Doing your first downhill uplift day

In November, Features Editor Fi took a plunge into the gravity-reliant world of Downhill, with her first ever Uplift Day at Cwm Carn. Her day of downhill dare devilry is the first in our feature – the Very Versatile Veritable Velo, in which all of the Cyclist No.1 editors are going to Try Something New. (Jamie Oliver would be proud). Gary will be tacking up his steed for a spot of urban bike polo and Scott will be razzing around the velodrome. Here is Fi’s tale:

Gary had agreed to accompany me for the Cwm Down Uplift Day and I was grateful for a friendly face as I self-consciously pulled on the borrowed armour and oversized downhill jersey in the chilly carpark. We were chatting excitedly and laughing at the obviousness of our own ineptitude as we strapped lightweight, carbon soled xc shoes to our feet – in total contrast to the full face helmet, baggy shorts and full armour that otherwise had us fitting in nicely with the rest of the downhillers getting ready for the first bus of the day.

Cwmdown Cwmcarn

Which way round does this go?

Being the only girl on the bus, my xc and endurance heritage wasn’t the only thing which gave me ‘sore thumb’ status. Also, I had a beautifully shiny bike, thanks to Orange. Unlike the array of mud-spattered, dented bikes of the others, mine was clearly far less used and unscratched, to which I drew even more attention because I had no idea how to rack it. I broke all the established rules of etiquette and got ticked off by the helpful driver for leaping up on the trailer. But despite this inauspicious start, before long Gary and I were engrossed in conversation with our uplift mates about the virtues of the recently reissued, spanking new (and obviously borrowed) Orange Patriots which we were riding. Everybody knew it was a case of ‘all the gear’ and no one seemed to mind.

At the top of the downhill run, we strategised a spot of kit faff to allow the others to get a head start. I was feeling sick with nerves. I only had one previous experience of downhill, having found myself stranded half way down a ‘black’ in Morzine a few years ago on my totally unsuitable lightweight endurance machine. I only barely survived to tell the tale but I still have the scars. So setting off behind Gary, my heart was racing and adrenaline was soaking through every pore. I was properly scared. It felt wonderful.

A hundred or so metres in I stopped to remove my prescription glasses, which barely fitted under the snugly fitting full facer I had borrowed from a mate. They were jiggling up and down and blurring the trail before me. I felt sick enough already and this was not helping. Gary had waited for me, worried to death that I had already come a cropper, but I caught him up and urged him onwards. I raced after him, beginning to enjoy the feel of the bike; the absured wealth of travel and the dramatically wide bars providing so much confidence.

Orange Patriot 2012

A few switchbacks later and I was smiling. My quads started burning as I stood and pedalled hard through the little flater sections here and there. The drop offs were effortless and the bike was desperate to fly over the jumps. I was a passenger on a well-trained racehorse. I just needed to hold on for dear life and follow.

At the bottom of the run, I greeted Gary with a big hug and then raced off through the car park to catch the bus up again. I survived, I rode it and I LOVED it. I was a small child on a fair ground ride “let me do it again. Again, again, again”.

The chatter on the bus started immediately, with various groups of lads comparing their first runs. We fell into easy conversation with a group of guys who called themselves 'The Wolfpack'. I had spotted their Alpha male earlier on thanks to his bright red Troy Lee ‘jim jams’ and immediately presumed he would be too elite to talk to the likes of me. How wrong I was. Downhillers are a friendly bunch, and given the amount of time spent chatting between runs, this seems to be a key lure of the sport. Throughout the rest of the day, Gary and I became adoptive 'wolves', sharing our life stories and mountain biking histories in colourful detail, with 4 minute adrenaline-fuelled interludes between bus trips.

As the light started to fade, we headed uphill for our final run; the bus now stinking with the sweat and mud of a dozen tiring riders (intermingled with quite a lot of cigarette smoke, I might add!) As I buckled up my helmet I announced this was "my last go" and silence fell. “We never say that”, said the Alpha, sternly, “just say you’re only doing one more”. I laughed dismissively, but then reflected as I launched myself over the drops and jumps, and flicked the bike round the switchbacks with the ease and confidence (if not cockiness) I had gathered with the day’s practice, that one false move and it wasn’t a case of grazed knees and bruised ego, but hospitalisation. The helmet, the armour and the bike made the downhill run feel no different to tackling a normal piece of tricky singletrack on an xc bike. Everything was upgraded in equal measure – the ‘treachtrosity factor’ and the equipment. But so too was the speed and indeed the level of gore if things did go wrong.

For my ‘one more’ run of the day, I had the Alpha following me down, and as I skidded back down to a sensible speed at the end I rather sheepishly apologised for holding him up. He replied as another wolf joined him with a melodramatic spray of mud and gravel off his locked-up wheels. “You didn’t. In fact, you’re officially the first she-wolf in the wolfpack”. I beamed all the way home!

Doing your first uplift

Various uplift services run around the country but it's best to scope out the actual trails they're servicing before signing up. Cwmcarn's downhill trail which is serviced by Cwmdown has red and black alternate lines and is generally considered to be somewhat beginner friendly. It can be ridden quite comfortably on a 140mm full suss trail bike without too much drama, and our 180mm travel Orange Patriots were arguably a bit too comfortable for that course, but no less fun! There are some other good starter uplift centres such as the Forest of Dean, so do your research as not all of the UK's tracks are as accessibe to novices.

Modern 140-160mm full suspension bikes are more than capable of tackling a wide variety of uplift days, so depending on where you're riding, you don't necessarily need to rush out and source a DH bike. Body armour is a good idea though, even if only to take away some of the penalty for crashing and to help keep you in one piece for the duration of the day. It's ultimately your call but Fi and Gary rode with full face helmet with knee and arm guards. Gary also worse a compression suit. The more protection you wear, the safer you typically feel and the minor to medium offs become mere comical moments.

Finally, relax. On the evidence of our Cwmcarn trip, downhillers are possibly one of the most inclusive groups to ride with. Hang back, ask questions, be open about being a novice and you'll be initiated in no time - it's as if they love nothing more than another newbie to corrupt to the way of the gravity-sled! You'll spend more time chatting on the mini-bus than you will actually riding, it's just how it goes, so it's no suprise the social aspect is strong with these guys.

About Cwmdown

"Cwmdown is a mountain bike uplift service based at Cwmcarn Forest Drive in South Wales. We provide riders with transport for themselves and their bikes to the top of the Y Mynydd Mojo Downhill Course as well as to several points along the Twrch Cross Country Trail.

Using Top of the range minibuses and bespoke mountain bike trailers, you’ll be driven briskly and safely along the tarmac road known as “Forest Drive”. Our trailers are built in such a way as not to damage your expensive steed, by hanging the bikes individually from the front wheel they cannot come into contact with any other bikes.

On an average day each bus would normally do around 12 lifts with a turnaround of approx 30-35 minutes. Although some riders are happy to do 12 runs of the DH Course, most are ready to go home after about 9-10 runs. During the dark winter months we won't be able to do as many runs because it gets dark earlier, but we do reduce the total number of riders as the days get shorter."

Day passes are £25 for weekdays and £28.50 on weekends.