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....