On a cold, wet and muddy Friday evening I headed over to Sherwood Pines in Nottinghamshire to sample its only red route, the Kitchener Trail.
What a difference a bit of rain makes. Normally a flat fast flowing trail with berms and rollers, and a nice mix of rocks and roots. This time a muddy, gritty energy sapping water filled trail. The 13km took over an hour to complete and my brake pads well and truly ruined.
Over the next few weeks, I'll be breaking the root down section by section so you can see how the trail fares in the rain
This week is the release of section nine video. Check it out above.
Section nine named ‘Western Front’ is one of the shorter sections of the Kitchener trail at just over 400 meters. It’s very much a transition section but is quite different to all other sections as you are out of the deep Forest and riding the edge of a small wood with a clearing to the right. The end of the section comes when you re-enter a sparse managed section of the Forest and start to run parallel with a wider Forest trail, which you eventually cross.
It was nice to be out of the dripping trees but with the rain still coming down I’m not sure this section was any better. In the summer sun this is where you get to feel the heat out of the shade and on the dusty track.
Keep an eye out for next week’s look at the Kitchener trail section ten.
For other related articles
showing the different sections of the Kitchener Trail please click below:
wet Kitchener Trail – Section One
wet Kitchener Trail – Section Two
wet Kitchener Trail – Section Three
wet Kitchener Trail – Section Four
wet Kitchener Trail – Section Five
wet Kitchener Trail – Section Six
wet Kitchener Trail – Section Seven
wet Kitchener Trail – Section Eight
wet Kitchener Trail – Section Ten
wet Kitchener Trail – Section Eleven
wet Kitchener Trail – Section Twelve
Kitchener Trail – Section Thirteen
Kitchener Trail – Section Fourteen
Kitchener Trail – Section Fifteen