Section Six

“Section Six?!” I hear you cry! “What happened to three to five?”

Well, Follow the Dog has evolved over the years, and sections have been rerouted and replaced for various reasons.  So Section Two leads onto Section Six!  You can’t really miss the entrance to Section Six - it’s almost directly in front of the exit to Two, and is COVERED IN RUDDY GREAT ROCKS!

There had been a concern that the shared section of fireroad leading from Two to the old start of Six was causing conflict between bikers and the Bikeless Ones.  The solution was an elegant one: create a new start to Six which follows on almost directly from Two.   So, a new bridge was created, and a while after that, the Stegosaurus was hatched.

The Section starts with a rocky entrance that’s similar to the exit of Two - a right hand turn down some steps.  After a very short while, you encounter the Stegosaurus - an armoured section of track.  Again, for the most part, it looks more intimidating than it actually is - keep it steady, keep your line, and you’re sorted.  It snakes down, and after a few steepish steps on a left hand turn, you’re on the bridge.  Once you leave the bridge, you’re pretty much at the previous start to the section.

The section from this point feels wider and a bit more open than most of the trail, but still has some sharp turns.  For the mentalists out there, there’s a black graded log skinny to test your skills on.  Needless to say, I’ve always left that well alone.

There’s another bridge over a stream, which has a tiny (we’re talking kerb height or less) drop at the end and requires a sharp right hand turn.  There’s a little stile-style bridge over another stream, then a short but steep climb.  Once at the top, it’s pretty much plain sailing down a flat section of track  to Section Seven.

HOW IT RIDES:  The Stegosaurus starts the section with a nice challenge, which is pretty much the same regardless of the weather.  Again, more pebbly goodness, although some bits on here get a little churned up in the wet.  The first three quarters of the trail is quite feature packed, so the end part is a bit…flat.   This can be seen as an anti-climax or sweet, blessed relief, depending on your point of view.

HAZARDS: As mentioned, the Stegosaurus isn’t that tough to ride- you just need to go into it with the right mindset.  The last couple of steps onto the bridge can be a bit tricky, and also a bit slippy in the wet.  The exit ramp of the bridge has been tamed slightly since it first opened, due to people flying off the end face first.  Pfft!  The stile might catch some people out, particularly when wet.  The short climb sometimes causes beginners problems, particularly as there’s a mysterious pipe crossing it - just keep ploughing up it and you’ll be fine, honest.

Now, if you’ve read the page on Section Two, you’ll see how I remarked that there’s not many Bikeless Ones on it.  Do you know why?  Because they’re all on Section Six!  I’d say that this section suffers the most from people wondering onto it, with families with young children being irresistibly drawn to the bridges.  I don’t know if they climb over the sides, or just ignore the signs at the entrances, but there they are!

Either ignore them, or politely let them know they’re on a designated mountain bike only route - it’s not worth getting into an argument!