Section One

We start our adventures at Swinnerton’s Cycles in Birches Valley, Cannock Chase.  It’s a good place to both start and end the ride - at the start you can pick up any last minute ride supplies, and at the end you use the bike wash to clean your pride and joy of the notorious Chase grit.  Be careful though, the new bike wash is extremely powerful - as always, be careful of the more delicate componetry on your bike (especially seals), because it carries quite a punch!

Whilst there, enjoy the evidence of Giant’s sponsorship of the trail.  Apparently angry Pacman was created by JRR Tolkien’s great- nephew, Tim Tolkien!  Bike nerds often enjoy standing close to it and identifying the components that make it up - apparently there’s a quite nice Race Face chainset in there…

So, we go through the magic archway into a mystical land of mountain biking!

HOW IT RIDES: It’s a fairly wide, flat track - trust me, the trail gets more exciting, this is more of a connecting bit.  Follow it under the Go Ape course, and on the exit head right - the first ‘proper’ bit of trail awaits in the trees!

HAZARDS: The main hazards is…pedestrians!  I’m not sure if this section of trail is supposed to be shared with the Bikeless Ones, but all riders should be aware that it’s very, very likely that there will be non-bikers, their offspring and their four legged friends pottering about.

As such, people should ride with caution - especially as alot of the Bikeless Ones will be watching friends and family in the trees above, on the Go Ape course.  They will be staring up, utterly transfixed, and utterly unaware of what’s going on around them.

Onto Section Two!