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Crowborough
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2009 journal is here 16 May 2010 Hornshurst Wood Distance: 15 Miles How many people! You miss a couple of rides and when you come back nearly half (of the eleven riders), are newbies, but it’s great to see so many people enjoying the Sport, and with a venture into Hornshurst woods planned who can blame them, it’s the best playground for people who “should know better at their age” in the area. It’s dry, and it’s fast, which means you go faster, which means there’s more margin for error, which means it’s an adrenaline rush all the way, an inch either side and you’re off your bike and nursing the bruises, but it’s the risk we take when doing this sport, and yes it might hurt for a while but you’ll be smiling when the pain has receded! 9th May 2010 Crowborough - Tunbridge Wells Distance: 25 miles So it wasn't bright and sunny but at least it was dry, if not a little cold. After Dave had fixed two punctures before we even set off we headed off to Gillridge picking up Dudley on route. The first half of the ride to TW was fairly uneventful with the exception of a ugly looking tumble by Krystina on her first ride with us. We took in the usual delights of Eridge before picking up a breakfast at the ever friendly Woods. It is worthy of note though that this time the soft boiled eggs were hard. Undeterred we headed off home and it was down the Happy Valley steps that Mick took an ugly tumble (thereby downgrading Krystina's to a bump) down the last 2 or 3 steps. The general concensus was the tubelss tyres let him down and this is only mentioned because 15 minutes earlier he'd been bestowing their puncture proof virtues. The rest of the ride was carried out at a good pace because Dudley needed to get home, he had to go to Bedgbury riding, and we arrived home without further event. 2nd May 2010 Firle - Friston - Firle Loop Distance: About 7 miles First South Downs Ride of the year, and we were hoping for dusty dry trails, what we got was a damp Sunday on what is supposed to be a Spring Bank Holiday, anyway, the ride up to Firle Beacon is always a cracker on legs barely warmed up, but it's do-able, although you'll feel like you've bust a lung and have learnt the ability to breathe through your rectum.. Things were going well, nice pace, the rain not hampering too much, very pleasant, well that was until we came down the singletrack towards Alfriston, after a little squeek and an all stop on Graeme's bike resulting in a ceased rear XT hub and a puncture with PualL, we decided the only option was to abandon the ride, Graeme carried his bike into Alfriston and had to make the decision of either freezing, or buying another tea whilst gagging for a piss, whilst the others rode back to get the car to pick him up. So, we are doing this ride again soon, and we are looking forward to some new bling hubs/wheels/bikes to show of, why not join us, it's a cracking route. 25th April 2010 Distance: 26 miles No need to take waterproofs said Paul, and he was almost right. The trails were almost bone dry after a week of dry weather and the sun shone, apart from to downpours. Our route took us down Spunkers, down Smack my Bitch Up and along Pauls Trail before heading into Broadstone. A welcome cup of coffee and a croissant at the lovely Tesco before taking in the delights of Barmbletye, Canziron Lane and Pooh Bridge. The general decision was taken at the end of the ride to head up Mardens Hill and the question when we get to the top is always 'Why?' Sadly needs must when the legs are tired 18th April 2010 Bedgbury Forest Distance: 21 miles So this was it, the first proper nice day of the year. A great turn out at Bedgbury for a bit of the same old same old. As luck would have it the trails were in pretty good condition so we had a pleasant ride ahead. The consensus was to ride two laps but after a nice ride round and a play on the downhill section and a few riders wimpde out for coffee. Those that were left, having got rid of the chaff, rode round at pace for a second lap finishing off with a brew and a nice bit of sponge cake! Muc-off 8 Enduro Sunday 11th April - photos here It’s been a long time coming, but this Sunday saw the Muc Off, 8 hour enduro finally arrive, excited, apprehensive, Sh*tting ourselves.. this was our first event of this type and realistically we just didn’t know what to expect. A few of us turned up for a practise lap on Saturday and quickly realised that it wasn’t going to be a super smooth dry lap, probably at least a third of the singletrack was either wet or boggy, in some places impossible to ride, and some of it was like riding through a river of chocolate, there was however a couple of downhill sections, one of which you could release the brakes and blast all out all the way down, but needless to say a practice lap was definitely worth it as it let us know where any sneaky little obstacles were. We met a nice guy as well riding around in wellington boots and jeans! So, we meet briefly in a car park just before Pippingford to make sure we could park together at the event, we’ve all met before apart from Dudley who to be honest, I’ve no idea where he came from, but what a surprise to realise that he was only the guy who rode with us yesterday, Wellies and all.. anyway, we get up to Pippingford, park up, and get the bikes off ready to go. Le Mans Style start, ready for about a 300 metre run to the bikes.. bang, release of smoke, we’re off, trying to keep a good pace, get past the slow “jogger style” starters, all while trying not to tire out too much before getting on the bike, it was a bit hard, and after picking up my bike I was a bit out of breath, still, so was everyone else so it was saddle up and start pedalling. Once we hit the single track, because of the mud, everyone was trying to take the same line so it was at places, hard to overtake, there’s always the fit guys who are good at running, road cycling, or light XC mountain biking but tend to lose it when it gets a bit technical, these were the guys who I found I was overtaking at this point. The course where it was dry, was very good, and you could get some good speed up, but the sticky/wet stuff was energy sapping, or especially where the ground was soft but not wet, it was like pedalling over sand, there was some good overtaking opportunities where people were getting stuck in the mud. The first downhill section was very good with berms, jumps and steep descents, unfortunately some of it was a complete mud fest so beating Steve Peat’s time was never going to be an option. Up the long farm track until you hit the second downhill, which was just the highlight of the course, dry, fast, a few drop-off’s, taking some air on the bump, then a ditch at the end to catch out the unwary, it was worth racing on full suspension bikes just for that bit alone, some more single track, both dry and wet, saw us at the bottom of a road with about a 600 metre slog uphill back to the start, this part I thought was not in the spirit of an off road mountain bike race, you would pass people on the technical stuff, only for them to catch you up on the final road section, if I wanted to be a roadie, I’d get a road bike!! Anyway, first lap over, the lap timer passed over to the next team member and it’s back to the car to fuel up ready for the next lap. I thought the day went really quickly, and before I knew it I was on my last lap, Super Noodles is definitely the way for quick and efficient re-fuelling, and passing the timer over for the last time was definitely a relief, but with a good sense of achievement, we’d all felt challenged which is what, at the end of the day it was all about. Race Positions (287 teams entered) Downhill section 4th April 2010 Local Ride Distance: 25 miles Good turn out for an Easter Sunday. Paul B (on new White Commencal), Paul L, Mike C, Martin, Paul G and two new guys (Stewart and Simon). Oh and Mark came up the car park to see us off (for some reason?) 21st March 2010 (Two rides) Swinley Forest Distance: Unkown Half six on a Sunday, groggy from a bottle of wine and looking out of the window it was grey and miserable. That�s the best thing about organising a ride with others, it forces you out when you might just have stayed in bed. So, after an early morning bail out from Guy, Paul G, Graeme, Mark and Paul B parked up at the Lookout in Swinley Forest just after half eight, the sun had decided to come out as well. We saddled up and set off, however, we didn�t have a clue to where to start. At first it was a bit of a stab in the dark, finding a few trails here and there, but really nothing to have made the journey worth it, then, we see a couple of MTB�ers in the distance and decide to seek a bit of local information, we took their advice and this is where it started to change and we could see the potential of this forest. The trails were starting to get pretty good, although in some places it was a bit mushy from all the recent rain, it was surprising how much was actually dry. The terrain was undulating, no major climbs, just short sharp climbs and then back down the other side, a blend of natural trails with the odd berm built up here and there. It seemed a lot of emphasis had been placed on keeping the trails as flowing as possible and they certainly kept us fully entertained. The trail seemed to just keep going. You probably have to be relatively fit as there can be a bit of frantic pedalling at times then release the brakes for the downhill sections. After a while we bump into Ryan, a guy who we�d organised from a forum to meet.. The hunt for the elusive labyrinth trail was now on in ernest. Apparently this is one of the best trails in the area (not to say that we weren�t already impressed with the trails we�d been on). A few more trails, directions and a bit of steep fire-road and we finally find the start of the Labyrinth. We set off, and instantly hit a trail that is blowing us away, steep downhill rutted and rooty sections followed by berms that flow into each other and throw you out into the next one, freakily fast even in the damp conditions. There�s a few table tops before you get to the bottom of the steep section and head into the close wooded single track section, still good, but more XC style. A little bit ofup, then blast down it again, a really well built trail and definitely the highlight of the day. So good in fact that we did it three times before finding our way back to the car park via some more great single track and downhill action. Overall we were really impressed with Swinley, and genuinely say that it is the best riding in the South East, a mix between the Surrey Hills and Bedgbury. We can�t wait for the summer to take the rest of the guys, because when these trails dry out, they are going to be immense. As an afterthought, just make sure you are not in the same car park as Paul Blackstone when he comes back from a ride, your kids might get a sight of something that will damage them for a few years... bike Local Joint Ride with Brighton MTB Distance: 20 So while the rest of them were galavanting in Swinley the rest of us stayed local to meet up with some new friends from Brighton. Those Brighton guys are fond of their beds so the locals did a quick Woodcutters loop first before meeting up with the Brighton guys at Waitrose. There was a good turnout so it was lucky Mike was on hand to give them a guided tour of the local riding on offer in Hornshurst Wood. It seems that despite them living on the doorstep of the South Downs they're as envious of our riding as we are of theirs. When you add it on to Graemes comments that Swinley is the best riding in the South East, I think what shines out here is two things: Familiarity breeds contempt, and one mans goose is another gander. In other words, the South East is littered with great, if not awesome, riding but it pays to spread the happiness and just get out and ride!
14th March 2010 Local Ride Distance: 10 It may be Mothering Sunday, but that sunshine just couldn’t stop eight of us turning up for a quick blast around our local haunts, three classic downhill runs also meant that we had to crack a fair bit of climbing, good training for the Muc-off 8 which is only just round the corner. Still a bit gloopy in places out there, but if this weather continues it’s not going to be long before the trails dry and we can be less mindful of the occasional deep puddle that caught a few of us out. A good 10 mile push for most of us, although of course there’s always one that wants to do more.. Paul!!
11th March 2010 Night Ride Distance: 10 Mountain bikes don't come cheap, so one of the discussion points on this beautiful evening for a ride was, 'why would anyone with a 3 grand bike choose a curry or the gym over a quick jaunt around the countryside in the dark'. The ride itself was not particularly long or for that matter challenging, but it was just one of those nights where it was nice to put aside those stresses and strains of everyday life and get out and ride. Sadly Dave's navigational skills weren't all that great, well it was dark out, and so a certain amount of time was lost going the wrong way, and James snapped a chain, but neither dampened our spirits. A great ride and hopefully plenty more to come. 7th March 2010 Forest Row Distance: 25 There are some days that are just made for mountain biking and this was one of them. We set off in beautiful sunshine on a cold crisp morning and that was the way it stayed. Conditions were about as perfect as you can get in the middle of winter with the ground fairly firm under foot. Progress was a little slow as frequent stoips were taken to chat and discuss the excellent weather. Mark had a puncture and took full advantage of Dave's CO2 cartridge with his new tube inflating in seconds, this really does seem to be the way forward as it saves so much time pumping up tyres. The route took in the delights of Spunkers, Woodcutters and Smack m' Bitch Up before heading along Not Paul's
and into Broadstone. A quick cup of coffee in the delightful Tesco and we headed back along the railway line and then the Mill Road for home.
21st Feb 2010 Distance: 22 It was a cold, wet and muddy ride to T Wells. Dave unfortunately had to leave us at Eridge due to unforeseen beer flu. Paul took the lead on his carbon flying machine and we bravely ignored the horrible conditions until we all got a foot soaking crossing a stream – from there onwards it was a case of very cold feet. There were some comedy moments to be had with Guy sliding onto his side on sheet ice followed by Iain nearly doing the same (despite the warning). Conditions were very boggy at times – great for stamina but not for progress. Onwards to Tunbridge Wells where Iain kindly bought all coffee and carrot cake (thank you). On the return journey, Paul on the green meeny followed by Duncan showed us how to fearlessly descend the greasy steps beyond Neville Park (the rest of us sensibly wimped out!) and then it was wheel spin and bog the whole way to Groombridge. Paul and Duncan headed homeward up Gillridge at speed with Guy, Duncan and Iain setting a slower pace (but having a good chat nonetheless!). Without doubt the muddiest ride for some time.
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