Happy 1st Birthday

Over The Hill is officially one year old! - ok so this blog didn't start until a few months later but from memory the riders who gathered that fateful December 2008 morning at the Tower were Andy, Tom, Roy, Simon, Wilf, Dunnie and myself (apologies if I've missed anyone). Since then our numbers have swelled of course and now include Mark2, Dave, Dave2, Jim, Briggsy and various others who appeared for the odd ride. How fitting then that another two newcomers, Damien and Richard, should join us for our festive ride.
Meeting at 930 in Coldharbour the conditions were chilly but clear and our plan was to head over to Holmbury as soon as possible, Tom's first tentative steps into the world of All Mountain apparel being a particular talking point! Taking in Regurgitator, Crooked Furrow, the top section of Summer Lightning and the RollerCoaster we headed up to the Tower via No Cycles and the infamous climb, managed only by Andy and Mark2. Slippery conditions claimed a couple of early victims, myself on Crooked Furrow and Tom with his tree-hugging moment on the RollerCoaster.
No stopping at the Tower as we pressed on towards Holmbury, taking in Mark's Agony Tree, the bombhole near the Quarry (much to Simon's chagrin) and then the Quarry itself where a new pile of dirt and rocks provided "Kick Start" style technical amusement for all.
We took "The Mother" a long sweeping descent past High Ashes Farm and climbed to the top of Holmbury via a new steep route past the Cricket Pitch (cheers Tom!)
We then hit Barry Knows Best which was flowing well, not too wet and another chance to put those new cornering skills to use.
A well earned cuppa followed at Peaslake, supplemented by single malt and chocolate, perfect!
The grinding climb up Radnor Road back to the summit of Holmbury followed, allowing us to take in Yoghurt Pots, Telegraph Road and Mutiny. From there we headed to the Volunteer for our well-earned lunch, Steak and Ale pie and Fish and Chips seemed to be the popular choices as was Sussex Ale.
Eventually the climb back to Leith beckoned and reluctantly we left the warmth of the pub, choosing Mark2's route back via Upfolds Farm. A long, muddy drag ensued with several riders walking some sections as the food, cold and ale took it's toll. Finally we reached the Tower again for a weary photo op and then headed back to Coldharbour via Personal Hygene, No Cycles and the bombholes, pausing at the top of Deliverance. Despite fatigue levels there were still a few who fancied the big finish so Dunnie, Andy, Dave, Mark and I safely made it down, leaving only Tom to do it. Lacking conviction the inevitable occurred, leaving us howling with laughter as Tom's bike made it most of the way down, followed by Tom! No serious damage and we carried on down to the cars via Regurgitator.



A great ride and great company as ever, A Happy New Year to you all and roll on more top riding in 2010.
Rich

Santa Claus is coming

Date : 19th December 2009
Riders : Rich, Mark2, Dave2, Simon, Andy
Area : Leith Hill

We arrived at Milton Heath Car Park in temperatures of -5degC... brrr.... But we wrapped up to be ready to take on the extreme temperature. We were joined by Dave2 (Welcome Dave) – a neighbour of Mark2 and Rich. Heading off around the back of the houses through Westcott we made good progress, but needed to make a few stops to shake our hands to get the blood flowing in them again..... did I mention it was cold?


We headed up the Rookery, discovering someone had smoothed out the steps and removed the big drop off at the bottom – great for the climb up, but we suspected the fun would be lost coming down!!! Up Wolverns lane, negotiating the snow, past the entrance to Summer Lightening and onto Simon's nemesis. We all cleared comfortably.... until Simon..... who gracefully vaulted the handlebars again!!! D'Oh!!



On up to the bomb holes, which I decided to take a whole new fresh line to avoid the big puddle and avoid Mark2 struggling to get to the top. Simon stopped at the last up and down – losing all momentum and without a hope of getting up the other side!!

A look down deliverance to see the tracks made by Dunnie (impressive line) and Bish (wipeout for all to see) from the previous night still emblazened in the snow!! On towards the tower, I followed the guys off a drop off, but not confidently and consequently lost the front wheel in the snow, going straight over the handle bars.... The only thing ringing in my ears was the sound of Bish shouting “Man down”!!! Hurt my foot and shoulder. For a split second I heard XC Tom's voice saying “Rotator cuff”....... Brushing myself off we headed on up to the tower for a warming cup of tea, and new style cakes!! The view was stunning, but the wind was freezing – we needed to hide on one side of the tower to keep semi warm, whilst eating our cakes and drinking our tea. The hot tea making us realise how bloody cold it really was!!!

Off to do Personal Hygiene and then up towards the cricket pitch. Slipping and sliding all the way. Off towards Summer lightening we paused at the entrance waiting for Simon. Off on the lower part of Summer Lightening – Mark2 led the way. Dave 2 followed, and at the cut through to the proper part of summer, took a face plant. Quite slow and graceful...... Once recovered, we all headed off to meet Mark2, who had started to become worried at our delay!!!! Last part of summer lightening completed, Mark 2 and Dave2 headed off home via beggar's canyon, while Rich, Simon and I took the fast trek down Wolverns lane to the start of the Rookery. Different track in the snow – but fun. The Rookery was fast without the steps, and we concluded that come the summer that would be a 40mph descent, with a jump at the bottom, hoping to avoid colliding with the barbed wire fence... .bring on the summer!!!!

Off onto the A25 and back towards Milton Heath Car Park. Cold, Snowy, Icy and a lot of fun!!!

More pics on Flickr.... follow the link

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud!

Thursday 09 Dec saw a mere 3 of the Over The Hillers (2 established members, Dunnie and Mark2, together with David2, another Dorking Cliftonville rider - must be the water) out on a starlit night. We met in Holmbury St Mary, in the car park at the viallage hall. Top Tip - get changed at work, as standing around a dark rural car park in your underpants is guaranteed to have the local Neighbourhood Watch thinking they are the target of a new Dogging Ring!!! Whilst awaiting Mark and Dave's arrival at the appointed hour, I fitted the 'double-Bastid' configuration - 2 Deal Extreme 900 lumen lights up front. The resultant test up to the treeline 100m away was like a scene from Close Encounters. I have to say that for £102 all in, the 2 lightsets give a fantastic coverage and brightness, in particular widening the frontage of the light pool, and getting away from the slight problem of having an off-centreline beam with only 1 on the go.

Shortly after 1830, we set off, climbing up to Holmbury Hill (David is as accomplished a climber as Mark2, so I brought up the rear from a [very] safe distance), whizzed/splooshed down to Car Park 1, and set off on BKB. Very muddy conditions, and no shortage of slippery roots was to be the order of the night, and the ground conditions meant that careful line-selection would be neded to avoid coming to a standstill in the gloopy stuff. I led (something of a rarity!) down BKB - we got some good speed up on the top section, and were at a respectable pace coming into the new bit. David2 soon discovered the importance of a head-mounted torch in negotiating 180 bends, but we had a great sail through the big berms of the ew section (with a big shout from the front to identify the Bish/Dunn berm!).

Rather than hit the road to Peaslake, we took the bridleway back up to save losing more altitude, and crossed the road to take a firetrack back up to Holmbury Hill. After a quick pause to admire the view, and discuss the demon trail which leads off Holmbury to the South (does this have a name? It's the one Simon double-handlebarred a good while back...), we hit Yoghurt Pots. A relatively dry starting section menat a bit of speed was gottten up, until the Pots bit ... super-gloop and poor line-selection saw both David and myself coming to a standstill at one point, but back on and through to the finish - slow, mucky, but great crack. And a well done to David - riding through that trail with only a handlebar light is pretty difficult!

After a quick debate, we hit Telegraph Road, which was pretty hard work, particularly on the top half, before a right turn at the bottom saw us take a rooty descent down to the road below Holmbury, and a bit of a road ride to the car park. A pint of Hobgoblin in the pub, and we were off by about a quarter to nine. Not racing stuff, but my decision to go for big chunky downhill tyres (Maxxis High Rollers) front and rear has certainly cut down on front and rear wheel slippage.

Welcome to David2, and hopefully you'll see a bigger showing the next time you come out.

How I broke my light!

I went out for a night ride on Thursday on my own as my riding buddy had blown me out at the last minute. I was all set up and needed to give my legs a good spin so I headed out onto Reigate hill. The short steep climb was boggy and when I got to the top the going was sticky to say the least. I thought the usual Pilgrims way loop would be too sticky so I opted for a steep decent down off the hill and pick up the road into Reigate - a sprint on the road would be better than nothing. As I motored into Reigate I thought a burn through Priory Park would be good and this would be off the road too. As I entered the park the darkened but silent skate board park got my attention. Lets try some of those ramps I thought. It was all going well until I got brave and decided to drop into the half pipe. No problem I thought, keep the weight back, look forward. Unfortunately i planted the front wheel at the bottom of the 6ft drop, the forks compressed until they spat me out over the front. F**ck, sh**t, my light got the force of the bike. It still works but the bracket is shagged so i had to hold it all the way home. Why did I think it was a good idea to be a bmx bandit!

Anyone got any DX light spares?

Tom

A copper, a bike tart and a homeboy

Date : 5^th December 2009
Riders : Roy, Simon, Andy
Area : Holmbury and Pitch

What with Mark 2 working, Dave with car problems, Rich on holiday, Tom under the thumb and Dunnie messing up his rear brake last night, it was left to Roy, Simon and myself to hold the “Over the Hill” fort this morning. It had been wet during the week, but the forecast for this morning was sunny, dry over head and cool. We were however expecting to get really wet up from the ground!

Meeting at car park 9, we headed up to the top of Holmbury, living up to our expectation by getting quite wet en route. We took a slightly different route to the top today taking in a little more single track than fire road. Arriving at the top we savoured the view before heading off to meet Barry Knows Best. This would be my opportunity to lead and look down the trail, and Simon's first visit of BKBs new ending. Seat posts dropped we headed off. It was a bit muddier than last week, and consequently slow on the top section. The new section was great. I dialled in, outside pedal down, looked where I wanted to go, and didn't brake... nailed it!!! How much better the berms flow when you get all those things together at the right time. It felt like I was flying! We all enjoyed it, so agreed to make the climb back to the the start of the trail!!

The second run was just as good. All hail to the Bishop/Dunn monster berm!

Off the bottom of the trail I practised my manualing down the road into Peaslake – trying to explain to Simon the mechanism and advantages of manualing and doing it properly..... Not sure he bought it!!!

Through Peaslake and up the long climb to the top of Pitch to take in the view, and then back down to find a particularly wet and muddy singletrack, which didn't flow and was very stilted! Arriving at the car park at the bottom of Pitch, we headed over towards the villlage store to partake of the usual cup of Rosy and a homemade flapjack. Nice!

Then off for the slog back up Radnor road. Simon and Roy were both caught by the Roadie, but I stayed in front..... I stopped at the start of BKB to allow Simon and Roy to catch up, and allow the roadie on hits way... although he would never have caught me!!!!

To the top of Holmbury and down the other side, stopping for a quick chat to a couple of orienteerers out on an 8 hour race!! Running and bikes! We hit Telegraph and slowed down... it was boggy again, there's a surprise!! The second half did run a little better, and took us back to the car park.

Good ride chaps... thanks.

Box ticking...

Felt it important to let you know that I rode deliverance today (1st Dec 09). I had a buddy from work with me who flew down it so I really had no choice but to follow him. A bit ragged, certainly not with the confidence of Mark D. Written witness statement can be provided on request.

Mark2

PS Also rode BKB again.... still good =)

Mid life crisis is over

Just thought I would let you know that today I sold my kitesurfing kit, great news as more cash for the new Orange 5Pro but am I loosing my surfing heritage? On reflection this was a vain attempt to rekindle my past, recreate those heady days of chilling on a beach, long hair, board shorts, the taste of salt, hang10 dude! Hang on, I dont live in Maui, I don't have a sun tan and the sea is not turquoise in Littlehampton, oh and I have 2 kids and a wife now. Never mind, hold onto your dreams, focus on the longest manual ever and dialing that double, re-focus, you are a tiger, you thrive on mud, you enjoy cleaning the shit out of your jokey wheels, MTB for ever. Raaaahhhhhhhh.

Heads up, Heels down…

Date: 28th November
Riders: Rich; Roy; Dave; Andy; Mark2
Area: Holmbury and Pitch

A lovely day for a ride as I slowly drove the van up through the picture postcard Abinger and idyllic Holmbury area, the sun shining though the trees as the morning mist slowly cleared….. only to be shattered by wide boy Andy in his wicked new white 5-10’s standing in the middle of the car park gassing with his homeboys on his phone, owning the place, sorted

Joke aside, welcome Andy to the world of flat peddles and 5-10 shoes which come in many styles, ironically none of which have any style… but who cares as 15mins into the ride all our shoes looked the mud covered same any how.

The Ride.

This is where I lack the knowledge, so bear with me and use your imagination to fill in the gaps. As a warm up we wound our way up the fire road from the car park, eventually coming to the lookout. All our minds were on the new and improved “Barry Knows Best” so we didn’t hang around to enjoy the view and got straight on down “an unknown muddy tail” to the top of BKB where Richard gave us a quick briefing prior to launch one.

BKB best was executed in style utilising all we learnt from our training session two weeks prior. Especially on the lower half which was awesome. So good in fact we barely stopped peddling before heading back up the bridle way for a second go which for me was even faster and smoother then the first. I’ll mention here that at no time did Richard point out his and MarkD’s sacred berm. All of them were good though.

Before heading to Peaslake café for tea and cake, Roy to the opportunity to take a rest on a soft part of the road!? Must have been all the excitement?? Who knows?

A nice cup of rosey at the café where we bumped in to Richard “second half of summer lightning is s**t” Bishops best buddy Ben “I built the second half of summer lightning” Tudor. Still onwards.

A long climb up to Pitch hill checking out some (on my part) poorly executed jumps. Down “an unknown muddy trail” or two and onto the steep Huggy Bear where yet again skills recently learnt (weight into the frame braking technique) was duly employed to great effect by all but me. With the chicken s**t in me surfacing, I decided to walk down but my 5 10’s stealth rubber failed me and all that stopped me from sliding to the bottom were my Endura Humvees which then ripped. Luckily for me it’s the Christmas season, so a new pair will have to be bought.

Onwards to another ”unknown muddy trail”, a quick stop for Richard to misdirect some fellow lost MTB’ers and some how, after much peddling we ended up on Telegraph. We rode Telegraph giving it the opportunity to coat us in one more layer of mud. Down the steep switch back trail to the car park and home for a date with the hosepipe, nice.

Good weather, Good company, Great ride.

*

* Well, we may have had a bit of help on BKB, I suppose....

And then there was One.....

Having had a minor panic on Saturday morning that I was going to incur the Wrath of Cowen for being late (again), it soon became apparent that I was only going to delay myself, as everyone else was keeping warm and dry.... I had a moment of indecision on the A25, self-justified on safety grounds, before deciding that I'd rather risk serious injury on the trail than return to the huge list of DIY at home..
Parked up in Hurtwood Control Car Park 1, with the slightly uncomfortable doubt as to my ability to navigate all the way down Barry Knows Best... as it turned out, my autopilot was less faulty than previously, and within minutes I was practicing my heels-down pumping through the opening root jumps on BKB, before hitting the new section (which Bish and I built*). And how well it rides - sweeping corners (almost 180 turns) with well banked berms - just right for polishing of the skills we learned at our lesson last week... Look through, weight on the outside pedal and leaning /looking where you want to go, not where you are going... It all seemed to work, and the result was an all-too fast descent to the road. After a further 2 sessions (how I love that climb abck up..), I returned to the car park, following the BKB trail, intending to do another full run down BKB. At the top, a change of heart led to a ride up to Holmbury Hill, a quick spin down Yoghurt Pots (and a near wipe-out due to a poorly judged 'I'm not going to brake in the turn' decision), a fast run with plenty of air down Telegraph Road, and another climb back up Holmbury, before a final run down BKB. Not known as a great climber, I had a cup of tea in Peaslake, before slogging back up the hill, and home to a marathon bike and self cleaning session. All in all, wet, muddy, gnarly and excellent. And the DIY tasks list is no smaller....

Pondering Mountain Biking

Some thoughts from Benji at Singletrack, thought you might like them...

We spend a lot of money on shiny kit instead of practicing getting better

We wear odd-looking clothing that other people rightly ridicule

We abandon our other halves - like sport-induced widows - from dawn until dusk while we do our thing

We're always late home after staying a bit too long in the bar afterwards

We go to manufactured places dedicated to our pastime

We squeeze in a quick one during the week after work

We're mostly men

We're mostly white

We're mostly middle class

We're mostly middle-aged

Mountain biking is golf....

Rich

DealExtreme, Michael Caine and an Alsation....

Date: 19th November
Riders: Mark2; XC Tom; Andy; Rich
Location: Box Hill; Mickleham; Headley; Leatherhead; Timbuktu

A timely meet at The Star for the four of us last night, Tom and Andy proudly sporting their new "Bastids" in windy but dry conditions. We headed straight for Box Hill to attempt the challenge. Once we had agreed the start and finish points all that remained was for Andy to prove he was the fastest (yawn) with a sub-9 minute time. My own time was 9.33 which is approximately 3 seconds slower than my previous efforts, although it felt much harder last night - room for improvement. After a 5 minute recovery we headed into the woods to find China Pig. This proved a little difficult but after a couple of wrong turns we finally found the start and flew down, the last couple of windy days seem to have dried it out well and we tried to apply our manual, cornering and heel down lessons from the weekend. I certainly felt like I rode it better than I have before. At Juniper bottom we turned right up the road as Tom took the lead, heading towards Headley. We turned into a car park and then began a tricky off-camber ascent with a "don't look now" drop away to our left pretty much all the way up. After about 20 minutes we emerged onto Leatherhead Common which we crossed and headed to the start of Tom's fabled "longest & best piece of downhill singletrack in Surrey" which I think I've heard described as Alsation. The big build up put Tom under a bit pressure but we all agreed he delivered with a fast, flowing and long descent down to the A24 which again gave us plenty of opportunity to employ Richard's methods - I was really "sending it" at one point, wasting Andy on a wider section (his legs must have "gone" after the Box Hill effort!) and catching right up to Tom, although he "brought" enough to stay ahead to the end!
From there we crossed the A24 into Leatherhead, passing the gates to Michael Caine's residence, apparently - I didn't see him at the window with his binoculars in nosey neighbour mode "'Ere, Shakira, look ahht that, bleedin' mountain bikers!"
From Leatherhead we rode up to Bocketts Farm and then climbed up to Norbury Park. At this point Mark, Andy and I were getting a bit tired but Tom said there was more singletrack to come so we followed him down into a steep off camber rooty valley which meandered up and down, claiming most of us as victims at various points. My bastid, very suddenly and for the first time failed me, so I learn't the importance of having a head and bar light! - to be fair the joystick was plenty to get me home. Eventually we got back to the A24, via Westhumble and rolled into Dorking, taking a route through the park to avoid a final road climb!
A couple of much needed pints were partaken outside the Star and Tom's computer suggested we'd done 15 miles - it felt like much more...
As a footnote I put the bastid on charge when I got in and it came back to life quickly so hopefully nothing terminal.
Rich

Virtual Insanity

Today was the day of our mtb lesson. We 'd been waiting for a number of weeks. Travelling to the Glade in Holmbury St Mary, to meet up with our instructors, our journey was slowed significantly by the most torrential rain we'd seen in a long time. Tom was still hoping for a text from Rich saying the lesson may be called off due to extreme weather! No such text came........

Tom and I were first to arrive, and the weather eased a little. We prepared our bikes during a break in the weather and waited for the others to arrive. A few minutes later we were all there..... and the rain returned!! Our instructors arrived. Richard who looked the spit of JK from Jamiroquai, and Rob who was tall....

Off on the trail the weather eased, but was very wet under foot. We were returned to basics by our two instructors, who more than filled the four hours with great tuition and some dawning lights for some of us. We learned to manual, take corners properly and the basics of jumping. For the first 3 hours the weather was generally in our favour. The last hour it did rain though.... and boy did it rain. We all got significantly wet.... and cold, but the instruction held our interest and took our mind off the appalling weather.

A great day of teaching, and certainly inspired me – thanks Richard and Rob for a great morning. I have just placed an order for V12s, 510 flatties and some veggie shin protectors..... AM proper here I come!!!

Injured....

I tore my hamstring playing squash on friday but have had first physio trip and another one planned for wednesday so hopefully I will be OK for next saturday. Had a little go on the bike today and it seemed OK...although obviously I was riding up and down the road and not doing "Level 4 Skills!". Check out the link to a new online mag which has an article about bike skills by Richard Kelly who is going to be teaching us:
http://www.imbikemag.com/issue2/?page=99
Thought I'd post a picture of the Nicolai, now with bash guard, new rims, hubs, rear cassette and tyres..
Rich

China Pig Reprise

Having been a poor week for rain, we were hoping that Thursday might prove a bit of a respite, to allow a quick ride out at night. I'm still using my old halogen light with max burn time of about 45mins, so I'm still heavily relying on everyone elses lights!! Still, I do have shipping confirmation for my deal extreme light, so fingers crossed.

I was delayed leaving work, and the M25 threw up a 22mile queue.... great!! I was going to be late, or even miss altogether!! Gutted – especially as this was Simon's first venture out with the old crowd again, and I'd miss seeing his pristine Lapiere Zesty. Given the traffic and the delay, I nobly fell on my sword and phoned Rich to tell him and Simon to crack on – I was stuck and was still probably another 30mins away. Rich suggested I meet them on Box Hill instead, as it would take them about 30mins to get up to the top from Dorking anyway. Having formulated a plan, I made it through the Dorking traffic a little quicker than anticipated, and bumped into the guys just as they were about to embark on the run up to the top of Box Hill.

Rather than drive to the top of Box Hill, I sneaked into the local hotel car park at the bottom, and quickly got myself ready, joining the boys at the bottom of Box Hill, ready for the climb to the top. 9mins 30secs was the time to beat from Rich's last attempt. The 3 of us set of together. 9mins 30secs Rich arrives at the top (spooky!!), with me about a minute behind. Simon arrived at around 12mins. Taking a short rest we set off, ignoring the views, to find China Pig.

All the previous comments on the route proved to be accurate. Lots of off camber roots. With the rain from the previous days, these proved to be particularly slippery tonight. I took a tumble! The route was nice and long, but slow, given the dark and the wet. We arrived at Juniper bottom, to be greeted with rain!! That wasn't part of the weather forecast!! Another climb and then picked up a nice downhill trail which Rich knew from days gone by. It was faster than China Pig, less rooty, but more rocky, and needed a little more focus, to avoid the left hand drop!!

Down the steps by the pub, which some of us tackled and one us got off, we arrived at the A24. A quick ride back along the A24 route to the hotel car park to pack the bike away. We then met up at the Star pub for our customary after ride pint.

Short but sweet!

Montar el cerdo de china (...riding the China Pig)

The sun was shining and I had a free day which I opted to fill with some sort of mountain biking activity... Lucky for me I checked the blog before I went out and saw your post, the challenge was set.

I knew the bridleway to the visitors centre so after a quick explore for some jumps near Kuoni (fail) I wound my way to the bottom of the bridleway. A miserable 9:40ish was my best, room for improvement. Need to confirm start and finish lines mind you.

Spent 15 minutes trying to find the start of China Pig – after 2 false starts (There are a few bridleways in that area and the start of CP is quiet well hidden) I eventually found the trail. Within 50 yards you definitely know you’re on it. So it was brakes off and away I go, missing a ride round and nearly careening into a fallen tree, oops. The rest of the trail was very nice, staying relaxed and off the brakes to skim over those hidden roots.

Defiantly worth riding again, nice one.

Mark

decouvrir le cochon chinoise (..finding China Pig)

Another morning of spannering saw the fitment of an e-thirteen bashguard to the Nicolai. It's now looking respelendent with it's red Hope hubs and cassette detailing, plus the new Stan's rims. Just need a bit of dry weather and I might even take it out.....
I decided that as the day dried out I had a spare hour and trying to find a long piece of singletrack called "China Pig" which goes off the back of Box Hill had been in my mind for a while. It would also give me a chance to time myself on the "Box Hill challenge" climb, a steep bridleway running from Rykers Cafe to the National Trust cafe at the top. The climb was tougher than I remember from last time and my time of 9.30 won't take a lot of beating (or will it!?)...
From the top I rode round to the Smith & Wesson and entered a familiar bridleway next to the caravan park. Instead of heading straight on the trick is to take the first right and this is China Pig. It's a long and interesting piece of singletrack which gently descends into Juniper Bottom. No jumps, drops, bombholes or berms but plenty of off-camber tricky wet roots hidden by leaf litter. it's also a very natural trail (check out the link to a Muddymoles vid of it from earlier in the year)so quite different to a lot of stuff on Leith. For a short but good ride it would be easy to link with another trail I know which goes over Mickleham way.

Rich

http://www.vimeo.com/4938203

Mr Mojo Risin'

Date: 29th October
Riders: XC Tom, Mark G, Rich
Location: Leith Hill

OK so I think we've established that I'm a bit of a fair weather sort when it comes to MTB'ing. After a couple of muddy rides over the past week the drier weather of the past few days and a clear evening had me all excited about last night's ride. Luckily Mark had the magic van so the trip up to Coldharbour was painless and Tom was already there. By 6.50 we were on Regurgitator, climbing into Waggledance before hitting the top section of Summer Lightning followed by the downhill jump bit. We then took the climb which Ben Tudor had shown us last week to the "Ghurka Trail" and bombed down the rocky and rooty blast to the Snake's Hill bridleway. We crossed this and took another new route Ben had shown us up towards the start of Windy Willow and past Donnie Darko, eventually climbing to the Tower. From here we turned back and headed towards the Quarry, taking in the play area, Dunnie's Agony Tree jump (Bish and Mark, at night, on hardtails? - tick) the "down and up the other side" bombhole and a couple of other technical features. After re-enacting Tom's wheelie incident at the quarry we rode Wonderwoman (ooh that sounds a bit rude) and sessioned the jump between the trees before heading back to the Tower via a couple of interesting little trails. We collected a couple of lost riders at the Agony Tree who needed guiding back to the Tower and chatted with them for a while. Our route back to Coldharbour took in Personal Hygene, No Cycling, the Cricket Pitch bombholes, Waggeldance and Crooked Furrow. At last I felt like I was beginning to find my flow again, popping off roots and little kickers, it must be the dry trails!
In the pub all the talk was of new bikes, a hardcore hardtail for Mark and a Five for Tom.
As they say "The Future's All Mountain, The Future's an Orange Five (with flat pedals)"

Slippery when wet

Date: Sunday 25th Oct
Riders: Rich, Dave, Tom, Wilf
Location: Leith Hill

I spent a few hours on saturday doing a bit of spannering - fitting a bashguard to my Cove and putting a casssette onto the new wheels I have bought for the Nicolai (thanks to Dan for the loan of some tools). Sunday dawned bright and autumnal and with the clocks having gone back an hour overnight we perhaps could have made an earlier start. Mark blew out early by text (it's becoming a bit habitual) - it sounds like his mother-in-law's 70th had been a riot. Andy is currently on the sick list with his damaged eye - good luck with the recovery, it sounds nasty. Coldharbour was so busy with a running event that Dave and I had to park down by Cream Egg. We rode up to Coldharbour and met Tom and Wilf who had ridden up via the Rookery. Despite the fine weather they were already looking muddy. We rode over to Redlands to show Wilf Wave of Mutilation (Tom getting stuck on the top of the fallen tree!)and then rode on down to the North Shore aka Mangrove Alley. It's already very wet and gloopy and my normal "pace" was much reduced trying to just stay on the bike over roots and through the mud. We walked the 2nd bit of shore as it looked particularly treacherous and the climb up from the bottom is almost unrideable already. We joined up with Sweet Sweet Bulbs, wet jumps taken with less confidence than in recent months and then climbed back up to Deja Vu - definitely a trail that will get easier with practice - momentum needs to be maintained to get through it without halting. As we finished this one Tom started to moan about how hungry he was so we started over towards the tower! We played about on Cream Egg for a while before taking the short downhill to soggy bottom and then climbing up again to Wolverns Lane, dotted with huge puddles now. We then took the rollercoaster and bombholes to the Cricket Pitch followed by the quick route to the Tower climb which we all dabbed on (Tom attributed his failure to bonking!) We joined the substantial queue for tea and cake at the Tower (or in Tom's case tea, cake and sandwiches). At this point Dave left us as he needed to get back and Tom declared that he had had quite enough riding so we headed back via Personal Hygene, No Cycling and the bombholes to Waggledance. Tom and Wilf then took the Summer Lightning route back to Westcott and I followed Crooked Furrow back to Coldharbour and on to the Car Park.
I have to say I'm not getting on with the winter riding yet - I'm frustrated by the lack of grip and correspondingly lower pace, the increased difficulty of climbs and the need to clean the bike when you get home! Also I've started using my hardtail for the winter and it's requiring some major adjustments in style. Let's hope it stays dry this week!

Too much time on my hands!

Wow, nice bike in the last post. I’m very jealous!! More so that I’ve missed out on the last few rides with you guys due to injury!

As Richard mentioned in his post "North shore for sure?" I did indeed fall off the North Shore at the bottom of "Wave of Mutilation", the second time round, while trying to answer the question “Why can’t you grab a handful of brake while negotiating NS?”

I learnt my lesson and am now passing this obvious gem on to you – Don't grab your brakes when riding NS. Luckily I only sprained my wrist. From the look of you guys in Andy’s videos, this advice is mute anyway, very nice... as was the combat roll Mark did off the bomb hole drop... impressed!!

Anyway, enough prattling on, the real reason for this post... I have not been wasting my time at home waiting for my wrist to heal so that I have enough strength in it to grab a handful when riding NS (I don’t learn) but I have managed to scrape some video off my phone I took of Richard and I at the Milton Gore jumps... It was such bad quality it could of been any of us, so I tried to pad it out and make it interesting with some post production work, make sure you have your speakers on... Enjoy

Mark G

Hi all,

Yes, after 5 months of not getting out on the bike due to a back injuriny and operation, today I ventured out for the first time on the new "Zesty".

Doesn't She look lovely. It's the small frame(42cm) in black and brushed silver.

I decided to totally ignore the Doctors and Physio's advice about staying on the roads and so I headed out into the local tracks on the outskirts of Swinley Forest. At first I stayed mainly to the fire roads and main trails just to see how the the legs and back would hold out on the first outing.

Both the back and the bike were going well so I ventured further and decided to try out some small bomb holes and downhill which went well. I really noticed the difference with the small frame which allowed me to drop back behind the saddle with ease and still have control of the bike, unlike the old FSR XC in the medium, it was a stretch to get back behind the seat and then I ran out of arm length which really did not help the handling. The only issue was when i got to the bottom and could not find a route out so ended up having to climb up the last drop with the bike over my shoulder - good job it's light.

I carried on futher into the forest a found a small single track which then lead up into some dense forest, on closer inspection the track had been well layed out with old trees marking the edges of the run and a number of jumps all the way down. I followed to route to the top to see where it started and then decide to give it a small go, Luckily there is enough space to the side of the jumps to go round - funny how they always look so big when your approaching them and then so small when you go round them. Will save the jumps for a few weeks and when I have got the forks set right, still some fine tuning required.

All in all a good first time outing and no issue with the back at all - that might change by the morning. Will ride this route a few more times and get a little road cycling in aswell just to get the legs back before I venture out with the big boys at Leith and neighbouring hills.

See you all soon.

Simon (AKA Bike Tart)

The one where we followed Tom's nose

Meeting at Coldharbour, Tom and I arrived at the car park to hear a car further away, blaring out the radio. Was it Mark? Was it someone else? We prepared our wheels.. got dressed.... lights on.... and still we discussed the bloke with the radio!!! Tom took a wander over and yes it was Mark!

We took off towards the bomb holes and Rich's Jump area and had a little play around our favourite kick jump. Once we'd taken our fill we headed off towards Leith. Without Rich's expert navigation skills it took us a little while to find the route – but find it we did! Onwards then and up towards summer lightening. The first section I followed the other two given my lights were the poorest, but frankly Tom was showing his lack of 3 months out.... way too slow!! The second section I took the lead... until 10m when when my light battery fell off... causing us all to pause until I could sort. Off again and we completed the section at speed.

After summer lightening, we headed on up towards the summit. We took a fork and saw a huge group of bikers pass behind us.... followed by a few stragglers, who proceeded to follow us.... thinking we were part of their group. Luckily their fellow riders called them back, and we headed off towards roller coaster and Deliverance.

Quick look at Deliverance and then on to the summit of Leith. None of us made it in the dark in one go – it was a case of feet down. Quick rest at the top and a decision on what to do next. We decided to try and find Windy Willows.... easier said than done without Rich. Off we trotted, and within 5 minutes were lost... It was at this point we started to follow Tom's nose.... the next 20 minutes was an adventure... this route, that route, let's try this way... don't recognise this..... are we going the right way? With all due respect to Tom's nose, we did make it back to the Leith hill tower.

Lights were fading, so we headed back towards the car. Getting off the summit, Tom's light failed completely, and mine was reducing fast.... We set off as quick as we could, pausing to tell yet another groups of stragglers on a big night outing, that we weren't with them, and they shouldn't follow us.....

Back to the car and into the plough for the customary pint of Crooked Furrow, and the rapidly becoming customary pack of scampy fries!!

North shore for sure?

Last thursday's night ride was sacked off due to various ailments, jogging commitments and poor weather. I had also missed out on a weekend ride as I'd taken my wife away for the weekend for our wedding anniversary. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy time with the wife but mountain biking it ain't.
So on arrival back home on monday lunchtime to bright conditions I was pleased to run into Mark G who despite various DIY emergencies was up for a blast.
We put the bikes into Mark's extremely handy "Bike Transporter" van and drove up to Coldharbour saving our legs and a fair bit of time. We parked up near Heads Roll and started off with a bit of jumping and dropping, sessioning our favourite kicker with Mark demonstrating his new skills on the 3 ft rooty drop into the bombhole. We then did a few door jump runs (It's set up on the bottom double at the moment) and I pondered whether to go for one of the big doubles I haven't yet tried. In the end the decision was to go for it so Mark set up his phone and prepped the medical kit. I hit the jump and managed to land respectably - and immediately went back and did it again.
We headed up into Redlands to ride Wave of Mutilation down to the fallen tree. I'd heard rumours and seen a photo on the Nirvana website of some North Shore that's been knocked up around there. Having spoken to Roger at HftH on friday I had a fair idea where it was and we quickly found "Mangrove Alley" as the trail is called. It's basically a loop back to WoM over some fallen trees at the end of a trail which used to just peter out. The first bits of Shore are fine, followed by a slippery, muddy climb and it finishes with a pretty hairy section of Shore with a 90 degree turn in it. As Mark painfully found out it's best not to use your rear brake as the risk is you will just slide off!
Next we picked up Sweet Sweet Bulbs and during the climb back spotted another trail we hadn't ridden high up on our left. We couldn't find the start of that one but did find another trail. This starts with rooty off camber singletrack, dropping into the woods before falling into a bombhole and traversing a series of bombholes and gulleys via a couple of big berms. We took it pretty easy but I think it could be a really good trail once you've ridden it a few times. We climbed back to the top of Redlands again and rolled back down to the road for a couple more jumps before packing the bikes back into the "magic" van and driving home.
Simon I'm looking forward to seeing the Zesty - definitely not designed for "bomb holes, drop offs or jumps"...........

Ranmore to Redlands

Attendance was very thin for saturday's ride - perhaps the last one in the fast and dry conditions afforded by a dry September. Andy had issued a long and boring "dog ate my homework" excusemail on friday, Tom had the usual technical/awaiting replacement part issue with Trigger's Broom and Mark cancelled at 0800 on saturday due to illness. So as the overnight drizzle subsided just David and I set off for Ranmore. We climbed the Pilgrim's Way and onto White Down via one of the footpaths - luckily our encounters with dog walkers were all non-hostile. From there we took the singletrack featuring 4 ft log pile which I cleared and Dave made a good stab at but just got caught on the top and toppled off, slo-mo comedy style. Next up were Numbskull, Abba Zabba and Blind Terror 1 & 2. Dave made a good job of tackling all of these, keeping his wheels rolling through each section - very impressive for a first timer on these runs.
From the bottom we cut through the Deerleap woods across to Westcott and took the Rookery climb up to Wolverns Lane. The Rookery is riding very easy right now due to the lack of rain and must be the easiest way up Leith Hill. We hit the first section of Summer Lightning and then the Downhill jumps, where Dave had a bit of an off on the rooty section.
We followed this with a long climb back up to the cricket pitch and my legs were starting to burn - I was looking forward to sustenance at the Tower but Dave seemed to accelerate as the climb wore on leaving me a long way back. Via our usual route we arrived at the bottom of the Tower climb - It's a long time since I "dabbed" on this climb (the dry conditions have more to do with it than my riding ability) and I made it again, as did Dave. Tea and Eccles cake at the top, just beating the rush as about three groups of riders turned up behind us.
Refuelled we took Chocolate Jesus across to the top of Donnie Darko and then turned left to Windy Willows. We stopped halfway down to session the cracking jump in the trail, hitting it about 5 times each. Then onto the end where I rolled the big fallen tree for the first time. After that we followed the road down and then up to Bossanova, via the big bombhole which we first tried last thursday on our night ride. This time we took the harder option (it was dark last time after all!) - all I can say is you need to commit, hang on and steer straight!
Fillings duly shaken we climbed back to the Tower for a quick blast down Personal Hygene (both hitting the jump line) and back towards the cricket pitch via the unnamed trail which is running brilliantly at the moment. Through the bombholes to Deliverance which Dave has never ridden. He still had a bit of a block on it but I tried to build his confidence by pointing out that he had already ridden more difficult stuff today. It seemed to do the trick as he piled down, not the most elegant descent but he got to the bottom without major incident!
We then took the road through Coldharbour across to Redlands and down Sweet Sweet Bulbs. Dave hit the two jumps either side of the bridleway shaming a number of our regular riders (you know who you are!) who haven't yet ridden these jumps. We then climbed up and took a trail I'd spotted a couple of weeks back but haven't ridden. It starts pretty gnarly and then opens out into a pretty boring run through bracken in an open field - I recognised it from some of the Nirvana vids as Foot and Mouth. A final exhausting climb back towards the covered resevoir followed and a final blast down "Tom's" trail. No wonder I was knackered and top marks to Dave for sticking with it through the difficult techy stuff and some tough jumps - the gauntlet has been thrown down!

The Fast and the Furious

Another glorious day for a cycle. Early morning fresh and bright, we met at Hurtwood control carpark 9 for a quick blast around Holmbury and Pitch. Today there were 5 of us, and Mark had brought his helmet cam, for some on trail video action. We set off for the top of Holmbury and made good progress. Quick divert to Hurtwood control car park 1 and then onto the top of Reservoir dogs. We've had so much dry weather over the last few weeks, the trails are nice and dry... if a little dusty. Reservoir dogs under our belts we arrived at the top of Barry Knows Best. On with the helmet cam! We tackled Barry Knows Best at speed, taking in every opportunity to get some air – all caught on helmet cam..... probably! We all made it down BKB in one piece and arrived at the road into Peaslake. Just as I was about to drop from the trail to the road, I was deafened by a roadie shouting at the top of his voice.... Easy man – did he think I was going to ride into him? I think the lycra had softened his head!!!

We dropped into Peaslake and around onto Pitch – heading straight for the top. Close to the top we took a little divert to the little jump double. We spent a good 10 or 15 minutes practising the jumps. This was the first time I'd attempted these jumps and it felt good. My head was in the zone... and by the looks of things so was everyone elses!!! We all completed about 3 or 4 attempts - videos of our efforts on the youtube link. After our fill we headed to the top of Pitch to admire the view.

Off again, down the steep descent which leads to the Windmill Pub. Lots of rear wheel sliding and off track lines saw us arrive at the bottom. Mark took a tumble – with the head cam not running!!! Bugger!!! Off from the pub and over to the hill to take us up to Winterfold wood. Arriving at the hill, there were roadies climbing up. Roadie after roadie after roadie.... we just had to join the throng. Crouching in behind, our speed was actually being held back by the roadies!!!! So much so, that Dave decided to take them on, Dropping a gear, he pulled out and pedalled – easily overtaking about 3 in one go. Looking fresh and upright, he reminded me of the Harry Enfield sketch with the horse riders – you know the one!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jf55VDSi-E (the second part of this)

Onto winterfold wood we tackled the big bomb holes – great fun. Mark 2 fell off this time – on the last dip – but managed to stay on his feet. Got back on the horse that threw him and did it again. We tackled a few trails in Winterfold and then headed back towards Peaslake. Rich found a nice little drop into the Pitch hill car park. He'd seen it on video and wanted to give it a go!! It was steep. There was an easier route down, but we spend a good 5 minutes inspecting the alternatives, and figuring how we might do it. Rich bit the bullet and went of it, dropping off the edge. Now usually I see Rich doing a drop and think.. “he makes it look so easy! I could probably do that!”. Today was not that day. Although great respect to Rich for doing the drop.... he did ride his front wheel a little, managing not to go over the handlebars though!!! Given he looked a little raggedy, I decided I wouldn't be doing that route today.... and so did everyone else. So we took the girl's route down – which was still impressively steep, but smoother and no big drop.

We stopped in Peaslake for the obligatory cup of tea, and caught a few nice tanned pins on a couple of female roadies too... which was nice! Once we'd had our tea and flapjack we went looking for a new way up to the top of Holmbury, rather than the usual Radnor road route. We found it, and agreed it was much better. Up to the top of Holmbury, we took a swift breather, and then headed down Yoghurt Pots. There's been a lot of work on this trail in recent months, and with the weather keeping it dry, the trail was truly enjoyable. Mark 2 took a tumble coming out of the trail – not sure how... it was flat!!!

Last trail was telegraph, and we flew. The trail was dry and fast. Half way down we had a nice audience of other bikers, watching our skills, our speed, our technique and our physique..... probably!!! Down to the car park and ready for home. A good 3 hour blast.

Trigger's Broom

An eventful ride last night began late - I'm blaming Tom, he turned up at my house to borrow some old forks in his latest attempt to keep his Orange (or as we call it "Trigger's Broom") trailworthy for another few rides before the Orange 5 arrives.
On arrival at Coldharbour we were surprised to see that Andy wasn't clad in full lycra following his SDW exploits. Andy was nervous about the burn time on his lights (I told him not to worry, we wouldn't need them for ages - how wrong I was).
I was keen to ride Wave of Mutilation over in Redlands as there's a large fallen tree at the end of it which I wasn't sure was rideable but having seen some photos and reports on various blogs realised was. We hit the trail and immediately needed illumination as we went under the trees. Andy stationed himself between Mark and I with our bastid's on full beam and we were soon down at the tree. As I'd given it the big one I knew I had to go straight over, so I did, followed by Andy who took my barked instructions on the correct line and cleaned it. Mark got a bit stuck on the top but we all went back and cleared it again. One more technical challenge in the Surrey Hills under our belts!
We carried on to the end of Sweet Bulbs and then climbed back up to the road. Crossing the road we hit our favourite jump bombhole and were doing a few laps when I noticed that Andy had possibly the gayest accessory I've ever seen attached to his bike. I can only describe it as a red flashing spokey dokey! It provided a few laughs before we hit the short downhill. I went first and apparently blinded the other two with the amount of dust I kicked up behind me making the steep trail even harder. From there it was onto Summer Lightning and then up to the Tower via the bombholes. We decided to take in Windy Willows - I enjoyed the main jump in the dark but came a cropper at the end when, emboldened by my new found tree rolling expertise, I went for it on the fallen trunk, got it wrong and slid off!
Back to the Tower via the top of Donnie Darko, down the main descent and through the "Big Dipper" (Mark and Andy invented a new suicide line on this one but managed to keep it together) we then headed over to the cricket pitch via the unnamed trail. Pausing at the top of Deliverance Andy said he didn't fancy it so we all carried on to Crooked Furrow....or so I thought. We realised after about a mile that Mark wasn't with us. We shouted and then heard a distant "Yee Haa!" A couple of minutes later lights were spotted in the distance and eventually Mark caught up. Mark had decided to ride Deliverance, in the dark for the first time, but had neglected to inform his riding buddies - for good measure he took the tougher line!
Back together we finished Crooked Furrow and hit the Plough for a couple of pints. Top riding.
Rich

Let there be Light

With all the "XC" shenanigans taking up space on the blog of late it's perhaps time to try and redress the balance a little. Over the last couple of weeks Dunnie and I have (literally) embraced the dark side and dipped our collective toe into the lighting market. First off we have a couple of "wee bastids", the 50 quid 900 lumen P7 bike light, brought to you direct from DealTime Extreme in Hong Kong. These have been supplemented in my case by a USE Maxx Joystick helmet light whilst Mark has purchased a Silva L1 "The most powerful headtorch in the world - it'll blow a man's head clean off"........well not quite but it will light up singletrack so you can go really fast. Last night we gave our full set ups a bit of a test on Pitch and Holmbury. We started off at about 6.30 doing some riding in the dusky light, highlights of which included a broken chain for me (luckily Mark is something of an expert in these matters and soon had me trailworthy again courtesy of one of his spare SRAM magic links) and Mark finally conquering a double jump on the top of Pitch after about five refusals.
As the light began to fade we rode a few more of the good trails up on Pitch, where everything is running really well right now - this must be our Indian Summer!
We than climbed up Radnor Road and made our way to the top of Holmbury. It was properly dark now and we saw more rabbits than Watership Down, plus a few nocturnal walkers who were slightly startled by our combined 2000-plus lumen output!
We took on Yoghurt Pots which is clearly benefiting from a lot of work over the summer and running like a dream - only one bog in it and even that's now bridged by the smallest bit of north shore I've ever seen!
Our final run was down Barrie's, again a complete hoot. I don't know what it is about night riding but I'm completely addicted already - the woods are silent and empty and with a good lighting set up you can pretty much ride at the same speed as you can in daylight. There's plenty of wildlife to observe and whilst the trails are the same they somehow feel different.
Back to the car park in Peaslake we found a really steep roll in with a rooty step at the top which we didn't ride but is "banked" for our next trip!

It's been a while

Yes, it is me the XC trail hound, who has been out of action for almost 2 months. Following a crash at Afan, caused by Andy, yes you lost it and I had to take drastic action over the handle bars. I have been recovering from a partial tear of my right shoulder rotator cuff. For those who know this is a very debilitating injury, I have only narrowly avoided surgery. The doctors have confirmed that I will be able to ride again but it was touch and go for a few minutes. Physio treatment is going well and my exercise regime has been paying dividends - I can now lift my arm. I have been back on the trusty Orange Sub 3, in my garage on the Cyclops indoor trainer; not AM but AG - All Garage.

As some of you know I have set my sights on an Orange 5 Pro for next year a bit more travel but keeping it truly British non of this yanky doodle. Check out the bike on www.orangebikes.co.uk. Afan has made me rethink my bike and also the fact that all my components seem to be failing one by one.

Finally worked out how to correctly fit my Hope Hed Doctor after snapping 2 nuts. I would thoroughly recommend it, once you know how to fit it correctly.

I have got my bike back together and this week could see me back on light trail duties - one step at a time.

XC Tom

South Downs Way (or flint, flint and more flint)

Day 1

So the South Downs off road ride finally arrived.... Roy, Nick and I met on board the train from Woking to Winchester, and steeled ourselves for the 60 mile ride ahead – the first day's challenge. We left Winchester station at around 08:20, and immediately took a wrong turning!!!! We back tracked to eventually find the start of the South Downs Way. The weather was favourable, and whilst it was still early morning the sun was quite warm. We made good progress and arrived at Winchester Hill to search for the marked route to the top. We bumped into a runner looking for the same route!! Thankfully we passed him on the ascent (but more about him later!!). Just beyond Winchester hill we bumped into a couple asking the route we'd just done. After a bit of a chat we wished each other luck, and given the bloke looked a little portly, we set off quick in front of them. After about 2 miles it soon became apparent that they were not slackers – and were more than keeping up with us!!!. Being gentlemen we let them go in front, to see that the “portly” bloke was in fact riding a single speed – and was faster than we were!!! Respect!!! And his mrs was quite good too.... Riding up Salt hill, we all got stuck behind a few young riders on horses... including single speed man!! The narrow track didn't allow us to pass easily so we were comfortable behind them – gave us a bit of breathing space anyway!!! We then heard Nick deliver the loudest fart you have ever heard..... following the curry he'd had the night before. He assured us it was the horse in front of him!!! Nobody was quite sure!!!! The girls on the horse giggled!!!

We arrived at QE park after the infamous downhill – touching more than 40 miles an hour... cool!! Stopping at QE park for a bacon sarnie or two – we took a well deserved rest. Within about 15mins of sitting down, our runner friend arrived that we'd passed before!!!! and proceeded to tuck into a nice sandwich and a salad!!!! Roy asked him where he'd come from – Winchester (25miles back) and he started only 30 mins before we did!!!! About 3 hours 45mins to do 25 miles, off road up and down... respect!!! Looked as fresh as a daisy too!! and about our age. Amazing thing was he was continuing to Amberly... another 25 miles – 50 miles in total!!! BIG RESPECT!! We finished up and got on the trail before he started – save the embarrassment of him beating us to Amberly!!!!

The next 25 miles were tough – lots of flint!!! But the weather was good.

We completed the second 25 miles and arrived at Amberly to look for a quaint English tea room.... and we found one... quite by chance!!! But boy did we need it!! Banana and cherry loaf, tea cake, chocolate cake and 3 cups of English breakfast tea.... perfect!!!

We headed off for the last 12 miles to the b&b and arrived at the A24 near Washington ready for the infamous climb to the Chanctonbury ring!! So far no mechanical problems through all the flint and boulders we had to negotiate, until we came across the hard smooth tarmac of the A24.. and Roy managed to get a puncture!!! How does that work then? So with only 6 miles to go to the B&B we ended up changing our first puncture.

We arrived at the B&B about 18:00 for a well deserved shower and clean up!!! Once clean we headed off to the local hostelries for a well deserved pint and some carbs!!! First pub we entered, Roy bumps into a work colleague....small world!! After getting our fill of food and beer, we set off back to the B&B... at 21:30!!! All in bed by 22:00 – well... we were tired!!!!!

Day 2

Sore legs, sore bum and back in the saddle by 09:00. We set off for the first big climb of the day, as the introduction to the 40 miles for the day. The second day is always nicer, but takes a few miles to warm up. It was cooler today – the sun hiding behind the clouds. Nick started the day with his jacket on – sensible... Roy and I succumbed to an extra layer once we arrived at Ditchling beacon. All 3 of us were flying on the second day... so much so we kept pushing the boundaries.... we made it all the way to Alfriston – about 32 miles - to discover another quaint English tea room – and a fantastic round of home made ham and tomato sandwiches!!! Just the job after 5 hours of pushing in the saddle!!!

Last two climbs and only 7.5 miles to Eastbourne... but the climb out of Alfriston was a killer – a gruelling climb on chalk and flint which seemed to go on and on and on and on.......... We all made it without getting off though – a great achievement after nearly 95 miles in the saddle!!!

We arrived in Eastbourne to the finish of the route.... shouting for Nick to come back to the official finish so we could get some pics...... he'd been so focussed on his downhill technique, he'd completely missed the sign for the finish!!!

A good ride – thanks guys....

Sneak Preview - Simon's New Bike

Discovered at 79 degrees north in Longyearbyen - a secret development facility, and Simon's next evolution in his race to be King of the (All) Mountain .....

Headcam Trial - Summer Lightning 12 Sep 09

Well the AT1 (supplied by Dogcam.co.uk) has arrived, and after sorting out a few mounting issues, Bish & I went out on Saturday to trial the quality. Generally it is good (for £125), but some niggles - picture breaking up slightly (I think this is something to do with either movement or the wireless link - I am going to look at a pouch strapped across my daysack harness to see if it improves. Failing that I may go for a wired link); and light resolution (bright sky/dark subject matter). Having said that, the remote unit makes playback possible, and the camera unit is really light, and quite small (about 25mm dia x 75mm long).
Any way, have a look -

Dunnie

Oh brother where art thou?

Mark's brother Michael was over from NI at the weekend so we took him out to sample some of our local trails. A novice by his own admission Michael tackled everything we threw at him and although the trail gods claimed some blood sacrifices he seemed to enjoy the experience on the whole! One noteworthy incident saw us gathering at the top of Deliverance, just to show Mike what it looked like. Also congregating at the top were a bunch of South Africans and Aussies who were doing a lot of talking and not much riding, presenting a gift-wrapped opportunity for Mark to bait some Colonials. Without further debate Mark grabbed his Trek off Michael and threw himself down Deliverance at top speed. It was all going so well until he realised he was going too fast to stop and piled into the strewn wreckage of the shack at the bottom, accompanied by various shouts and moans! Luckily a bit of blood was as bad as it got and after clearing the landing area we returned to the top where the Colonials were waiting, our honour just about intact!
We met a guy at the tower who runs this site for buying and selling bike/outdoor kit - might be worth a look: http://www.kitjunky.co.uk/
Also Head for the Hills are getting their '10 bikes in soon, look out for new Treks, Commencals and Nicolais. They're also selling their '09 demos so check out their website http://www.head-for-the-hills.co.uk/2009_bike_sale.htm for deals on the Ex8 (£875), Meta 5.2, Remedy (£1200) and Gary Fisher Roscoe (£1200). For anyone wanting a longer travel bike the Remedy and Roscoe are very good, proper All Mountain(!) and a bargain at those prices (go on Andy, Jim - you know you want to!).
Finally I've joined the light brigade - I've invested £50 in a Dealtime Extreme P7 900 lumen bike light. It's on it's way from Hong Kong so we'll see how good it is but I figure that for 50 quid you can't go wrong. You can read a review on the Muddymoles site http://www.muddymoles.org.uk/2009/08/p7_ha-iii_bike_light.html
Rich

Max XC

With only 2 weeks to go until the South Down's Way, I thought I'd better get some mileage under my belt by way of some sort of preparation!!!So...... much to Tom's delight, and Rich's disgust, I donned my full XC lycra and fingerless mitts and cracked out a good 35 miles off road, with only a 5min sit down in the middle. It felt better than expected... thankfully!! All completed in the space of just over three and a half hours.... not too bad. But, don't be concerned Rich..... I'm not favouring XC over All Mountain......

My son's first crash!

Not content with videoing our own escapades out on the trails, I thought it would be a good idea to video Josh on his bike... and the first video also resulted in his first mtb crash – all caught on camera... Puts Mark's fall at the back of the list I reckon!!!

I'm very proud!




and just to prove he's from his father's mould.... he got back on the horse that threw him......

That's ma boy!!

3 Oldies and 3 Newbies

Jim, Rich and I met at the Milton Heath Car Park and we were joined by three new members of the team. George – who works with Rich, Mark – who lives next to Rich, Dave – Mark's Brother-in-Law... although Dave did have to think about that for a while.... recent marriage Dave?

We set off around 09:30 having left time for George to pick up a bike from HftH. We set off across the back of Westcott and up through Squires farm. Mark's favourite uphill section, provided the first real big challenge for us. Resting at the top we saw a number of groups come up behind us – clearly there was a big event today which we'd not heard about.

Not letting that get in our way, we headed off upwards again and picked up the trail which took us to the bottom of Summer lightning. More up hill to find the start of summer lightning, and introduce George to what this mountain biking is all about – and why we have to do the uphill in the first place. Summer lightning was good – nice and flowing, and generally dry, given the little bit of rain we've had! With summer lightning complete we headed back up to the roller coaster and to the summit of deliverance – just to show the boys who've not seen it before!!!! After the sight seeing we headed up to the tower. Mark and Dave canned it to the top... but took the easy route!! I elected for the hard route.... and failed.... the foot went down... twice!!! Bugger!! Couldn't see what happened to Rich and Jim – they were eating my dirt!!!! Probably!!

Much needed cup of tea at the top, and eccles cake, then a discussion on what next. Suitably refreshed we headed off towards the quarry, taking in Mark's infamous jump! Jim did it...... I waited for a gap in the pedestrian traffic, and then showed everyone how it shouldn't be done!!! On through the quarry to High Ashes farm, and along the trail to Holmbury. Up Holmbury hill and down to Barry Knows Best. BNB flowed well today with some nice jumps and everyone enjoyed the trail.

Down into Peaslake, everyone had descended onto the General stores, so we gave the tea a miss, and headed back up Radnor road, back to the summit of Holmbury - missing out the log pile, because someone was sitting on it!!! Over the summit and down Telegraph, past the Youth Hostel and past the Volunteer, to head back up and towards Abinger. Through the Abinger Roughs and back to Westcott and on to the car park. A good 4 hours ride with a good group. Good to meet you guys, and hope we didn't put George off the biking game too much – look forward to the next outing with you all.

A Grand Day Out

Only "Arctic" Mark and I today. Rumours of an appearance by Jim turned out to be unfounded...
No word from Tom since Wales either, we can only assume that he has been consumed by lycra-induced XC shame or that his rotator cuff tear has taken longer than the anticipated 3 days to heal.
After a visit to Head for the Hills for Dan to inspect Mark's dodgy fork seal we were on our way. We decided to try something a bit different so we climbed up the Pilgrims Way to the top of Ranmore to ride the "Log Pile of Death" and then gave Mark his first taste of Abba Zabba, a tricky technical series of steep, rooty drops followed swiftly by Blind Terror, Blind Terror 2 (as the names suggest) and Numbskull. These are a series of linked technical challenges and not for those of a weak disposition so hats off to Mark for getting down them all in one piece.
We then took the Abinger Roughs and crossed the A25 over towards Holmbury, ascending the hill via Control Car Park 9. We rode "Resevoir Dogs" which was wet and gloopy and then our favourite "Barry Knows Best", getting plenty of air off the little kickers. A rest stop at Peaslake Stores for tea and cake and a chat with "Dave and Dave" one of whom turned out to be a fellow Ulsterman. We had a look at Pedal and Spoke, the new bike shop in Peaslake selling various accessories and more interestingly hiring out Head Cams which sparked Mark's interest...I'm sure he'll be trying one soon. We chatted to the owner who is a local lad and his mum who was trying her best to embarrass him. Good luck, I think he'll need it when the winter closes in and the mid-week trade dries up.
Back on the bikes we rode to the Pitch Hill summit via the little gap at the top. Mark cleared it at the first attempt before cursing me for not telling him it was a "Feckin' gap jump" - although as I pointed out if he had known it was a gap he probably wouldn't have done it! We took the trail from the summit which includes the rooty descent and stone platform jump, now with a low hanging branch to make it more interesting! One more climb to do the trail with Tom's infamous pile in jump on it. I also tried the table top diversion in the middle but it's very tricky to get enough speed to really fly it.
We then began our journey back to Dorking, via Telegraph Road and through Abinger again. The final incident of note was Mark coming off quite hard on the rutted bridleway down to the A25 and hurting his back. It didn't make him feel any better that I had pointed out that the track was quite tricky before we started. We finally rolled into Dorking at 2.30 for a couple of well earned pints outside The Star.