Ride report: Sunday 14th June – Leith Hill
After a mixed week of rain and sun it was great to have a pretty perfect morning to ride in. With no plan as such the pack settled on a ride over to Leith hill to do the usual stuff.
So after a brief “hello” and “goodbye” to Lee who had sneaked a crafty ride on his single speed “beast” we set off. The crew consisted of myself, DaveW, John and JohnR, Jem and Keith (nagging doubt as to whether I have missed anyone…sorry if I have).
Once we cleared the Ranmore climb we chose to go down McPherson’s Folly and Mount by way of getting some enjoyment back from the terrible climb it provides. All of this is available on Vimeo for your delights together with the rest of the rides “interesting sections”.
We then made our way over to the Rookery climb via the Westcott church and onwards up Wolverns Lane. We took the descent down to the right followed by the long drag up to the bottom of the Tower climb. For once we all cleared it with Keith hanging on behind me for dear life. JohnR went back and cleared it on his second attempt after spinning out on the lower section.
Refreshments onboard we headed back down via Personal Hygiene where I watch (and videoed) DaveW heading off to do the double which is something I’ve always considered short of braking space, only to get to the second crest and find him in a heap at the bottom. Needless to say I turned left!
Up to the cricket pitch, though the collection of bomb holes and on to the top of Deliverence for DaveW and John to show us how it’s done.
From there we went down the end of Regurgitater and on to Summer Lightning. All fast and all great fun. And that was that apart from a run back ending in a climb up White Down.
Great weather and great company. Have a look at the video. I’ll say more about that later and post a kit review.
About the author
Dave's been riding seriously since about 1997 and is one of the founding Molefathers — along with Matt and Mark — that came up with the idea of a MTB website for Mole Valley riders.
He's had several different bikes but it's now mainly 29ers in Dave's stable, apart from an Orange 5.
Current Bikes: Orange 5, Salsa Spearfish and Kona Big Unit
There are 7 comments on ‘Ride report: Sunday 14th June – Leith Hill’
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KC says:
I was pleased to make the climb up to the tower at Leith Hill folowing Dave’s route. How he manages to pull such a slow cadence I don’t know! Of course on the top all said how easy it was as the conditions were ideal! Still a minor victory for me and my confidence grows with each ride.
Thanks for a great day.
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Posted on June 16, 2009 at 8:50 am
tony says:
Great footage Dave. I must say that seems to be technically the highest quality footage I’ve seen. Especially the way that it handles the changes in exposure.
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Posted on June 16, 2009 at 9:13 am
Matt says:
Well done Keith, dry conditions or not the Tower climb is a real short, sharp tester, needing an ideal line and enough stamina to keep the cranks turning with the odd weight shift here and there to balance traction.
I agree with you about Dave though, I’ve no idea how he keeps the cranks turning without having to stand up. I normally have to bully the bike up climbs like that.
Footage is good, I like the transitions between scenes and the fact it keeps changing setting. Keeps the interest through the vid.
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Posted on June 16, 2009 at 9:18 am
Dave says:
Thanks for the comments guys.
I know Colin has commented about my cadence in a sitting position on the single speed in a similar manner. Can’t say it’s something I’ve ever planned it’s just what I do. Might be why my back aches so much!!
Technically the video should be the best as it has the greatest investment! I’m pretty pleased with it and cutting and adding transitions is easy now using Adobe Premiere. Titles are more of a trial for me but I’ll get it in the end. Non-copyright music is something I need to add as well but it’s not something I can easily find on the net in longer than 50 seconds clips. I’ll tap the musicians here for some tracks.
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Posted on June 16, 2009 at 10:18 am
JR says:
A beautiful morning and a great ride – even if I needed two bites of the Leith Hill cherry.
I was a bit embarased that Keith and I took the “quick” route back along Ranmore Rd instead of Collarbone, only to see the rest of you emerge ahead of us at the Scout Camp!
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Posted on June 16, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Andy C says:
Great vid Dave, I especially like the odd peal of manic laughter that accompanies the descent; you can tell you’re having fun. While I was there, I had a quick re-run of my fall on Numbskull. Thought the soundtrack you’ve added was a little too chilled/mellow. Would’ve thought something manic or just plain pathetic was more suitable, maybe the “Birdie Song”! Though I guess you’ve copyright issues even for that
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Posted on June 17, 2009 at 10:17 am
Paul says:
Awh guys, reading your reports and watching this superb video footage has really got me bursting to get out on the trails again!!
Be back soon!
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Posted on June 17, 2009 at 10:22 pm