Re: Kris Kross (Herefordshire Fury) - Saturday 21 December 2
On Saturday I ventured out to buy some cake - ordinarily I'm a home made chap but occasionally the artificiality of shop bought is what is required. It also made sense to ride part of the route and visit the pub stop to confirm that they are ok with muddy people in lycra turning up.
The cake quest was denied - they didn't have any battenberg - but I was not deterred nor deflated from the rest of the mission. Here's what I learned:
- semi slicks at 90psi were a questionable choice as the combination of clay soil and plentiful leaves created a tenacious wattle and daub that adhered to everything.
- the front brake is not your friend even when trees don't back down from a Mexican standoff
- mossy bark stains do wash off the Retrobike kit if you try to shoulder barge a tree (and incidentally, saplings are more solid than they look)
- slithering can be fun
- and so can the numerous opportunities for
portage and running; I'm glad I have not lost the ability to be nimble on my feet
- horses and vehicles cause more damage than bikes but it's only bikes that are not allowed in the woods (that's right, we'll be spreading the cheek on Saturday 21st)
- the linking road sections are not insignificant so a cross bike is the best choice
- we'll need to move briskly so that we don't miss out on lunch which leads to.....
- ..... the pub doesn't mind dirty cyclists or us using their carpark so that'll be the meeting point
www.crowninnwoolhope.co.uk
A couple of questions above on tyre choice. I'd say "not slick or semi-slick and as narrow as possible to avoid clogging" with colour up to the individual (although clearly has to
simpatico to build and colour palette).
Are you all alone?
Are you made of stone?