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Finally went on a ride with D, who was freshly kitted out with his new Specialized Rockhopper Comp, the successor to his faithful 2004 GT Avalanche 1.0 - legend.
We wanted a loop that wasn't too long (D hadn't been in the saddle for a while), and was something different from the Chanctonbury Ring loop, or the Brighton --> Lewes --> Brighton loop - which we always seem to be riding!
So instead of either of these, we decided on a route that I'd only ridden once, and D not at all, which I completed with Ross and Will a few months ago.
This involves riding up the Dyke Railway Trail to the Dyke, turning east and riding up to the Beacon, then turning off at a gate hidden in a clump of bushes slightly past the Beacon, and following the trail round to Stamner Park.
Conditions were pretty good; despite the overcast sky, there were only a few drops of rain, and the ground wasn't so sodden that it affected the enjoyment of the ride. I was slightly tentative on some of the downhills though!
Once we got to the Beacon, I had to keep my wits about me, because I'd only ridden the ride once - there ended up being a few instances where it took me a second to decide which track to take, but we didn't get lost at all.
The ride ended up being a 20 miler, so was perfect for D's first ride on the new steed. I was determined to make sure I gave the bike a good post-ride wash too, which had been slightly lacking in recent times - she's now sparkling ; )
Not been riding since the Chanctonbury Ring loop ride, on account of the shite weather.
After that experience, I decided to go for a quick recce to check out the state of the trails up by Devils Dyke on Friday, which I had off of work. Left it a bit late in the day, so rode the Dyke Railway Trail loop - took about 50 minutes.
I was pleased that the trails were mostly dry - it meant that I didn't have to clean the bike when I got back ; )
Today I went with D to a couple of branches of Evans Cycles, to find his new bike. The list had been narrowed down to either a Kona Cindercone or a GT Avalanche 1.0, the updated version of his current bike. He ended up with a 2009 Specialized Rockhopper Comp, a great looking bike, which offers more bang for the buck than any of the above mentioned models in terms of the spec.
So the improved state of the trails, combined with Ds new bike (picked up tomorrow), should result in some renewed enthusiasm for riding. In fact, when I got back I decided to go for another quick burn, again choosing the Dyke Railway Trail for it's locality and short length (this after pumping up the front tyre, which had gone flat after Fridays ride).
Distance was about 7 miles (I started the GPS quite late, so it only read 5.9 miles), with a 10.7 average and 35.2 top (that was on the road though - it had been 24 prior to that). Recorded time for the ride was 33 minutes - I'd estimate it at 45 minutes in total.
Looking forward to getting out on more rides in the near future, and getting some more pics up!
Completed the Chanctonbury Ring / Cissbury Ring ride with Will and Ross yesterday. The conditions were pretty terrible - lots of slidy back end action, which meant I was incredibly cautious on the downhills.
As we made our way up this track, we were continuously having to stop because our frames had so clogged with mud that the bike would no longer move forward.
The muscle fatigue from the hard gym session on Saturday, and the fact that I'd been out drinking til 2am on Sunday morning probably didn't help, but all in all, the thick, gooey mud made the ride quite a dire experience for me - I don't think I'll be out riding again for another month, in which time the ground will hopefully firm up slightly.
Did take some pictures, but have forgotten the cable for my new camera for now.
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