Ride report: Sunday 2 January – The shape of mud to come
With this being my 4th ride in 7 days and suffering from a energy hole on the 3rd ride, today I was feeling jaded.
I met up with 7 other Moles for the first “real” ride on 2011.
Keith, Jem, PaulM, Tony, Kevin, Lee and Bill joined me for a muddy jaunt over to Newlands Corner. Bill was joining us for the first time having met us out on the trails some time ago.
As we trudged up Dog Poo lane into Admirals track we all became aware the the mud was going to be sapping and slippery. Down under the two bridges and up the other side, owards upi Yew trees until we hit the Ranmore Road. From there we head towards Scouting for Boys onto Badger Run and Collar Bone before taking life into our hands and descending White Down.
The field at the bottom was an example of mud at its worse but once across the main track into the Abinger Roughs was pretty good with the sand being more stable than during Summer months. Popping out at the Abinger Arms we paused for “ol’ Iron Hands” to fix a puncture on his hardtail while Tony told me about his barain wheel upgrade for the Trek.
Heading off agin we battled a muddy climg before some road work and then another Muddy climb. Round the back of Albury the was a mix of mud, then sand, then more mud and a down slope with Lee cackling and cheering as I fought to stay on the bike and not get ejected. I had started to loose pressure in my rear tyre and so began the first of many pumping sessions as I fought the almost inevitable option of fitting a tube.
The climb up Newlands was rewarded by drinks and refreshments while observing and pondering why the Police we see up there are always armed with stun guns and firearms. Lee and I debated that it may be they have word that the Moles were heading that way and we prepared incase the Badgers trun up and it all kicks off. Word on the trail is that King Badger still has a price on Colin’s head.
The Badgers didn’t turn up but Nick and Graham did. Now I don’t know exactly how many times this happens but I reckon it has to be close to 50% of the time.
So we headed back along the top darting in and out of the trees and generally battling with the mud, stopping every few miles to reinflate the tyres before it dropped off the Stan’s bead.
Bill tried to get used to the names we were using and asked where Matt had broken his collar bine before nodding in undestanding after we had come through that section. But from there is was a fairly uneventful ride home apart from where we took the longer road section in an effort to beat the horse up unde rth two bridges only to see it accelerate up the slope and move out of sight. More air at the top and then nurse the tyre back home.
A few people asked again “Where’s Matt?” I made up some story about him being ill as is the norm at this time of year but it looks liek I might have to pay the same actor that came to the Meal to get atstride a Blue 5 with new red hubbed, white rimmed tyres just to keep the speculation down again. How hum.
I headed home to wash the bike and shower before whipping the tyre off to find no latex left inside but one massive 3mm stake through the tread. Deciding not to pull the pin I refilled it and it inflated easily with very little sign of bubbling through the side walls. Anyway, I decided to not go with the 1/2 price Schwalbe offer on the On-One site and instead ordered some Mud-X from All Terrain Cycles.
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
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Bill says:
Really enjoyed my first ride with the Moles. Thanks for welcoming me along and being patient when I dropped behind! Here’s to the next time.
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Posted on January 4, 2011 at 8:16 am
kc says:
I felt lousy as I pedalled to Bocketts but it just got better and better as I rode so I guess it must be the next batch of mince pies working there way out!
Mud was a bit sapping but thankfully the weaping tyre provided enough energy breaks.
The Newlands Climb was like riding through cement but a rewarding hot choc and flapjack repaired the spirits.
I think Matt must have gone over to the darkside. Come back Matt you can do both!
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Posted on January 4, 2011 at 10:16 am
Matt says:
Not at all Keith, I’ve been feeling truly awful these past weeks. The most exercise I’ve managed over the Xmas/New Year period is to rake leaves off the lawn and it nearly killed me.
I’ve been wondering if I’ve got the same thing that D’Andy had as I’ve barely ridden since D2D and feel totally washed out at the moment. Really, I have no interest in bikes at the moment!
I haven’t even switched on the PC for ten days and now back at work today I realise lifestyle needs to change significantly; sitting in front of a PC feels a bit weird.
I’ll be picking up the new site design though, it’ll surface ‘soon’ as I’m now working my way through setting up redirects from the old pages.
Regardless of how I’m feeling though, looking forward to seeing you all again soon.
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Posted on January 4, 2011 at 10:48 am
kc says:
Sorry to hear that you are not well Matt. It seems a bit of a coincidence to me that so many seem to have been struck down after D2D. I wish you a speedy recovery.
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Posted on January 4, 2011 at 6:03 pm
paul901 says:
4 rides in 7 days Dave, similar here too. It’s the only way I kept the Christmas weight-gain down to a respectable 1kg. Weight is on the way down again thankfully.
I’m also feeling jaded and have Keith’s Boxing Day words ringing in my ears. “oi, fatso”, oh ok he didn’t say that. He said he was reading a book about base training and how many don’t follow what it really means which is lowering the pace right down. No point me trying to hang onto the back of Mole rides for my winter training then!
I tried to catch a sociable banter with the Moles at Sunday lunch-time and had a hunch Newlands might have been on the cards. With my daughter horse-riding on Sunday morning per usual, I wasn’t on the road until about 12. I pedaled up to Bocketts first and waited a few minutes but no sign. I rode along the A246 and took the Polesdon Lacey sign, up the lane (Dorking Road) and then the left into the narrow Chapel Lane, climbed Ranmore Common Road (in 39 x 27 Tony and not the compact – it’s a start!) and looked along the top of Ranmore thinking the ride might be coming back. Again no sign. Then onward for me via Whitehill to the A25 and briefly towards Dorking for a Hollow Lane climb to Leith Hill, lots of A24 and an overall ride of about 34 miles.
I can confirm that no-one answering the description of Matt (whether actual or a paid actor) has been spotted anywhere on the dark side. Get well soon Matt!
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Posted on January 4, 2011 at 6:05 pm
pij says:
My wife was in East Grinstead Hospital the other day and overheard a Doctor state that he had been knocked out by what he called a post viral fatigue. No idea what this was, so I looked it up Google fashion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-viral_fatigue_syndrome
Dunno if this helps? For what it’s worth I’ve been knocked out for five days now, as have a few people at work, so there is some virus doing the rounds.
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Posted on January 5, 2011 at 9:09 am