Frankenorange
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Today's Ride
- Thread starter FairfaxPat
- Start date
Iwasgoodonce
Old School Grand Master
No photos actually en-route as I didn’t stop. My riding has I think started to change. I always rode the same loop of 24 miles trying to shave seconds off on each ride. Like an economy based on continuous growth, this isn’t sustainable!
What rides I have done this year have been on new roads navigating (guessing) my way around. The A5 basically runs due east/west so this isn’t too difficult.
For old times sake, I rode the old loop yesterday in an attempt to beat the smug little tit on his TT bike on my Garmin. I didn’t manage to beat him last year but, success!
Consider yourself beaten and I can keep from being officially too old for another summer. The bike:
The original XTII rear mech that was on my 1990 Saracen when I bought it new and slightly discounted in 1991. Slightly slack in the joints for indexing but fine in all its short cage glory for the friction shift on this bike.
What rides I have done this year have been on new roads navigating (guessing) my way around. The A5 basically runs due east/west so this isn’t too difficult.
For old times sake, I rode the old loop yesterday in an attempt to beat the smug little tit on his TT bike on my Garmin. I didn’t manage to beat him last year but, success!
Consider yourself beaten and I can keep from being officially too old for another summer. The bike:
The original XTII rear mech that was on my 1990 Saracen when I bought it new and slightly discounted in 1991. Slightly slack in the joints for indexing but fine in all its short cage glory for the friction shift on this bike.
2manyoranges
Old School Grand Master
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Retro-challenged content.
Well….back in UK and had a wonderful day in Friston Forest (Sussex Downs at Cuckmere Haven). The Grom is back on form after modifying both the Alps and himself, yet again bouncing off everything and getting air where we stay resolutely on the ground. Friston is just wonderful. Dappled light through the beech trees, glorious patches of maidenhair ferns, long inclined singletrack which runs extremely fast….
The forest loam is grippy and soft, and dog walkers few and far between. We arrive in the car park for a leisurely off-load and tool-up and then it’s a long haul up various paths to the top. We are spoilt by the Alpine uplifts and we have to get used to hauling our own ars-s up the hill. But it’s all good, and we still have breath for chat. A few stops to remove nasty wind fallen branches. The first loop from the top is just down, down, down, endlessly down. And fast. A brilliantly built trail which takes some swooping turns and tight S’s through the beeches. Wonderful. We emerge back at the car park with Big Smiles. Then it’s back up the hill for exploration…
We find….
Two bomb holes with fun drop ins which the Grom instantly jumps into. Er try checking before you drop in next time. Swoop.
Mud…a great narrow weaving trail right on top of the hill which is …. right muddy.
A DH track…I mean a genuine Alpine style thing, with terrifying drop offs and massive holes.
Meandering loamy singletrack all over the place.
A bunch of seven or so nice E Bikers who exclaim…‘look real cyclists!…’ as we pass at the gate…noice.
Bikes for today? Stanton ti Switch9er, Transition Patrol carbon, Stanton steel Slackline.
Effort for today? Mid.
Feelings for today? Relaxed, smiley, inner peace.
Note to editors:
The Grom is not taking a selfie. The thing which he is holding up is not an iphone. He is not part of the ‘inflated ego’ generation….me, me…me and more me.
Rather, he is holding up and squeezing out some energy gel and considering its merits and demerits…
We like it. In all its tropical fruitiness. Ant hates it.
It IS weird.
But in a fruity way.
U P D A T E
And here is some else's nice, accurate account of the riding in Friston Forest.
https://lardymtb.wordpress.com/test...downside, Friston doesn,muddy, no fun at all.
If you are into bike parks etc and your metric for somewhere to while away the hours is Dyfi Bike Park then Friston will be disappointing.
If you live in Cambridgeshire then it is mighty rewarding
Well….back in UK and had a wonderful day in Friston Forest (Sussex Downs at Cuckmere Haven). The Grom is back on form after modifying both the Alps and himself, yet again bouncing off everything and getting air where we stay resolutely on the ground. Friston is just wonderful. Dappled light through the beech trees, glorious patches of maidenhair ferns, long inclined singletrack which runs extremely fast….
The forest loam is grippy and soft, and dog walkers few and far between. We arrive in the car park for a leisurely off-load and tool-up and then it’s a long haul up various paths to the top. We are spoilt by the Alpine uplifts and we have to get used to hauling our own ars-s up the hill. But it’s all good, and we still have breath for chat. A few stops to remove nasty wind fallen branches. The first loop from the top is just down, down, down, endlessly down. And fast. A brilliantly built trail which takes some swooping turns and tight S’s through the beeches. Wonderful. We emerge back at the car park with Big Smiles. Then it’s back up the hill for exploration…
We find….
Two bomb holes with fun drop ins which the Grom instantly jumps into. Er try checking before you drop in next time. Swoop.
Mud…a great narrow weaving trail right on top of the hill which is …. right muddy.
A DH track…I mean a genuine Alpine style thing, with terrifying drop offs and massive holes.
Meandering loamy singletrack all over the place.
A bunch of seven or so nice E Bikers who exclaim…‘look real cyclists!…’ as we pass at the gate…noice.
Bikes for today? Stanton ti Switch9er, Transition Patrol carbon, Stanton steel Slackline.
Effort for today? Mid.
Feelings for today? Relaxed, smiley, inner peace.
Note to editors:
The Grom is not taking a selfie. The thing which he is holding up is not an iphone. He is not part of the ‘inflated ego’ generation….me, me…me and more me.
Rather, he is holding up and squeezing out some energy gel and considering its merits and demerits…
We like it. In all its tropical fruitiness. Ant hates it.
It IS weird.
But in a fruity way.
U P D A T E
And here is some else's nice, accurate account of the riding in Friston Forest.
https://lardymtb.wordpress.com/test...downside, Friston doesn,muddy, no fun at all.
If you are into bike parks etc and your metric for somewhere to while away the hours is Dyfi Bike Park then Friston will be disappointing.
If you live in Cambridgeshire then it is mighty rewarding
Last edited:
Totoro
Senior Retro Guru
Todays ride wasn't great really.
Cheap crap Chinese E-bike, very heavy rain, 3.5 miles then the motor wouldn't engage. You can't really ride it without battery power as its so heavy and it has resistance coming from somewhere (the motor) so pushing it also isn't all that easy... Which is what I had to do for 3.5 mile.
Proper branded (retro) non E-bike should be here next week to solve these problems.
Cheap crap Chinese E-bike, very heavy rain, 3.5 miles then the motor wouldn't engage. You can't really ride it without battery power as its so heavy and it has resistance coming from somewhere (the motor) so pushing it also isn't all that easy... Which is what I had to do for 3.5 mile.
Proper branded (retro) non E-bike should be here next week to solve these problems.
2manyoranges
Old School Grand Master
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sjcprojects
Orange 🍊 Fan
The Needles Headland on the Isle of Wight. I just managed to get a short ride in before the sun went down. There are some fun little switchbacks on this road, which make up for it being a dead end. I've not been to the island since I was a kid.
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