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After a hard weekend in Wales the Fox Vanillas (plural) are looking the worse for wear. That's two sets, the 125R's that have been on the titanium dialled bikes frame since August 2006 and the 130R's that have graced the Prince Albert since the same date. A little oil had been getting past the seals over the past month but the pounding they received over a long weekend sees ugly black oil all over the stanchions and fork legs, always a bad sign. So it's time for a service and to fit the new set of fork seals and wipers I ordered from Enduro Fork Seals in the U.S. of A. These are a bargain at current exchange rates.
Date:
7th April 2007 Back when I was a lad, Bank Holiday weekend's were always wet and miserable. Not so this weekend. After a warm day yesterday servicing the Vanillas (plural) I was out on the trails with rob and Martin. The warm weather and the remnants of fitness from last weekend in Wales have left me feeling all powerful and I ride up to the starting point on Epsom Downs all the way in the large ring. Admittedly, this is mostly road riding but I am normally struggling up there on the middle ring. We set off for Box Hill although the route has become pretty fluid recently. Rob has spent the last few months trail finding and we add in or subtract bits from the standard route depending on how we feel. Up to the top of Headley Heath and then the fun descent to the road before riding down to the bottom of Happy Valley and the long climb up to Box Hill cafe. Martin flies up the climb with Rob not too far behind. I can't drop the chain onto the granny ring and rather than stop and manually switch it over, I push up in the middle ring. It's a hard climb but I'm not far off the other two and it's a great feeling to have done it. A quick break at the cafe and then the fast chalky descent past the pill-box sees Rob and I racing to the bottom at break-neck speed. The only time I touched the brakes was as Rob took the racing line as I tried to go past him. Back up Juniper Hill Bottom and onto Stane Street where we see a bloke wandering along without any strides on. Strewth! Back up the 'Wall' and then another change of route.Still feeling good we head right alongside the eight lanes of traffic that is the M25 and then past the side of the RAF/MOD site when all of a sudden I get a shooting pain in my left knee, just to the top-right of my knee-cap. I think this is due to the fact that I have been pushing big gears all day. I take it easy back to Walton-on-the-Hill where we head our separate ways and I take the road route back to Epsom Downs although the XC route back home is doable as it's all downhill. Rest and recuperation this evening and hopefully no lasting damage.
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Date:
14th April 2007 An early morning ride around the best that Pitch Hill and Holmbury Hill have to offer. With two new fathers in the group one of them had made the insane decision to start riding from Peaslake at 8-30 a.m. So after getting out of bed on Sunday morning at the time normally reserved for when I am work I made an appearance in the car park. It was definitely T-shirt weather but there was a chill in the air at that time. We set off amazingly close to time and headed up Pitch before dropping straight into Death Star and then up to Holmbury and after messing about near the Yoghurt Pots and Tony naming a new trail 'Petits Filou' (well, this is Surrey after all) we went off the top onto Widowmaker. We all started a bit too close together on this trail and after someone stopped at the foot of the first steep descent we all started piling into one another as there was no grip at all on the dusty trail. Dave took a tumble into the brambles and then another fall as he hit the overhanging branch over the fallen tree trunk. From here we criss-crossed hills and trails as we covered all the well known trails and a few not so well known before returning to the car in the 20 degrees+ that is the UK's spring 2007 heatwave. A great ride.
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Date:
22nd April 2007 It's the hottest day of the year so far and with no rain for weeks the trails are dry, dusty and fast. Felix is back after a lay off due to ligament damage in his knee. The planned gang of four becomes three when we realise that Martin isn't turning up, obviously too much beer last night and as we set off we have only reached the foot of Crow Lane when Felix feels a nasty twinge from his knee. Realising he won't make the full distance he heads slowly for home before I even had a chance to get a shot of him! And then there were two. We are uncertain which route to do. The vaguest of pre-ride plan's was basic to say the least: avoid Box Hill, because Felix had been there too much recently and I wanted to revisit Druid's Grove now that it's dry. That was it. So Rob lead the two of us on a rolling route that took in some great spots including at least 50% of brand new trails to me. We finish the day four hours later, parched and covered in a film of dust kicked up by our wheels. Roll on Summer!
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speeding
Date:
29th April 2007 Another dry weekend and with the trails turning to dust we decide to tag along with a ride organised by Rich and a number of the local members of the daddy of all mtb forums; Singletrackworld. Meeting in Redhill station car park, 8 of us set out on a rolling route that takes in part of the Big 8 route before turning across Headley Heath and out towards a whole new set of trails. There's some good riding out there and we finish off with a couple of great descents. A great ride and another weekend when I don't have to clean my bike after the ride! Click on the picture below to access the photo album.
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February
2010
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