Date:
7th October 2007 The cyclist's bonk as Tim Moore describes in his excellent book 'French Revolutions' is "the term unhappily applied to the moment when the fuel reserves run out and the body starts eating itself. Sugar is sucked out of the blood, and a traumatic sense of delirious exhaustion sets in". Cas, David and I had flown round the 'big 8' at a pretty good rate, barely stopping and Cas was feeling so bullish, what with the sun out and the trails riding sweetly that he suggested tacking on the epsom downs short route to the end of the Big 8. Well actually, he had wanted to do Box Hill and back but I had negotiated him down from this to the short route. We crossed the M25, heading back towards the final lap of the extended route and despite pausing whilst Cas repaired a tyre ripped right through by a "sharpened over the millennia" flint I was definitely flagging. As we turned right into Langley Bottom Farm my sugar levels were at zero and as soon as we started the long climb that brings you finally out onto Epsom Lane I was spinning uselessly in the granny ring and getting nowhere. Numerous pauses were required to get me to the top where we finally turned into Epsom racecourse and Cas treated me to a large 99 with two flakes to give me an energy surge for the return home.
READ MORE: Single
speeding
Date:
14th October 2007
Riders: Richard, Tim K and riders from mtb-uk Pitch Hill and Holmbury Hill Weather: 16.0°C 
I love riding trails when someone else is leading or you are with a new bunch of riders. It really turns everything on it's head, giving you a new perspective on trails you have ridden hundreds of times before. Maybe it's because they are looped together in a different way than you would normally ride them, or different riders point new things out or just attack them differently. A great ride on Sunday, led by team with a great bunch of guys from mtb-uk (or was it uk-mtb?). Hopefully the pictures do the ride justice. Oh yeah, and I saw a nice Solitude Cycles frame on the way home; singlespeed, rigid forks, half-link chain, 29inch wheels, a really nice looking ride.
READ MORE: Single
speeding
Date:
20th October 2007
Riders: Richard and Rob Rob's Rabbit Route, The big 8 and a bit of road riding too Weather: 11.0°C
Just Rob and I on a relaxed Saturday afternoon ride round the local spots, linking together the Rabbit Route with the Big 8. The temp is still in double figures but there's a chill wind this week as Autumn really starts to kick in. The trails are ridden from memory there's nothing but a 10 metre wide bed of leaves with a trail somewhere underneath in certain places. But never mind, we still both managed to find the massive dog turd with our front tyres somewhere beyond Woodmansterne. I fecking hate inconsiderate dog-walkers. And then on the Sunday it was on the road bike and over to the in-laws in Sidcup. Some quite busy roads but two massive hills to climb and 25 miles in the bag too.
READ MORE: Single
speeding
New kit and old mates, I finally replaced my much dented black Giro Havoc with, you guessed it, a new black Giro Havoc. Oh and some super cool looking Shimano MP66 shoes to replace my lightweight Specialized Comp shoes which are 6 and a half years old and showing signs of wear. They were both soon getting worn in on a rainy day spent on Leith Hill where the trails went from nice and firm to boggy in the 3 hours between start and finish of the ride.
READ MORE: Single
speeding
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December
2011
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