I wasn't going to put anything on the blog about my ride on Sunday, but after Andy's blah about running.................... This is a Mountain Bikers Blog. Get on a bloody Running Blog. Enough said!!!
Anyway, went up to the Welsh Alps over Easter and was asked by a friend , up there, to take him on the Marin Trail on Easter Sunday, the only decent day. We met at 0900, weather was fantastic. We looked a million dollars. Me on my Specialized Hardtail and Gaz (Gareth in Welsh) on his peugeot full suspension Halford's Special. I had asked if he had a bike(beic in welsh) and he stated 'Oh yes, a full susser' No probs I thought.
We set off. After a hundred metres all i could hear was a constant squeak. All was not going well. 'It always does that!' Oh well, let's give it a go. We went through a deserted Llanrwst and up the Nant Hill. After half a mile of up and Gaz huffing and puffing, he stated that he shouldn't have had the TEN pints last night and his guts were playing up. Still the weather was great and the air fresh. We turned off to the start of the Marin Trail.
We managed about 2 miles of the 16 miles before Gaz announced that a) he didn't think he was up to it AND b) his bike definitely wasn't up for it. We hit the minor roads and headed for the lakes. A pleasant climb up to Llyn Gerrionydd which was like a mirror. I gave him a choice of up and over to Llyn Crafnant or straight route home. He'd cheered up and opted for the scenic route.
Boy was it worth it! The views of Snowdonia with Snow topped mountains was superb. Proper Mountain Biking. none of your manufactured trails here. We battled up to the top of the fire road and after stop at the viewpoint, blatted down to a lakeside cafe for a brew. High Speed decent with the odd wait for the squeaky boy.
Tea and cake consumed we had an uniterupted further blat down into Trefriw. The Welsh alps now bathed in Spring Sunshine and a quick nip across the Gowers Suspension Bridge and into the pub.
Hope you are all still awake! The good news is I have found accommodation above a Pub in Penmachno half a mile from the start of the Penmachno Trails. Who's up for aproper welsh trip later in the year????
Nos Daa....................
A quick ride through the Surrey Hills with a group of 40 something mtbers who really should know better!
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Monday, 5 April 2010
The second 18miler!
So... just thought I'd keep you all updated on my marathon training progress! The second of my 18 mile training runs loomed on Saturday morning, and based on how I felt the previous weekend, at the completion of the last 18 mile run, it was with an element of trepidation that I set off!! The weather forecast of heavy showers, and the torrential downpour which had happened only minutes before my departure did nothing to boost my confidence. Nevertheless training is a necessary evil, so with a break in the rain I set off at 0910 steeling myself for the miles ahead!
The weather was kind, the road was kind, and although it took my legs a good 6 miles to get comfy, the pace felt good. For the first time in my training career I had to stop twice en route for a pee, once at 3 miles and once at 10 miles!! Still - a sure sign I was hydrated enough!
I won't bore you with the full details of the run, suffice to say that running that kind of distance can be quite boring!!
I completed the 18.6 miles in 2hrs 47mins - doing 1/2 mile longer than last week and doing it 10mins quicker! The bonus being I didn't feel sick, and although my legs were full of lactic acid, I could've kept going. Now at that pace I'm on for a sub 4hr marathon time (just), and if I achieve sub 4hrs at London I will be more than made up... I'm now well and truely fired up for this, despite my wife dousing the flames by saying "you've still got a few weeks to go, don't build your hopes up!!". Pin, ballon, burst all sprang to mind!!
The weather was kind, the road was kind, and although it took my legs a good 6 miles to get comfy, the pace felt good. For the first time in my training career I had to stop twice en route for a pee, once at 3 miles and once at 10 miles!! Still - a sure sign I was hydrated enough!
I won't bore you with the full details of the run, suffice to say that running that kind of distance can be quite boring!!
I completed the 18.6 miles in 2hrs 47mins - doing 1/2 mile longer than last week and doing it 10mins quicker! The bonus being I didn't feel sick, and although my legs were full of lactic acid, I could've kept going. Now at that pace I'm on for a sub 4hr marathon time (just), and if I achieve sub 4hrs at London I will be more than made up... I'm now well and truely fired up for this, despite my wife dousing the flames by saying "you've still got a few weeks to go, don't build your hopes up!!". Pin, ballon, burst all sprang to mind!!
Monday, 29 March 2010
Crash landing
Date: 28th Mar 2010
Riders: Mark2, Dave and a very nice South African
Location: Milton Gore jumps, Summer Lightning, Beggars Canyon
With a new SLX double crank, shifters and overhaul of my cables and test ride was required. Short on time and weather closing in, a dash up the hill to Milton Gore jumps to where after a small adjustment to my front derailleur my bike was shifting sweet as a nut.
Dave arrived 5 minutes later where upon we spent a good while discussing jumping form and what we were going to try today while waiting for the newest arrival to the group, Stefan, a very nice South African. A few easy warm up jumps to get the adrenalin going and we stepped up the pace, goading each other on until we were hitting jumps left right and center, stuff we wouldn’t of considered last week. Incrementally increasing the speed on each of the jumps, we were flying.
Buzzing like kids, Stefan turned up and took a few shots at some Jumps. As Dave and I pushed the boundaries and started to link up some jumps, this is where things went wrong.
Too much speed I hit a small kicker with a steep run out with the idea of linking in the short but long double at the bottom. My right foot slipped as I landed the kicker but I was too committed to bail and even though I had my feet all squared up on the bike I was not straight and going way too fast I launched off the up ramp at an angle and the bike rotated around that angle. Nose down and going sideways at about warp factor 9, the bike hit the ground 2 foot past the down ramp and I hit the ground 3 foot past the bike. My bag was torn from my shoulders and my head hit the ground hard as slid into the up ramp of another jump where upon I stopped followed shortly (1 second) by the bike hitting me. My veggie shin pads have a hole in them, better then my shins. My hip, right upper arm and back have general scrapes and I walk at a funny angle now but I lived.
Not only did I live, but like those crazy kids in the New World Disorder films I tied my pack back on to my back, bent my derailleur back into place, pushed my bike to the top and did the same jump again but without the crashing bit... Boo-Ya!!!
Then off to summer lighting, despite the rain wasn’t too wet and a very fast ride down Beggars Canyon with some nice air time at the death stars exit before the rain.
Lessons learnt
1. Protection gear when jumping is a must (back packs can be considered protection)
2. Don’t do what Dave does do! dig it?
Later
Mark2
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Go West - The Wild West
Last Monday I had the opportunity to try a different location to Leith Hill and Swinley Forest so I decided to go for a ride to the west of London – to be a little more specific 5235 miles west of London in the Nevada Desert in Las Vegas.
Well, I was away on business and it seemed like a great opportunity to see a different side of Sin City. Luckily there were a number of cycle tours on offer so Søren (our OTH occasional guest from Denmark) surfed the net and came up with a 4 hour guided ride through Cotton Valley.
We were picked up at the hotel by the two guides and met the third member of our team Rodney who worked for the US Embassy in the Congo. After a quick stop at the bike shop to pick up the bikes and take on water we were soon in the remote wilderness of the Nevada Desert. The two guides then proceeded to set up the Specialized Stunt Jumpers and ensure we had the correct pressure in the suspension. Just a we were about to set out on the trails one of the guides said to me “your from the UK right, well just remember that your rear brake is on the right” at this point I called for a time out and quickly swapped the levers over as I did not want to go straight over the bars the first time the brakes were applied. 
After a quick safety briefing on snakes, scorpions and spiders, we were ready to roll and started off with a slow uphill climb. We soon lost Rodney and the rear guide, after a five minute wait they were still nowhere to be seen. We quickly decided that we should head back and find our other two riders. As we cleared the ridge we found the two trying to repair the rear hanger which had been totally ripped clean off the tour guides bike. It was quickly decided that the rear mech could not be repaired so the cable was cut and the chain was shortened to turn his bike into a single speed (well he could do with a challenge).
The journey continued with some really cool descents through some fantastic landscapes – glad I swapped the brakes as there was a need to quickly drop some speed on a downhill section and I automatically went for the left lever which would have meant a but full of cactus spines. 
Well, I was away on business and it seemed like a great opportunity to see a different side of Sin City. Luckily there were a number of cycle tours on offer so Søren (our OTH occasional guest from Denmark) surfed the net and came up with a 4 hour guided ride through Cotton Valley.
We were picked up at the hotel by the two guides and met the third member of our team Rodney who worked for the US Embassy in the Congo. After a quick stop at the bike shop to pick up the bikes and take on water we were soon in the remote wilderness of the Nevada Desert. The two guides then proceeded to set up the Specialized Stunt Jumpers and ensure we had the correct pressure in the suspension. Just a we were about to set out on the trails one of the guides said to me “your from the UK right, well just remember that your rear brake is on the right” at this point I called for a time out and quickly swapped the levers over as I did not want to go straight over the bars the first time the brakes were applied.
After a quick safety briefing on snakes, scorpions and spiders, we were ready to roll and started off with a slow uphill climb. We soon lost Rodney and the rear guide, after a five minute wait they were still nowhere to be seen. We quickly decided that we should head back and find our other two riders. As we cleared the ridge we found the two trying to repair the rear hanger which had been totally ripped clean off the tour guides bike. It was quickly decided that the rear mech could not be repaired so the cable was cut and the chain was shortened to turn his bike into a single speed (well he could do with a challenge).
The journey continued with some really cool descents through some fantastic landscapes – glad I swapped the brakes as there was a need to quickly drop some speed on a downhill section and I automatically went for the left lever which would have meant a but full of cactus spines.
It soon was clear that there were two riding levels in the group with Rodney and our Single speed friend following up the rear. With this divide in place our guide decided to turn up the pace and give us a lesson in desert riding. Søren did well and stuck on the guides rear wheel for the entire run. I was doing well until I took a corner to wide and ended up taking a short cut through some cactus which hurt like hell and cost me a good couple of minutes.
The trails were clearly marked and ride-able without a guide, but I would say the benefit of having someone that knows the trails is you keep up the speed and are guaranteed to lose a few pounds in sweat. In all the ride was fun and made a nice change from the soggy bogs that we are enduring in the UK. I can’t wait for the UK summer, it won’t quite be the Nevada Desert but it will be dry – I HOPE.
The trails were clearly marked and ride-able without a guide, but I would say the benefit of having someone that knows the trails is you keep up the speed and are guaranteed to lose a few pounds in sweat. In all the ride was fun and made a nice change from the soggy bogs that we are enduring in the UK. I can’t wait for the UK summer, it won’t quite be the Nevada Desert but it will be dry – I HOPE.
Friday, 19 March 2010
Back to Basics
Date: March 18th
Riders: XCTom; Mark2; Rich
Location: Leith Hill
Call me old fashioned but this post isn't about trumpet-based film titles, planning the 2010 Wales trip or even a jog-blog. No it's a return to basics (or as I like to call it "riding bikes").
The trails are in really good nick at the moment (Mark2 has been riding a lot), temperatures are slowly rising and until yesterday the rain had held off for a good couple of weeks. Consequently we set out on a night ride from Coldharbour with a view to hitting Windy Willows, one of those trails which is off limits once a wet winter sets in.
We took on Summer Lightning, including the top jumps on the downhill section and then followed the Ben Tudor (tm) route to the Ghurka Trail. Up the other side we rode the climb into Windy Willows which was in good order. We all hit the main jump in the middle of the trail and Tom even took the awkward log jump at the end, pulling it off with some style.
We took the bridleway climb back to Donnie Darko and then climbed to the Tower, following the by now familiar route back to the Plough via Personal Hygene, No Cycles, The Bombholes and Crooked Furrow.
By now the rain was persistent and had been joined by fog and wind which limited our lumens so we were glad to stop for a pint.
Probably only one more night ride when full illumination will be needed as the clocks go back next weekend - roll on a hot summer full of dusty trails, jump sessions and outdoor beers!
Riders: XCTom; Mark2; Rich
Location: Leith Hill
Call me old fashioned but this post isn't about trumpet-based film titles, planning the 2010 Wales trip or even a jog-blog. No it's a return to basics (or as I like to call it "riding bikes").
The trails are in really good nick at the moment (Mark2 has been riding a lot), temperatures are slowly rising and until yesterday the rain had held off for a good couple of weeks. Consequently we set out on a night ride from Coldharbour with a view to hitting Windy Willows, one of those trails which is off limits once a wet winter sets in.
We took on Summer Lightning, including the top jumps on the downhill section and then followed the Ben Tudor (tm) route to the Ghurka Trail. Up the other side we rode the climb into Windy Willows which was in good order. We all hit the main jump in the middle of the trail and Tom even took the awkward log jump at the end, pulling it off with some style.
We took the bridleway climb back to Donnie Darko and then climbed to the Tower, following the by now familiar route back to the Plough via Personal Hygene, No Cycles, The Bombholes and Crooked Furrow.
By now the rain was persistent and had been joined by fog and wind which limited our lumens so we were glad to stop for a pint.
Probably only one more night ride when full illumination will be needed as the clocks go back next weekend - roll on a hot summer full of dusty trails, jump sessions and outdoor beers!
Saturday, 6 March 2010
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
Whilst I've been one of the OTH bikers who has been missing out on recent rides, I thought I'd post just to keep my blogging hand in!!!
I've been training for this year's London Marathon and this morning I completed 13 miles in a PB time of 1 hour 47mins.... very happy with that! And 8 mins off last weekends 13 mile run. Unintentional - but that's when PBs tend to come!
Hope you're all enjoying - I miss the bike and the trails... roll on April 25th!
I've been training for this year's London Marathon and this morning I completed 13 miles in a PB time of 1 hour 47mins.... very happy with that! And 8 mins off last weekends 13 mile run. Unintentional - but that's when PBs tend to come!
Hope you're all enjoying - I miss the bike and the trails... roll on April 25th!
Friday, 5 March 2010
Solo Mission
As Dunnie discovered the other week OTH members seem to be a bit thin on the ground at the moment for one reason or another. Last night I was determined to get out, having not ridden for 2 weeks and despite Mark2 and Dave2 pulling out I decided a quick solo night mission was the way forward.
I prepped my lights and put on some warm kit (it was only 1 degree at 6.30)and set out on the Cove. I found I had a very stiff bottom bracket (ooh err) but decided to press on, on the basis that it might free itself up with a bit of pedalling and if it didn't then it would be good exercise - like working in a higher gear!
I decided to tackle the steep Coldharbour road route, a first in the dark but thankfully there was little traffic about. I seemed to make reasonably light work of it so I then headed into the play area and Cream Egg. I mooched about around some of our jumps and drops, the hip-kicker was predictably boggy on the run in so after one go I decided to leave it to recover naturally.
I then headed up into Redlands, a slightly risky decision as this part of Leith Hill is well known for it's poor drainage and is an area I usually leave alone in the winter months.
I hit Wave of Mutilation at a reasonable lick, clearing the fallen tree at the end and then climbed into Sweet Sweet Bulbs and surprised myself by hitting the main jump (not sure if that's my first time in the dark). I then climbed up the bridleway to the resevoir and took "Tom's" trail down the hill, building speed I nearly lost it on one corner in deepish mud but managed to keep my outside foot down and pushing through as per the guru's instructions kept me aboard.
A final descent down the lane and back to Dorking took me to just over the hour mark - a good little ride and worth the experience of riding some slightly gnarly stuff alone at night.
Roll on saturday as the trails are in pretty good shape.
Rich
I prepped my lights and put on some warm kit (it was only 1 degree at 6.30)and set out on the Cove. I found I had a very stiff bottom bracket (ooh err) but decided to press on, on the basis that it might free itself up with a bit of pedalling and if it didn't then it would be good exercise - like working in a higher gear!
I decided to tackle the steep Coldharbour road route, a first in the dark but thankfully there was little traffic about. I seemed to make reasonably light work of it so I then headed into the play area and Cream Egg. I mooched about around some of our jumps and drops, the hip-kicker was predictably boggy on the run in so after one go I decided to leave it to recover naturally.
I then headed up into Redlands, a slightly risky decision as this part of Leith Hill is well known for it's poor drainage and is an area I usually leave alone in the winter months.
I hit Wave of Mutilation at a reasonable lick, clearing the fallen tree at the end and then climbed into Sweet Sweet Bulbs and surprised myself by hitting the main jump (not sure if that's my first time in the dark). I then climbed up the bridleway to the resevoir and took "Tom's" trail down the hill, building speed I nearly lost it on one corner in deepish mud but managed to keep my outside foot down and pushing through as per the guru's instructions kept me aboard.
A final descent down the lane and back to Dorking took me to just over the hour mark - a good little ride and worth the experience of riding some slightly gnarly stuff alone at night.
Roll on saturday as the trails are in pretty good shape.
Rich
Monday, 22 February 2010
Ladies Day!
On a bright and brisk Saturday morning, there was a limited enthusiasm for riding from the regular members of the team - excuses ranged from hangovers, broken bikes, snowed in in Aspen, football through to concerns over the weather (!) - so OTH was represented by Dunnie, with my mate Dave 'Vermin' Wilson and his lovely fiancee Alice. We set off from Holmbury car park at a liesurely 0915, Dave on his trusty Trek Top Fuel, and Alice on her new bike (bought for her by Dave, who, being a cheapskate, had not invested in disc brakes...). It soon became apparent that Dave's Army Physiotherapist approach to his beloved's first proper MTB ride was somewhat louder than we would be used to, with the early morning peace being rent by his 'encouragement' to her... a 'beasting' would be more accurate, and soon I was feeling guilty at my perhaps optimistic choice of route.
Having warmed up on the easy tracks uphill, we hit BKB from the Hurtwood Control car park. As usual, it was 'moist' with no shortage of mud, even if it was well crisped over by frost, and we needed frequent pauses to allow Alice to re-clip in and get her balance perfected. A good run down the latter half of BKB, and a decision to forgo tea and cakes in Peaslake, was followed by a climb back up the bridleway to take in a gloopy Yoghurt Pots, and an equally mucky Telegraph Road, with some good speed on the last 2/3s, and a really impressive over-the-bars faceplant by Dave, reminiscent of Simon's best endeavours! A quick transit through the woods and final rooty downhill finish saw a short ride ended. Hats off to Alice, with a good performance 1st time out, and I think that Dave will be joining us again for future rides (and likely our Wales trip).
Those who planned to go out on Sunday (lashing with rain) will have missed a great day on Saturday - and for a change I managed to lead the way with no 'navigational embarrassment'....
See you in mid-March, if Idon't break anything else 'boarding in Norway...
Dunnie
Having warmed up on the easy tracks uphill, we hit BKB from the Hurtwood Control car park. As usual, it was 'moist' with no shortage of mud, even if it was well crisped over by frost, and we needed frequent pauses to allow Alice to re-clip in and get her balance perfected. A good run down the latter half of BKB, and a decision to forgo tea and cakes in Peaslake, was followed by a climb back up the bridleway to take in a gloopy Yoghurt Pots, and an equally mucky Telegraph Road, with some good speed on the last 2/3s, and a really impressive over-the-bars faceplant by Dave, reminiscent of Simon's best endeavours! A quick transit through the woods and final rooty downhill finish saw a short ride ended. Hats off to Alice, with a good performance 1st time out, and I think that Dave will be joining us again for future rides (and likely our Wales trip).
Those who planned to go out on Sunday (lashing with rain) will have missed a great day on Saturday - and for a change I managed to lead the way with no 'navigational embarrassment'....
See you in mid-March, if Idon't break anything else 'boarding in Norway...
Dunnie
Friday, 12 February 2010
Nocturnal Mutterings...
Date: February 12th
Riders: XC Tom, Mark2, Dave2, Rich
Location: Box Hill & Leatherhead Common
The first night ride of 2010 and indeed the first one for at least a couple of months. It was very chilly but dry as we set off from The Star, through Denbies towards Box Hill.
Dave was sporting a new rear shock which happily doesn't deflate on contact with cold air, one of the other benefits of which is that Dave now pops off everything like a scalded kangaroo, getting tons of air seemingly at will - I wish I could do that!
Determined to put in a respectable effort on the infamous Box Hill climb I sat in Dave's wheeltracks and let him winch me up. I had thought this would guarantee a great time but I was disappointed to only knock 5 seconds off my PB (9.25 in case you were wondering!).
Following a recovery breather we weaved our way over the top of Box Hill to the start of China Pig which was running very nicely without the hazard of wet roots for once. Down to Juniper Bottom where Tom said he'd show us an "easy" road route to the start of Alsation - well it didn't feel that easy to the rest of us!
Onto Alsation which was running great and then along the A24 for a little bit. At Mickleham Tom suggested we take the off road route and promised "no more climbing" as we started to feel the pace. As usual this was not a statement based entirely on fact and I think Tom could feel our collective ire as we hit a 1 in 2 climb immediately!
We eventually wound our way back past the Stepping Stones pub at Westhumble and followed the bridleway back into Dorking. Due to various committments we gave the pub a swerve for once but at least no bike cleaning was required!
Riders: XC Tom, Mark2, Dave2, Rich
Location: Box Hill & Leatherhead Common
The first night ride of 2010 and indeed the first one for at least a couple of months. It was very chilly but dry as we set off from The Star, through Denbies towards Box Hill.
Dave was sporting a new rear shock which happily doesn't deflate on contact with cold air, one of the other benefits of which is that Dave now pops off everything like a scalded kangaroo, getting tons of air seemingly at will - I wish I could do that!
Determined to put in a respectable effort on the infamous Box Hill climb I sat in Dave's wheeltracks and let him winch me up. I had thought this would guarantee a great time but I was disappointed to only knock 5 seconds off my PB (9.25 in case you were wondering!).
Following a recovery breather we weaved our way over the top of Box Hill to the start of China Pig which was running very nicely without the hazard of wet roots for once. Down to Juniper Bottom where Tom said he'd show us an "easy" road route to the start of Alsation - well it didn't feel that easy to the rest of us!
Onto Alsation which was running great and then along the A24 for a little bit. At Mickleham Tom suggested we take the off road route and promised "no more climbing" as we started to feel the pace. As usual this was not a statement based entirely on fact and I think Tom could feel our collective ire as we hit a 1 in 2 climb immediately!
We eventually wound our way back past the Stepping Stones pub at Westhumble and followed the bridleway back into Dorking. Due to various committments we gave the pub a swerve for once but at least no bike cleaning was required!
Sunday, 7 February 2010
To Leith and back
Date : 6th February 2010
Riders : Rich, Andy, XC Tom
Area : Leith Hill
A cold morning arrived, and Rich and Tom had already decided to push for the Lance Armstrong esque route that is Dorking to Coldharbour (ok, so it's a slight exaggeration, but it is a steep climb!!). Tom and I arrived at Rich's, and after much faffing about with shock air levels (me included) we set off to pick up Dave on the way. Arriving at Dave's, he met us at the door, looking like he'd just got out of bed, and telling us he needed to change his brake pads... but thought that was all. We all agreed, the 3 of us would ride on then meet him later on “the Hill” somewhere.
So with the steely determination of an Everest mountaineer on his final push to the summit, we set off for Coldharbour. We made good progress up the road, with me resting in XC Tom's slipstream – no idea whether it helped, but I kept up – with Rich falling a little way behind – something to do with the beers the night before I think.
We rested briefly at Coldharbour before pushing on to Leith, up the trail and towards the start of summer lightening. The usual seatpost drop, and we were off, looking ahead, not at the trail, and pumping the bike, not braking in the corners, but still not getting quite enough speed to launch over the last jump before the second section. A brief pause and we were off again racing through the next piece of trail, which flowed well considering the conditions. With Summer lightening behind us, we headed off to the tower taking in the “Bracken Trail” (Does it have a name?), whose level of bracken generally meant you couldn't actually see the trail!! Off to the top of the tower, with Tom leading the way, in his usual XC head down type way (despite wearing his humvee baggies!!), and missing all the fun trails off the sides!!
Up to the tower for a well deserved cup of tea, and a slice of date and marmalade cake... lovely! Tom lusted over a green Orange 5, and got talking to the chap who owned it – thus cementing his longing and determination to purchase one!!
Off we set for a bit of a play, finding a a serious kicker to session. Rich went first, but not much air was had. Tom went next, and very impressively looked as though he went vertically upwartds and landed vertical on his back wheel before the front dropped down. A few inches further back and he would have been on his back!!! Despite Tom feeling he was in control we decided the kick was too severe, and re-shaped it in expert fashion, allowing us to session it with confidence!!! A few more drops and jumps of varying skill, and we headed back to the tower. On to personal hygiene and up no cycles, at which point I decided to take on a puddle at slow speed which was much deeper than you could see!!! My front wheel disappeared up to it's hub, sending me slowly and gracefully into the air, and just pausing at the vertical point, for what seemed like minutes, before unceremoniously ditching me over the handlebars. I somehow managed to stay on my feet, but as a consequence received a seat up the arse!!! After a few minutes heavy breathing and huffing and puffing, I was able to rest back on the bike and we were off. Back on the trail to Coldharbour.
Hitting the road at Coldharbour, we enjoyed the 30mph shoot down towards Dorking, and bumping into Dave en route (remember Dave!!). He'd only just sorted out his brakes, and a couple of other things, and seemed to have found 3 other riders to go off with. They were heading to Peaslake!!! In this weather? So we wished them luck, and set off on a little off road before hitting the main road back to Dorking. At 36mph on the road Tom, leading the way, thought is would be funny to allow some water to escape from his mouth, as Rich found to his cost!!!! Oh how we all laughed!!!!
Back to Rich's place, thankfully all in one piece, to meet Mark2 just arriving home. His bike has been in the wars, so wasn't able to make it, but we let him know what a good time we had anyway!!
Riders : Rich, Andy, XC Tom
Area : Leith Hill
A cold morning arrived, and Rich and Tom had already decided to push for the Lance Armstrong esque route that is Dorking to Coldharbour (ok, so it's a slight exaggeration, but it is a steep climb!!). Tom and I arrived at Rich's, and after much faffing about with shock air levels (me included) we set off to pick up Dave on the way. Arriving at Dave's, he met us at the door, looking like he'd just got out of bed, and telling us he needed to change his brake pads... but thought that was all. We all agreed, the 3 of us would ride on then meet him later on “the Hill” somewhere.
So with the steely determination of an Everest mountaineer on his final push to the summit, we set off for Coldharbour. We made good progress up the road, with me resting in XC Tom's slipstream – no idea whether it helped, but I kept up – with Rich falling a little way behind – something to do with the beers the night before I think.
We rested briefly at Coldharbour before pushing on to Leith, up the trail and towards the start of summer lightening. The usual seatpost drop, and we were off, looking ahead, not at the trail, and pumping the bike, not braking in the corners, but still not getting quite enough speed to launch over the last jump before the second section. A brief pause and we were off again racing through the next piece of trail, which flowed well considering the conditions. With Summer lightening behind us, we headed off to the tower taking in the “Bracken Trail” (Does it have a name?), whose level of bracken generally meant you couldn't actually see the trail!! Off to the top of the tower, with Tom leading the way, in his usual XC head down type way (despite wearing his humvee baggies!!), and missing all the fun trails off the sides!!
Up to the tower for a well deserved cup of tea, and a slice of date and marmalade cake... lovely! Tom lusted over a green Orange 5, and got talking to the chap who owned it – thus cementing his longing and determination to purchase one!!
Off we set for a bit of a play, finding a a serious kicker to session. Rich went first, but not much air was had. Tom went next, and very impressively looked as though he went vertically upwartds and landed vertical on his back wheel before the front dropped down. A few inches further back and he would have been on his back!!! Despite Tom feeling he was in control we decided the kick was too severe, and re-shaped it in expert fashion, allowing us to session it with confidence!!! A few more drops and jumps of varying skill, and we headed back to the tower. On to personal hygiene and up no cycles, at which point I decided to take on a puddle at slow speed which was much deeper than you could see!!! My front wheel disappeared up to it's hub, sending me slowly and gracefully into the air, and just pausing at the vertical point, for what seemed like minutes, before unceremoniously ditching me over the handlebars. I somehow managed to stay on my feet, but as a consequence received a seat up the arse!!! After a few minutes heavy breathing and huffing and puffing, I was able to rest back on the bike and we were off. Back on the trail to Coldharbour.
Hitting the road at Coldharbour, we enjoyed the 30mph shoot down towards Dorking, and bumping into Dave en route (remember Dave!!). He'd only just sorted out his brakes, and a couple of other things, and seemed to have found 3 other riders to go off with. They were heading to Peaslake!!! In this weather? So we wished them luck, and set off on a little off road before hitting the main road back to Dorking. At 36mph on the road Tom, leading the way, thought is would be funny to allow some water to escape from his mouth, as Rich found to his cost!!!! Oh how we all laughed!!!!
Back to Rich's place, thankfully all in one piece, to meet Mark2 just arriving home. His bike has been in the wars, so wasn't able to make it, but we let him know what a good time we had anyway!!
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