Weekend Baiku

[Augustus]

Drop Bar Baiku.

Saturday:

Later than planned. Cold. COLD! Woods nearly frozen. Slim steel tubes elegantly twanging and flexing their way through the trees. Quick loop today. Sleek and fast, well the bike is anyway. South Downs getting claggy, nearly icey too. All feels like it's on the brink of the changeover to winter proper. Drop out of the wild and back into the world. Train home. Country pub lunch. Perfect. Best ride of my life.

Sunday:

Same bike different stem. Maybe this is the one to end the back ache? Colder than yesterday. Overshoes and armwarmers. Into the woods. Flat light. Dark in here. Through the foliage fast and out into the open. Exit first woods and nature converts image to RGB in front of my eyes. Into second woods and meet motocross riders. Illegal, fast and reckless. Meet nice walkers. Meet riders, retro and not so. Spread the word. Out onto the downs and yesterday's clag is today's frost. See puddles and 32c tyres break the ice with them. Stop. Listen. Look. Noises all around. Smells like winter. Wood fires burn. Darkness is coming. Small hamlets light up in the misty hills. This is what it's all about for me. Spin home 50/ 12. Happy. The happiest. Best ride of my life.

 

[Anthony]

Good on yer, that man.

I agree about the cold, cripes!

 

[Pickle]

Mountain Bike Baiku

Saturday:
Up at 7.30am...clear and crisp outside...white blanket on the ground...wrap up in plenty of layers...8am Mike arrives...Avalanche out the shed as planned...set off...front mech won't shift up...stop and fiddle...mud from last ride frozen round the mech solid...snap mud off...get to start of trail...I'm spinning and not moving...freewheel totally shot...back to my house...curse Avalanche and say hello to RTS...take dirtbag off Avalanche...open it and zip breaks...ARGHHH...put tube and tools into jacket pouch...hit the trail AGAIN...maiden voyage on rebuilt RTS is feeling amazing...trails are a white blanket...oh so cold...ground hard as rock...eyes watering...stop for a second...thorn in tyre...I give up...1hr 20m on the bike will do...back home...shower...phone...'hello, LBS, about my wheel........unluckiest ride of my life

Sunday:
Afternoon ride...repaired wheel in the Avalanche...warmer than yesterday...onto the trail...mud very sticky...stop and clear front mech...into the woods and play dodge the dog walkers...over the rocks and out the other side...sun feels warm as on my back up the footpath climb...along the farm track...feeling good and wind the pace up...down the field track the mud splatters all over my frame...quick spin on the road then dart off road again...cold water splash...woods once more...hill...home...best ride of my life

Happy to have done 2 daylight rides for a change.......

........especially 2 in the same weekend

 

[Hilts]

Sunday morning, f*ckin freezing...

pick up kingroon from station (note look of horror as he sees road bike on top of my car, panic over, I'm just picking it up to take home....too many beers on Friday to ride it back)

Off to Bedgebury forest..

single track climb to start of singletrack, numb thumbs but all good so far, loads of switchbacks, trail holding up better than expected, not too much mud so far... first small deviation, Kingroon calls it a crash, I disagree, didn't hurt!

Find the mud, lung and leg sapping climb but still all good and what a day!! Sun out, no rain, what winter in the Uk should be all about..

Get lost, more mud but some good fun stuff and then a nice little climb where the excesses of a weekend in prague catch up with the aussie boy... he'll find his legs soon

back for a cup of tea before retruning to chez hilts for a lovely meal cooked by the mrs... top ride...

 

[kingroon]

Sun out, no rain, what winter in the Uk should be all about...

What a great day, what a ride..

Tall Pines, The Sun God's fingers slicing through them, reaching down to Mother England..

If that wasn't a crash, then neither was mine

You shoulda seen the look on the faces of the District Line Travellers yesterday arvi as I boarded with the Muddy Velo..

 

[JustKev]

8 am alarm. Red wine head! Spy white frost carpet through curtain. Warm gear, tea toast and out to garage. Yeti begs for a ride but take DOGS BOLX. Lungs burning up Badgers Hill. Left into forest – hard dry trails and bright yellow sun. Could be summer – fingers remind me it’s not. Head clear now. Encounter two modern trailriders. “Can we ride with you?â€

 

[Hilts]

here's a pic of Kingroon and the Pine Forrest, some serious logging has been going on... Having broken the camera out for the 1st pic the battery then died, f8ckin typical..

 

[Iwasgoodonce]

Not sure if I should soil this fine thread with this but it was the first time I have managed to throw a leg over a Turbomatic III in a long while. Also I'm in hospital with the male half of the snot twins first thing in the morning and am therefore a bit nervous so please forgive me!

Decided to avoid driving anything for the whole weekend. So ride to the allotment it is! Retrieve the Bontrager from it's sulking place in the garage and give the front end an experimental bounce. Zero PSI in the old RC40's. Many brisk pumps later and we're ready. On with the wellies and off we go. It's cold, damn cold. Take air off the speed bumps. Remember too late that I'm wearing wellies. (How do the 'the kids on the street' hop so high without SPD's?) Wait for painful bits to return to normal location and on to do some serious digging! Having managed to turn a fair area and revive an old geezer who had asked me how much the bike was worth, its off home again. Despite the wellies, I'm inspired to go home via the bridleway. Cannock on the 30th? Training is complete! Be gentle with me please!