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If
you ain't riding you ain't nuthin!
4th September 2005 After the annual two-week summer holiday in the South of France it's been quiet riding wise round here. This was the nearest I got to a bike on holiday. Cas and Rob have been setting up their own rides on the forum so check out the details there if you want to tag along. I finally got around to buying a new rear wheel this week which arrived late on Friday afternoon. It's a beauty too, Shimano XT hub with Mavic XM 719 rims and DT Champion double butted spokes. Weight of 1144g plus a quality XT skewer at 64g. The whole point of buying this was to allow me to build up the Prince Albert again, which has been hanging in the garage, stripped and unhappy since the arrival of the ti frame. It took a while as the wheel was the only new object on the bike. Everything else was either dug out of my 'already well-used' spares box or stripped off the Specialized Enduro frame. This necessitated lots of grime-removal, cleaning, polishing and general making good. Front wheel was the Mavic Ex 721 Rim that I was forced to buy in the Alps. It is described as a 'top of the line, extreme MTB rim and is pretty hefty. The brakes are an old set of Hope XC4's that I bought from Huey and the chainset gears, shifters etc. have been cobbled together from my spares box. Still, it was worth it as I now have two rideable bikes.
7th September Cas, Rob and Richard - Box Hill and Back. After an aborted ride on Monday night with Cas which finished when the chain snapped on the Prince Albert (first time in 3 years that a chain has snapped and that I haven't been carrying a chain tool), we decide to try again. Starting at 6-50 we set off at a decent pace trying to see how far we can get before it gets dark. We get to Box Hill around 35 minutes later as the light is beginning to fade and set up the lights for the fast run down the back of Box Hill. As we head back up past Juniper Hill Wood, it's now pitch black and Cas who only has a low power light is riding in the lights of Rob and I. As we turn onto Stane Street, Cas lags behind and it's a couple of minutes before Rob and I realise he has disappered. After searching a few hundred yards back we discover that he has got his wheels caught in a rut and come off, twisting his handlebars and having to loosen them before he can continue. Not a very easy task in the dark for someone with little mechanical skills! He recovers and we head for home, stopping for a swift pint in the Derby Arms. A great ride - the furthest distance I have done night riding and a beautiful warm evening.
I also finally finished editing the movie clips together from the Alps trip in July which includes this superb shot of the shed drop.
To download the Alps Video right click and 'Save target As' (7.8 mb WMV file) READ
MORE: 18th September Richard, Sam and Grant - Banstead Downs and Track 40 After another weekend away with the family I only managed to sneak a quick ride in around Banstead Downs. However, taking my teenage son and his mate meant that my planned XC jey-fest turned into a mad hucking skillz afternoon as the kids launched themselves off every kicker and sessioned every double in sight. Wisely, I did the small stuff and left the rest to the youngsters citing a need to record it for posterity, I didn't have my flat pedals, they were the wrong type of jumps, it was too wet/dry/muddy etc. etc. I took some great shots shown here and there is some more video in the can that will surface soon.
For more phat air download the Alps Video right click and 'Save target As' (7.8 mb WMV file)
READ
MORE: 28th September Richard, Sam and Grant - Banstead Downs and Track 40 Another romantic weekend away with the wife is playing havoc with my riding but I managed to get out for a few hours this afternoon around Banstead Downs again. After doing about 6 or seven miles to warm up we ended up messing around in the bombholes and on the small kickers and doubles. I learnt that I really need to improve my jumping technique so no doubt i will be back there again soon.
For more phat air download the Alps Video right click and 'Save target As' (7.8 mb WMV file)
READ
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June
2010
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photos and content copyright of Richard Sear 1999 to 2010 | |||||||||
