Pitch Hill

Today we returned to Pitch Hill in the North Downs. It is 9 months since I was last here so a lot of it felt new even if it wasn't. The ground was almost bone dry and we had a blast on some of the real gnarly stuff and did all the usual trails and steep drops together with a couple that we had previously only looked at - success.

It is best not to get too carried away my buddy regularly brings his 12 year old son here who is a bit of a BMX demon, he can do everything we can and whole lot more on an 80mm travel hardtail. It is times like these that make us realise we are no longer in the prime of youth - still we had a hell of a lot of fun!

Back to Leith Hill

A couple of the gang had recently visited Leith Hill and reported that it was 'bone dry' and that we should take advantage before the winter misery sets in.

We had a great time - playing around and exploring some new areas for an hour and then setting off for a ride. The trails were dry and dusty and we hammered around our regular loop. There were the inevitable 'offs', I went over a steep drop into hole that was a perfect match for the front wheel radius - straight over the bars, while one of the gang was really on form and managed a couple of slow motion washouts followed by a high speed wrestle with the bike after a nasty short but very steep drop. We ended with coffee and grub at the tower.

A great day out - we didn't even have to clean the bikes afterwards.

Leith Hill Rough & Tumble

Today we had a quicker than expected wizz around some of the trails at Leith Hill. We had planned a whole days riding taking in both Leith Hill and Holmbury Hill. Our intention was to hit some of our favourite singletrack trails and then explore a couple of new-to-us areas.

To cut the story short we managed an incident packed 3 miles!

Highlights included: one of our gang attempting to climb a hill so steep that he tumbled over backwards rotating over the rear wheel and landing on his back; I went down a short but very steep drop that required me to lean way-over the rear wheel and when I tried to straighten up the waistband of my shorts got caught on the back of the saddle and I ended up stopping with very little dignity; and finally, my rear mech snapped in half as we explored off the beaten track. A comical ride/push back to the car-park and we were on our way home. A new rear mech, £39-00 from my account straight into the pockets of CRC!

First Ride of 2007: Pitch Hill & Holmbury Hill

As a perfect start to 2007 a couple of us headed up to Pitch Hill in the North Downs for a wizz around some of our favourite trails.

Pitch Hill was very muddy, the peaty soil was holding water like a sponge making the trails pretty hard going in many places. The trails above Ewhurst were not too bad but the one with the split tree was tough going as was the subsequent dash through the pine trees. It seemed to us as if some of the trails had been deliberately blocked with fallen trees and branches, this didn't spoil the fun but someone had gone to a degree of trouble.

The sandstone of Holmbury Hill always drains well and despite all the recent rain the trails were fantastic, just damp enough to give loads of grip but not too dry to coat the moving parts with the usual abrasive paste. The reservoir trail is a favourite especially if you stay on it to the steep downhill at the end. From here it was up to the viewpoint above Holmbury St Mary to drop down via the trail on the right with all the bombholes and then straight into the Telegraph trail to the carpark. The climb back to reservoir included a couple of little gems that were very tough. A descent into Peaslake via the Golden Birdies trail was followed by the climb across Pitch hill to the carpark. We covered about 20 miles but it felt much more due mainly to the chewy mud on Pitch Hill.

All in all a fantastic day, my buddy had the first 'off' of 2007, the out the rain held back and it was not too cold or windy. If the rest of the riding in 2007 is as rewarding as today we are looking forward to a great year.

Hill Climbing

Climbing hills that have roots, rocks and step ups requires an element of luck; however the old adage 'the harder I practice the luckier I get' could have been written for this very activity. Climbing these types of hills requires strength, balance and the appropriate technique.

Our method of tackling these hills is summarised here: 1) look up the hill to where you want to go; 2) remain relaxed at the bottom of the climb and ensure that you are in the correct gear (do not try to change gear on the hill) as you transition into the base of the hill; 3) do not rely on momentum to get you up the hill; 4) use your upper body too provide both balance and control of the bike to ensure you are not pushed off line; and finally 5) if you don't make it have another go and do not worry about pushing the bike up the hill it will still be there next week.

Get into the appropriate gear (one that both gives you momentum and also allows your legs to spin), and ride into the transition of the hill. Look up the hill and spot a smooth line, never look down. Remain seated (FS or hardtail) and pedal smoothly into the hill, position your body so that some weight is over the back wheel but your head and shoulders are forward. If the hill is steep the steering can become very light, if this happens twist your wrists down on the handlebars (imagine revving a motorbike) this will force your arms and torso down towards the crossbar and your head over the stem. Sliding forward to the tip of the saddle will also help if the hill is very steep. Keep pedalling smoothly while using your upper body to balance and keep the front wheel on the ground. Keep this up for as long as you can, there is no substitute for strong legs. Smooth pedalling will take you over most obstacles; however if there is a root or rocky area throw your hips forward aggresively as you reach it, this provides a burst of momentum that will help in most situations.

Have fun and remember hills of this type are hard and were difficult for everyone when they first started to ride them. Here we are riding a pig of a hill at Leith Hill Surrey 4th November 06. This hill is not very long or very steep, but as you can see by the faces, it is hard!

Riding Drop-offs

One of the most useful techniques to master for general trail riding is the ability to ride drop-offs. What is a drop-off? a sharp descent over the edge of a lip. Drop-offs can vary in angle (steepness), roughness, length and both ease of approach and ease of riding out at the bottom. In many cases the longer the drop the more gradual the ride out, this greatly simplifies things.

Riding a drop-off can be split into 6 golden rules: 1) unless you are very familiar with it always look over before riding down; 2) ensure there is a smooth run out at the bottom; 3) pick both an entry line and the line you will take down the drop-off; 4) always ride slowly over the edge in a smooth and controlled way and do not pedal on the way down; 5) stand up with the pedals in the horizontal position and lean your weight over the back of the bike (get your body over the back wheel) and finally 6) do not touch the front brake (do not even cover the front brake with your fingers!).

Using these tips it is possible to ride down very steep drop-offs. In our experience small drop-offs usually cause the most problems as they are steep and tend not to have a smooth transition into the run out. If this is the case then it is even more important to get your body weight over the rear wheel and stay relaxed, look to where you want to end up after the drop-off not into the bottom of it.

Trouble usually occurs when the front wheel either gets stuck in a rut or is grabbed sideways by a root or rock. As always when learning a new technique practice makes perfect. With Drop-offs take it easy and let the confidence build up, don’t be cajoled or bullied into something that you don’t really want to do.

Here we are riding some drop-offs during a ride at Leith Hill on 28^th October. The pictures do not show the real steepness of these drops, the drop in the first photo is almost vertical!

Teflon Trails on Leith Hill

Following the fun we had last weekend at Leith Hill we returned there today. Our objective was to navigate and map any trails in the areas we did not have time to ride last week. The autumnal weather has resulted in heavy rain during the past two weeks and anticipating a muddy ride I took the hardtail / Rohloff hub combination, my buddy was on his nomad.

We explored and as expected we found many trails together with some of the usual Leith Hill drop-offs that were new to us. One trail in particular that we discovered seemed to be the main artery east to west through our chosen area as we inadvertently found ourselves on it at least half a dozen times as we explored, how come we had never found it on previous visits? No matter, it was an excellent trail with dips, drops, rollers and fallen trees. I prefer very tight a twisty singletrack with roots and obstacles to negotiate, Leith Hill has plenty of this and today we found an absolute belter. The trail was old and little used as it was quite overgrown, it was the highlight of the day for me. By chance we found ourselves on top of the drop-offs for what we used to call the ‘Caspers’ trail, straight over the edge, across the bridleway and straight down the hillside to emerge on the rocky climb to the bridleway junction at the bottom of the rutted climb to the tower.

The roots and tree stumps were hellishly slippery and the soft loamy soil was the consistency of ketchup and provided the same amount of grip! The trails required maximum concentration in order not to bite the dirt, spin out on climbs or wash out on corners. We were pretty successful although I had a number of very close calls as my handlebars clipped trailside trees. At times our progress was comical as we spun out on climbs and roots, pedalling while completely stationery with the back wheel spinning round.

4 hours on the trails, two new areas mapped and some fantastic singletrack discovered. A successful day.

Leith Hill Revisited

Saturday 23rd September we had a great ride at Leith Hill. Believe it or not this is the first time we have been to Leith Hill since the summer of 2004, this really is a criminal offence when it is only 45 minutes drive away. In our defence we have ridden regularly at Holmbury Hill and Pitch Hill in 2004/5/6. In my humble opinion the riding (singletrack, challenge, and sheer quantity) in these 3 hills is equal to any of the mtb centres we have visited and a visit should be a priority on any mtb'ers list of things to do before you die.

We put together a loop based on memory, following our nose and getting directions from people we met. The ground was mostly dry but there were a couple of peaty bogs across the track particularly where log obstacles formed a retaining barrier. We a fantastic day, it didn't rain, we rediscovered trails we had fogotten, rode some new trails and spent all day just out riding. Some of the roots and logs were very slippery!

We parked at Westcott and rode past the church and along Logmore Lane (this avoids riding through the grinding sand bath of Wolvens Lane), through Squire's Farm and turned right at the first bridleway crossroads to climb steeply onto Wolvens Lane (keep going up, 2/3 of the way you think you have made it, you need to go straight up the rocky trail on your right). In order not to throw away our height gain we went along Wolvens Lane to the sign posts for the 'Summer Lightning' trail, a quick blast down here and then retrace the route along Wolvens Lane. Back at the beginning of Summer Lightning we turned sharpe left, up the forest access route, where it turns right we headed off on the trail to the left, this eventually comes out at the bottom of the famous drop 'Deliverence'. Up to the cricket pitch above Coldharbour and straight up the knarly climb to Leith Hill tower. Go straight over past the tower, on the right is a sawn down tree with a sign 'Explorer Route' follow this past the jump area on the right and look for the split tree on the left. Turn left at the tree after 10 yards the trail forks, go right. There is loads of singletrack here, explore! To return to Westcott we retraced the route heading east along the Greensand Way, past the tower and straight on to the cricket pitch. Down the singletrack descent to join up with the 'Regurgitator' trail parallel to Wolvens Lane, then immediately down 'Summer Lightning'. Continuing across all fire roads on singletrack until the bridleway next to the field leading to Logmore Green and Brook Farm. A quick wizz along the road and we were back.

An excellent ride, made much more enjoyable by the fact that we had forgotten most of the trails so it was like a whole new adventure.