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Posted by Aston Hillbilly | Category:4X, Committee, DH4, Digging, Maintenance, Members, News, Race, Trails, XC Route
As the great Marvin Gaye asked: What’s goin’ on?
You want to be in the know? OK! Here’s a quick update on what’s happening on the Hill over the past few months.
Committee
At the last AGM there was a bit of a shake up of the club’s committee, with some leaving for pastures anew and others joining the team.
The current committee is:
- Peter Way - Chairman
- Paul Whitelegge - Treasurer
- Richard Abbott - Health and Safety / Trail Manager / Events Coord. / General Dogs Body
- Matt Wakefield - Trail Manager
- Scott Morehouse - Trail Manager
- Neil Cain - Marketing / Web
- Mark Harris - Social Rep. / Marketing
- Darren Carter - Race Rep. / Marketing
- Deon Fouche - Project Manager / Web
- Nic Way - Rider Rep. (Ladies)
- Ben Hopkins - Rider Rep.
- Sam Wakefield - Rider Rep. (Junior)
There is still a vacancy for secretary; if you’re super-organised, up for a challenge and fancy getting helped out with your Aston Hill membership, get in touch!
DH4
There is now some real momentum to get Aston back on the map. Our first project is DH4, which we were forced to close on safety grounds late last year. The top of the track is getting a complete makeover and is completely different from the normal Aston tracks - for those that have not been to the hill in the last month or so, you will not have seen the two-meter high berm that’s appeared!
The middle section is being re-built on the original line (with a few improvements) and the bottom will have a number of new features, including a step-up, step-down and table-top finish.
The build is going to cost around £5000 (mostly surfacing and plant hire) which is being funded primarily by race income. There’s a lot of volunteer man-hours going into this including a lot of skilled labour on design and plant use - feel free to come and help!
The first phase will hopefully be completed by the end of May and we will complete the bottom when weather and Scott, with his incredible digger driving skills, are available. Regular updates will be posted onto the Hill’s Facebook page.
Future projects
As soon as the DH4 project is complete we plan to start looking at improving the flow of Aston’s XC trails. Views on this will probably vary from being really excited by new flowy singletrack to getting vocal about the poor state of the 4X. The 4X will be tackled in due course but because of the overhead power lines we are unable to use any kind of machinery, and re-building the 4X by hand would be a massive, massive undertaking. Be patient, 4X lovers!
2012 Races
We have two races confirmed for March and September, and a possible race in May. Race organiser Chris Roberts is helping out for the first round and we have some amazing sponsors on board; race entry for the March Black Run Race is now open on British Cycling.
The Club and getting involved
Finally, when you pay your membership to ride Aston Hill, you become part of the club. We want members to feel part of a family and get involved with all thats going on which will include more events as the days get longer and the weather better. In the short term there’s a lot of work that needs lots of volunteer help. Please sign up and come along for for dig days; they’re a great laugh and it’s a great opportunity to meet other riders and put something into the Hill. The bragging rights during the summer as you rail the berm you helped to build are pretty good too!
how much more longer do you think you will be working on dh4 because now iv looked at what you have done i think i might be riding that track more and more
That’s good to know Aaron. Come and help and it’ll be finished faster!