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8th May 2005 Richard, Sam, Tim and Neil - Pitch Hill and Holmbury Hill After last weeks stop-start affair we set out from Holmbury YHA looking to put a few more miles under our belts. Sam, my eldest and Neil, a newcomer have joined us and so I take them on a journey of all the high points (literally) of the two hills. Things start well, with both Neil and Sam having embarrassing turns of speed up the climbs however a couple of falls for Neil slows him down a bit. The first was an untidy exit at the foot of Rad Lane where it has all crumbled away under too much braking. The second was more spectacular as he flew into the first of the bombholes which proved to be much steeper than anticipated and the forks failed to save him as they compressed rapidly and the front wheel ploughed into the upslope, with him exiting over the handlebars and bodychecking the bank - ouch! He limped round the rest of the trails and after a welcome break at Peaslake Stores, we crawled back up Holmbury Hill and down Telegraph Road to the car. The trails were dry and grippy and the sun was out - roll on next weekend.
Neil
singletrack Sam
Neil on the rooty descent
Sam avoids the rhododendrons
Tim going downhill fast
Two Morning glory's and a ti prototype
Tim manages to get some air from the bomhole that Neil has just slammed in to
The downs in the sun Here's a thing too - this week I discovered how to convert my MOV files into AVI files so that I can edit them and take stills from them. Here's a video from last week of Ant jumping out the bombhole
(right click and 'save target as' to view) - 424kb WMV file And here's a compilation of all the best bits, set to music. Let me know what you think of my editing skills on the forum
(right click and 'save target as' to view) - 9.2mb WMV file READ
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15th May 2005 Richard and Magnus - Leith Hill and Holmbury Hill They say that it's going to be a long hot summer this year and if the riding is anything like it is today then bring it on. You can tell it's summer because my Fox Black Box top has made a rare appearance. I have been avoiding Leith Hill for a while but now the trails are concrete hard it's time to head back there. Starting from Coldharbour, it's straight into the testing climb of Regurgitator and then a swoop down Summer Lightning. Magnus is having trouble unclipping and manages 3 comedy falls whilst stationary. Head up to Leith Hill Tower via the hidden singletrack in the area and down the other side towards Holmbury. The trails are loose and there's some hairy moments in some of the corners. I love that feeling when the tyres start to slide and then just as suddenly find something to grip onto. Up the road climb and sandy zig-zag's and across country to Reservoir Dogs. Here we discover that the trail pixies are working today and BKB is closed so we turn back to the top of Holmbury Hill. Amazingly there is a Pig roast there organised by those good people of the Hurtwood Trust which has attracted the tourists. Onto Parklife which is amazingly dry and then retrace our tyre tracks back to Leith Hill with a few alternative singletrack moments thrown in. Down 'Welcome to Surrey' and for final effect tackling 'Deliverance' which I have avoided for at least six months and then back to the car. It doesn't get much better than this...
Magnus climbs Regurgitator
A beautiful treeline and an azure sky on the quieter side of Holmbury Hill
Magnus on the downside of Leith Hill
Pig Roast on Holmbury Hill Deliverance in 3 easy steps
Step 1 - check the cameraman is in position
Step 2 - Get yer arse over the rear tyre and negotiate the gnarly top section
Step 3 - maintain control and stay as close to the riders left as possible READ
MORE: 21st May 2005 Richard and Tim - Holmbury Hill and Pitch Hill The weather's changeable but the riding is still good. Tim and I get to chatting about being 'in the zone'. You know, that feeling that you are in total control of your machine and master of the terrain. The normal sequence of events on a ride is 'warming up', when your legs feel like lead and you aren't sure how you are going to get round the route at all. This usually disappears after around twenty minutes riding. This is followed up by the 'good riding' feeling when you fly down hills and power up the other side and this can last from between one to three hours. At various stages of this period you will also be 'in the zone'. Your mind is working at warp speed as you scan the trail ahead, flicking the handlebars left and right, power down or hang on the brakes, calculating the effect your chosen line will have - should i go over that off-camber tree root at the top or low down? will the tyres grip as I lean into that corner? Finally it's the 'ridden too much' feeling as you lose energy and your skills desert you. You put your weight on the wrong side of the sadddle or you overshoot a corner you have railed hundreds of times before. It's strange how the weather can also affect these stages of the ride, the sun usually having an uplifting effect no matter how you are feeling. And that's why I do this, because it's great.
Richard
Tim
Richard on Pitch Hill
Tim in the switchback section of T1.5 (great trail Joe)
Tim discovers why Barry Knows Best READ
MORE: 30th May 2005 Richard - Belmont Downs Last Sunday I bought Huey's Hope XC4 disc brakes off him for an undisclosed sum. They may be old but they have recently been serviced by Hope and as with all Huey's gear are in top working order. This was almost the final piece in the jigsaw that is my 2001 model Specialized Enduro. This has been sitting in my garage since last August in various stages of build as I started to build it up and then cannibalised it for spares as kit wore out. Anyway, this was the spur that I needed and a couple of evenings in the garage and a long weekend allowed me to finish it. I am planning an Alps trip in July and after hard-tailing for so long i have forgotten how to ride a full-susser so I head out to Belmont Downs to test ride it. The brakes work well with a 185 rotor on the front giving plenty of stopping power and as usual it's only on the front and rear mech's that needs a little TLC this week due to my usual ham-fistedness.
The Hope XC4's
Specialized
Enduro 2001 frame with Fox Vanilla R
I've
got the frame build down to a tee (the bridleway
The
Big S back in some crazy cable action. Look out READ
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June
2010
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