Mountain biking

[malcomio]

Is there anyone out there who wants to do some off-road cycling? Maybe go out to the North Downs while the weather is good - nothing too hardcore, though.

I need to get some use out of the suspension on the mountain bike I got last year - I put slick tyres on it, and I've only used the knobbly tyres once.

[bon3yard]

Sounds like a plan, i've been looking for somewhere offroad to go. I'm not the fittest but am getting fitter so you might have to take it easy for a while. So, whats the idea???

[malcomio]

I'm not particularly fit either, and a lot of weekends are booked up, but I was definitely planning to go on this ride at the end of august, and hopefully some before that if I can.

http://evanscycles.co.uk/ride-it/oxted

I've got a rack for my car that can hold 3 bikes, so it's just a question of figuring out where and when...

[Horsebox]

A great idea. If you can propose a date or 2 and i'm free then i'd be well up for joining you on this. My bike is used daily for the commute but it's not exactly testing.

[malcomio]

how about either saturday 9th or saturday 23rd August? not sure where, but let's start looking into that

[bon3yard]

Definitely count me in Malcom, we can split petrol etc. I'm quite excited about this...

[malcomio]

yes, lets do saturday 9th, any suggestions of location?

[jim_the_chin]

I spent a good 10 years of sunday mornings on the north downs before my bike and bones gave up the ghost. our best start route was in a car park just before holmbury st. mary, cycling up the hill from there took you to the top of holmbury hill, from there work your way east to leith hill for a stop at the top for cake and tea and back again. there is some tough climbing in this route though - but you can't really avoid climbing on the north downs. obviously, there's a thousand variations, the best way is to just head out and explore, take an OS map and see where you get to.

holmbury is off the a25 dorking to guildford road, travel up for about a mile and you find the car park on your right, quite well hidden. if you get into holmbury village you've missed it.

check the OS maps on their website.

i'd love to come but have no bike no more (and am on holiday on that date).

[malcomio]

thanks Jim, I'll investigate that

The other places I found in a book, that I thought might be good and not too far away were at Box Hill, Godstone and Sevenoaks

I scanned in the maps - they're big files, so be patient if you click the links:

http://www.red-route.org/sevenoaks.jpg

http://www.red-route.org/godstone.jpg

http://www.red-route.org/box-hill.jpg

[Horsebox]

Can't do the 9th I'm afraid.

Would love to come along another time so please report back how it goes.

Have a good ride.

[bon3yard]

Thanks for the lift yesterday. I really enjoyed the ride, especially the rugged downhill sections. Apparently that awful initial uphill section we faced did run parallel to Box Hill which has a certain reputation so lets not beat ourselves up about it. Overall it was a good intro and I suggest we do it on a fairly regular basis....I'm a little sceptical about you getting 3 bikes on that rack though! ;-)

[Clazza]

Box Hill is great, Godstone cool, Bracknell has some easier routes, Epping Forest & Richmond.

[malcomio]

thanks for the suggestions. definitely up for doing that again - saturday 23rd somewhere and saturday 30th at Oxted should be good for me. if there are 3 of us up for a ride, maybe we should pick somewhere doable by train just in case we can't get 3 bikes on the back of the car (which i think is probably quite likely)

[bon3yard]

Can always make space in my diary. Mike. 0790668962.

[bon3yard]

So whats happening this weekend Malcolm? Mike.

[malcomio]

morning. how about the godstone route from the book that i posted above (but with the shortcut, so it's only 14 miles instead of 23, and avoids the worst of it)? meet at mine at 9.30 again?

[bon3yard]

Pending the arrival of my headset spanners, aye. Text me your phone number in case I need to get hold of you at short notice. I'll pm you with it. What day are we going on? Was The Godstone route the alternative to the smaller route we did last time, the one with the dreadful looking hills?

[bon3yard]

My number is 07901668962.

[malcomio]

oh sorry - really should read things through before sending them. Saturday morning.

godstone isn't as far away, not sure how harsh the hills are, but the description says "the shortcut helps avoid some of the big hills, so there are no excuses"

hmm...

[bon3yard]

That sounds great. I'm in...provisionally at least. Might I suggest we stop of on the way back and give our bikes a bit of a hose down. Mines a crusty beast at the moment as I am by nature a boneidle fecker.

[bon3yard]

If anyone is interested in a bit of mountain biking in Kent then please let me know. Malcolm had his bike swiped a while back and I guess he hasnt replaced it yet and the net result is that I havent been offroad for months now! If anyone has a car and cycle rack that would be even better(split petrol money etc). M. :))

[fi]

Hi Bon3yard

I'm new to ED and would love to go for an off-road trip but it depends how hard-core you are on your off-roading? I haven't got a huge amount of experience but I love it and have got nerves of steel if that helps!

No car though.

[bon3yard]

Not that hardcore Fi. I do like to get messy though. It would be great to get a few of us together and sort some transport out. Let me know if you have any ideas. Regards, M.

[woofmarkthedog]

Don't get me wrong but the mental picture builds like this.....

Grown men , paunchy with map upside down dressed in lycra.....puffin their way up a molehill in Kent

Can I come......

W***F

[JimmyP]

Hey,

I could be keen. I've got a car and bike rack too.

When are you planning on going?