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2nd November Rich, David, Paul, Jo, Keef, Gary - Evans Trailbreak, Gatwick
Everyone
getting bogged down in the field that rode like quicksand I
achieved my personal aim of avoiding the pub category by achieving the Bronze
award and just missed out on the Silver by 3 minutes (damn that puncture at 22
miles). The
actual route was a bit disappointing with very little technical stuff, no decent
climbs and therefore no descents either – just lots and lots and then some more
mud.
A
pause for breath whilst Keef checks his dodgy
rear shock According
to the slogan ‘I ain’t nuthin’ cos I didn’t manage to get out on the trusty steed. But
more importantly than that a number of great things have happened this week… Firstly,
the site has passed that great landmark of 1000 hits. Along with all you regulars
there’s been a fair smattering of random hits from search engines. Just try a
Google search for ‘Shavey’ and you will find this site is in the top 10 reports
(in the world). With
regards to the regular big hitters, special thanks go to: David, Elliot, Roger and Keef (don’t you guys have anything to do at work?)
Second
has been the introduction of a forum on the site. Now you don’t have to wait until
late on Thursday afternoon for that e- mail from me – you can post a message yourself.
Hopefully
this will take off and will be more accessible for those people like Paul
who never reads his e-mail.
Access
the forum from the home page or click here. And
lastly, the rise and rise of Diary of a Mountain Biker continues. Look
at the back of mbr this month – I wonder where they got that slogan? Someone
from Specialized bin’ checkin’ out the site no doubt. That must be worth a loan
of one of the new epics for a month at least.
17th
November Richard & Mike
– Oxshott Woods A
new venue today. Mike has been talking about the
good riding at Oxshott Woods for a while and we decide to give it a go. It’s
a damp and miserable day but the woods are surprisingly firm underfoot with a
few boggy exceptions. This is due to the soil being mostly sand-based and therefore
free draining. Despite this we still get absolutely covered in muck and dirt. The riding is very similar to Belmont Downs in that there are no major hills, just lots of short climbs, descents, drop off's and single track galore. Paths lead all through the woods, just make up your own circuit as you go – but beware miserable dog owners. 24th
November I
have spent this week preparing for a return trip to Cwmcarn
on the 30th - five of us are up for it at the moment. Apart from me,
all the others are Welsh ‘virgins’. They are full of questions like ‘do we really
need to go all that way?’ and ‘is the riding really worth it?’. Needless to say,
it is. I
have been pretty active on MTB
Wales this week and all the reports are that the trails are holding up, not
too muddy and still very rideable. That’s
all for this week – I'm off to polish my bike and just check those brakes again
one more time…
Mike
- Cwmcarn 30th November Richard, David, Gary, Shavey, Paul and Keef – Cwmcarn Since my last visit in October, I have been desperate to get back to Cwmcarn to ride it again. I have persuaded my usual riding buddies to join me this time. Click here for a full report.
Chris catchin some air on Airstream Gary feels the pace
Cool sign PJ |
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all photos and content copyright of Richard Sear 1999 to 2012 |
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