15 minutes of fame...

I met Paul & Rob at Ditchling Beacon on 8th July, they were on the second day of their South Downs Way ride. The weather was warm but not hot with no sign of rain, perfect.

Congratulations guys I'm sure you made it.

15 minutes of fame... Guildford Gang Riding SDW

I met this gang from Guildford at Blackcap above Lewes on Sunday morning May 6th. They were riding the South Downs Way, this was their third and final day. They looked fresh as daisies but I'm sure some of the Hills between Lewes and Beachy head will replace their smiles with grimaces through gritted teeth. Riding the SDW is an achievement as the distance is in excess of 100 miles and the hills are relentless.

Hope you made Beachy Head safely and found the ice-cream shop open, you deserve a treat after all that effort.

Paul from Tunbridge Wells on the South Downs

We meet Paul on the South Downs above Telscombe Village, like us he was out enjoying the great weather and a relaxed trundle on his bike.

The photo was taken immediately after he climbed out of Balsdean Valley to the top of Pickers Hill, respect if you made this climb in one go.

15 minutes of Fame...

We met Jenny, Martin and John on Saturday 24th February in Charlton as they were preparing for a ride to Whiteways via Goodwood and the South Downs Way. Hopefully they didn't end up ploughing through too much mud.

Tony from Muddy@rse Rides

Tony who we met on a couple of Muddy@rse Rides joined us for a spin at Whiteways on the 27th Jan. We rode the singletrack, did a little exploring and off-piste riding.

Tony successfully completed a couple of drops that he didn't think he could attempt, well done, and we returned wet and tired from a good days ride.

15 minutes of fame...

Tony who we met on a couple of Muddy@rse rides joined us for a spin at Whiteways on 27th Jan 07.

Tony started mountain biking for the same reason as us, the desire to hold back the sands of time. We blasted the singletrack and Tony had a go at a couple of drops and chutes that he would previously have considered too dodgy. Well done, the big chute next time!

Our Reader Craig Pollock's Submission

Here we have a contribution from our reader Craig Pollock. Craig is from Steyning and below he describes a local ride that he has recently completed.

I’m not an old fogey, I’m eleven and I like to BMX. I normally jump but sometimes I cycle round Steyning. Yesterday I went round a trail that some people call the horseshoe. I took my BMX giant GFR FW and my friend Tim rode a GT mountain bike. The best bike for this is a bike with gears although you don’t really need suspension that much.

The route was about 3.4 km and we had to climb about 98m and it took around an hour, but because of rain, we had to shelter and also from time to time had to have a drink. The ground was quite surprisingly dry at first, but after it had rained, it got wet and muddy which made it slippy and hard to grip. On the way up there were big roots that were like obstacles and big roots that bikers can jump if they get a straight line up. The jumps, which were beside our path, were about the size of a table. But they got demolished. After going up there is a long smooth path, there are still roots but are highlighted with white paint. The gates, which used to be there, are still there but most are by the side of the path where people have thrown them off, they were used to slow down bikes and to make sure that walkers aren’t hit.

Dave & Blay contemplate the South Downs Way

Dave & Blay assessing the training required to ride the South Downs Way in one day.

They are planning the attempt during the summer 2007 but are wisely undertaking a well thought out training regime. Both are veterans of Winchester to Brighton rides (approximately 60 miles) and have an appreciation of the number of hills involved.

Good luck!

Kim & Tracy in Verdley Wood

We met Kim and Tracy in Verdley Wood, half way between Midhurst and Haslemere in West Sussex. They told us where to go (in the nicest way) as we were lost.

Both are keen mountainbikers, Kim used to race DH but now they both concentrate on XC. Kim is one tough cookie, coming home 3rd in the recent Trans-Wales epic ride continuing to the finish despite tearing her achilles tendon on the penultimate day. She was in plaster until 10 days ago. Respect.

The girls promised to send us a route of their local area near Godalming in Surrey. Be gentle with us ladies, we are not in your league of physical toughness.

Tony & Stew at Leith Hill 23rd September 2006

We met Tony & Stew at the jumpy play area immediately west of Leith Hill tower just off Greensand Way.

They were out practicing jumps but took time to point us in the direction of some great singletrack that was new to us.

They were both well kitted out with protective gear and were taking it easy as they said they normally ride trails in a similar way to us. We agreed that as the years catch up the ability to recover from crashes is significantly reduced, at my age I tend to hit the ground in a similar way to an old jacket being thrown onto a chair. Take it easy!

Greg & Martin Riding the South Downs Way. Sunday 17th September.

Today I met Greg & Martin at Blackcap just west of Lewes on the South Downs Way. Greg had left Winchester on Friday 15th and was 35 miles short of finishing the SDW in Eastbourne. His buddy Martin had joined him for the final stretch from Steyning to Beachy Head.

In anticipation of them arriving successfully at Beachy Head without disaster striking either them or their bikes, well done.

Greg & Martin live in Lewes and ride on the SDW regularly. For this epic ride Greg made two overnight stops between Winchester and Beachy Head, these were at Cocking and Steyning. Anyone thinking of challenging themselves to ride the SDW as an epic would be wise to follow their example and take it easy over a time period that will maximise the chance of success with overnight stays in any of the pubs on route. 3 days is a relaxed ride, 2 days is tough and to do the whole SDW in one day is very hard and should not be entered into lightly.

John & Jason at Afan Forest September 15th 2006

We met John and Jason on 'The Wall' ride at Afan Forest, a couple of nice guys who regularly ride at Afan despite living 15 minutes away from Cwmcarn! Their reason for driving 35 miles to Afan: 'the trails'. In comparison to Cwncarn they commented that Afan has a greater number of trials with more variety and less DH types waiting to watch mere mortals fall off. Their advice: get to Afan and enjoy it!

Their recommendations for getting the best out of the trails at Afan is a bike with 4 inches of travel at the front and most importantly disc brakes. They agreed that a FS bike with 4 inches of travel front and rear would allow the rider to really hammer around the trails, but it must have disc brakes. They were on a Kona Dawg and Orange sub-5.

A final and unsolicited comment from the guys (and one with which we totally agree), is that the sign-posting of trails at Afan needs to be greatly improved and the map redrawn to show reference points of fire roads etc. The fact that their are 2 carprks and visitor centres 2 miles apart is totally absent from the map and resulted in great confusion with everyone we spoke to in the carparks and out on the trail's.