I can’t thank you guys enough. Being so new to the sport I had no idea what to expect, but from the off I knew that I was in safe hands and all I had to do was keep pedalling and stay upright.
You chaps got me to Brighton, which is nearly six times further than I’ve ever ridden off road. It’s not a patch on what you achieved by doing the last brutal section, but I feel great to have been given a taste of what adventure can be had.
Singletrackmind was the most brilliant guide; he was constantly pointing out the tricky bits for me and if he hadn’t shouted “lean back” I would have been over the bars on a couple of the 30mph sections!
Piha and Mivi also gave me great tips about keeping the power on through the swampy bits and reading a line through the sections that demanded it. The Germinator was a powerhouse up hill on his hardtail and Pschle’s determination was an inspiring thing to behold. I learned heaps being around such confident and experienced riders.
The banter was quality throughout. The group seemed to click and the whole day was great fun.
Highlights for me were;
Misty dawn light shining through the poppy fields on first ascent from Winch.
The sigh of relief after proving that all our brakes worked on that Very steep bit during our ‘diversion’.
Not getting killed by that early commuter nut job in the Mondeo.
Learning Rob’s trick to squash a Soreen.
Getting to the top of the long climbs without puking.
Getting to the bottom of the slippery descents without losing the front (came too close on three occasions).
The girls at the Park, especially that moody jogger.
The quick pitstops where thousands of calories were consumed and jokes were made about whether Ming The Merciless had ridden through the night successfully or was hugging a tree somewhere like a broken man.
The views.
The water taps (would have been bad to miss one).
The cheery old walkers who held the gate for us.
Thanks guys. I’ve got the bug now.
😀
