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| 3rd
February 2002 Reigate Hill – David and Richard It’s
been a wild, wet and windy weekend so far but the weather is okay at 8-30 a.m.
as we set out.
We
are trying a different starting point today, the café at the top of Reigate Hill.
From here we take in a circular route that covers the North_Downs_Way,
Colley Hill and Mogador.
Most
of the route is chalk and despite being slippery, is good for riding. However,
there are a couple of extremely boggy sections that are totally impassable. They
really sap the energy from our legs.
However,
the views from the top of the downs are fantastic and worth the climb.
David climbing up the North Downs escarpment
Richard
braving the cold in his De_Marchi cycling shorts We
finish the day with a cup of tea and a bacon and fried egg sandwich at the NT
café at Reigate Hill. Great stuff.
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| 17th
February Colley Hill and The North_Downs_Way – Richard,
David & Paul I
replaced the chain with a new SRAM_PC_69
this weekend and together with a new gear cable and kool stop pads I am raring
to go. The weather has been great although it’s a bit misty as we set out from
Epsom Downs at 8-30. David has planned a new route, the so-called Figure of Eight. The terrain is pretty good, lots of chalk and the soil is compact – not too boggy. Plus there’s lots of gnarly, rooted singletrack.
My
‘moody’ shot as David and Paul
resort to pushing their bikes up the final part of Colley Hill
Paul and David fly along the North_Downs_Way whilst I try not to fall off with only one hand on the bars and the camera up against my eye. | |||
| 23rd
February 2002 Devil's_Dyke to Ditchling Beacon - Richard,
Paul, David and
Mike We
have a new disciple today. Mike is organising
a trip to Coed-y-Brenin
that I will be attending in March and has come along with us to get some miles
under his belt. We have decided to do one of the routes out of this month's MBR
and arrive at the top of Devils_Dyke at 9-45 to discover that there are gale
force winds blowing. Check
here for pictures. We
have to literally fight the wind for 15 minutes whilst we get our kit together.
David realises he has forgotten his Spud's and has to wear a pair of trainers.
We are finally ready and set off. I
won't bother describing the route, just check MBR, but look out for the following: 1. Once off the top of the Dyke it is a bit more sheltered
but a lot of the route is along the crest of the downs - try and avoid any very
windy days 2. The first downhill is extremely slippery, my front
wheel washed out 3 times and I took a fall off the bike for the first time in
a year. David also fell heavily, bending a brake lever. To top this, at the foot
of the hill is a very solid gate - you need to brake in plenty of time. 3. It had rained quite a bit and despite being chalk
based, and that it is a bright sunny day, there is an unbelievable amount of mud
around, a lot of which is impassable. Go with the MBR recommendation that this
is a route for decent weather. 4. The big climb up from the A23 along the Sussex Border
path has been ruined by a tractor churning up the ground into huge ruts. We
completed the route in about 4 hours, which is pretty poor considering the distance,
but we had to push the bikes a lot and the wind was so strong that you had trouble
freewheeling down hills, never mind climbing them. Having
said that, it was very enjoyable and a route that we will definitely revisit in
the summer. David
had the only mechanical breakdown of the day. We were climbing a small road section
within a mile of the finish when his rear mech flew off. It had torn itself and
the hanger out of the frame and broken the chain in the process. Looked very nasty
and I think he will be in contact with Dave Hinde's for a repair under the warranty. See
the pictures now! Mike
seemed to enjoy himself and plans to make it out with us again. Mind you, he was
riding a Litespeed_Kitsuma, Ti frame with
XTR/XT kit and RockShox Psylo XC's - who wouldn't enjoy themselves on that? Devil’s
Dyke Trip using Biking_Slang
Damon
has bagged
it today but we have a new disciple. Mike is organising
a trip to Coed-y-Brenin that I will be attending in March and has come along with
us to get some miles under his belt. We have decided to do one of the routes out
of this month's MBR and arrive at the top of Devils Dyke at 9-45 to discover that
there are gale force winds blowing. We
schmooz
for a while whilst we get our kit together. David leaves his anchors
in his wheels but realises he has forgotten his Spud's and has to wear a pair
of trainers resulting in multiple beartraps
during the remainder of the day but reducing the chances of foot-faults.
We are finally ready and set off. David, Mike and Paul on their hardtails. Richard
on his brand-whore
dual-boinger
steed manages to avoid male-blindness.
I
won't bother describing the route, just check MBR, but look out for the following:
1.
Once off the top of the Dyke it is a bit more sheltered but a lot of the route
is along the crest of the downs - try and avoid any very windy days
2.
The first downhill is extremely slippery, my front wheel washed out 3 times and
I took an involuntary dismount for the first time in a year mud diving with extreme
discomfort. David augurs the local soil, and has to bail out 3 times pranging
a brake lever although he manages to avoid bringing home a christmas tree or cranial
disharmony. To top this, at the foot of the hill is a very solid gate - you need
to slow in plenty of time to avoid a panic skid. There are numerous other fast
downhills where we look out for the mantraps to avoid mandibular disharmony or
repeating Clive’s superman feat
3.
It had rained quite a bit and despite being chalk based, and that it is a bright
sunny day, there is an unbelievable amount of mud around, a lot of which is impassable.
Go with the MBR recommendation that this is a route for decent weather although
the bad weather reduces the frequency of redsocks.
4.
The big climb up from the A23 along the Sussex Border path has been ruined by
a tractor churning up the ground into dual-track. Richard was acting like a gear_masher
up these climbs in his granny gear and got John-Boy'ed
big time. We
completed the route in about 4 hours, which is pretty poor considering the distance,
but we had to push the bikes a lot and the wind was so strong that you had trouble
freewheeling down hills, never mind climbing them. We also tea partyed a lot
Having
said that, it was very enjoyable and a route that we will definitely revisit in
the summer.
Luckily,
Keith the retro-grouch
cockrotter
wasn’t with us, and David avoided snake-bites
but had the only mechanical breakdown of the day. We were climbing a small road
section within a mile of the finish when his rear mech flew off. It had torn itself
and the hanger out of the frame and broken the chain in the process. Looked very
nasty and I think he will be in contact with Dave Hinde's for a repair under the
warranty. No-one
was carrying a brain
but the advertised route wasn’t quite an epic but we felt every one of the 19
miles. Mike seemed to enjoy himself without being
a fred
although he did void
himself 3 times during the day. He plans to make it out with us again. Mind you,
he was riding a Litespeed_Kitsuma, Ti frame
with XTR/XT kit and RockShox Psylo XC's - mega bike
chi-chi with a dashing of cyclephernalia
- who wouldn't enjoy themselves on that?
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