Chopwell Wood: Riding the Powerline & Off-Piste MTB Trails
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- čas přidán 7. 08. 2024
- In this video I'm going to be getting a taste of the MTB trails on offer within Chopwell Wood, both official and unofficial.
Chopwell Wood is a 360 hectare mixed woodland, only 12 miles from the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, that's home to the Powerline - a 1.4 kilometre long red grade descent - and an abundance of off piste, MTB trails.
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Why was it tacking down ???
Because a few people took issue with the inclusion of the locations of the trails. I can understand why, and I respect that. I'm not unreasonable, so I made some changes. The reason I have this channel is because I love documenting my rides, and I enjoy it when other people enjoy what I do, too. I don't really want to cause anger or hostility, so I've edited the video to remove the locations and a good chunk of footage that might have given away those locations.
I know a lot of riders would have found that information useful, and it probably would have encouraged more people to visit those trails, but I spent hours in the wood finding and riding trails, and I really enjoyed that time. I'd definitely encourage people just to get out and ride more.
@@MeantforDescent Big respect for removing the locations. Whilst it's too late for Sandy Berms (at 8mins) it might help us keep some of the other trails in tact.
I'm 30 and getting back on a bike after about 12 years, I remember being 13/14 year old and building trails/jumps in chopwell woods after school. Can't wait to go back
Your narrative is absolute class!!
Thanks, Mike. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I payed Chopwell a visit entirely because of this video. Amazing trails, great fun, I was terrified about 50% of the time but I've only had a bike 4 weeks. The GoPro effect on this video is quite severe, you don't really appreciate the gradient or speed. But, I pushed myself, flew down the runs, battered on with the climbs, hit all the drops in the Drift Pit and sweat my body weight... Can't wait to go back. Cheers for the vid.
Thanks, Joseph. You're welcome, and I'm glad you enjoyed the vid. Glad you enjoyed the trails, too. If you're looking for more trails in the North East I've made a couple of videos at Hamsterley Forest. It's definitely worth a visit. Polty's Last Blast through to Nitrous is just amazing.
Good to see you back on the trails and another great video!
Thanks Gary. I seem to spend more time editing than riding. That can't be right.
this video has actually made my day thank you man. Also love the editing, keep the vids coming
You're welcome, Rob. Thanks for watching.
Very well done, nice to see my doorstep trails properly described.
Thanks, man. Much appreciated.
Great video of my local. Been following you for a while now and your videos and commentary are bang on POINT! Keep em coming cause I'm loving em! 👍👍
Thanks, Chris. I really appreciate it. I love riding at Chopwell, and it would be great if the powers that be would sanction more trails in the wood, too. So much potential.
Spot on this video mate. Helped me find some trails. Cheers.
Looks like a good craic. Off piste looks sick. Keep em coming dude. 🤙🏴
Thanks, man. It's a great place to explore.
Great vid! Thanks for the stickers and use of your track pump! 👍😁
Thanks, Chris. You're very welcome. Hope you both had a great ride. Nothing like a blast round Choppers.
Love your content ,really enjoying the vids thanks
You're welcome. Glad you enjoyed it.
Great video man...been checking out your channel and love your content...subscribed and looking forward to more!
Thanks, Graeme. Welcome aboard.
I went and rode this today took your advice and loved it it . Done the the last two sections twice till my back brake went . Once bike out the shop I will be back up riding it till I get my confidence up and can move on to better places
Glad to hear it, Mick. Check out the Park Tool web site for info on repairs. There're a lot of great maintenance tutorials on there that will save you £££.
Like the vids, keep em coming and head over to the other stanes soon..
Thanks, Clive. They're definitely all on the list.
Seriously good video mate, loved the amount of detail and systematic approach! Goin there next week for the first time to have a break from Hamsterley forest and Guisborough woods. Subscribed to you 👍🤙
Thanks, man. I'm sure you'll have a blast. It takes a while to find all the trails, but it's worth it.
Great vid 👍🏻
Thanks, Alfie.
Great video. Not ridden chopwell but have been up there for a walk with the family. Looking forward to visiting again with my bike in the future. Just found and subbed you after watching Emtbryan.
Cheers, Steve. Welcome aboard. Chopwell's a top riding spot. Great fun. You just need to spend a little time exploring. I'm sure you'll have a blast when you ride it.
Nice video. Last one was also good 😉
Cheers, Robin.
great insight...thanks!
No problem. Thanks for watching.
Love the video, just got my trek powerfly FS5 emtb... Going here tomorrow
Thanks. I hope you enjoy Choppers, too. Let me know how it goes.
Another great video, well put together and a great commentary as usual. I always called it the Dingly Dell I guess the Drift Pit sounds better!
Cheers, Craig. If you get intimate with it you get to call it the Drifty. ;)
And... he’s back again!
Nice one mate! We had a kiff time out at Choppers when we were over the pond on tour... It's a fun place... :D
Yeah, you're not wrong. Thanks for watching.
Great video - I’ve recently got my first mountain bike and gunna give chopwell a go tomorrow ✌️
You're going to love it. Exploring the woods and finding new trails is huge fun.
Geordies like me are so happy to ride chopwell woods most weekends I’m there 👍
It's the best; a real gem. I've been off the bike for a while working on other projects, but I can't wait to get back there.
You get a new sub, im thinking to get into the Mtm life !
Thanks, Gabriel. Do it. You won't regret it.
I decided to give off road biking a try after watching loads of Seth bike hacks on CZcams. I've been to chopwell a couple of times now and have been trying to master the roots trail. I managed to stick my front wheel between a couple of roots and shot straight over my handlebars!, So I think it's safe to say I'm failing so far. I've been walking with a limp the last few days as a result but your videos are really inspiring so I'm determined to give it another go (once I can walk properly ;-)
Really enjoying your videos. It's clear you put a lot of work into them. Some great editing. The mirrored shots of central motorway and Tyne bridge, and the shot the chopwell sign with the bag being dropped made a really nice intro. I would definitely like to see more chopwell videos, or any other good trails in the northeast.
Thanks for all the hard work your putting into the channel!
Hi Robin. Thanks and welcome to the MTB community. Sorry to hear about your OTB episode and I hope you shake the limp quickly. Roots in general can be tricky, especially when they're wet.
I rode the Osprey Trail up at Kielder recently with a view to making a video for riders who are new to mountain biking. It's not a very technical trail, but it's a nice little adventure in a pretty remote and beautiful place. I can recommend it if you're looking for a route with a reasonably good enjoyment to air ambulance evacuation ratio. It'll probably be a couple of weeks before it's edited, though.
Don't let the roots put you off; we all have bad days.
Chris.
Hey Robin. How's your limp? Hope you're smashing the trails?
We went to hamsterly the other day after watching your 2 videos, was absolutely class! Super K and Brain Freeze were awesome! Will be going back again soon!
Awesome. I'm really pleased to hear that. Did you ride the whole red trail or just the fun parts?
@@MeantforDescent the whole of the red, didn't realise how much fire road climb there was! Will just do the fun parts next time 😂
Yeah, it's easy to see where the fun parts of the red trail are. Chucking in Pikes teeth from the black trail and Odd Sox, too, makes for a fun day out.
Was there today. Great trails. Had to ask a few lads where the unmarked ones were and they showed me a few👍
You've had the weather for it. Hope the climbs weren't too warm.
love chopwell its great
You're right. There's always something new to find.
Absolutely love chopwell. Last time I was there came off on the power line and snapped some bones so now the wife’s not keen on me going🤦🏼♂️😂
What she doesn't know, Mark. ;) You're right, though. Chopwell's a blast. I've been going for years and I'm still finding new stuff to ride. Love it.
just been down it on my gravel bike, including the black section, not ideal but doable. Usually on my hardtail it's fine
Love your channel! Your narrative is so funny. Will you be going to keilder or AE any time soon. Would love a video of there before going myself
Thanks Natalie. It's funny you should mention Ae and Kielder. I've ridden Kielder's red Deadwater trail twice now with the intention of making a video and both times I've had either camera or sound problems, meaning I wasn't able to use the footage. Consequently, I now film with two GoPros. I've also ridden Kielder's blue Osprey trail and will be editing that footage in the coming weeks. The Osprey trail, however, is really quite sedate, and the video is aimed at new riders, of which I'm sure there are now many following lockdown, so not as exciting as Hammers.
I went to Ae very recently, but the whole trip was a disaster from start to finish, and it ended with a long hike back to the car after a blow out. Ae does very briefly feature in my next video, but that's a "make & do" workshop vid, so there won't be much trail action. I'm hoping to get back there at some point in the future, though.
@@MeantforDescent I have also done the deadwater pine travel but haven't done any others at keilder. Will watch out for your upcoming videos. Hopefully you will get some more biking trips soon. I'm going to Glentress next week for the first time since lockdown, can't wait!
I hope you enjoy it. Glentress is one of my favs.
I'm heading back to Bikepark Wales next month, but we've only managed to get passes for two of the days we're in Merthyr, so I think we're going to try and ride Windhill one day and somewhere in Wales on the other. Hopefully, that will give me some good content.
no one says 'mega safe funzy' class video mate ill give it a go subscriber from Teesside.
Thanks, Pete. Welcome aboard. You're probably right; I just imagine that's what cool people say. ;)
ive been looking for the drift pit for ages and casnt remember where abouts it is
Mainly the drift pit
the fact the forestry commission has not got the builders involved and built up and sanctioned some of the off-piste trails makes sad, this could be a really fun trail network sandy berm would have been an amazing trail instead of destroying it the commission could have got volunteers to make it safe and sanction it.
Hi. Excellent video. Im planning to go there this weekend. Any chance for gpx? Thankx
Thanks. Unfortunately I don't have a GPX file. I'd suggest chatting with some locals when you arrive. They might be able to point you in the right direction.
I never been at Chopwell. I am planning to go there soon, I'm just worried getting back to the carpark and not getting lost haha, any route to go back.
Chopwell's on a hillside, and the car park's near the top, so as a general rule, just head up hill to freedom. ;)
@@MeantforDescent thanks! Gonna go there next week :)
Also those sandy berms have been rebuilt
Thanks, Josh. I've been on the hunt for more trails recently, but haven't been back in that area for a good while. I'll give it a go next time around.
Went today and the storm as destroy some of the trails
Thanks for the heads up, Joseph. I'm sure the trail fairies will sort them out eventually.
@@MeantforDescent Hopefully 😃
I might sound thick here but... I'm going early doors tomorrow for a cycle. Are these trails signed? I mean I know the official ones probably are... It what about the rest?
Hi Joseph. You're right about the official trails; they're signposted from the main car park, but the rest aren't. To find them you're going to have to do some exploring, or tag along with someone in the know.
I’m going to go to chop well in the morning. Iv never rode and trails like this before. Are they hard to ride
Hi Mick. I would urge you to be cautious if it's your first time out on the trails. The Powerline is a red grade trail, so it's aimed at intermediate riders rather than beginners. The other off piste trails aren't sanctioned by the landowner, therefore don't adhere to any trail grade policies at all. Some are easy and some really aren't.
I would suggest walking each trail before you commit to riding it, otherwise you might find yourself in a dangerous situation, but be wary of other riders approaching at speed, and be prepared to get out of their way pretty quickly. I would also urge you to build up to more challenging obstacles gradually. Start small and only get bigger when you're comfortable. Keep your progression goals realistic, too. Going big in lieu of going home is best attempted with a good amount of practice.
Also, remember that the off piste trails may get comparatively very few visitors, so it's a good idea to ride with someone else. That way if either of you have a spill there'll be someone around to help.
I'm sorry if that sounds a little patronising, but I'd rather you had a good day out and went home safe, with no bones sticking out.
@@MeantforDescent thanks got advice. I took mtb lessons a month back and found them good . I was going to ride the trail slow first of all them keep riding it
I hope you enjoy it. Choppers is great.
you missed the main black trail its confusing because the actual full black trail is longer and more gnarly and its next to the powerline hidden.
Cheers, Josh. It's called Article 50 and I did a short video on it in August last year. It makes a nice change from the Powerline. I don't think it gets quite as much traffic, so it's got a very different feel.
Where is Sandy Burms and The Middle trails located in the woods?
Thanks for watching. The original version of this video showed the locations, but there were some objections. My best advice would be to go with someone in the know, or tag along with someone in the car park when you arrive. Sorry I can't be of more help.
I've been around the woodland quite a bit and know the woods quite well but i can't seem to find it. Nevermind will keep on searching cheers.
@@MrShaunwray If you want to DM me on Instagram or Facebook, I'll let you know when I'm in the woods next. Don't mind showing you around, but it might not be for a few weeks.
I was there today
Chopwell's great. There's always something new to discover.
Great vid but wish I'd seen the unedited original version
Thanks. For the good of mankind, it's been locked inside a lead lined box with a lump of kryptonite and thrown from a P&O ferry at an undisclosed location.
@@MeantforDescent Haha deffo for the best lest you upset the local trails for local people lot (scuse old league of gentleman ref). Can put the pitchforks away again
there is loads of more great trails there we ride all the time
Yeah, love riding Chopwell; there are loads of great trails. Making videos of them is a bit controversial though, so for the time being I'm not planning to make any more.
i think chopwells grading is a bit generous. reds should be blue and backs should be red as they arent really that challenging compared to other red and black trails
Good to see you have listened to concerns. Good video and narrative, but I’d defo stay to the official stuff in future as I’m sure in other places builders will get really p***ed off lol. 👏🏻
What happened to the last vid?
Check out the pinned post at the top of the comments, Alfie. Cheers for watching, btw.
Oh thanks! No problem 😀 I’ve only watched your bike park Wales one about 50 times 😂😂
@@alfiejw5534 What can I say? You have excellent taste. ;)
The drift pit was recently destroyed
Yeah, it's unfortunate, but I'm sure it won't be long before it gets a remodelling.
No new videos for a while?
I know. I'm working on one now. Shouldn't be too much longer.