Streatley, Sun 13th Jan

With ski trips imminent, we wanted a ride with some climbs (for fitness and leg strength) but no gnarly stuff (don’t want to get hurt). This Streatley route is ideal – thanks, Knobblies blog!

By Lilley my tubeless rear tyre was soft, but it wasn’t getting worse, so I (stupidly) just kept going. But I didn’t have enough psi to keep the tyre on the rim, and it flatted completely on a small drop. Think I’d have been ok if I’d topped it up when I first saw it, d’oh.

The Baulk climb started super-slippy, but the top has been resurfaced – easier, but less fun. Baz’s tyres were starting to jam up on Lilley Hoo, and by Icknield Way both Speshes were really clogged (and also short of grip). My Trek (on Mud-X’s) was going beautifully 😉

Tried (and failed) to stay off the brakes at the Springs – 30mph slalom through the bushes on slippy grass was terrifying! Climbing past Jeremiah’s Tree we were feeling the pain and ’twas getting late, so we took the road back for a pie and a pint in the Chequers.

Later while hosing the bike I found 6 thorns in my front tyre, which was still holding pressure. As I pulled each thorn out the air started hissing, but I pointed the hole downwards and the Super Juice plugged it up in 2 or 3 seconds. Tubelessness rocks! 😀

Route/Conditions:
Overcast, windy, 8-12°C. The ground was very wet which meant sticky mud in places and slow progress. Total 15 miles in 4 hours.

Learning points:
1. Speshes on stock tyres get trounced by EX8 on Mud-Xs. 🙂
2. If you lose psi from your tubeless tyre, stop and pump it up!!
3. New fave carry-along snack: malt loaf. Loads of carbs, no fat, tastes the same after it’s been crushed in your camelbak…

Crew, kit, bruises:
Baris (FSRxc), James (EX8), Chris (Stumpy).
Two punctures, lots of mud clogging issues.
No crashes! Baz suffering from knee pain.

2007 Ride Log

In 2007, I learned I’m crap at blogging 🙂 It takes me ages to write a post, and then even longer to tweak/perfect it, so usually I can’t be bothered to start. For 08, I plan to ditch the fine wordsmithery (ahem) and just slap up quick notes each ride. To hell with eloquence! 😀

Also in 2007, we chalked up two dozen Mud and Bruises rides! Mountain biking is definitely the sport for me – I loved every single muddy painful exhilarating bloody sweaty scary gasping mile 🙂

2007
Sun 23 Dec – Peaks (Stanage) – post coming soon…
Sun 18 Nov – Watlington – post coming soon…
Sat 10 Nov – Peaks (Cut Gate) – post coming soon…
Sat 20 Oct – Cannock – post coming soon…
Sun 14 Oct – North Downs – see post
Sun 16 Sep – Bedgebury – James, Baz, Ed, Chris
Thu 6 Sep – Cannock – post coming soon…
Sat 1 Sep – Woburn – James, Baz, Rowan, Chris, Ed
Thu 2 Aug – Cannock – post coming soon…
Sat 7 Jul – Peaks (Edale) – see post
Sat 9 Jun – Peaks (Carsington) – James, Fionnuala, Gordon, Hazel
Mon 28 May – Chicksands – see post
Sun 20 May – Chicksands – see post
Sun 13 May – Aston Hill – James, Colin, Ed. Wet, slippy, pain.
Sun 29 Apr – Rutland Water – James, Fionnuala, Baz, Rowan, 15.5 miles
Sun 15 Apr – Streatley – James, Baz, Rowan. 21 miles Knobblies route
Sat 14 Apr – North Downs – James, Baz, Colin. Holmbury singletrack
Sun 1 Apr – Woburn – James (new bike), Ed, Colin
Sun 11 Mar – Aston Hill – James, Ed. Dry, grippy, fun.
Sat 10 Mar – Rutland Water – James, Fionnuala, 8 miles
Sun 11 Feb – Woburn – James, Baz, Chris, Ed
Sat 27 Jan – Aston Hill – James, Baz, Chris. Fell off and bled a lot
Sat 13 Jan – Swinley – Ian, Chris, Ed
Sun 7 Jan – Woburn – James, Baz, Chris, Ed. Trail map from Knobblies.

And, just for completeness, here’s the 2006 rides too…

2006
Sun 31 Dec – North Downs – James, Baz, Chris. Coldharbour
Sat 16 Dec – Chicksands – James, Chris, Ed. Ed’s video
Sun 5 Nov – Chicksands – James, Baz, Chris, Ed, Ian
Sat 29 Jul – Afan – Baz, Colin, Anna, Ian, Chris, Ed – photos
Sun 2 Jul – North Downs – Baz, Chris, Ed, Colin – photos
Sat 8 Apr – Epping – Baz, James, Chris, Greg, Dmytro. On the train

 

Edale, Sat 7th July

An old post that I never published…

For our first visit to the Peaks, we chose the much-blogged-about Edale loop (see Chocolate Foot, Flat Tyres, Knobblies).

The hills here are steep and technical, and the very first climb (up to Hollins Cross) highlighted our lack of fitness and/or bike skills. Having missed a turn on Mam Tor, we ended up at the summit where Baz demonstrated his mastery of Wingardium Leviosa.

A tough slog onto Rushup Edge was followed by a superb long descent to Roych Clough. But our average speed was low, our legs were tired, and it was getting late. Time for a cheeky shortcut? We turned north across Brown Knoll – a big mistake, the next mile of miserable peat-bog trudging took over an hour.

Eventually we reached the top of the rocky and seriously steep Jacobs Ladder. Now this is a scary section. We walked the first 50m, then got back on for a fantastic banzai descent, which dropped 300m in 3 miles and fired us right back to the car, brilliant!

An excellent challenging route, which must be treated with respect.

Route/Conditions:
Sunny, 16°C, strong winds. Lots of rain recently but the going was good. Total 13.5 miles in 4 hours.

Learning points:
1. The Peak District is proper tough! Expect low average speeds.
2. We wasted half an hour getting change for the parking meter in Edale. Keep a few quid in the car and save faff time.
3. On test this ride: Cadbury’s brunch bars. Score: 10/10 😀

Crew, kit, bruises:
Baris (Spesh FSR XC Comp), James (Trek Fuel EX8). A few minor spills, but no bruises, and no mechanicals. Hurrah.

North Downs, Sun 14th Oct

Perfect conditions for a 7-man assault on Leith Hill / Holmbury Hill. 16°C, no rain, and just enough mud to make it interesting. Terrain was gnarlier than our usual – very challenging in places. 10/10. 🙂

Route:
From Coldharbour, Summer Lightning (x2), then nameless singletrack into steep rocky chute to GR136457, grind up Broadmoor, clean(!) the steep climb to Leith Tower, then NW for some “novice freeride”, down to Starveall, then a fast b-way past Upfolds to the road, and via Joldwynds to the base of Holmbury. Incredibly steep push to summit, then Bombholes, Telegraph Road, a stop to patch up bloody knees, then road/Greensands Way/road back to the car. Total about 14 miles.

Learning points:
Car park was full at the Plough in Coldharbour – next time we’d be better off meeting at the Landslip or Starveall, see map.

Crew, kit, bruises:
Baris, Rowan, James, Ed, Colin, Anna, Vikki. 5 Specializeds, a Trek and a hire bike. Vikki bloodied her knee/shin on Telegraph Road, and, for the first time in living memory, Baris did not bleed. 😀

Tubelessness

Apparently, tubeless tyres are great. My bike came fitted with “tubeless-ready” rims and tyres, so I decided to give it a go.

The process is straightforward:

1. Replace your rim tape with a special plastic rim strip
2. Refit the tyre, and lube the bead with soap bubbles
3. Pump vigorously
4. Add sealant (for puncture proofing)

And it really was that simple. The tyre inflated first time, beads cracking loudly into place. I let it sit at 60 psi for 5 minutes, then emptied the air, added 60ml of Super Juice, reinflated to 36 psi… and that’s it!

There’s a small weight saving (80g per tyre), but I should also get more grip, less rolling resistance, more comfort, and no punctures. Sweet. 🙂

Chicksands, Mon 28th May

A week of heavy rain has softened the ground, but the pine needles make a grippy/springy surface that’s fun to ride on. Ed & Ian showed me some short-but-sweet jumpy/bermy singletrack sections that we missed last week (XC loop needs more signposts, imho).

These “feet on the ground” photos are a bit dull aren’t they? I’ll try to take some action shots next time.

Route:
3 laps of the red course and some time on the technical loop. Guess total 10 miles (but puter batteries quit after 8 miles).

Conditions:
Raining, windy, 6°C. Bitter in the car park, but ok once we got going. Trails firm, not a lot of mud.

Crew and kit:
Ian – Univega
James – EX8 (thorn puncture)
Ed – Rockhopper (broken spoke taped out of the way)

Chicksands, Sun 20th May

Keen to show his skills were still sharp after three months off the bike, Chris attacked the Chicksands singletrack from the start. Unfortunately he rammed the very first stump, supermanned the bars, hit the ground hard, and dislocated his shoulder. D’oh.

Paramedics were there quickly with the laughing gas, but Chris didn’t seem to be finding things very funny 😀 The ambulance took him to Bedford for morphine and manipulation.

Hope you get well soon Chris!

Watching Chris roll around in pain made us remaining riders feel 😐 so we took things gently on the XC loop. Only Ben tried the North Shore – since we last visited they’ve taken down the more extreme structures (the two huge ladder drops have gone, as has “Ed’s drop“).

We’re back at Chicksands next week, hopefully without the medics…

Route:
An hour of injury faff (tchoh!), then 2 laps of the red XC course, half an hour playing on the short technical loop, and some tiptoeing around in the freeride area. Total 11 miles.

Conditions:
Sunny and warm (20°C). The going was good – the sandy soil drains well so there wasn’t much mud.

Crew and kit:
Chris – Diamond Back (freshly serviced)
James – EX8
Baz – FSRxc
Rowan – Hardrock
Ben – Marin Northside Trail (brand new)
Louise – Cinder Cone (ancient, rigid fork, slick tyres)
Jimmy – Orange (elderly, random gear changing)

New format, new name…

I found the wiki format to be awkward for this site, and wondered if a blog would be more suitable. So here we are, let’s find out!

There’s already an easyriders blog at WordPress, so we needed a new name. The best I can do is mudandbruises – hope you like it 🙂