Title: another wales jaunt

Location: wet (hopefully not) wales

Start Date: Monday 5th June 2012 End Date: Wedneaday 7th June 2012

Description: To celebrate this royal jubilee markary we are planning another mid-week jaunt to ride in Wales.

Idea is to mix the riding up with a couple of natural [...]]]>

the raven trail @ brechfa

Title: another wales jaunt

Location: wet (hopefully not) wales

Start Date: Monday 5th June 2012
End Date: Wedneaday 7th June 2012

Description: To celebrate this royal jubilee markary we are planning another mid-week jaunt to ride in Wales.

Idea is to mix the riding up with a couple of natural rides and hopefully if the early summer rain goes away to camp.

So the rough plan is to drive to Elan Valley on Monday, Doethie Valley on Tuesday and then Brechfa (possibly red and not the black as on previous visits).

Appreciate that this is pretty short notice and midweek so unlikely that anyone other than Ian, Rich and Pod are likely to be along but you never know if anyone fancies it…

The plan was to meet in Westcott as Neil was going to be on the train for his first cakeriders jaunt around the north downs.

The lack of parking meant we had to find another spot along the A24 and were surprised when Neil pulled up in the car park. Fortune was obviously [...]]]>

stuck!!

The plan was to meet in Westcott as Neil was going to be on the train for his first cakeriders jaunt around the north downs.

The lack of parking meant we had to find another spot along the A24 and were surprised when Neil pulled up in the car park. Fortune was obviously on our side and the fact that it was the first real day of sunshine in a while echoed this.

The new parking spot did mean the ride was a couple of miles longer than we had anticipated but it is all training right…A short road ride in to Westcott and then some nice doubletrack as introcuction. This brought us out in Gomshall and the dreaded muddy climb. The climb was a bit of a slog which was not helped by the cheery (not) folk riding down. The first bit of the climb done it was a little bit of road before on to the second muddy climb, the pic above of Ali’s bike shows just how muddy it was.

Eventually this brought us out on Holmbury Hill, a little added bit of routey/downhill or downhill/rooty depending on which of us you listened to was a blast. Slight climb to Barry Knows Best and down in to Peaslake.

Times like today when other trails are muddy it really makes you appreciate the work done on trails like BKB – riding really well and nice and fast and flowing. Quick food stop in Peaslake and Neil managed to score gold with his pork and pickle pie, well that was what all the meat eaters amongst us reckoned.

cathy on some random muddy leith hill trail

Back up Hoilmbury Hill to admire the view, ride Yoghurt Pots and find Tom’s secret trail (we only managed to find the last bit) and then Telegraph Row or the off-camber bit for some of us to get down the hill. Considering the amount of rain over the last few weeks trails were in surprisingly good nick, as long as you ignore some of the logging work which did mean a bit of a hike-a-bike at times.

Then it was a climb over to Leith Hill. Apart from a few gloopy bits it was a lot more rideable than we had thought. So after tea and cake on Leith Hill we went in search of mud and found it. We were looking for the downhill “after the holly bush” and after a few false starts eventually found it. Was it worth it….not sure it was, off-camber deep mud makes riding a little interesting.

So back on track we headed past the cricket picth – taking in a very well celebrated wicket -on to Summer Lightning. Stopping to look at Deliverance to admire the determination of someone walking (or climbing) up it.

Then it was on to a dry and flowing Summer Lightning which is always fun. A bit of bog followed before the barbed wire fence/hollybush singletrack which needed high levels of concentration.

Then it was a blast down the Rookery Descent (well that is what Strava tells me it is called) back on to the A24 and a little road ride through Dorking to the car park.

Excellent ride in sunny conditions with the ideal ratio of cake stops to miles ;) As mentioned in an earlier post the next challenge is the lots of hills 3 cake stops dorking ride. Ideally for the long sunny summer days we are going to be getting in the next few months!!

Take a look at the full set of north downs classic photos and check out the ride stats below (click map for more info):

Title: one more time to cannock

Location: Birches Valley, Cannock Chase

Date: 2nd June 2012

Start Time: 10:30   End Time: 15:30

Description: A hopefully dry visit to Cannock to kick off the month of June.

So plans have been hatched for another jaunt to Cannock.

Imagine it will follow the usual format:

Simon on the wooden berms

This was the second half of the bank holiday double header. So, after the exertions of the previous day, it was time [...]]]> After a McBreakfast on a warm, sunny Sunday morning, it was time for the combined East and South Yorkshire Branch trip to Sherwood Pines to get underway.

Simon on the wooden berms

This was the second half of the bank holiday double header. So, after the exertions of the previous day, it was time for a more sedate pace and a chance to develop some skills.

Key areas to ride included the zigzags, riding through some tight twisting sections of pine trees as fast as you dare, in both directions. Very funny when your bars are narrower than your friend’s!

Then onto the trenches, riding through some short sharp trench sections. Again, ridden in both directions and providing some entertainment along the way, where speed and control need to be just right.

Then it was time for the new bermed descent line. A chance to see how fast we could go and a chance to try to get away from each other. Nope, not today. We were both too well matched and we managed to keep up with each other every time we tried the descent.

A short Mars Bar break followed and then we were onto the wooden hucks. Popping off the five foot drop off first. Followed by a play on the big wooden berms. Oh dear god, what were we thinking! Those things are damned hard. First off Simon hit the dirt as his bike pinged along the berm sideways, whilst he lay on his back. A few laughs from Tony and then he had a similar experience, as the bike slid off and whacked him. Unfortunately for Tony, this incident was caught on camera. Doh!

Tony on the wooden berms (before it all went wrong)

A bit more leaping off the big wooden huck further down the descent line and then a couple of runs on Ben’s Descent was enough for us to agree we could call it a day.

Coffee and cake back at the visitor centre rounded off the day nicely, as we sat in the weak spring sunshine and watched the Go Ape Segway trainees going through their paces before heading off into the forest. Riding the Segways looked interesting. But we both agreed we would rather be biking!

Stats -

Route: Sherwood Pines

Activity: Mountain Bike

Google Maps URL: http://maps.google.com/?q=http://share.abvio.com/cb6d/0465/4e3d/922c/Cyclemeter-MountainCycle-20120506-1126.kml

Started: 6 May 2012 11:26:12

Ride Time: 1:28:23

Stopped Time: 53:09

Distance: 9.83 miles

Average Speed: 6.67 mph

Fastest Speed: 19.86 mph

Ascent: 610 feet

Descent: 536 feet

Calories: 532

Pics  and a couple of very short vids –

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonyb_191/sets/72157629647212156/

The bank holiday double header involved  a meet up of the East Yorkshire Branch and the South Yorkshire Branch.

Simon and Tony met up in Doncaster for an early start and a drive to Edale via Sheffield, with a stop off for a full English breakfast and [...]]]>

Simon having a break on Mount Famine

The bank holiday double header involved  a meet up of the East Yorkshire Branch and the South Yorkshire Branch.

Simon and Tony met up in Doncaster for an early start and a drive to Edale via Sheffield, with a stop off for a full English breakfast and a cup of tea in Wetherspoons on the way, just £4.30 (bargain). Arriving in Edale, the weather was cool and rain was threatening.

We unloaded the bikes and set off, happy to be riding uphill at first to generate some body heat. Cutting off the tarmac climb early and onto a long muddy, deeply rutted climb to Hollins Cross, it was a good chance to take in the views as we slowly rode the climb, a section at a time.

During the long climb, a chance encounter with a deep muddy puddle and a spinning rear wheel, ensured Tony’s waterproof boots were well tested. Doh!

We eventually reached Hollins Cross and it was time for Simon to check he had a phone signal and could see how his eBay bids were doing.

After a rest at the trig point, we were off, riding up Mam Tor, the famous shaking mountain. A brief single-track descent followed as we rounded the shoulder and then we were climbing again. Up Rushup Edge, past some friendly walkers and on up to the ridge.

Along the ridge and then a short climb over a deeply rutted section brought us onto a sunken bridleway. Wow, what a blast. The first descent proper and was it worth it! Gaining speed quickly, we were popping all the big stuff as we flew down, laughing and whooping all the way, with the bikes feeling smooth as silk. Our Jedi skills coming to the fore. Then a sharp right turn and more descending, all the way down to Roych Clough. We past three land rovers, which were slowly tackling the steep, rutted and cut up terrain.

A long, long climb followed, with those same three land rovers, now slowly catching us up. First we could hear them in the distance and then getting closer… We went through a gate and headed up Mount Famine, leaving the greenlaners behind. Hah!

A slight descent and, looking out for a gate to the right, we headed down the valley at speed, taking care on the cut up corners and then bunny hopping the big water traps near the bottom.

Tony on the long climb to Edale Cross

A bit of tarmac took us to the start of the last big ascent. Time for a Mars Bar break and then we headed up the hill. Rolling along loose gravel at first, then a nice flat section, then it was steep, cut up, rocky section after section waiting for us. We avoided the smooth edge and managed to ride it all to Edale Cross, albeit with regular breaks between the sections. Hard riding. Towards the top of the climb it felt like your legs were on fire!

After a  bit of map related confusion, in a hailstorm at the top (oops), we got onto the start of the Jacobs Ladder descent proper. And what a descent. Definitely the highlight of the day! Starting off with some big steps and steep terrain, we kept the speed low, to maintain control, we popped the big steps and avoided the walkers. Most of whom gave us a friendly shout as we went by. Then, through the gate and it was time to pick up speed and head down the steep hill to the bridge. Baby head sized rocks littered the trail and we bounced all the way down, high speed, lots of control and no dabbing were the order of the day. We were greeted at the bottom by a bunch of laughing mountain bikers  who were getting ready to push up to the top. What a blast!

Now it was time for an easy ride back to Edale and a chance to try to get rid of the lactic acid built up in the legs. A pint at the Rambler Inn, bikes packed and then we were off back to civilisation.

A cool day, some big climbs, some long descents, no offs, no punctures and no mechanicals. Perfect.

Stats below –

Route: Edale

Activity: Mountain Bike

Google Maps URL: http://maps.google.com/?q=http://share.abvio.com/cb6d/0465/4e3d/922c/Cyclemeter-MountainCycle-20120505-1042.kml

Started: 5 May 2012 10:42:55

Ride Time: 2:26:42

Stopped Time: 1:56:09

Distance: 16.01 miles

Average Speed: 6.55 mph

Fastest Speed: 24.34 mph

Ascent: 2449 feet

Descent: 2442 feet

Calories: 742

Pics  –

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonyb_191/sets/72157629641705782/

With the cancellation of jaunt up to the Peak District and Sherwood Pines for the Bank Holiday (just as well judging by weather forecasts) I was kinda stuck for riding.

So as someone who is prone to cliché I decided that 3 was indeed the magic number:

3 day weekend | [...]]]>

the magic number

With the cancellation of jaunt up to the Peak District and Sherwood Pines for the Bank Holiday (just as well judging by weather forecasts) I was kinda stuck for riding.

So as someone who is prone to cliché I decided that 3 was indeed the magic number:

3 day weekend | 3 rides | 3 bikes

mud in peaslake

#1

Ignoring forecasts of rain and swamp like conditions me and Ali met up at Peaslake. After getting changed in the rain we headed up Pitch Hill. Most of the fireroads on Pitch are like a swamp at the moment due to the rain of the last few weeks and vehicles from logging operations. Although there had been reports of trails being trashed the ones we were rode were mostly still there at least. Due to fireroad conditions and the sliding from non-mud tyres we kept the riding on Pitch to a minimum and just went up and down on singletrack back to the car park.

cake and mud

Then on to Holmbury Hill. Although not as muddy it was getting there due to the volume of rider. Not helped by ourselves keeping to the main trails but when you are only out for a couple of hours in the mud it is not the time to search for new trails.

obligatory muddy bike shot

We did venture down the off-camber trail (no idea what it is called) off Telegraph Row which was surprisingly rideable if a little “interesting” in some points. We also hit the doubletrack descent (again no idea what it is called) that takes you below bkb and ends in a suprisingly rooty section. A whole lotta fun and as it had not been ridden that much it was not too churned up.

Then on to bkb. This was the first really dry but of trail all day and just shows some of the benefits of a bit of maintenance.

Felt like we were riding it at a fair pace and then I tried to jump some roots did not make it and heard that awful hissing sound that tells you of rear wheel puncture. With only the 2nd half of bkb to ride I decided to call it a day and walked down whilst Ali was making the most of dry trails.

“Highlight” was seeing some fella undertake somebody on final berm of bkb – fair enough if it was someone you knew and doing it for a bit of banter but this was not the case and the guy just rode off on his own. Cannot imagine why he was riding on his own…

As all rides should finished of f with a hot drink and cake!

rigid forks

#2

Day2 was more of a bike build than a bike ride kinda day.

back to front

Decided after a trip to the jump gulley at Swinley on mayday and seeing how simple and effective Ali’s jump bike was that I should go down the same route. So a bit of shopping later and some rigid forks were purchased. Had a bit of a faff fitting them as star fangled nut(s) did not want to stay in the steerer tube but fortunately remembered I had a Hope Hed Doctor knocking about so after much searching fitted and good to go.

Well would have been if the forks did not have such narrow IS disc mounts so a bit trail and error shimming of brake caliper and then good to go…not sure why but the rigid forks on there instead of the 100mm Rockshox Argyle makes the frame look a lot smaller.

Looking forward to riding in anger, think there may need to be mid-aged fellas and jump bikes trip to Swinley one Tuesday before the school holidays is needed.

obligatory non-muddy bike photo

mud slogging

#3

Another north downs ride, though this time riding up to Boxhill. Starting at just before 9am meant that it was all pretty quiet apart from a few early start road riders who were knocking about. As well as a swathe of dog walkers who did not seem that keen on a muddy cyclist getting in their way.

Starting from Boxhill and Westhumble station I dropped down to the road before climbing on the bridleway through the vineyard which was quite a different start to most north downs rides. Eventually coming out on the road before cutting through Ranmore Common and some flowing if slightly muddy singletrack. Following a circular route on bridleways got some miles in before crossing the A24 for the 2nd half of the ride.

cloudy view from snack stop

Cutting through Micklewood and heading on a long doubletrack climb topping out on the Mickleham Downs. For the first time on trying to do this route I actually remembered (or found again) where the entrance to the “the serpent” or “alpine descent” was and thoroughly enjoyed riding the slightly off-camber flowing descent. As with all things this was rewarded with a climb up Boxhill from Longbottom Road and I am sticking to my excuse of mud for spinning out and not making it up in one go. A trawl along the road followed before the final bit of singletrack.

Having only ridden “china pig” once before all I could remember was that the start was opposite a pub. Once found the sliding twisty singletrack was a couple of interesting moments that nearly resulted in a dive in to the undergrowth.

With that it was a road spin back to the carpark. A total of 18miles and the first proper cross country ride on the on-one scandal in a while. Excellent stuff.

obligatory dirty bike shot #2

Special thanks must go to Cathy who if she had not been working and wanting a lift I probably would not have been up so early and not made it out. Plus the use of the montante lightweight jacketshe was given for marshelling at the Kielder 100 saved me from a soaking in the final 20mins of the ride.

So for the next ride based around the number 3 I am thinking the north downs 3 cake stop ride including Peaslake Village Stores, Leith Hill Tower and Boxhill. Will be a fairly long day in the saddle so hoping for some summer sun for it – keep an eye out for dates.

A perfect way to get away from the rain back in Blightly, below hopefully gives a [...]]]> Too many hills and too much sunshine is the only way I can describe <sarcastically> our week with biking andalucia. Signs were good when we were met by folk at the house proffering beer whilst we put bikes together.

A perfect way to get away from the rain back in Blightly, below hopefully gives a feel for some of the riding and views from the week…

capileira descent

Well it was a good intro as we got an uplift to Capileria which we were surprised to realise is 21km from Orgiva. After that it was a short, well short by the standards of the rest of the week climb to the start point just above Capileria . Then it was trul all downhill from there.

The first section of singletrack was not an easy intrudcution there were rocks, steepness and walkers coming up the other way. All in all fine fun!!

We stopped in Capileria for a very civilized coffee and whilst I was talking to some dutch tourists about riding with just a single ring on the bike a local dog decided that Cathy’s rear rotor needed a bit of lubrication and obliged with a slight lift of the right leg. Quality.

More downhill followed until reaching a tip-top lunch spot in Bubionwith views that you don’t really get in the south-east of England. More singletrack in to the next town where David and Nick beautifully modelled their matching jerseys.

More singletrack followed before David introduced us to the “easy bit” that had no rocks and was easier to ride than what we had come down. What it lacked in rocks it made up for with sand and ruts, although all ridable I nearly went over the bars with in the first ten yard and was not alone in having a few moments of just about stayed on the trail on the way down. Quality stuff.

With all the towns ticked off it was a bit of climbing up to “steve peats ridge”, so named as there is a line (apperently, though not totally visible) that he rode off and David offered a free holiday to anyone who matched that line. Unfortunately we all seemed to have the wrong tyres on our bikes.

Once the climb was done it was some nice swooping singletrack in to town and the first beer and tapas of the week.

Excellent first day!!

canar soportuja

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="320" caption="long way down"][/caption]

The largest ride in terms of numbers with Dave, Cathy, Ian, Nick, Paul, Jen and Neil all making it out.

As with most of the rides during the week it stared with a long climb. Firstly on a fireroad out of the valley and then on road for around 6km. Although this may not sound like much the steepness and constant switchbacks really took it out of you.

Once we stopped for a break it was a case of traversing the valley. This sounds a lot easier than it was in reality. Although there was nothing too challenging the fact that there was a huge vertical drop on the right hand side made climbing over the few rocks too tricky for all of us and not ashamed to say a little bit of walking over stuff went on.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="forgotten something..."][/caption]

The aim was to get to the end of the valley for lunch. Unfortunately one of our number needed to stop for food before that. Being the considerate soul that I am I went back to see if she was ok but seemed to have forgotten both to bring her back and my bike…

After lunch the return leg along the valley was just as daunting with the added challenge of a barely covered drainage pipe that if your wheels were on and you touched the brake would send you towards the floor in an instance. Understandably we all took this fairly steady.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="225" caption="paul on rocky descent"][/caption]

Once we reached the end of the valley the trail headed downhill. The camera can lie and the first section was a lot steeper than it looks and ridden with mild trepidation.

At the bottom of this section David uttered the timely words “cathy is riding that well” just as she got stuck on rocks and dissapeared from view, so that blame for that fall is laid purely at our hosts feet.

It got easier from this point on, and there was a fun descent back from Soportuja to Orgiva – punctuated only by a somewhat concerning mechanical featuring a loose brake – good job it was spotted near the start of the speedy jeep track home! Beers, tapas and vino tinto followed, as was to become the routine! More gin, tequilla and beers followed, and an excellent BBQ (proper team effort!). Excellent day if somewhat challenging ride!

lanjarón

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="where to meet up then?"][/caption]

bit of up bit of down and bit of getting lost

Day three came as a bit of a surprise that this ride ended up having probably the most technical bit of riding of the week and for me the only crash of the week as well!

Once we said our sad farewells to Neil and Jen, and a cheery hello to Bill (who arrived in time to join the end of Monday’s BBQ), we were lulled into a false sense of security first with a nice downhill into the valley below Orgiva. However, this was short-lived, and we quickly started to climb again, along the valley floor to start with and then along the (excellent quality!) road to Lanjaron. This was easier going than the climb to Canar the previous day, and afforded some truly spectacular views on the way.

The easy smooth road was soon done with though, as we turned up a steep track not far outside the town. The climb seemed to go on and on up the switchbacks, but once at the top we were rewarded with more amazing views.

A lunch stop was followed by a split in the group with the “B” team heading off down a fun, flowing jeep track, and then the road back towards Orgiva. The “A” team took the more intrepid route down a somewhat sketchy downhill. Thankfully all of them arrived back in one piece, although there was a while we weren’t sure as the two teams were waiting for each other about 100m apart on the same stretch of track, designated as the meeting point for about half an hour before realising!

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="paul crossing the stream"][/caption]

Refreshed by this extra break we set off up the hill again, back towards the side of the valley for Orgiva, finishing off with another visit to steve peat’s ridge. Before getting to the ridge we were entertained by a small river crossing, am sure it is possible to guess what happened next in the picture on the right.

Thankfully we discovered the easier route up this time, and had a fun singletrack descent back into Orgiva, ready for more beer and tapas!

peatys ridge #1

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="here comes the sun"][/caption]

steve peats ridge

With Nick and Paul haeding off at lunchtime and it being our “day off” thought it would be silly not to get out for a short ride.

So over a couple of beers a plan was hatched to do a pre-breakfast loop of the ridge.

Paul had packed his bike away the previous day and stuck to his guns not to ride in the morning. We managed to time it really well and got to the top of the ridge just as the sun came over the hills.

The early start meant it was somewhat chilly on the ridge and the first time in the week that I needed long sleeves, can’t complain as it was still only 8am – decication to cause and all that.

We rode back along the ridge enjoying the open and flowing trails that had seemed such hard work to ride up before. Being on the exposed ridge as the sun came up was a superb way to start the day.

This was followed by a short bit of rocky singletrack and then a downhill blast down a dirt track back to the house for coffee and eggs followed by a day sitting by the pool!

Always best to have an easy day in the middle of the week ;)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="orgiva and long shadows"][/caption]

los guajares

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="climb with a view"][/caption]

These hills sit between our base in Orgiva and the sea.

Being slightly closer to the coast the warmth was increased and the vistas were turned up as well. Starting in a small little town the ride started with a road climb with the road eventually running out and the rest of the climbing was done on doubletrack that served to access some of the more remote houses.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="192" caption="trailside fruit[/tab"]“][/caption]With the heat and long climbing Bill made the sensible option of bailing and heading back to one of the smaller towns for a coffee and to find a scenic spot to have lunch.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="views and small rider"][/caption]

We ploughed on uphill with the hill and length of climb slowing things down. Have to say it was worth it the views once we had completed the climb were stunning.

Some fast flowing double track followed to come back down the hill. The only stop being to ride round a disused farm and grab a couple of trailside oranges for a snack on the journey home.

We then found ourselves on a service road above the road we climbed out on, this again gave great views of the hills. The through a couple of tiny villages before heading back to the start.

When we got there we found Bill sat with the owner of the bar who had been made sure he had been hydrated. Thanks to Dave and Cathy explaining what “no meat” really meant I was got my first taste of vegetarian tapas…well sliced cucumber anyway.

Great day of riding and a complete change to the more challenging and rocky of previous days.

zigzags

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="192" caption="pre-zigzag lunch stop"][/caption]

a pile of switchbacks

I had been looking forward to this ride all week…it had been built up by all that had ridden it as a fun packed few hours.

As with a lot of the rides it started with a climb, well that is not strictly true. The first bit of the ride was through Orgiva and then a fun bit of singletrack to the river. Although not greatly technical this was a real blast.

Crossing the river and then the climb starts. Coming off the road was a doubletrack climb that snakes up past the ongoing mining, a small house with a very scared (but loud) dog and then eventually on to a loose steep trail. All of us tried and failed to get up this.

Having got to the top of the climb it was time to sit in the cooling breeze, admire the view and eat some lunch.

Before the switchbacks there was a steep doubletrack descent to ride. Setting off from here it was a superb blast to jump off rocks and get a lotta speed with very little effort. I was enjoying this so much I completely missed the meeting point and only realised this when I got to the first switchback. Ooops! Bit of  a push back up for us all to re-group.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="cathy finishing the zigzags"][/caption]

Then it was time for the switchbacks, a total of 48 of them all with some degree of rocks, steepness, tightens and levels of difficulty.

The first few were steep and rocky with a definite channel worn through them. The middle section was a little more sedate with the level of steepness turned down. Then somewhat surprisingly the steepness got turned up again for the last half-dozen.

The whole trail took a high level of concentration with everyone being challenged by different sections. I managed to get down with just 2 dabs. If we had ridden this earlier in the week I would have been back up the top of the hill to try and clean it.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="ian, dave and post ride beer"][/caption]

An excellent trail that was more than worth the climb.

All that was left was a ride through the river and the hill back in to Orgiva.

For the last but certainly not the first the ride ended with a beer or two along with obligatory tapas.

peatys ridge #2

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="800" caption="early morning clouds"][/caption]

Despite maybe a drink or two too many the night before we agreed to go out for a quick pre-breakfast ride.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="320" caption="overcast singletrack"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="320" caption="final day singletrack"][/caption]

We were nearly put off as this was the first day that the sun was not blazing but with the early time and clouds it added a different feel to being out on the bike so early

A slow climb to the ridge with the first few drops of rain of the week made the decision just to do the singletrack back in to town an easy one. It was worth the climb though as the early morning and cloud made for great views of the hills and back down to Orgiva.

The flowing singletrack back in to town was a perfect end to the week, we were also very lucky to get away without getting a soaking as about half-hour after getting back for breakfast the heavens opened and the rain seemed to be settled in for the day.

All that was left to do was pack the bikes and brave the lottery that is an Easyjet flight from Malaga.

The above sums up the riding from the week but skated over the things that made it such a great holiday:

• folks being thrown in the pool
• (in no particular order) gin, tequila, Un tubo, vino tinto
• barcelona vs chelsea in the local bar
• bill’s delicious pancakes
• paul and his long lost brother paco
• tiptop communal bbq
• high fashion
• spanish sunshine whilst 8degrees and wet in blighty

Take a look at the full set of photos:

All the recent rain did not stop 2 cakeriders making the mayday trip to have a play on mid-life crisis bikes.

The rain did mean that the trails were good for ducks with these three being found on the one of the fireroads around Swinley.

jump and mud

Title: peaslake classic

Location: er, peaslake

Date: 12th May 2012

Description: Thought it was about time for 2012 we did a classic Peaslake ride…cross country at it’s best covering the 3 hills.

Start Time: 10:30 End Time: 16:00

The idea will be to start in Peaslake head up to Holmbury Hill and then [...]]]>

coffee and cake

Title: peaslake classic

Location: er, peaslake

Date: 12th May 2012

Description: Thought it was about time for 2012 we did a classic Peaslake ride…cross country at it’s best covering the 3 hills.

Start Time: 10:30 End Time: 16:00

The idea will be to start in Peaslake head up to Holmbury Hill and then over to Leith Hill for quick tea stop. Then do Summer Lightning and down towards Westcott. Over the main road and back up the potentially muddy climb to Holmbury Hill to come down Barry Knows Best.

Those that are then up for it can head up Pitch Hill for a little blast back down again.

@ leith hill tower

This is in many ways a classic and unimaginative ride. I reckon that although this may be true and we have also discovered some new trails this is a ride worth doing as we have not done it in a while it is worth it.

To spice it up a bit we can add a couple of slightly different trails in at various points just to keep folk on their toes.

So get it in your diary!!

It was a sunny morning when we met up at Birches Valley visitor centre. As true mountain bikers should, we made sure we had time for a pre-ride coffee before heading for the hills and some off piste riding. Four riders braved the possibility of a mudfest – Rich, Pod, Nigel and Tony.