Winter Riding at the 7stanes

Riding in wintry conditions is possible, but with it brings additional dangers which need serious consideration:

Colder, tougher weather - Be prepared. Having suitable winter riding kit and spare clothes in your pack is essential, as is having experience riding in wintry conditions. It’s physically much more demanding and you’ll burn calories quicker – make sure to carry enough food and fluids. When you stop you'll cool down quickly and it'll take longer to warm up again. Carry a survival bag/space blanket. A small group shelter is a very useful addition to your pack and can be used even if stopping for a short snack break (they’re not just for emergencies).

Snow on the trails - Greatly increases the technical difficulty of a given trail. Traction is reduced, steering becomes lighter and your wheels will slide around, often. Even fairly gentle climbs can become unrideable - be prepared to be off and pushing alot.

Snow on the trails also slows you down considerably! Think about this when judging ride times and plan in bail out options to cut rides short. 7stanes trails have escape routes back to the car parks on the waymarker posts but make sure you can read the trail map too - most waymarker posts are numbered and these numbers are on the trailmaps to help locate yourself.

Less daylight - in winter it's easy to get caught out, especially in the forest where many of the trails are under the tree canopy. A nightlight or headtorch is a very useful piece of kit to carry on winter rides.

Rapid changes in weather - riding at a trail centre is no different from riding in the open hills and is subject to the same weather. Be prepared for quick changes in weather. A sudden snow storm can rapidly make trails unrideable, reduce visibility and if combined with wind, will be very unpleasant or even impossible to ride in. Check the weather forecast before you head out.

Ride with a buddy/in a group - safer and more fun. Seriously though, it means if you do get into trouble, there's other people around to help. Important as even busy trail centres get a lot quieter when the conditions are wintry - another rider may not be along for several hours.

What's your route? - Tell someone what route your planning to do and when you aim to be back, whether going out on your own or in a group. If you get into difficulty, it'll make the job of finding you quicker and easier. Carry a fully charged mobile phone and remember that if you need to make a call to the emergency services, you should still be able to make it on your mobile even if it has no signal (calling 999 your phone is able to use any network signal available).

If there is a lot of snow, access into the forest may be very restricted for emergency services - it'll take them much longer to get to you. If you have a problem and have to stay in one spot, extra warm clothes/survival bag/group shelter could be a lifesaver...

More snow the higher you go - even if there is only a dusting of snow at the trailhead, higher up on the trails there may be several inches of snow. It will also usually be colder and windier. Be prepared.

Ice - Trail centres often suffer from this on the trails themselves from many riders compacting the snow into hard ice on the ride line. Wheels will slip away even quicker. Try to minimise sharp turning and braking. The ice will also stick around after the snow around about has melted away, especially in spots sheltered from the sun.

Black Ice - can make the trails/forest roads pretty much unrideable. Often occurs when ice has thawed then refrozen. Not always obvious to see and very dangerous to ride on..

We keep the trail conditions at http://www.7stanes.gov.uk/ upto date. We also add additional info on the trail conditions on this blog site. Use this and check the weather forecast when you're planning your trip. You can also phone the local FC Ranger (numbers on the trail conditions page) to get the very latest on the conditions on the ground.

One last thing - the access roads into the forest and car parks themselves may not have been gritted and so may be very challenging to drive/park on. Drive with care. Some normally open forest roads and car parks maybe closed if too snowy/icy. The Buzzards Nest car park and access road to it at Glentress is often is closed when there's snow/ice.

Alot of things to think about, but do this when your planning/out on your ride and it'll keep you safer whilst still having fun on the trails.



For more general advice on the riding the trails check out the 'trail grades' and 'skills and riding tips' pages at http://www.7stanes.gov.uk/


Cheers,

Andy
(MTB Ranger)