A new name, new facilities and a new track. It’s all going on down at Gawton!
Gawton Gravity Hub bearded secretary Brett Nicolle sent over all the latest Gawton news and a dig day video.
Woodland Riders Mountain Bike Club, the non-profit group run by volunteers and the people behind the Gawton and Tavi Woodlands downhill tracks are changing their name. A lot of work has been going on behind the scenes in the last twelve months following the award of grant funding obtained in partnership with the Tamar Valley AONB, to develop the site and improve the facilities. To relaunch the sites and to expand beyond our local club roots, the club is renaming itself ‘Gawton Gravity Hub’, so people know where we are and what they can expect when they get here. The club is non-profit making and run by volunteers, which means any money is put straight back into the site, improving tracks and facilities further.
Gawton Gravity Hub manages and develops two great downhill mountain biking sites located in the South West of England, near Tavistock, Devon. The Tamar Valley based trails have received a lot of attention in the relatively short period they have been running, and has already gained a reputation in the bike press for having the best permanent downhill trails in the country! Dirt Magazine chose us when they re-launched the Dirt 1:04 series of articles in association with Freelap and the tracks have been shredded by some of the fastest riders in the world, who have come away impressed. You only need to see the videos and magazine articles of the world’s best riders tearing it up, to fully appreciate the quality of tracks on offer.
Both our sites offer a range of tracks graded from red all the way up to double black. Gawton Gravity Hub currently has a broad range of tracks spread across its two sites, but are eagerly awaiting the completion of one new track in particular at the Gawton site. Many people have helped build the new track and have got involved at the regular dig days held by the club, plus some amazing work from the walking digger from Lynne Jones Plant Hire. So, after a year’s sweat, blood and toil (and quite a few doughnuts!) the new super freeride track at Gawton Gravity Hub is nearly ready, but it needs a name.
We are offering a great pair of Spy Klutch googles supplied by Koo Bikes, a year’s free membership of Gawton Gravity Hub and the chance to be the first person to officially ride the new track on its opening day to the person who comes up with the best name. With massive berms, smooth tables, whoops, hips, rock gardens, steps and drops, this 1200m long track offers a progression between the fast and flowy red single track of HSD and the technical, steep, bench cut black run of Super Tavi.
Visit our new Facebook page at www.facebook.com/gawtongravityhub and get creative and enter your suggestion. Entries open on Friday 16th March and closes 30th April 2012.
This year will also see the opening of a trail centre hut located at the top of the tracks at Gawton. This will offer facilities such as somewhere to get out of the elements, and have a bite to eat and a hot drink, toilets, bike wash, and buy any essentials you might need. Coupled with a brand new uplift service on its way, and the new track, things are set for a big future for the south west venue…
Gawton Gravity Hub has had the opportunity to gain support from Koo-Bikes. They have always been very keen to support local events and organisations, but this long term involvement is a great chance for them to give something back to the local riding community.
Being only a short distance away in Plymouth, they will be very hands on as a sponsor, attending events, training club members to run the shop, donating prizes for our race series and seeing whats going on first hand. Koo bikes see the partnership very much as a two way relationship, and want to help Gawton Gravity Hub in every way they can. It is a great model for how the bike industry and community run groups can work together to benefit everyone involved with the sport.
Make sure you ‘like’ our page to keep up to date on all these new developments, including the official track opening day.
Our tracks are leased from private landlords, so you must be a day or year member to ride at Gawton Gravity Hub and Tavi Woods. Our tracks are open dawn ‘till dusk, 365 days a year. Membership can be purchased online at www.gawtongravityhub.co.uk or from our friends at Dartmoor Cycles in Tavistock (www.dartmoorcycles.co.uk).
