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Date:
4th November 2006 Some say this site is full of Dick's - what with me and Richard II (Lonegroover), Richard III (Rich45bpm) and St Dickie (forum dwellers). But today was ridiculous when Roger appeared for his annual ride with us before spending 18 months in Antarctica driving sleds and living in tents. It was ridiculous because he bought not one but two more Richard's with him together with Hannah. We were also joined by two new riders from the forum; Martin who has been a forum dweller for some time but made his first appearance today plus Orlando; a new joinee fresh from Richmond Park. It's very cold but dry and sunnny as we set off. Rodge and mates are endurance cyclists and the pace was once again fast for the first 10 miles until a puncture gave us some rest. A tea stop on Reigate Hill and a couple more stops en route before I extended the usual route by turning down the side of Coral Bazaar and joining one of our old loops that takes us under the M25 to Stane Street before turning back and over the M25 and home for lunch.
READ MORE: Single
speeding
Date:
12th November 2006 It seems like everyone form the forum is coming out riding now. Tim organised a ride and Orlando was back for more after enjoying last week. Si hooked up with us too and Markonthedowns and Darwin were there too. But then we bumped into Dan & Sam, who we rode with back in August. After realising that I had left my camera at home I virtually demanded that Mark give me his camera so that I could take some shots for you guys out there in hyperspace; thanks Mark. We started out on part of the MBR killer loop circuit that takes in Ranmore Common and Westcott, The Greensand Way and Wolvern's Lane to warm us up before starting on the singletrack. Sam's GT was creaking like a my old man's knees but no-one could diagnose the problem. Immediately we ran in to a group with one rider coming a cropper on the small kickers at the bottom of Regurgitator. After flying through the air for some distance (witnessed by Tim) he was lying on the trail covered in blood when I reached him and had a really nasty looking gash on his chin; so nasty that I felt guilty even thinking about taking a photo (so I didn't). Luckily there was a first aider with him who looked competent and had a full first-aid kit and an ambulance was on it's way. On to Summer Lighting and half way along the 3rd section Sam's right hand crank flies off - loose crank bolt was the problem. After a half hearted search we sent him down to Nirvana, mostly downhill from where we were but we didn't hear from him again. Who knows; he could still be out there (assuming someone else took his car from the car-park). More miles were ridden, more hills climbed and the great Windy Willows trail went by. Orlando was flagging but we drove him on and he limped back to the car-park not too far behind us. I then headed over to Rob's new place in Dorking for a cuppa tea and cake - great stuff!
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speeding Date:
19th November 2006 After much talk on the forum we agree to head to Esher once more for a photography session. Huey is there to shoot the pics, supported by Sue. Sam has been injured playing football earlier on in the morning but comes along for the ride. We meet Andy and Emma there, and Jim of Chocolatefoot fame is there too. The forecast rain has disappeared and it's a mild winter's afternoon that is surprisingly quiet for a Sunday at Esher. Perhaps because of this, there is probably as much chatting as there is riding going on, but that's what this sport is about - chatting to your mates as much as exercise and plans are being made for future rides, sales of second hand bikes and that evergreen topic 'next year's Alps trip'. I have a 'car-park test' spin on the Project Revell 450R that Andy has done such a great renovation job on. Very nice and light and feels really chuckable. I then jump on the VP Free. Dude, this is so plush, the travel on the Fox 40Rs feels endless although the whole bike is very heavy. It's all going well until Andy has a similar experience to Sam on the Demo Trail and nosedives into the pit at the rear. Not too much fun, knowing that the massive weight of the VP Free is in the air and bearing down on you somewhere from behind. Thankfully he is unhurt but starts to stiffen up in the cold and decides to head for an early bath. I take advantage of the empty trails and push on once more, this time reaching the middle of the gap jump on the trail that starts with the see-saw. Progression is what it's all about at Esher.
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speeding Date:
26th November 2006 The
National Arboreta in Kent, otherwise known as 'Bedgebury' houses Britain's latest
riding centre featuring 12km of singletrack and a 'professionally' designed Freeride
area. Rob picked me up and the three of us (me, Rob and Tom-Tom) headed away from my home towards the Kent borders. It felt funny because despite being born and bred in Surrey, a lot of people think I originate from Kent; I know that cos I can hear them whispering it whenever I walk into a room. So across the border and down the A21 on the Hastings Road. I didn't know at the time it would be a Battle to get round the trail (geddit?) but I am sure I read somewhere that Bedgebury features armoured style trails similar to the 7 Stanes in Scotland. However as we soon found out, some areas were more like the Somme during 1916; not so much death and destruction but seas of mud in which a man could get lost. So that's one in the eye for me. We were joined by Richard and Orlando plus Gary and Sue who have ridden with some of the domtbriders before but not whilst I was there. So we turn out of the car-park and up a gentle fireroad climb, following the very well waymarked red-route. Immediately we turned onto the singletrack we realised how muddy it was going to get. Ankle deep mud and trails churned to the consistency of porridge. We pushed on and discovered that some trails were more reasonable than others. In some parts, the trails are reminiscent of Swinley Forest with a peaty damp soil under tyre and short sharp climbs. In other areas it was similar to the southern Welsh Trail centres at Afan Argoed and Cwmcarn. There were a couple of wooden bridges crossing streams and unfortunately for one of us, one of these was covered in a wet leafy mulch and it blended in with the trail making it not very obvious that there was a narrow crossing. Just as I shouted a warning, Sue rode onto the bridge and immediately over the edge as the sight of the water spooked her. Over the bars and face first into the foot deep stream. Luckily after the initial shock she seemed to see the funny side and she rode with us a few more kilometres before taking the blue route back to the visitor centre and the promise of a warm shower. The rest of the trail was good fun but very, very muddy. By the time we finished I was covered from head to foot in mud and didn't feel like any 'free-riding'. But we headed over to the free-ride area to investigate. It's more of a North Shore mini-park. There's some good stuff there but it could do with the planks being covered in chicken wire to improve on grip on those wet and muddy days. I had arrived with visions of doing a couple of laps of the trail at least but I felt exhausted at the end and we had taken twice as long as expected so we all turned for home. Bedgebury has mad e agreat start - a purpose built trail centre pretty much on my doorstep. Let's hope the recently formed riders club does the business and continues to develop the trails for future use. We all agreed that we will definitely return (but in the dryer weather next time).
READ MORE: Single
speeding |
February
2008
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