Mega Mission, not words I thought I would be saying in relation to a Feet First Friday post but here I am! Mega Mission is rated as an Orange grade extreme trail and is part of the Rostrevor trail network in Northern Ireland. We couldn’t have picked a nicer day for it and the sun blazed down for the whole day.

To begin there is a monster of a climb to reach the top of the trail. Unfortunately there is no way to use the available uplift service with an adaptive bike, I am happy to be corrected but I think it would be difficult. It was ok as my bike does have assistive drive and did I need it for the climb! It wasn’t too bad for the first parts as they are tarmac roads but the final section proves to be very loose under my wheels and I need to have a few attempts to get up the fire road.

Then there’s the drop in to Mega Mission. This is very very steep! It’s so steep in fact that I thought it would be too risky to roll into it. We were at the top now and there was no way we weren’t going to ride this trail. We decided the best thing to do would be for me to get off the bike and Robert and Filip to carry me and the bike separately down the first drop in where I would get back on the bike and away we go! Luckily it was around lunch time and there was no riders on the trail and the uplift guys were most likely on a break. It took a good 15 minutes to get down to a place on the trail where I could get back onto the bike!

Once on the bike I began rolling at first slowly down the first section of the trail. There is nearly no need to pedal on this trail such is the gradient. It’s all about controlling the speed. As this was the first time down this I was truly scared, really scared, especially given the steepness of the first drop, what was in store? The first section has a combo of small jumps with shorter straight sections between as well as some nice berms. It feels like a taster for the following 2 sections.

Safely down section one Robert and Filip were on lifting duties to get my bike over the rocks at the junction that slow riders down. These rocks are wide enough for a regular bike but impossible for an adaptive bike. The same was the story for the junction between section 2 and 3. While we managed it was less than ideal and made the going tough. We were also very aware and watching out for other riders coming down who would be moving at speed, another reason we elected to ride it at lunch time when no one else would be on the trail. You can see on this video how we negotiated the rock sections.

Section 2 I let the hammer fly! It is without doubt one of the most fun experiences I have ever had on my bike. It is just a jump line with a few corners thrown in for measure. I am not a huge fan of jumping but it is close to impossible to keep the wheels on the ground down this part of the trail. Each table top kicks the bike into the air with ample space to land before the process repeats. Absolutely crazy fun!

Section 3, is a series of enormous berms, biggest I have ridden, they are big enough that Robert could almost ride side by side into them with me. My first run on that section earlier I carried too much speed and ended up rolling when I went too high in the berms but after that little unplanned stop I had the measure of it and got through it with no drama. At the end of the trail there is a forest road which is blocked of by a set of rocks and a fence which is necessary to slow riders down. It was not easy to get around this on my hand bike and we had to resort to dragging it through.

Was this the first time a wheelchair user rode down Mega Mission? I asked the guys at the bike rental store at the car park. They said they’d never heard of anyone on an adaptive bike doing it, if so then this was a first which is pretty awesome although I am happy to be corrected on this.

Was the trail accessible? I would say that the actual trail itself the parts you ride fast are accessible. Where it is not is the first drop in and the junctions between sections. It is not possible to get through those parts with out a lot of assistance. A necessary part of the trails to help riders control speed is understandable but moving the obstacles left and right a few centimeters would make all the difference given the width of adaptive bikes or a separate chicane, nothing too difficult to construct would make the trail adaptive ready. Looking forward to talking to #MountainBikeNI to help figure out how these changes could be made.

Check out Mega Mission if you get to Rostrevor! If you can get down it and have some help, its totally worth the effort. You won’t be disappointed.

Twist and Shout, an excellent trail situated on the Kinnitty trail network in the Slieve Blooms. This trail is on the red mountain top route. There’s approximately 3 km of climbing on fire-roads to get to this one but it is totally worth it. Check out the video for the full lowdown!

The trail starts out with a couple of tight berms that need a little care to get through on a handbike, then it opens out into larger berms where a decent amount of speed can be generated. There’s lots of small rollers in the straight sections between the berms and they can undulate left and right.

After the last section of berms on the open part of the trail theres triple that can get the bike into the air. It needs to be approached with a decent pace but not too fast or its gonna be trouble.

Then its onto the forest section. The trail snakes its way through trees with plenty of opportunity to get a bit of speed up! A bit of care though as theres a couple of tight turns and chicanes that if approached with too much speed you’re gonna go over the side of the trail.

There’s a short climb out of the forest onto the fire road which leads you to the next ascent on the loop. It’s a great flowy trail and rewards speed but can be sketchy if not ridden with care. Until next time, see you on the trails!

If there is a trail that scares me in the Slieve Blooms its this one. It doesn’t stop me going for it every single time though, just the stakes are higher on this one! For the majority of this trail there is absolutely no margin for error. I have ridden it maybe 15 times at this stage so I have a decent grasp of its characteristics and I have a little confidence when taking it on.

It is actually a connector trail between the trail networks of the Laois side of the Slieve Blooms and the Offaly side at Kinnitty. If you are coming from the Laois side after a short blast on tarmac this trail brings you onto the Offaly network. There is a trail that goes the opposite direction too that brings you from the Offaly side to the Laois side, video on that at a later date.

Drop and Roll has a Squirrel catcher at the top that catches my bike every single time, this is due to the length of the bike and isn’t something new. Not much can be done about this so if you are on a handbike be aware! After the squirrel catcher there is a relatively flat section that begins to throw a few gentle corners at you, theres a few rock patches and small drops before the faster descending begins. The first challenging corners are reasonably flowy but need to be taken with a bit of caution.

Next up is a longer rock section that narrows with a tree stump or two to keep you alert, this is quickly followed by a series of drops that lead into a flatter section.

After this you head into the first fast section with plenty of rock patches and corners that flow nicely, its easy to build speed but do so with caution, the next section has some drops and lips that will have your wheels off the ground. Anticipating where you might land is important as going off the trail here will be easy, getting back on would be very hard!

Following this is a series of switchbacks that are manageable with handbike steering. The corners feature some rocks offering a bit more grip and berms to prevent you going off the edge. The last of these switchbacks, you need to control your speed well as there is a ravine that would be very difficult to get back out of if this corner is misjudged.

Having got past the switchbacks you enter a set of flowy left right wider corners interspersed with rock gardens. The trail straightens out with a decent stretch that speed can be built on with a few drops throughout. It’s very tempting to push hard but the rocks could have you bouncing off the trail and with ditches either side you could find yourself in trouble if you do! The last corner has a more severe rock patch and then its plain sailing to the bottom and onto the fire road. This trail is really great fun! If you go quick it is hard on the bike. In fact this trail is where I snapped a rear axle and was very fortunate to get all the way down without being in a lot of trouble.

I would advise having suspension set to soft on this and to apply brakes liberally! It’s not for the faint hearted!

Donkey Kong is a nice little blast that runs through a section of woods which connects the Drop and Roll trail and the Nature Valley trail. It is located on the Kinnitty trail Network on the Offaly side of the Slieve Blooms. It has plenty of undulations which when first attempted on a handbike slow you down a bit. getting a few runs at it helps you to understand the cadence of them and then be able to use them to speed up! There is also a few decent sized drops that will catch the bottom of your frame. The trick is to approach them with decent speed which will keep the front wheel in the air long enough to pass over the edge without incident. You have to be careful though as the trail falls away a lot to the right with a few ravines and holes waiting if you get it wrong. Nailing this trail is very rewarding on a handbike as it requires a bit of technical capability to navigate the drops. Happy Biking everyone! Stay Safe!

The third and final section of the infamous Space Jam! In this last section there are lots of rock drops, rock gardens and just for good measure a few more rocks! It’s not hard to get the wheels off the ground through here. There’s a few bomb holes that feel like being on a roller coaster when ridden on a hand-bike, then the trail drops into a pine forest with a few straight sections where you can build up a bit of speed. Finally the trail winds down to the outbound loop which leads back to the car park and trail head at Kinnitty. At this point its been over 14 minutes of almost all downhill on a hand-bike! Hopefully faster in future!

Checkout part 2 of Space Jam, it starts with this crazy rocky section that has you second guessing where to put the front wheel! Plenty of undulations to add to the chaos and a couple of root patches just to keep you on your toes. It has a really amazing section in the middle that has you weaving left and right while picking a line with plenty of small drops. Finally the rocks become less frequent and there’s a nice flowy section before we hit the fire road junction. Arms burning at this point!