Awesome ride, beautiful weather and great views and good banter, didn’t hit any problems till the last few miles when slackalices rear tyre decided to try a new career as a sieve!. Absolutely nackered now. Only took a couple of pics, will put them up tomorrow. CG the wrist is doing well, will see what it’s like tomorrow… Will let slackalice explain the hangover illness…. 😉 😆
. Johnj… Hope you heal soon.

Thanks dv, got me out of the ironing tonight so not all bad. Sounds like you had a great ride today, nice one 🙂

john – blimey, that sounds nasty but be positive for having another go. Do hope that you’re not too sore and will be able to get back out there again soon.

daftvader – sounds like a great day, apart from the tyre obviously! Good news that your wrist was fine after no doubt having cabin fever for a while!

It was an awesome ride! 😀 Great views, classic XC 28mile loop that we both covered effortlessly 😆 And then my back tyre effortlessly covered the last few miles with Stans until there was no more Stans left in the tyre, we admitted defeat and popped a tube in. Nice pump DV 😉

Frequent munching of Granola bars meant my withered state resulting from my Saturday migraine sic hangover 😆 ,courtesy of stupid amounts of port the previous night, I was able to winch my way round. Thankfully, DV was up to the task of keeping me going with lots of idle banter that kept my legs mostly quiet 😀

To then cap it off with a spread of much yumminess at chez vader, i left feeling replete in every sense 🙂

Many thanks for your guiding, snippets of local information, hostelry and for being an all round “most excellent dude” DV 8)

We were talking about the next ride out to be around the Kingley Vale area, its been years since I rode around there, so our local knowledge is sparse, save the route Bartemaeus posted on the previous page. Apparently DV says that if its a gpx file, he can do something clever with it and his Garmin. Am I right in thinking the gpx files are on the QECP site if I log on there? Alternatively, any local takers willing to take us round, offer kind words of encouragement and keep my back tyre away from flint? 😉 We don’t have a date yet, but sure one will appear at some point soon.

Now, onto more serious matters…. What rear tyre for my HT…..? Please 😀

I am up for joining you at kingly vale when you get a date sorted, I am no use for guiding though, sorry. As for the back tyre I have a conti king on the back of the full suss which seems ok and a nobby nic on the HT.

No worries about guiding johnj, it’ll be great to have you along. I’ll pester Bartimaeus, Ive met him once and even seen him countdown from three – he taught me everything I know about counting down from three, so I have every faith he’ll agree to something 😉

Cheers for your suggestions! 😀

I have copious GPX files for KV which I can share – but as I’m keen to be included I will also offer to guide. Today I met a friendly family up at the top of KV, and they let me guide their 9 year old boy down the top of The Vale DH run, so I must have a trustworthy face.

A ride round kingly vale sounds great… Due to the crappy way my days off fall Sundays is where it’s at for me…. Can’t do the 13th but pretty much free till the beginning of August.

Thank you Bartimaeus 😀 as you know, I’ll need to be guided down anything to avoid face-planting!

How about the 20th? July that is?

I can’t do the 27th.

Let’s do this thing people! I don’t have long left round these parts, before I venture forth to the flat-lands 😀

the 20th is a possibility for me, the only challenge could be some ballet shows for my daughter so an early morning would be best for me from a selfish viewpoint 🙂

The 20th would be good for me…. Early is also good, how early?? Fingers crossed I might even have the stanton by then….

I can do ridiculously early(5-7am)or sensibly early(7-9.30am)

Can I just caveat this with the point that I haven’t checked with the boss yet.

I’m a postie so early isn’t an issue!!! And best check with management first 😉

And Bartimaeus!

I could do an earlyish start.

Just lay off the port eh?!? 😀

Absolutely! I’ll be teetotal for the next month or so! 😀

Yeah?!?

BO//@ck$! Of all the flipping days for L to choose to go out with a friend shopping and doing afternoon tea. She is leaving at 10am so it’s either stupidly early or not at all for me.

Don’t let my domestic restrictions hold you back though, get yerselves oot there 🙂

Bugger…

My sentiments exactly

20th looks doable for me. I’m not sure I understand anyone who can use the words ‘sensibly’ and ‘early’ in the same sentence, especially not when they are talking 7am… I usually plan my rides as ‘morning’, ‘afternoon’ or ‘evening’, with afternoon rides possibly including a cream tea, and evening rides possibly including a pub stop.

Your rides sound awesome bartimus 🙂

That sound like a brilliant plan…. But sensibly early can be 7am…. Especially when you get up at 5:30 every day…. Including days off 😥

My ride times are rather ‘ish’ too 😀

Cream tea’s sound very appealing, do they do cream breakfast’s? Or lunches? 😉

I’ll endeavour to be very amenable with the consensus, so what part of the day are we talking here?

Tbf mrsvader did think it would be more hardcore to do a morning pub stop…. Weatherspoons for breakfast and a beer anyone??? 😆

Jealous now 🙁

Could have one of these

(Although, not sure if the ‘Spoons sell Mikkeler……)

Ooooo. Cfh I haven’t had a decent coffee stout for ages….

Well, that one isn’t like the others!

Where from, how much and is it any good???
Edit… Simply beer website won’t work on my phone….

5 quid for a bottle?!? 😮

right finally sorted out my photos… these 2 were taken on the ride with slackalice… [/url]IMG_1633 by daftvader77, on Flickr[/img]

[/url]IMG_1627 by daftvader77, on Flickr[/img]

and the rest from a ride around Dummer on parts of the wayfarers walk. massively over grown in places and several of the fast bits have had purposely felled trees placed across the trail which is annoying. The donkeys were running along with me on the way past, so thought I’d get a pic on the way back!

[/url]IMG_1572 by daftvader77, on Flickr[/img]

[/url]IMG_1571 by daftvader77, on Flickr[/img]

[/url]IMG_1573 by daftvader77, on Flickr[/img]

cheers

and is the ride happening next week??

Sunday 20th… where and what time? I’d rather ‘not too early’ so if you want to ride at 6am then I think I may pass. Options are to meet near KV (I can give you directions to a couple of places) or at my house in Southbourne which is 3 miles from Adsdean.

Plenty of options from a tour of the area (40k http://app.strava.com/activities/51816142) to a shorted 25k loop, or even just a ride over to Stoughton to play on the downhill trails there.

Totally at your mercy for this. I have no knowledge of the area at all. And I don’t mind on the time either, but late morning or early afternoon would be good….

daftvader – thanks for posting pics! Not sure where numbers 2 and 4 are though? Watership Down area looks as lovely as ever and do hope that in the not too distant future I’ll be able to manage those hills.

Didn’t get out this weekend, not riding much at all lately. 🙁

Hi Cg… No 2 is, I think, at the top of a section about 3 miles after the manydown land will check on the map later, and number 4 is somewhere behind Dummer towards the Candovers can’t be more specific than that II’m afraid…. Was a good ride tho, natural single speed countryside. Not many hills and none of them very steep. Did you get the gpx file to load on your gps?

OK, thanks for that. I do like the Candover Valley. 8) No luck with the gpx but I’m a bimbo and useless with technology as well as bikes!

right that 2nd photo was taken… Basingstoke land ranger at the ready… 549/559 just west ish of Hannington. hth

Got yer, cheers. A very long time since I’ve been there.