Chocolate Log

Er... No. With the High Action North Shore trails in Cheddar; the planks at Mabie and Glentress; and the ewok village at Esher; North Shore trails are coming out from the secret hiding places (that only you and your best riding mates know about) into official riding spaces.

So shout it across the rooftops. Or better still, go and ride some planks.

Where is Esher?

Map link

Freeborn Esher
Sandown Sports Club
Sandown Park
More Lane
Esher
Surrey
KT10 8AN

What's at the Freeborn Esher Shore?

First things first.

Head into the well stocked Freeborn Esher shop so that you pay your money (£5 for the day) and sign a disclaimer. Oh, and try not to drool over the Ellsworth, Devinci and Banshee bikes.

Tel: 01372 476 969

So, now you're through the gates, you're presented with a minature Ewok village. The safest bet is to have a walk around, but keep an eye out as everything is very closely packed together, it's easy to get in people's way.

Lines and Lines and Lines and Lines

There's a choice of plank lines to start you off - a high but wide rollercoaster line on your left, a short climb to a table that takes you onto either a skinny line, or a little drop-off into a neat wooden kicker. There's three more easier lines ahead and to your right, but they all lead into some very technical balancy sections, so choose carefully. Other stuff includes a see-saw, several drops of varying difficulty, skinnys, skinniers and even skinnier stills.

It's dangerous stuff this plank riding malarky, so wear as much armour as you can find and don't look down.

Most of the lines can be ridden in a number of different ways, and it's easily enough to keep you interested for a few return visits. If you conquer the whole lot on your first stint, you've got my respect.

Because of the site being fairly flat, A lot of the trails have uphill sections, so get your gears sorted before you start, you really don't need a mis-shifting chain when you're 6ft up on a 6" wide plank.

Generally they've made excellent use of the space and what little gradient there is to put in some nice drops and rollable skinny sections.

There's several short downhill dirt-jump lines built up now, one or two of which are definitely not for beginners (or even experts for that matter) as some extremely precise airborne control is required to make it down in the right number of pieces. Think steep hip-jump into a deep berm, straight to a kicker over a tree stump and so on - you get the picture? Oh and this line is now accessed by an 8' drop into a strangely coffin-sized hole...

Build Quality

Everything at the Esher Shore is rock solid, and it's suprisingly grippy even when it's a little damp; although I'd still recommend heading over to the North Downs (see the Industry Standard route) if it's seriously raining. More chickenwire is going down as we speak, and fresh lines are springing up all the time. The dedicated team of rider-builders always seem to be hammering or digging something new.

Experienced North Shore stunt riders have commented that the place feels a little sanitised. I mean, there's virtually no chance of putting a wheel through a rotting plank, or finding the section you're riding covered in moss and lichen... There's also very little natural state wood incorporated as yet - wobbly log rides and such like. Of course, it has to be like that to meet the safety requirements expected of a public facility like this, and to make use of the limited space available. But look at the upside: the skinnys at Esher aren't going to get chopped down while no-one's looking. And better still; you haven't had to lift a finger to build any of it.

North Shore virgins: apply here

For mere mortals and North Shore virgins, Esher is perfect. It's well constructed, interesting and increasingly challenging to ride without being suicidal. If you've not come across plank trails like this before, get hold of a copy of one or two of the NSX videos for details of the Canadian freeriding scene that started it all off.

Oh, and there's a pub next door. Is that a good thing? We think so.

Here's a few sample pics. Check out the http://www.eshershore.com website for more info (launching May 2004).