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Cycling The Ridgeway - Then and Now?
- Thread starter GrahamJohnWallace
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It’s an in joke. I built it. Now he’s got it and won’t give it back
Well spotted under the mud though.
I'll be thinning the fleet in the next few weeks, I'll keep you in mind
I got into Mountain biking in'87 or '88 when I first moved to Newbury. Armed with an Ordnance Survey map and a MK IV British Army marching compass I rode (manhandled) my Raleigh Maverick all over the Ridgeway and its local trails. Later I used rides torn from the MTB mags and followed routes in Nick Cottons books. Happy Days indeed.
I've ridden the Ridgeway end to end several times and feel that it is only worth cycling west of the Thames, (if any one is thinking of exploring for the first time that is).
Some memories of the time include staying overnight on a farm, storing our bikes in an old railway goods wagon and the mud that had collected around my front mech freezing so that it wouldn't move.
Maybe that helped my decision to later only ride it with a Single Speed
. Another happy memory was being the first to ride on a clear bright winters morning and breaking the ice on all of the puddles.
I seem to remember there was a voluntary ban on motorised vehicles on Bank Holidays and after wet weather but this has now been extended to 365 days per year.
Riding between the wheel tracks was certainly a feature of the Ridgeway especially when some of the ruts were so deep that you couldn't rotate the crank arms fully.
The last time I rode it the "Friends of the Ridgeway" had been busy and had sanitised much of the trail. I honestly can't decide if I like it better or not.
Sorry no pics but I hope this was of interest. Many many happy memories though.
I've ridden the Ridgeway end to end several times and feel that it is only worth cycling west of the Thames, (if any one is thinking of exploring for the first time that is).
Some memories of the time include staying overnight on a farm, storing our bikes in an old railway goods wagon and the mud that had collected around my front mech freezing so that it wouldn't move.
Maybe that helped my decision to later only ride it with a Single Speed
. Another happy memory was being the first to ride on a clear bright winters morning and breaking the ice on all of the puddles.I seem to remember there was a voluntary ban on motorised vehicles on Bank Holidays and after wet weather but this has now been extended to 365 days per year.
Riding between the wheel tracks was certainly a feature of the Ridgeway especially when some of the ruts were so deep that you couldn't rotate the crank arms fully.
The last time I rode it the "Friends of the Ridgeway" had been busy and had sanitised much of the trail. I honestly can't decide if I like it better or not.
Sorry no pics but I hope this was of interest. Many many happy memories though.
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Hi shedobits,
Another issue I remember was the mud freezing onto the tyres as the temperature dropped after sunset and then having to keep stopping to hammer it off.
I could always make good progress through the rutted sections by riding out of the saddle, which I really enjoyed doing, for a time. However, I found doing this for extended periods and especially uphill to be very tiring. Eventually I would give up and return normal in-the-saddle riding, even though this made progress far slower.
I think it is best when you have a variety of trail surfaces as then you have the opportunity of taking the rough with the smooth. I once took ten hours to ride from Avebury to Streatley when the ground was so waterlogged that you had to pedal in a low-gear to keep mowing on some of the downhill sections. This became a real chore, especially during the last four hours that I rode in the dark.
I don't like it when a ride is so difficult that the focus shifts from being about enjoying the journey to just getting there.
Yes, Goring to Princess Risborough is also pretty straightforward as long as you use the roads, not the footpath out of Goring and join the Icknield Way just SW of Ipsden. East of Risborough, you need to frequently divert to avoid the footpath sections of the Ridgeway. Which is easy when you have a good route on your Satnav, but, a pain in the neck if you try to work the route out as you go.
Yes, breaking the ice on puddles is a risky business when you don't know how deep the puddles are!"Some memories of the time include staying overnight on a farm, storing our bikes in an old railway goods wagon and the mud that had collected around my front mech freezing so that it wouldn't move. Maybe that helped my decision to later only ride it with a Single Speed
Another issue I remember was the mud freezing onto the tyres as the temperature dropped after sunset and then having to keep stopping to hammer it off.
I remember entering the ruts as fast as possible in the hope of getting through without needing to pedal. Cranking the pedals, whilst in a high gear would sometimes work when complete rotations weren't possible.
I am also undecided as to whether it was more fun to ride before the vehicle bans.
I could always make good progress through the rutted sections by riding out of the saddle, which I really enjoyed doing, for a time. However, I found doing this for extended periods and especially uphill to be very tiring. Eventually I would give up and return normal in-the-saddle riding, even though this made progress far slower.
I think it is best when you have a variety of trail surfaces as then you have the opportunity of taking the rough with the smooth. I once took ten hours to ride from Avebury to Streatley when the ground was so waterlogged that you had to pedal in a low-gear to keep mowing on some of the downhill sections. This became a real chore, especially during the last four hours that I rode in the dark.
I don't like it when a ride is so difficult that the focus shifts from being about enjoying the journey to just getting there.
Many happy memories indeed!
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Yes, wet chalk is a trap, waiting for cyclists who haven't yet come to grief whilst riding on it.
When I first copied Geoff Apps use of low-tyre pressures in the mid 1980's, when using 26" skin-wall tyres, it destroyed the side-walls and the tyres slipped on the rims, causing the valves to rip out of the inner tubes.
Even now I have to use tyres with reinforced sidewalls and special rim-tape to get away with using very low pressures.
When I first copied Geoff Apps use of low-tyre pressures in the mid 1980's, when using 26" skin-wall tyres, it destroyed the side-walls and the tyres slipped on the rims, causing the valves to rip out of the inner tubes.
Even now I have to use tyres with reinforced sidewalls and special rim-tape to get away with using very low pressures.
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Great thread! The Ridgeway to me means big sky views and endless horizons cycling through an ancient landscape. I have cycled Streatley to Avebury many times and love it. I like the remoteness and the fact that self-sufficiency comes into it as well. I found some pics below from March 2002 which show the rutfest!
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Thanks for posting those pictures Ippikin, they bring back so many good memories.
Most of my own photos are of the archaeology and landscape and I seldom thought to photograph the trail itself. Probably because I was too busy concentrating on the riding.
It's so good to see the ruts as they were before the trail became restricted to motor vehicles, and I can't help but to try and pick the best route through when I look at them: Maybe what looks like the easiest, smooth route will actually be very slippery and the mud so sticky that it completely clogs up the bike? So maybe going through the puddles would be easiest and it might wash some mud off the tyres? Either way, better to ride through the puddles and fall of on the dry, than the other way 'round?
The two photos showing the muddy sections capture exactly how difficult the trail could be after heavy rain. Whilst the dry ones remind me of much more relaxed summer rides. You can plainly see why it could take more than twice the time to ride when it was wet.
Most of my own photos are of the archaeology and landscape and I seldom thought to photograph the trail itself. Probably because I was too busy concentrating on the riding.
It's so good to see the ruts as they were before the trail became restricted to motor vehicles, and I can't help but to try and pick the best route through when I look at them: Maybe what looks like the easiest, smooth route will actually be very slippery and the mud so sticky that it completely clogs up the bike? So maybe going through the puddles would be easiest and it might wash some mud off the tyres? Either way, better to ride through the puddles and fall of on the dry, than the other way 'round?
The two photos showing the muddy sections capture exactly how difficult the trail could be after heavy rain. Whilst the dry ones remind me of much more relaxed summer rides. You can plainly see why it could take more than twice the time to ride when it was wet.
I like you shared more recent pics some quite scared rutted, ground there, which is a shame but it looks passable…? I am thinking more and more of making ridgeway adventures a summer pastime..!
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A skill is to ride the narrow ‘rail’ of grass between the ruts for as long as possible.
