Sherwood Pines Forest Park Red and Blue loop

Pines is the perfect place to test out your bike after fitting new bits. Two different laps around the forest never too far from the car 🔧🪛 I've just replaced my drivetrain & upgraded to Eagle AXS ⚙ (wireless shifting) taking advantage of the massive discounts on bike components after the Covid madness. The online suppliers appear to be overstocked & without many customers at the moment 🤑. The trails were running mega today, clean & grippy, built up a bit of a sweat and best of all - my bike ran perfectly!

Remodelling & renaming of the trails at Sherwood Pines has now been completed. The Blue trail has a completely new start at the rear of the bike shop with a new first section derived from the end of the old Red, running in the opposite direction. Crisp ❄️ & sunny 🌞 day, empty Car Park, perfect for a blast round on a good surface. A lot of the new stuff is a bermy, all weather, all-year-round "concretey" surface (not far removed from a skatepark) which I can understand as the trails are heavily used. However the more natural singletrack sections (prone to getting muddy) are my preference. Still a very enjoyable pedalling session 😁 Great to see some of the ANPR 🏴‍☠️parking money being invested into the trails, super job from those involved 👏

Another bone dry & beautiful day at Sherwood Pines, Car Park almost empty. This time I tried the lighter and more flexible EXO casing Minion DHF in MaxGrip compound. Magnificent! - found my perfect tyre combination, really enjoyed a fast run through the woods. High Roller II EXO MaxTerra on the back, 18psi(F) 20psi(R) [Tubeless] seems spot on, both myself and the bike are lightweight.

Sun, Hail & Puddles for my return visit to the fully reopened red & blue trails. The new blue uses some of the old red in reverse (downhill) with one or two berms & bumps for added interest. It swoops and flows really well and is mega-fast around the borders of the park. I really enjoyed it with my big chainring. Once again I visited when not busy, so set my optimum pace and went round without any encounters with walkers or slower riders on the trails.

Notching up 4k mls on Komoot with a fun blast on the Outlaw & Robin Hood Trails, small fry to the roadies! Near perfect conditions, trails running fast and empty so no stopping for photos😁 All mention of "Kitchener" seems to be gone along with the automatic car park app/barriers, all done with cameras now & Card Payment ONLY. Two hours £7, Three hours £9.50🫢

Bone dry at Pines. Tried a Magic Mary Purple (Ultra Soft) on the front with a Super Gravity casing. However, this is not really ideal for trail riding as it is so heavy & tough. Ended up with 16psi in it to try and get more compliance. I'll be taking it back off tonight and going back to Maxxis EXO casings in their "MaxxGrip" (softest) compound.

Blast around Pines Red & Blue to test the TruTune Fork Insert. Trails bone dry, fast running and in good nick, the Blue "Robin Hood Adventure" is flippin' fast, very enjoyable when the Trails are empty😁 The front of my bike is very light/not using full travel, I'm already running no Tokens (volume spacers) and minimum pressure. Added the TruTune insert which uses clever science to add more air volume. It does work, similar to taking out another (non-existent) Token.

New, old stock, Carbon Wheels and New, new stock, hollow aluminium Cranks (FSA KFX) saved 3/4 Kg off the bike and less inertia. A blast around my favourite Test Track, never too far away from the car, to make sure everything was OK and build confidence. The new Blue trail is mega quick and apart from being a bit warm, the trails were perfect. Heavy overnight rain had left the surface damp with just the odd puddle, lots of grip for the knobblies. Not many people about on a weekday afternoon (Automated Parking now £6.00 for 2 hours). I thoroughly enjoyed an all-action pedal in Clipstone Forest. There was one diversion today, had to miss out the fast (3rd section) at the top of the red on the North Eastern edge of the woods.