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i'm about a mile from swinley and it is absolutely [i]chucking[/i] it down out there 😆
Reluctant nice one
The rain has only just started and it's a wee bit windy
You obviously don't leep with the window open.... It's been on and off since about 5am.
We all live in a Yellow submarine, a Yellow submarine, a Yellow submarine.....
🙂
Gonna bail on this. I prefer windsurfing when its as extreame as it is outside today, and its pretty extreme. It doesnt nearly hurt as much when you fall off.
Enjoy all
Have a great ride all, Would liked to have been there for this one as it's the sequel to New Years Ride, hope to join you for the next one.
HELP! I CAN'T FIND THE STRING! CAN SOMEONE BRING SOME PLEASE?
really is nasty out there, have fun!
its utterly disgusting in Swimdon still, best of British to you loons!! 😀
I have string
* RIDE UPDATE *
Bread used for bacon sandwiches deemed slightly moist.
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[u][b]NEWS FLASH[/b][/u]
Southerners in ride bail shocker because of a bit of rain 😉
I've bailed (!) on a ride (not this one) round that way because of the weather, I'm a northerner and it's grimmer than up north
My singlespeed bodge should be fine now. It's great riding today, soft, muddy, can't see without glasses. I'm lovin' it!
Well that was great fun!
A bit damp but still great fun. I am now going to soak in the bath with a couple of cold Innes & Gunn!
Thanks all.
Well that was great fun and nice dusty trails... LOL
Was good fun to get really muddy. Good to see some new face to.
Well done CG.
Jay
I had a great time - it was lovely to see some familiar faces along with new ones too 😀 Also I'd like to say a big thanks to Jedi who gave me some great tips on how to ride better, a top bloke (who also loves singing totally random songs very loudly haha!)
Ali
Just finished washing everything and eating. Thanks go to CG for organinising generally and for PP and Mark (?) for expertly leading round the intermediates, I had a great time. I have to see how my BB handles being completely submerged in that massive puddle! 😈 Kudos to Turboferret for being so blooming quick on his SS and for his waterproof socks...
Pete (dark red Blur)
It was pretty good,despite the downpour. Sods law strikes again!! I can't believe how wet the trails have gotten in just a few days, they was dry last tuesday!
Top work, CG, for doing the organising - count me in for the next one 🙂
2nd on thanks for organising. Am currently breaking the washing machine from filling it with Swinley grit and have already ordered new brake pads for the set that wore out 🙂
Cheers CG! And thanks be to bloke (forgive me, very rude of me but I didnt catch his name!) who provided the cakes!!! He was taking photos on the jumpy group! They were absolutely lovely and most needed to cool me down and clear the dust off my throat!!!
Also thanks to Dave (Solomander) who led our group twas great fun! Even if I have literally no brake left!
Cheers
Nick
thanks to all
we formed our own splinter group as we are socially backward and smell a bit.
Was good to see a few new people and to catch up with a few old faces.
Thanks to Jedi for the mental picture of his 'perfectly ex-foliated nut sack'.
Did anybody else think RiggsyB (not sure of his new forum name) turned up dressed as a ghost?
Thanks very much CG for organising it all, well done. That was a great ride, everyone was very well humoured considering the weather and lack of brake pads by the end of the day! Fantastic turn out too.
Nick, sure way to get me to ride faster was knowing their was a nutcase behind who also had no brakes 🙂
Peter Poddy was the cake provider
if anyone finds all the travel from mrsmw's forks could you let me know, it seemed to disappear on the first section of singletrack and she rode for 2 and a half hours with pretty much rigid forks!
Rigid forks - How did she make it?
PSA
If someone lost their Black and Orange Bloc glasses I found them. I gave them to some other bloke in the carpark as they were too small for me. He drove a Skoda Octavia so probably a STWer.
i enjoyed myself today. sung songs,rode bikes and got to jump out at someone halfway down some singletrack and he shit himself 🙂
no idea WCA, she's going to fit a silly big wheel to compensate instead
XC_PK,you are more than welcome! Hope it helped 'learn' the place a bit more too...
Mark
(oh and thanks should also go to Reluctant too he helped guide with Petetheplumber and me too!)
Great fun despite trench-foot and being with the jumpy group cos all the others had left the car park! Excellent riding although my wheels stayed fimrly on the ground.
Cheers to solamanda for guiding and whipping the tree with his back wheel and Nick for the entertaining jumps and being driven off the trail by my dithering, between 2 very narrow trees. That man has skillz! 🙂
One of our group lost his glasses, not sure if they were Bloc ones though.
That was good wet fun! Thanks to all in the Slacker Group(s). Never got round to asking who was who, but would love to know, so who else was in the slacker group? I was on the white commencal hardtail that lost its back brake. Looking forward to the next outing.
i was the sweeper in the slackers group
Siht that was wet. Have pics. Will upload. Some are decent.....
Dinner time..... NOW! 🙂
Blue - I was in your group. Fixed
Fun, fun, fun, in the sun, sun, sun!
Such a big thank you to CG for getting this together and leading us slackers around through the ponds that were the trails - a massive amount of fun.
Yeah, it rained quite a bit and there were one or two puddles, but when the sun came out, it was a very good feeling!
I really enjoyed putting faces to forum names (though I've forgotten everyone's real names, but who uses those ANYWAY??) and meeting lots of similarly silly people who didn't take it seriously at all. Prizes to WCA for "Most Niche Bike"... 😉
BTW, the environment agency and the Crown Estate have been on to us for polluting Swinley Forest - apparently we dumped in excess of 3 tonnes of brake pad material on our way round...
Only done to wind up the purists 😉
I really am the attention whore I appear on here.
Great fun today, so nice to get properly muddy again 🙂 Have remembered that winter eats bikes though, 2 pairs of pads and one pair of forks needed 😯
Nice to meet up with old friends and make some new ones, cheers to CG for organising and all of the other guides and sweepers. Pete, say thanks to Kirsty for the cookies, yummmmmmmm. Cake stomach is in overdrive today...
[i]i was the sweeper in the slackers group [/i]
i was escorting the sweeper in the slackers group 😆
I was too niche for the slackers. I just happened to ride the same trails.
😉
great day out regardless of weather. Thanks to everyone in the intermediate group. Heres the GPS route we took this morning and this afternoon (after pit stopping for more brake pads!)for anyone interested (I know some asked).
http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=tuldtweyoadxgyud
Ian (Titus Motolite)
high 5 aliegh!! 🙂
A great day out despite the weather.
Thanks to Auntie C_G for organising and all her trail guiding volunteers.
CG
Been home long enough to dry out and upload some pics . I didnt take many as it was just a little too wet for my camera. My day didnt start well as I damaged my rear brake somehow in the car ! Riding with just a front brake was fun with all those roots but at least my rear pads didnt wear out. A big thank you to CG for putting the ride on and Pete for the cookies.
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more [url= http://www.paul-knott.fotopic.net/c1775492.html ]here[/url]
WCA - Yes have BBB pic.
Rich P - Kirsty says she's glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Wow - what can I say? With a weather forecast promising doom and gloom, I honestly didn't know whether anyone would come.
Thanks to everyone who turned up, especially the guides and sweepers 🙂 Special thanks to Hairychested for the colourful banner. I will wash and return it to you at the next group ride.
It was good to meet new faces and to see again the old faces. The Slackers group were certainly entertained by jedi's toons and random sounds 😉
The conditions were "challenging" and certainly different to the January ride when it was minus 7 degrees 😯 However, it couldn't have been that bad cos many more of you wanted to ride after lunch!
I trust that you have all now washed and lubed your bikes, replaced brake pads etc etc 😉
Did anybody else think RiggsyB (not sure of his new forum name) turned up dressed as a ghost?
Cheers!
Probably cos I'd only had 2 hours sleep mate... Living it up last night you see, 2 nights in a row I hasten to add, and last weekend too! Despite the fact I'm only 2 years younger than you, I STILL know how to go out clubbing and have a party, not just talk about the good old times... 😉
Hehe. Sorry... A bloody ghost indeed! It was halloween yesterday though of course.
Cheers again Elaine for organising yet, well done Jedi for frightening the shit out of the guy riding behind me (and confusing the hell out of me as to why he just dumped his bike and dived into the bushes so suddenly), to Chris who came with me and my mate for whom it was only his second bike ride ever, and to everyone else for actually just being there in the first bloody place despite the weather!
Oh, and a MASSIVE congratulations to anybody who has any brake pads left after today... Mine had totally disolved by the time we got back to the carpark at the end!
I trust that you have all now washed and lubed your bikes, replaced brake pads etc etc
Gimme a chance luv, I only got home about 15 minutes ago! 😕
[i]I trust that you have all now washed and lubed your bikes, replaced brake pads etc etc[/i]
i let muck off do it's job 😆
mboy!!! now i know who you are (high5)
i let muck off do it's job
Rotting seals?
Lol at cleaning the bike, didn't even bother putting it back together, just slung it in the shed in bits. I need to get a job doing destructive testing...
mines in my car still......................... ruined 🙂
mines in my car still......................... ruined
Yours ain't the only one!
High 5 back fella...
Mine is happy and clean in the shed, even though I don't have any brake pads left..
well i am well and truly shot to pieces .440 miles of driving in 2 days,been thoroughly caned by Aleigh at Afan !and at times today wished i had a snorkel !Shame on you buggers who haven't cleaned yer bikes off !! 8)you'll be sorry !thanks elaine for guiding me round swampley !!! :roll:too knak'd to tell whether i enjoyed it yet .
Aleigh - I am seriously impressed that you have purchased some Muc-Off 8)
Bikes need to be loved and cossetted cos if I'm nice to them then maybe, just maybe, they might be nice (read "not chuck me off") to me 🙄
[i]Aleigh - I am seriously impressed that you have purchased some Muc-Off [/i]
well i thought i'd better make an effort seeing as winter's now here!
mukoff was designed by bike shops to kill bikes 😉
well it's a good job i don't clean my bike that often then! 😆
most of the mud fell off on the sunny dry motorway 😯
riders down south are more reserved on the stw rides than in scotland 🙂 🙂
30 of us for a curry after etc.. in peebles
Thanks everybody for a great day out, I really loved it.
My bike was taken to the shower, washed with a gently scented body wash and then rinsed with warm water. My wife had this idea and even helped me do it. Then it was my turn. Top girl I say 🙂
Pics slowly uploading. God knows how I managed to get any decent ones....!
Have a taster....
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Full set now here...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/peter_atkin/sets/72157622586802385/
Some great faces were pulled....
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🙂
Wow Peter they look fab. All that wiping of the lens must've been a right pain.
Thanks for posting my big gob! 🙂
Love that first pic of solamanda 8) He's really enjoying himself and hadn't noticed the rain!
Wow, you got some amazingly sharp shots considering the conditions!
some cracking shots there PP
Nice one PP some amazing shots, I actually quite like the 'mistiness' on some of them looks pretty spooky and halloween!
Great day! Thanks very much. Bike is gonna need some serious TLC in the morning!!
Many thanks to CG for organising this one, and to Pete the plumber and the other intermediate guides.
I'll have to get a full day pass for the next one!
Ian (ancient Fusion)
Thanks Elaine for organising and thanks to the intermediate group guides, had a great day. Haven't had time to clean the bike yet, it's festering in the garage, but i did bring a fair bit of Swinley home in my cycling shoes!
Neville (white Pace).
[i]Back to life
Back to reality
Back to life
Back to reality[/i]
The memories from yesterday will keep me going, thanks Elaine!
I better add my thanks to all. Cheers to the guys that led the intermediate group. I must order some new pads for my v brakes, I have never seen pads wear down so quickly!
Forgot to say thanks to mr & mrs p for the goodies .Top standard as usual.Thought i would feel better after a nights sleep .WRONG !!!!Had to be all the driving i done 😯
I had a great time thanks to CG for organizing. This was my first time doing anything like this and it was great fun. Thanks to Jay and Kate who lead the slackers. Although named slackers I was absolutely knackered.
Thanks again everyone I will definitely join you guys again. (maybe after getting my fitness level up a bit).
Nice one PP some amazing shots, I actually quite like the 'mistiness' on some of them looks pretty spooky and halloween!
That was the fog on the lens that I couldn't clear.....
Wow, you got some amazingly sharp shots considering the conditions!
Thank the flash for that. Without that, forget it...... 🙂
That pic of Solamana is my favourite of the day. It's just the look on his face and the water streaming off the bottom of the bike that do it for me. 🙂
The CG Swinley forest ride, in the press:
"**, great day and great coffee" Singletrack Magazine
"**, great day and a Specialized bike was your best option" MBR
"**, beyond rad" MBUK
"**, fantastique" VTT Mag
Thanks for such a nice day out with great people, all of you!
Gilles
Well that was a little damp wasn't it. Brake levers back to the bars here. At least the old alpinestars is still clean (apart from egg and ketchup stains on the top tube from a lunch time accident). Cheers C_G.
Yep, lots of fun yesterday - shame I had to do a runner back to Crowthorne to get my beef stew on in the afternoon! Cracking ride though, and no broken frame this time either!
That was truely a great days riding despite the mornings weather, nice to see some other people on sensible sized bikes for a change (bananaworld & the guy on the IF, sorry i forget peoples names real quickly 😳 ).
Loads of new (to me) trails to try and remember where they are for next time I'm up at Swinley although i was "lost" most of the time 😕
Cheers to everyone who helped make it such an enjoyable day. Right, now back to the bickering on the forum after the peace & love of the group ride 😉