Woburn Jan 7th

Rob & I joined up today so that he could see in daylight what Woburn has to offer - all his previous visits have all been under darkness. I also wanted to kick start an Xmas weight loss program and to try and blow away the remains of a cold.

A 1pm start was agreed but Rob was running a little late before he then told me that he'd forgotten his helmet ! When he finally turned up he'd also initially left behind his jacket, which was definitely needed today as it was cold (1.5C) and very damp. With the late-ish start and my cold, we whimped out on a cycle to/from the woods and met by the "play area" off the A5130 between Woburn Sands and Woburn.

The trail itself was very entertaining as the mud was an ideal mix that kept the ride interesting but not excessively wet. In total contrast to Xmas eve which was almost dry and much faster. Fast wasn't on my agenda today as my cold was making my chest tight and strangling the lungs, it often felt like just one was working ! Even tho the ground was fairly wet, plenty of grip was available and not many sections caught us out. Although the damp roots still caused a few dismounts.

We also found a great new, albeit short section located on the Danesborough loop before the rooty end, which was has challenging climb and rewarded with a steep drop back to the main trail. The singletrack around the southern edge is now a definite alternative to the wide, horse trodden bridleway. It was good to see the "play area"/jump pit in daylight again and plenty of big machinery was hooning around in there, which helped keep me entertained whilst Rob explored a few trails on my 5Spot.

All in all, a great start to 2006 and although my cold still lingers it's not about to stop me getting the knobblies out.