First club ride of the new decade and what a ride to start off with.  Surrey Hills and the trails on Holmbury and Pitch beckoned us, tempted from our warm beds with the new finish to Barry Knows Best; now christened ‘Barry Know Better’ by all Muddy@rsers.   Regular Muddy@rser, RichF, kindly put together today’s ride and led the 20 strong group around these stunning trails (big thanks Rich).

Running alongside the club ride was a small, but very happy, group consisting me, Donna and Lenni.  For various reasons we weren’t up to singletracking, but our ride intertwined the main ride all morning so we could share the banter and smiles; which were bursting out all over the place at the end of each singletrack.  And boy, those smiles were as wide as the Severn Bridge…brilliant to see!

Rick put his Trek Remedy through its paces and managed to get a bit of  nice handlebar-cam footage en-route…check this out (er, warning: the music’s a bit ‘groovy’) Ming is in front riding those lovely new berms on Barry Knows Better.     To finish was the usual coffee and cake back at the car (thanks all for your donations). 

Rich also took some great photos here:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/13519914@N00/sets/72157623275252216/

Next ride will be 28 Feb, venue TBC, ride leader TBC; offers of help required please.  Cheers, Lisa

Oh, and if you’re a big fan of the beautiful areas we rode on today (known as the Hurtwood), I’d encourage you to join the Hurtwood Control Trust. It’s an organisation that looks after the Hurtwood and has done a huge amount to raise the profile of mountain bikers; MTBers are respected and have a big say in what happens on the Hurtwood but to have a proper it pays to join. That fantastic new end to BKB was down to the work of the Hurtwood Control Trust!  Please do consider joining so we can keep enjoying the trails for years to come   Thanks and see you next time   Rich

open for details

Here it is our first joint movie.  It’s taken all day but been good fun to put together.  A lovely snowy ride across the flat Pevensey Marshes, in an complete blizzard!  Brilliant fun, and a fantastic way for me to return to my bike.  Just what the Doctor ordered…enjoy !

It was the usual M@ ride start, much faffing/bike setup/camera positioning and standing around getting cold.  Eventually we got going and rode into the fields near Wannock.  The snow was deep, almost axle deep in places, and definitely a challenge to ride through; with many sideways moments from myself, Bill the Wheels, Ollie and Gez.  Energy expenditure was horrendous, but worse was to come. 

We met Mrs Ming who was taking Chewie (aka The Hellhound) for his morning walk.  After a brief chat with Mrs Ming we went our separate ways passing another dog walker who was surprised at the age of the “grown men” riding in the snow…. stating  “Your not teenagers!”

What works in my winter wardrobe open to read more:

Shoes:  Shimano goretex winter boots – the latest version.  They’re thermally lined and on all but the coldest of night rides, keep my feet toasty warm; and I suffer from really cold feet.   Especially when I wear my cosy merino socks.  The boots are generall great but there are 2 issues I have with them; they haven’t got the best grip in mud for the odd hike a bike section and they do let the rain in from the hole at the top, especially when wearing tights.  The only way I have been successful in keeping the rain from running down my legs and filling the boots, is to wear waterproof trousers.

Jim and Neil went for a snowy night ride in Stanmer;  and they’re wearing SHORTS !  Clicky link for the pics…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimkirk/sets/72157623178841928/

Having been asked to lead the after Christmas ride on my home turf at Whiteways I decided to stick to some of the classic trails in an attempt to work off some of the Christmas excess. I was expecting only a few people to turn up so was pleasantly surprised to see that 16 other riders were waiting for me when I drove into the carpark (why am I always last to get to the ride start?) on a cold and grey December morning. The pre-Christmas snow was all now long gone replaced by some much more normal winter riding conditions, ie. damp, slippery, muddy trails.

A few hardy Muddy@rsers ventured out into the snowy wilderness of south east england.  Here’s a few picks of their adventures brrrrr!..but amazingly beautiful…wish I had a Surly Snow Bike

The snow (yes, snow! Woohoo!) just before the Muddy@rse Christmas dinner led to an eleventh, or possibly midnight, hour decision to hit the snowy trails around Stanmer the following morning. Well, Lisa actually insisted we should all go! A few morning texts and forum posts to ensure that it wasn’t the alcohol talking, gear prepared, car packed and off to the almost snowbound Uni car park where Rick, Ollie, Sally, Gez and Jim (again on the Muddy@rse “Courtesy bike”) were waiting for a  bit of  singletrack playtime under clear blue skies and over a good few inches of powder snow.

So, bikes ready and thermal gear worn, Gez led us on a loop around the campus and up above Stanmer house along some hardpack ice and snow covered trails.