (on the sheet ) to avoid making craters everywhere. It also cuts your time down "on-site" to reduce chances off being discovered

Does anyone know what the work being done in Danemead wood is? Is it part of the restoration. They seem to pushing out into the woods either side of the fire road and felling trees. I'd assumed it was just logging but wondered if there was more to it than that?

Is chewbacca from endor?

No but the Ewoks are

Just skim from the top as opposed to digging a massive hole...

Skiming dont really work in Herts. You need to get down to the sand & gravel that seems to be everywhere about a foot down