Date: 19th July 2009
Riders: Richard, Rob, Gary, a new Gary, Warren and Vicky
Swinley Forest
Weather: 20°C

It took a few days to organise but we ended up at Swinley this week with a weakened Warren leading (ongoing stomach problems) and the group being rejoined by Vicky for her second ride with us and Gary a new rider back from a world tour and keen to get out on the trails.

More heavy rain this week and threatened showers today do not normally make for perfect conditions at Swinley which always tended to get a bit boggy but those Berks on Bikes have done a great job on maintaining and armouring up the trails to make them much more 'all-weather' than they used to be.

The mid-week rain also reduced the level of dust and the trails were riding sweetly with some large berms now in evidence although I do still find some of the trails to be off-camber. Still, that all adds to the challenge and if I want to help out on the trails I know who to contact (or send some beer tokens to).

I was especially greatful of the great conditions as I had again forgotten to attach my crud catcher but avoided getting mud in between my eyes and contact lenses like last week.

After a break to fix first a puncture for Vicky and then a double puncture for me (I failed to fix the first one properly) on the Tank-Traps trail we were back on the road (well, off the road but you know what I mean).

The slightly overcast conditions and bright green foliage also seemed to make perfect conditions for photography and I like the set of pictures below.

We bumped into Dango at the jump gulley and after a brief chat headed up towards Surrey Hill and the Labyrinth.

I followed Rob through the seemingly never ending windy trails of the Labyrinth and was reminded again why I love mountain biking so much. We were riding along in a comfortable silence with the trees rushing past us on either side and the only sounds you could hear were the creaking sounds of someone's rear suspension working up ahead on the trail and the click-click-clicking of our Hope hubs; great!

Again a short distance of just 14 miles but I was pouring with sweat by the time we had finished and had definitely had another good workout.

 

Date: 26th July 2009
Riders: Richard, Rob, Gary, Davebus, Andy, Lee and Steve
LOMAC to Redlands via Ranmore Common
Weather: 18°C

This week was all about miles. Miles and miles and then still more on my bike. Friday saw me pass the 2,000 mile mark for commuting on my Bianchi. That's a pretty good distance since I started on 2nd March this year.

And then today which saw me pound out another 44 miles on the Prince Albert as Gary and I headed out from my house to the meeting point in Ashtead and I then lead the group on a winding route towards Leith Hill.

We joined Stane Street at Ashtead, just along from Thirty Acre Barn. Stane Street is the modern name given to an important Roman road in England that linked London to the Roman town of Noviomagus Reginorum which was renamed Chichester by the conquering Saxons and provides us with an ideal way to get some distance under our belts as we head towards Mickleham Down and then down the Alpine trail and past the bottom of the zig-zag road where I saw Chris, an mtb riding acquaintance who was out with another rider who recognised me from the Head-for-the-Hills demo day back in January before crossing the A25.

We then head up through Denbies Vineyard which starts off as a gentle climb becoming steeper as you head towards the woods before levelling out to an easy climb. Rob (and Marie) had a child free evening the night before and Rob was sweating out the beer by this stage although Steve still looked pretty fresh.

I was trying to retrace a route that David, Paul, Keef and I used to ride circa 2003 and luckily I recognised the left turn at the top of the climb that takes you down a lovely narrow descent. Despite looking innocuous it was pretty sketchy in places and lead to a few hair-raising moments (just as I had remembered it) but we all survived to exit onto Ranmore Road.

A right turn up the road before a lovely steep and fast descent that crosses Pilgrim's Way which is the historic route supposed to have been taken by pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent.

The trail then crosses the mainline railway before some gentle bridleway and across a field that gets very boggy in the winter but was fine today and then through Milton Court and out onto the A25 just shy of Westcott.

Crossing the road we head into more singletrack before an unforced break for refreshments as I get a similar unforced break in my chain. This doesn't take too long to fix before we head up the bridleway that goes between The Lake and the Osier Plantation before climbing sharply and dumping us out onto Logmore Lane.

A brief discussion on the best way to go before some road work up Logmore and onto Coldharbour Lane where I get a puncture that takes slightly longer to fix.

From here it's on the road and then off to the left where we ride the hidden singletrack trails and jump area before crossing the road again and dropping down the steep descent where Rob and Andy manage to fall off (Rob twice) into Wolvern's Lane.

Time is running short but we still have time to take in all the Summer Lightning trails before descending The Rookery which is really cut up and gnarly and back to the A25.

From here we take the road back to Milton Court just having time for Rob and Lee to be abused by some wanker in a car before cutting through to Dorking and then on the road all the way back to Leatherhead where we were passed by a car, possibly one of the journos from MBR, with the distinctive 27 pound 2010 Specialized S-works Enduro hanging off the back.

Lee was having trouble coping with the strong headwind and wanted me to include this in the report (mind you, he's only a wee fella). we headed past the jumps, across the M25 and then up past the Exxon Mobil building and finally back into Ashtead where we say our goodbyes and then on a mix of road and bridleway back to Ewell.

An excellent ride with plenty of new (old) trails and the weather held up for us again.

 

 

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