Ride Report: South Downs, 29th April 07 (Falmer & Kingston)

10-30 am on Sunday 29th April saw approximately 20 people with mountain bikes milling about in the University of Sussex Sports centre car park anticipating a ride on the South Downs that promised some fine views and a couple of notorious hills. The weather was perfect, low 20’s with a slight breeze. The ride had plenty of incidents including many punctures, badge of honour goes to Dave who managed to puncture both front and rear wheels at the same time, repaired them, rode 10 yards and flatted the rear tyre again. Some days were made for staying in bed!

We’re in Print !

I was contacted by Wellbeing Magazine a little while ago because they wanted to promote the Club which was excellent news. So I did a little write up to try and encourage new members and they chose the pic of ‘Richard the Lionheart’ at Leith Hill to accompany it. The magazine is available in hard copy and on-line so if you fancy taking a look check out the Eastbourne Edition on Page 32 at … www.wellbeingmagazine.com/eastbourne/wellbeingmagazine

Cheers, Lisa

Little bit of Dust !

How refreshing is it to be riding on lovely dry, hardpack, dusty trails at the moment?  Ok, so it might be freaky weather for the time of year, it is only April I s’pose.  Who cares though, after the onslaught of winter where the very keen amongst us saw mud eat up every nice bit of kit we owned weekend after weekend (unless you were sensible & ran a Rohloff Hub -eh Mike!), we’re now being rewarded by Mother Nature and we LOVE IT !

So, if you can’t make the ride on Sunday, no worries, just get your bike out and ride.  It’s meant to be a scorchio 22 degrees so don’t waste the day - enjoy those dusty trails.   Lisa

Dr Sludge ‘Slime’ Tubes

Two of the most common puncture culprits are black thorns and sharp flints unfortunately both are very common in the South Downs. Until 2.5 years ago I suffered badly from punctures but the discovery of ‘Slime’ Tubes has put an end to virtually all puncture worries. As their name implies ‘Slime’ tubes are heavy duty tubes filled with ‘slime’, a mixture of acrylic latex and a small polymeric fibres. Unlike the latex used in tubeless systems the slime in the tubes is only exposed to the air and moisture within the inflated tube therefore it does not oxidise and breakdown therefore it does not need regular replacement. I have used individual slime tubes for 12 months and they still function perfectly.

Member Rides

From now on, member rides will be arranged through our forum at http://z6.invisionfree.com/Sussex_Muddyarse/.

If you would like to lead a ride please contact Lisa through the following link: http://sussexmuddyarse.wordpress.com/about/contact-lisa/

Member Ride: Tilgate Forest, Crawley, 22 Apr 07

(Updated with Pics)

‘Woodsman’ has organised his own ride for this weekend coming, (Sunday) starting from Parish Lane, Pease Pottage. Would be a good warm up for the Club Ride at Sussex Uni the following weekend

Start: 11am, Sunday 22nd April
Meet: Parish Lane, Pease Pottage
Pace: Steady and sociable

Got a snotty nose ?

An interesting article in MBR this month caught my eye (quite literally)..

… someone got Impetigo (a horribly infectious skin disease) on their eyes because they had been wiping snot and sweat off with their gloves (as we all do on the trail) and then not washed them for a while – wot a minger ! So bear in mind if you forget to give your snotty gloves a rinse once in a while you too could end up with eyes like golf balls and no mates Lisa