Playground Riding

With Simon away it was my turn to lead the Sunny ride today (albeit from the back)- much shouting was heard from there to redirect Gilles who was inadvertently leading from the front! 9 riders started out and I was determined to lose a few and beat Simon's record!  

Up to Ranmore we headed along the North Downs Way at a good early speed then played on the big log ride before making everyone ride Abba Zabba with a few wipeouts on the 90 degree tree turn. Down blind terror where Chris had a few refusals concerned his height would lead to a man versus tree incident. He saved that for a later occasion. 

Shooting down numb skull fast and rooty was a great thrill for all and we met up with Jonathan and John so in fact my numbers were gained - 11! (hmmm must try harder to lose riders)  

We climbed over Holmbury for a great run down Golden Birdies - so fast and sweet singletrack in these conditions (that trail never fails to bring a grin factor). Group decision was not to stop for tea yet and just as well as the shop was packed with bikers!  

So we rode up to the top of Proper Beau, at a blistering pace, to session the first jumps. There I was hiding behind a tree for protection when Chris in true RAF fashion took flight off the take off ramp, but decided to tweak a front wheel and land nose heavy on (get this) Locked out forks! I could see him in mid-air deciding "Hmmm man v tree or man v Claire" and as if frozen in the headlights I saw his bike and him hit my bike as I backed away and then bang- my leg was trapped and in receipt of a dent the shape of a Lapierre top tube. Wow injured whilst standing still!!  

A few silent swear words later we rode off to find Dave's see saw. (I managed to lose Andy and Howie on the way there!) After a good look at Dave's woodwork and some doubt whether to ride it by all we decided to have spotters either side and one by one we all rode it. This one was grin factor 10 and we played on it again and again like little kids in the playground- Dave's handiwork is excellent! Kudos!  

Peaslake was calling for Tea and cake in the sunshine and I managed to regain Howie and Andy, then up we ploughed back to the reservoir for more playtime. Some wooden strips of logs were laid out on stumps to balance along- some with rounded bark on and some flat planks. There is much footage at the repeated attempts to complete the run and some of the frustration along the way- mainly as we were not allowed to leave until Gilles got it! Here's who I think made it the whole length: Sam, Howie, Stef, Chris, Gilles, Claire, John C, Simon, Andy. Proving everyones skills and talents differ- but its just as much fun watchin the frustration of "Why can't I get this" attempts (Jonathan, George)!  

Then Sam, Gilles, Simon and Chris rode over the wood stack which I've never seen done before. See the video for entertaining footage of Gilles determined attempts!  

OK play time over we rode Parklife, Telegraph and Mutiny but at that point I managed to beat the record and lost 10 riders as I turned back to find George and Stef who had a flat, (I never found them) and everyone else rode back to the shop. (Howie and Andy following my verbal directions and therefore separated from the others).  

So until that last lapse there were shouts of "move over Simon" -what a great ride we had- but as I broke the rider loss record maybe we need him back!  

It's a long blog entry partially 'cos the great riding and partially as its my last Sunday ride for a few months- keep the blog going guys so I can see how your rides go while I'm away. And look out I may drop in with a few tales from my travels! Have a great Summer and thanks for being a fun gang to ride with!

Super Sunday Singletrack

Wow! After such a quiet Wednesday ride we had a huge turn out today- 15! And we were not the only ones- Peaslake stores were packed with hungry bikers out to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather even though the trails still had a few splashes of mud hanging around. (Especially at the bottom of big bomb hole drop ins!)

We climbed up around Leith taking in some time to practice drops off at"Jab it in the Eye" and the quarry before dropping down and up over to Holmbury, then dropped into Peaslake via Surfer Rosa and Golden Bridies which is in great condition. After a crowded snack stop we carried on up to Leith Tower again and then down via Windy Willows which was very muddy.

Stopping to video the jump on Windy Willows I was precariously positioned in the crash landing zone once again but had a narrow escape from a tangle with a Lapierre Spicy!

Miles and miles today at a mellow sunny pace- but clearly some technique practice still required by many preparing for their Alpine and Canadian holidays- no doubt a good turn out at next Saturday's skills ride I hope!

Riders: Simon, Simon, Mike, Martin, Andy, Jason, Nick, Richard, Giorgio, Mike, Matt, Laura, Claire, Dave

Return to Mud!

Ah well we have had a pretty good stretch of dry trails and after all we probably needed some April showers but isn't it amazing how mother nature knows that it's a British bank holiday! 

After 2 days of solid rain and clearly quite a few mountain bikers who desperate to ride had ridden anyway- the trails today were back to a layer of mud in most areas and plenty of evidence of mountain bike tyres. Nevertheless we were 8 riders - the BH trains delaying Jonathan and Richards start and a lost brake pad pin scuppering Simon's efforts to start with us (Tip: NEVER throw away your old brake pads and parts til you buy the new ones!)  

Anyway we rode up to Redlands and the Deja Vu trail- off camber in the mud is a wake up challenge! Then over to Summer Lightning and Richard (who is new to jumping) hit the first rooty jump on the DH trail and landed it a little wobbly before hitting the deck hard! He jumped back up but clearly this 4th crash of the week had taken its toll a bloody knee, elbow and a shiner meant that he was taking it easy for the rest of the ride- but he still managed to stick with it all the way. (Next stop is the Saturday skills ride for him!)  

It was foggy all day and sitting up at Leith Tower for tea and cake there were no views to be had in any direction! I just found a photo from last Easter up here and there was snow so just a typical Easter again! We rode a lot of twisty singletrack in the area to let Adrian get a proper test ride out of the Lapierre Zesty and the new skills he acquired by riding such a great bike.

Then Simon made us ride delieverance/roller coaster in the mud! Now I only ever just about ride it in the dry so this seemed like a dumb idea but after filming Jonathan and Andy making it down in good control I decided to go for it but as I went over the edge and the bike picked up speed I started to doubt the decision but it was too late I let go off the brakes as the tyres squirled around on the muddy off camber diagonal roots and picked up lots of speed then just about managed to stop before I hit the metal debris at the bottom- phew!  

Well we headed out doubting we could get such a great ride in such muddy conditions but ended up with big muddy smiles on our faces. In fact Adrian loved it so much he bought that Lapierre Zesty as soon as we got back to the shop- proof of a great ride!  

Riders: Simon, Adrian, Andy, Claire, Jonathan, Richard, Jason, Simon(DNS)

The day Surrey Stood still!

OK the title is a bit dramatic but... whether it was the change in clocks last night (and the need to stay in bed) or the Boat Race or the Australian Grand Prix, or the fact we broke a rider or 2 recently- there was a surprisingly low turn out for the ride today and not only for us - the trails were dead quiet and even Leith Tower had no queue for its fantastic cake and tea stop!

Well Simon, Simon and I headed out anyway bang on time and played on a jump in the local woods when Matt and Laura caught us up so we were 5!

We rode Sweet sweet bulbs and did some more trail maintenance on the berms which are shaping up nicely, then via Capt Underpants we headed over heads roll and up to Leith Tower for said Cakes- mmm Yummy! Then we weaved around over to the quarry and played on Worth the Myther and once we were pretty dizzy after that we sprinted back via Personal Hygiene down to Summer Lightning where we sessioned the DH trail while some guys borrowed Simons chain tool to get fixed.  This set Shop Simon a new challenge to clear the last double, whilst Happy simon was clearing it smoothly by the end. It appears some compression off the take off is really necessary balanced with a good speed but not too fast. Check the video action and action stills for details!

Trails are still in great condition despite the rain yesterday and Summer Lightening was at its fastest so it was a fun run back. It appears the trees are sucking up all the moisture to make leaves so its nice and dry!

See you on Wednesday- get out and ride!

Riders: Simon, Simon, Claire, Matt, Laura

Sunday Group Ride

Weather was still holding out today but when the wind blew it was arctic, forecast is a return to wintry conditions next week so we rode lots of dry trails from Ranmore to Newlands and around to make the most of it.

Watch the video of us riding Abba Zabba- I missed Steve's crash and breakage of trees. Fortunately he was bruised but not broken.

The rest of the ride we just rode and rode at a mellow but costant pace- some beautiful views over St. Martha's Hill where many mothers were being treated to Mothers day picnics. 

Nick decided to scare some young ladies by riding through the fords and getting wet as is his habit, the rest of us keeping dry crossing the bridge instead. We carried on until Simon hit the wall after lunching in Shere on chocolate and had to pootle home on zero energy- we rode on a little via Peaslake led by Gilles and then we did the usual ride like mad back to the shop, beating Simon back.

Riders: - Simon, Gilles, Nick, Matt, Dave, John, Steve, Michael, Claire.

Sunday Ride - 8th March

So I disappeared off to Spain to ride in the sunshine (more on that later) and did not join this ride so I've no idea what went on but luckily Christine subbed for me on the videos and pictures so here they are.

Photos click here

Return to New Values

No I'm not going to get all political and talk about the "new values" of society today. Rather- this is the sequel to the blog video below from Wednesday 25th Feb (scroll down) about "Will she, Won't she ride the New Values drop off?"

A group of 9 of us headed out from the shop at 11 and today was really about getting some good mileage and playing on singletrack taking in some challenges along the way. Alex in the shop told us that Ranmore was in good condition, usually so muddy at this time of year, it is pretty dry after this fine weather spell. So up we climbed to the North Downs Way (NDW).

We practiced our log hopping technique then headed down Abba Zabba- a challenging huge fast bomb hole descent with a sudden up and turn left around the tree down again into another hole and back up the other side. Then sweet singletrack to another technical rollover called "Blind Terror"-- mmm yes I can see why? Not as bad as it looks just go in slow and stay off the brakes over the roots. Everyone managed it down- Dave riding it fast and smooth and Melanie with a grimace of doubt on her face just went for it and despite a squirly finish stayed attached to the bike! We figure she just proves that Vancouverites are born with a need to ride this stuff.

Along NDW and down to Shere for a picture postcard setting for a lunch stop next to the river. Up to Pitch Hill and play on Proper Beau for a few videos of the jump. Matt from Oz rode off it behind Gilles, me and Simon landing it and then almost exiting over the bars as he ran into simon. Then Michael from Slovakia rode off it a little off line and landed it with one foot on the pedal one foot on the jump- we all gasped, but he controlled it fine.

Then Simon said "Let's go to "New Values"". Well at that point my heart rate went up as I refused it on Wednesday but said "I'll be back" (in my best Arnie impression). Can I do it today? Am I switched on?

I have to admit I have been "mentally rehearsing" it in bed. A technique I learnt in my netball days where you play the set plays in your mind before matches until you can do them without even thinking. In my dreams I can see myself riding up to the edge and punching the bike forward, enjoying the view from the air and landing buttery smooth on the transition slope- so I hoped I was ready!

As usual Simon and Gilles popped off it and made it look easy. So with my heart racing I threw the camera at Matt to video me (although I did not stop to check it was actually set up right). I was quickly starting my slow slow run in, I stopped thinking about the drop and just crouched my arms in tight to the handlebars, let go of the brakes and punched the bike forward off the edge. In the air for ages, landed, yeehaaa that felt just like I dreamt it- high fives- Job done! (Phew!)

From there we raced back at a good pace to Westcott off road. Another array of smiley faces- great weather, great trails, great company.

Riders:  Simon, Gilles, Richard, Melanie, Matt, Dave, Michael, Claire, (oh no- whose name did I forget? Well I did warn you about my recall for names!)

Stats: 36km, at least 1 huge ego boost (me!), 9 smiley faces

Traveling the World? Ride here first!

I'm gonna start right off the bat and apologise for my lack of camera battery management skills, so today's photos come from my iPhone and clearly I'm just learning the timing for action pics on that! I came home and found the charged battery sitting on the side- oops!

Luckily I was bailed out by newcomer Christine from San Francisco who took loads of pics and even got me on video doing intrepid stuff- read on for that. So keep watching this space as I'll add her pics/vids later.

Lots of new faces today with an international flavour and not so many regulars. 13 of us headed out (and all 13 came back together!). I'll take a stab at some names but as usual you know I missed some... Sasha over from NZ for an extended holiday met Melanie (from Vancouver) and Christine (US) on the train and decided to join us to find the "best stuff"- good decision. Now we all know Vancouver is home of the North Shore and Marin in SF is the reputed birthplace of mountain biking so we had some terrain to live up to.

As we headed up the first climb I was admiring Ronan's mud guard from THE industries- it looked robust but after "selling" me on it, it promptly fell off at the first sign of mud and he wore it as an aerofoil on his backpack for the rest of the ride. In fact it has worn away at the bolt so I'll still consider it as a possibility for my fat seatpost!

Chris' bike had suffered months of neglect at the back of the garage and was creeking from every corner in pain but incredibly survived the whole ride despite the most amazingly worn jockey wheels, a sticky freewheel and chainsuck meaning he had to keep pedaling even downhill! (Some TLC please before my next ride!) Tim was the lucky rider on the demo Lapierre and he rode off everything we threw at him and stormed past me on the stony descent off high ashes throwing me into a wheel eating rut! Well I can't blame him- you gotta ride that bike hard.

Our first taste of the fun trails to come was rollercoaster on Leith- with a few bombholes to roll down and up and enjoy the g-force. Then we headed up past the tower but no tea stop yet....

Rollercoaster & Agony Aunt (click to enlarge):

Click here for more photos from Christine

Steve got a swift lesson in jumping after hitting Agony Aunt (noisily as usual) and pretty much pogoing from his front wheel to back and almost over the bars. Simon gave some good advice and demos of how to compress into the transition and then throw your bike forward through your legs to land so his weight was not so far over the front wheel as he landed. The tip here is to practice your manuals on the flat in a similar way kicking the pedals away and extending your arms. 

So we headed towards the quarry to practice the technique. On the way Simon took us to "A Jab in the Eye" a steep drop off that you could just about roll down but is better to throw your bike off and clear the 'HUGE' root to land on a nice verticalish tranny. Calvin watched him do it and to prove he had his Mojo with him he rode up to it nice and slow, threw his bike forward and landed sooo smoothly- text book! At that point I announced that "you made it look so easy I might do it." (Did I say that out loud in front of a dozen people?) 

So there I was riding up to it..... push the bike thru.... I'm airborne.... wow I've landed... a wobble.... no I'm still upright- yeehaaa that feels great. By now my knees were wobbling with that adrenalin hit. And what a great gang- all cheering me on!

Melanie proved that Canadian girls have gumption and she rolled over the steep drop in on the left as if she does it everyday (although that's not what her face said!)

Sessioning the quarry everyone tried at least the small jump, with Steve practicing his new technique, and Simon had Calvin and I going off the big one. I did it but I have a way to go before I clear smoothly to the tranny.

A rapid descent down High Ashes heading for the Peaslake tea stop via a great run down Golden Birdies (as usual) by all  although the exit onto the road proved an over the bar experience for one who shall remain nameless. Then we pretty much headed back the lowland way via Friday Street to the shop taking in some steep descents and rollovers and one steep leafy climb to keep it interesting.

Always great to see our local trails through the eyes of newcomers and see them acheive new skills. So Thanks for joining us.

Oh yeah and did I mention how dry the trails were and how sunny and warm it is? (That's for all you poor regulars who couldn't make it this week- sorry!)

Riders: - Simon, Calvin, Melanie, Christine, Sasha, Ronan, Chris, Tim, Mark, Steve, John, Claire, OK I know there's one name that eludes me- who is it?- please leave a comment!

Stats: - 31km, 4.5hrs

(Free) Ride Sunday

It's valentines weekend and clearly those of us whose first love is really our mountain bike were out for a ride- 8 of us started out. 

The Sunday rides from Nirvana Cycles are advertised as free but this one truly became a FreeRide, unintentionally we ended up not piling on the miles this week but instead finding anything that we could rollover that might trip us up or we could launch off to get 3 inches of air, and there was plenty of material around Leith Hill.

We'd lost Nick off the back in the first climb so we played on the Summer Lightning DH trail jumps getting some good speed and air off the first 5 jumps while we waited for him to find us. Then we let Jason ride his nemesis jump that had ripped his shoulder rotator cuff some months ago, fortunately no repeat of that. 

Heading on up to Leith- Gilles and Simon sessioned Donnie Darko until Nick found us, then we played on Windy willows a little then back up to a packed Leith Tower for tea and cake. We met with Ian, Jo and Vier and picked up a couple of other riders at the Agony Aunt log jump, who tagged on to play on some drop ins and then play on the jumps in the quarry.

There was quite a bit of sessioning the kickers in the quarry until Gilles cleared the big one and hit his high for the day. We started back over to Redlands via Deliverance which we all made it down in a variety of sketchiness and then we watched Simon's build up to the big jump and then his bunny hop technique off the ramp at the bottom (what an anti-climax!)

Over in Redlands there's a fallen tree to ride over and our confident team knew they could ride it no problem but with a camera on them their unanticipated circus antics were entertaining for the cameraman if not the riders!

The trails are pretty muddy but all still ridable and again we were blessed with sunshine and the warmest day we have had in ages.

Finished at the shop for some of Liz's cake and a cuppa with Simon to tell our tales and show videos!

The Good, the Evil and the 2 Headed Dog

Sunday's ride was a real melee of experiences. 12 riders rocked up at the shop ready to roll at spot on 11am,  despite the forecast of freezing rain and snow due this afternoon. As usual some old regulars and some new faces, some new bikes and some old trusty rides! 

Calvin having broken a Titus was riding his newly built Mojo SL and I was riding my new Lapierre Zesty 514 which has already won my heart! We even had 2 roadies, Simon and John who were trying out the demo Turner and Lapierre Zesty as we attempted to convert them to the dark side of biking!

There was still some snow on the trails in a lot of places but melting to slush with a splash of mud, a nice recipe for sludge. The going was entertaining in places due to these varied conditions wheels could slip in any direction at any moment. But the sun was shining and the sky blue and it was really another glorious 

winter's day.

Heading up to Holmbury, Jason skipped his Cove Stiffee into a rut and a stick promptly entered his rear mech and broke his rear hanger off. (Testament to why we have replaceable hangers instead of broken frames). This is where we split into EVIL nasty riders who took off with Simon to carry on riding and the goody two shoes NICE riders who stayed with Jason as we converted his bike to a singlespeed! (Ken and me!)

The Nasty and nice ones reconvened at Peaslake for a cuppa after a run down Golden Birdies/Barry Knows Best/ Reservoir Dogs (whichever you call it). Then we headed up over Winterfold and everyone had a look at the 2 headed dog, most riding it to varied levels of success- John who was riding the demo Turner 5.5 Spot took a real fast run at it and escaped with only a minor crash. (See video)

We piled some more miles under our wheels skirting the edge of St Martha's and back through Albury. By the time we got back to Abinger Jason's singlespeed legs were burnt out and Gilles was spent (and that hardly ever happens!) but we made it back to the shop to repair bikes and replenish energy with a nice cup of tea. Smiles all round and a couple of roadies who had also been won over by the Zesty and the North Downs riding- only time will tell if we succeeded in converting them but judging by their smiles.....!

Riding stats: -

Riders: - Simon, Nick, Gilles, Ken, Claire, Jason, Simon, John, Calvin, (oops- 3 names I didn't get sorry guys let me know who you are and eventually I will learn!)

Distance: - 37 km (for the NICE guys, a tad longer for the EVIL ones)

Duration: - 4hrs 24mins

Photos: - see slide show in right column and video above.

Sunday Ride 1st Feb 2009

A good turn out of 11 people on Sunday considering it was around 1 degrees and the forecast promises heavy snow this afternoon/evenings. 11 riders turned up, some old faces, some ones that had not been around for ages and some totally new riders. Gilles led the ride with Richard sweeping up the back of the group.

Trails were reasonably firm as it was cold so the mud was a little more frozen. From the 11 people at the start we dropped a few after the Peaslake tea stop with just 6 of us left, the others having split off and headed back to the shop. We rode from Westcott up rookery to the Summer lightning DH trail where some entertaining approaches to the jumps were observed! Then over Leith Hill Tower - and down to watch Gilles and Sam ride sticky fingers then over to Peaslake for tea and cheese straws or cakes depending on the need for sustenance!

We headed up Pitch Hill via the church to get warm quick on a steep incline and over the jumps and into Proper Beau where Gilles and Sam were persuaded to pose for the camera in the above video while Ian fixed Jo's flat tyre. Then we made a speedy return through some very light snow flurries back to Nirvana Cycles for tea and more cake with Simon.

I'm still learning everyone's names but here are those I remember: - Gilles, Sam, Richard, Ian, Jo, Claire, Bettina, Simon, Duncan, and 2 names I don't know yet- sorry guys but I have a terrible memory for names!