Blog Post

Kitchener Trail - Section Fifteen

Mick C • 30 April 2021

Mountain Biking Sherwood Pines ‘Death Valley’

On a fresh, dry, and sunny Thursday morning I headed over to Sherwood Pinesin Nottinghamshire to sample its only red route, the Kitchener Trail.

What a difference a bit of sun makes. Last time I was in Sherwood Pines is was wet and muddy. This time the trail was back to a flat fast flowing trail with berms and rollers, and a nice mix of rocks and roots. As I was on larger loop which passed through the pines, I didn’t complete the full 13km, but the sections I did complete I thoroughly enjoyed.

I nearly completed a review of all sixteen sections of the Kitchener Trail during a trip earlier in the year. However, the rain and mud had an impact on filming as the camera was splattered. So, I’m back to finish the last couple of sections as part of the series. I'll finish breaking the root down section by section so you can see how the trail fares.

This week is the release of section fifteen video. Check it out above.

Section fourteen named ‘Death Valley’ is one of my favourite sections. With a quick entrance that leads into a fast straight start, allowing you to get some pace. The section is around one kilometre with an overall downhill trend. The fastest part is around 300 to 600 metres in. After the straight run at the start, the trail twists right and left all the way through to the end whipping through the ground ferns. Before you know it you hit the fire toad and see the sign for the next section.

The section today was fast. From the entry point the Sun was blazing through the trees ahead, flickering as you traverse the trail. The ground was very firm so when hitting the down hills, you could flow in and out of the twists and turns. It’s a cracking beginning to the finish of the Kitchener trail, the penultimate section.

I must visit the Kitchener trailagain. It seems to have been enhanced so much in the last year.