Ashley Cross Amble

Looking out the window it was dark, raining and close to 9:30pm, not that I mind riding in the rain too much and I absolutely love riding at night, but I knew what was ahead, and there was little chance of backing out now. It was my idea.


This aforementioned level of trepidation was due to a few of us attempting to ride to Ashley Cross, just outside Bournemouth on the sunny (we hope) south coast; give or take 130 standard miles from the start point.

So I set off to the garage to load up my steed for the ride with enough food, drink and warm clothes to get me through the worst of the conditions

The meeting point for the ride was moved from outside Richs emporium of bicycle goodies On2Wheels to a drier and coffee serving warm house, thanks John. Simon and Martin were already there and itching to go so after a quick beer (hic) we saddled up for the obligatory start photo where the rain was abating slightly

We set out into the night out of Bourne End heading due south to join up with little back roads west.

After 20miles it was time to stop to refuel and have a wee stop, and being nearly midnight there was only us and a few chavs in beat up old Astra’s giving us a backing track of wheel spinning as we supped our various energy drinks and ate a bite or two of supplies.

As if by magic the rain stopped as soon as we set off again, now it was still wet on the ground and thanking my mudguards for staying dry as puddles still pock marked the roads but there was no denying it they were getting drier.

Im not sure what we were drinking at the first stop but it seemed to set of a chain of events that would blight us through the rest of the ride, an almost comical inability to ride for more than about 10miles without having to stop yet again to empty full bladders. I blame it on energy drinks myself

Another couple of comfort breaks and the stars were shining through but this opened up our vision to the horizon that was slowly getting higher, and while eating a mini roll at another stop we discussed that we wont be going up there, nah I said it must go round the hill. Oh how wrong I was, what a climb on a fully loaded bike which required a lot of grunting, swearing and general discomfort the type of which I haven’t felt on a bike since last time I did a time trial.

But we all made it to the top congratulating ourselves before zooming off down the hill as reward.

Unfortunately for Simon, being the first to descend this was actually not the right way, so shouting to turn round he grudgingly climbed back up the hill to join his slightly merry companions, but not at his misfortune you understand.

We carried on through the hills which after the first push were not as bad as the first leg stretcher but still an effort to keep temperatures up.

Approaching a T-junction the trusty sat-nav told us to go straight on into a little track, as mountain bikers, although on a motley selection of road bikes, this looked inviting enough and turned out to be great fun motoring along on loose gravel, through a small gap in a hedge back to the road again to a handy petrol station, which closed still afforded us the pleasure of water to rinse dirty bikes.

By this point we had covered 60ish miles and were getting a bit tired and although we had plenty of wee stops on route we needed hot drinks and some warm food. Luckily Winchester services was a beacon in the night if only we could find it.

Its up this road somewhere said Martin, now ive given this statement enough times on rides to know it means, it might be but we will go look anyway.

The problem with motorway services is they are designed to be accessed from the motorway which also means they are difficult to get into from the non motorway side.

Thankfully Google had sent one of their camera cars up this tiny road so we knew there was a gate and just hoping it would be open we carried on up the ever degrading surfaced road until it became a rutted horrible mess

The gate was located and turned out to be taller then John, which if you haven’t met John is very high, and unfortunately locked.

Being the only way in and cold and coffee starved we dumped the bikes in a hedge, now this was at 4am so we could have left them on the “road” with the lights going and they would have been safe, and lightly hopped over the fence.

Warming up with Hot sandwiches and tepid overpriced drinks for an hour in the deserted services brought life back into our bodies, we again steeled ourselves to the now 5am cold back over the fence and to the bikes, and with a bit of faffing we were ready to go again

Not before I changed into my warm winter gloves I had stashed in my panniers, that would have been if I had two left hands…. Luckily Simon had a spare pair to save me from putting back on cold and sweaty gloves

As the light began to dawn on a beautiful clear blue sky, jackets were stashed away and spirits raised and then we caught sight of the perfect rest stop, a boot sale in the middle of nowhere.

Again loading up on caffeine, sandwiches and for John some type of fried baguette, having a laugh at some of the locals, shades were donned for the final blast across the forest

As the sun peeked through the trees the speed picked up and up, until we were on an open section of forest with the sun beaming down, we could have been in the team time trial each taking turns at the front if it wasn’t for the panniers and lights still blinking away after having been forgotten with the dark long ago.

Eventually we backed off thinking this was a crazy idea after some ten hours of riding and settled back into cruise mode.

Reaching a junction unsure of which way to turn we carried on down this sublime winding tree lined road, with a gentle downhill gradient, way off course, but it was worth it and as we discovered when we headed back to the track if we had stayed on course it would have meant another off road hammering for tired bodies that we all agreed the detour was worth the ride and lack of bumps.

Out of the forest and we were approaching the outskirts of Bournemouth and into some heavy traffic which at twelve hours in was a test of nerve and concentration.

Luckily we were soon lost again, how many times have I been to Bournemouth and I still managed to get lost, it didn’t last long and we could soon see the sea.

The beach was finally reached, and time for the end photo, we rolled along the promenade to Ashley Cross and the chance to get off the bikes after fourteen hours from door to door to reminisce and bore my poor wife Lisa with tales of our epic adventure over monumental plates of food and a couple of cold beers

Its now to cold to repeat again but we will be back for another go next year, sorting out our navigation issues and a better stop location than the services to rest our weary bodies

My new Panniers

As i spend a lot of time riding about on my old fixie i thought rather than going down the route of modern panniers i would try to find something a bit more in keeping with the style of the bike and to be honest modern panniers are quite large so i would end up carrying too much.

I searched about for some canvas panniers and could only find really expensive Japanese bags or the modern types. So i put some ingenuity to the test, i found some great old french military bags that are canvas with a leather lining so should be mostly waterproof on ebay.

They are shoulder bags so tick the box of not being too large. Luckily they had belt loop attachments on the back of the bag which make a great anchorage point for the mounts to attach to the rack.

So after a bit of trial and error i made up two brakets by bending some steel bar into two hooks in a long U shape configuration so each hook pokes out either side of the belt loop. As this was my first go i am going to get some better material and make up a few pairs until i am really happy and get them powdercoated. They seem sturdy enough so are good for testing the principal.

To stop the bag bouncing i have added a bungee cord to the (loads of strap mounts on these bags) bottom of the bag to loop round the lower end of the pannier, and as they are a little long they feed back up and act as webbing to strap a jacket to the top of the pannier within easy reach.

As you can see i have also a small front rack, this is a rear rack from a childs bicycle shortered to get in the right position and clamped to the forks. This wont hold a lot of weight so should last long enough to source a couple of neater clamps.

All in all it fits and holds what i need - its time to test before it gets broken down for paint and finishing in the new year

Dunwich Dynamo 2010

Lets ride to the coast they say... Dunwich Dynamo anyone???

Whats that... Its a semi organised ride from Hackney to Dunwich on the Suffolk coast 120ish miles away... Oh and its through the night...

....Well okay, but how do we get home...

.................Lets ask the W.A.G.S to pick us up... YEAH there is a plan

So Saturday 24th July we all met at Sam's house, girls and boys to go on our seperate journeys to the coast. The girls set off towing the trailer for a night out in Lowestoft, which apparently has a dangerous beach and a strange pub as highlights, via stops for coffee and traffic.

Us Boys set of for london on our rag tag fleet of road bikes via Beaconsfield station we find out the longest ride Adam has ever done is 30miles so we think this will be a long night, but Adam as always makes things look very easy...

We cycle across London only getting slightly lost on our way to Hackney and the so called start, so called because there is no start its "go sometime after 8pm and we will see you at the beach". We enjoy the last orders at the BBQ and generally nervously chew the fat, looking at the oddities of lLondon cycle culture.

Ive never ridden in a pack of 200 riders, let alone through traffic and it has got to be experienced at least once!! So through the sights, smells and sounds of east London we head towards the wilds of the Essex border.

The locals didnt know what to make of us all as we headed along our merry way...
"Ere Trace, ive just seen the F*****g tour de france go past... No lie init" has to be the quote of the year.

Then once out of the traffic the groups flowed along at a merry old pace, with chatting and banter along the way.

Having the advantage of GPS, yes cheating to the purist, allowed our merry band to just ride and have fun without worrying about getting lost in the dark. And so it would seem did about 40 other riders, when after an emergency stop to rescue Adams rear light from falling off a large group pulled in with us and waited until we set off again. Brilliant.....

A stop for lunch at about 1am for sandwiches in a local village hall at the half way point spirits were still very high. Once refreshed setting back out into the night in another large group for the final half to the beach.

So what did we get for our troubles, no sleep, some saddle sores, the best breakfast ever, but most of all a fantastic experience that we are already discussing next years event and maybe even a few other long rides of our own.

A massive thanks to the girls for enduring the traffic, Lowestoft and smelly tired boys on the way home....

Riding out of London

Middle of nowhere

We made it!!

Simon at the Pass’Portes du Soleil

imon went out to France to take part in one of the most fun events of the year, so in simons words:

"Pass’Portes du Soleil is an amazing XC festival based in Les Gets/Morzine in the French Alps and this year a group of Summit riders entered, many for the first time. For me, it was possibly one of the best days I have ever spent on my bike.
In one day a Pass’Portes rider can experience the widest possible terrain, from gorgeous natural single-track through pine covered slopes, long fast fire road descents and full-on downhill switchbacks, with table tops and kickers. All against a backdrop of Europe’s most beautiful mountain range close to the French/Swiss boarder.

The event’s seventh year attracted 4,500 riders from all over Europe aboard a very wide range of machinery from racing downhill rigs to slender-tubed hard-tails, but the majority were probably riding full sus long travel XC bikes.

The concept is simply pure genus. Go up the mountains on ski lifts, ride along the trails and down breathtaking descents, then on to the next lift. In all I counted 13 lifts on our 80km route, which open from 08.00am to 18.00pm. There are shorter routes but having made the journey most would go for the full loop which took us the thick end of 10 hours to complete.

Nick, Judith and I started around 08.15am and kept a steady pace going, making sure we didn’t linger too long at the well stocked feed stations and just finished before the final lift closed. We started and finished in Morzine where we were staying, although officially the event departs from nearby Les Gets.

Signing-on was all done inside 15 minutes and although the first run was busy with keen riders I would never have called it crowded. After that we were never held up on the trails nor had faster riders on our wheels and getting served in the feed stations was never a problem.
Hard to believe we shared the event with over 4,000 others.

The man-made trails have been developed for more than a decade and are clearly aimed at downhill riders with either big travel MTBs or downhill bikes. They are just amazing offering multiple bermed swicthbacks, fast swoopy chutes, steep rooty or bumpy sections, double jumps and table tops. Make sure your brakes are in top condition as you will be using them a lot as some of the descents drop 1,000 metres!

There is also loads of natural trail in between the bike park stuff. Miles of woodland single-track, some rocky sections, fire roads and tracks much of it being the old byways local people used to travel between the valleys and through mountain passes. At times I was reminded of UK trail centres or places like the Lakes and Peaks, but all the trails are just longer and more satisfying.

Although quite few folks ride downhill bikes there were others on hardtails, so something in between the two extremes is probably a good bet. Again next year I will ride a full sus XC bike, shod with proper downhill tyres (I used Maxxis Minion front and High Roller on the back, both 60a compound) as we saw a lot of folks with regular XC tyres fixing punctures.

The Eighth Pass’Portes is being extended from two to three days next year and will be held on 24/25/26th June, so watch out on the club forum for news of registration opening in early February.

Thanks to Andy TS for the kind loan of his Iron Horse Expert Mk3, Alan Wakeman for sound advice on tyres etc and especially Nick and Judith for their good company and accommodation."


Look for next year and get your entries in quick at:
http://www.passportesdusoleil.com/

On the chairlift to the start

Matt and Diane's session at Lotts Wood

On a gloriously sunny morning Diane and Matt turned up for a singletrack riders course.

After covering the basics of bike setup, we worked through the basics of body positioning on the bike, taking extra care to ensure they were both getting their foot position correct.

We moved through the series of bends at Lotts practicing cornering technique. Ensuring that Matt and Diane were kepeing their outside foot down and dropping the heel for additional grip.

After playing in the big bombhole building confidence we moved over to the main bombhole and ran through the main route a number of times letting the guys get used to the quick changes in direction required on the entry.

Moving round the course we built on the early learnings unitl we got to the final descent where there are a series of tight trees to get through, letting the guys practice riding through not using the brakes and really building some speed.

We finished the session with some climbing practice and i was particually mean by adding additional obsticles to the climb and after a couple of goes both riders were tired but succesfully clearing the section.

All prepared for the Summit65, will see you both there 

Fun mountainbike trails in Maidenhead

Just outside of Maidenhead, Berkshire i have found a great little gem of a riding spot. Its a very contained spot in an old brickworks quary so there are plenty of drops but the surprise was the swooping bermed corners. This makes it one of my favorite riding spots at the moment, especially as its 5minutes from my house, meaning i can ride there fairly often.

Here are some shots of riding the trails and a few jumps thrown in for good measure.

A day in the hills with Summit MTB Club

Spent a day in the hills with Summit MTB Club www.summitmtb.co.uk on their monthly club ride.

Great route through the hills around Wendover, heading up towards Dunsmore, Pulpit and round to Coombe Hill.

Great day out despite the mud, thanks.

Mark's - Coaching Session

Mark learning new skills at lotts wood

Some fun at Swinley Forest - Summit MTB Club ride December

Helmet camera from a Summit MTB club ride round Swinley forest in Bracknell

Mark's session - Saturday 20th 2010

We arrived at Lotts Wood to a typical chilterns morning of a light rain, but unperterbed we set about the job at hand of running through the basics of body position before taking shelter in the trails as the weather set in.
At the first section to play on of the day, I demonstrated the cornering technique, keeping you weight on the outside foot. Mark instantly picked up on this and took little notice of the root on the apex of the turn.



After a couple of runs round this corner we carry on round the course through a series of s-bends, allowing Mark to put his practice to good use. At one point over a wet root the back end steps out but due to Marks commitment and good technique this does not even cause a moments hesitation... Well done... Easy when you know how eh?

Onto a real test for Mark and at first glance questioned "do we go down there??" Yup we do. A run through of the technique applied and a demonstration, Mark steps up rolls up to the lip and is away. I see Mark coming back up for another run beaming and exclaiming "Wow, it really went then". After each run Marks confidence grew and his lines became more confident and smoother.



Over to the main bombhole for some "pumping" practice to get free speed from the terrain although tough to get the feel due to the squelchy trails, so to build the technique we move over to the other side and along the root run to practice manuals across the roots.



Once mastered Mark looks into the main bombhole and asks if we can ride through the whole loop "of course" I say. So we ride through together first Mark following me, then we swap round for another go.
We focus on the entry to the section which is a technical drop to berm corner trying a few lines to get it right, each time flowing through the rest of the bombhole and out the otherside.



We hit a final long corner that allows some real body position practice as you are holding the corner for a Loooooonnng time. As Mark picks up speed he tells me "I can feel the bike really gripping"

We head back to the cars for some technique practice, and some homework drills - Pumping on the flat, bunneyhops and wheelies. We run through each in turn getting the basics right so that next time I see Mark out on a ride I will make sure he has been doing his homework