Through the years we have regularly ridden on Sunday mornings. While the faces swap around from family and other life commitments, the schedule is pretty reliable and today was no exception.

This time round I decided I would join the ride.

After returning from the Alps I’ve found my legs need to regain their cycling rhythm. A week of downhill riding is highly recommended but you quickly get out of the habit of just spinning the pedals. Added to which, poor weather, family illness and university drop-offs have conspired to keep me from the trails.

As usual we met up at 8:30 at Bockett’s Farm. Elliot, Will, Tony, Richard and myself were eventually joined by Lloyd – our de facto routemaster – after he finally settled on which bike he would take for today’s fun.

The plan was some Ranmore trails. From Bockett’s that means getting past the Polesdon estate and up to Ranmore.

A perfect autumn morning beckoned with a little bit of chill to start with. This seemed to bring out all the local walkers and runners although it was notable how few mountain bikers we saw today.

Through Bookham Wood and some twisty singletrack we rode Alfred Pennyworth which showed the recent rain has simply damped down the dust as it still felt reasonably grippy. From there, it was up Dearly Beloved to Ranmore chruch, then across to Rip van Winkle.

I felt I was still re-tuning to my regular Bird Aether after a week on a slightly smaller but longer travel Radon Swoop. This resulted in some dubious lines as I understeered in a few places but generally all was fine.

What was a little uncomfortable though were my Rapha knee pads which I had managed to pull up a little tight. This restricted movement and grew uncomfortable over the ride despite my pedaling legs slowly returning.

Back up on Ranmore, we headed along Collarbone, then through Trouble in Paradise which now offers very little trouble as the trees we used to noodle around have been removed!

Next up was Sauvage, a trail I was happy to take a bit slower today. It turned out to be a good idea as there are now two large trees blocking the track. There was much evidence today of high winds recently and this wasn’t the only place with trees down.

The second tree had some poorly placed logs to help a rider over but I advise some caution. They are not a firm setting and there is a big root complex on the other side (which also has some logs placed to fill a depression). I neither trust the entrance or the exit on this one!

Another climb via the sawmill brought us back to the Ranmore ridge again before tackling Big Dave near Combe Bottom. I’m not too familiar with this trail (although I’ve ridden the subsequent climb enough to form an opinion on that at least). Big Dave seems to have multiple lines, routes and a wide variety of trail features that ultimately bring you to the same place, before a long climb back up.

At the top, an excellent cake and coffee at the food van in the Staple Lane car park gave us a chance to catch our breath and replenish the sugar levels for the ride home.

This included Il Duce – running well but with a softish landing on the double step (especially if your line choice is poor). After another climb, we tried Tie Fighter, with Tony choosing to save his energy. Wise move.

The fight seemed strangly lacking on Tie Fighter until we worked out we’d taken a wrong turn and missed out some of the livelier bits. Worth knowing there is an alternative but it was basically a short downhill without the drama. The climb back up included a section of walking for me as my knees were feeling sore.

We traced our steps back to Ranmore car park which proved a long steady pull from Lloyd, the remaining five (5) riders line astern behind him. Once we got back to the car park we headed for On Any Sunday which was running beautifully down toward the Polesdon estate. I even scored a PR.

We now had a choice. All options involved winching up hills. To humour Tony we decided direct was best so we climbed in the direction of Bookham Wood before heading over to the top of Alfred Pennyworth once more and taking the singletrack trail ultimately back to Bocketts Farm.

Along this trail is a fallen tree – a pain going the other way but nice and easy in this direction. Except we must have disturbed something as the back markers encountered some annoyed bees at that point.

Back at home, I recorded 27 miles for the day – plenty for me. My sore knees appreciated the break from kneepads but overall it feels my legs were starting to remember what pedaling actually involves.

About the author

Matt is one of the founding Molefathers of the Muddymoles, and is the designer and main administrator of the website.

Having ridden a 2007 Orange Five for many years then a 2016 YT Industries Jeffsy 29er, he now rocks a Bird Aether 9 and a Pace RC-627.

An early On-One Inbred still lurks in the back of the stable as a reminder of how things have moved on. You can even find him on road bikes - currently a 2019 Cannondale Topstone 105 SE, a much-used 2011 Specialized Secteur and very niche belt drive Trek District 1.

If you've ever wondered how we got into mountain biking and how the MuddyMoles started, well wonder no more.