Ibstone
This morning a bunch of my knobbly chums and I met up a few miles south of Watlington in another area boasting many a red kite swirling overhead. R2 had pulled together quite a tasty route that enticed even clipperty-clopperty Robbery out of knobbled retirement :p
The weather forecast didn't look promising but after driving thru a few small showers, saddlin' up and cranking a few clicks the skys brightened and the layers were removed. Reviewing R2's route we knew that it wouldn't be long before we'd be panting up another ascent. But "what goes up, MUST come down" and the pantin' was soon replaced with "whoops" :)
The route consists mainly of bridleways but as is the norm around here they're often dug into the landscape and provide excellent banked turns to liven up the long fast descents. Thankfully the drizzle hadn't turned the chalky ground into a quagmire but I can image the route would be a serious grind in the wetter months.
The MG club followed us through the back lanes for most of the day which reminded us how far the old tin-tops have come along these days.
In preparation for our summer Alpine assault I decided to boot up with moosive 2.5" DH knobblies and give the new rubber a pukka test. They didn't seem to drag on a recent Woburn but my oh my was I getting fed up of constantly crankin' the blighters up 3k ft+. The trade off were completely solid DH run's were I could pick'n'choose my line with greater confidence. Mind you on the last flinty descent I had to temper my rapid descent as the sole of my feet were getting pounded with rocks kicked up by the front hoop ! Yes DHilla, I've finally been converted to Maxxis!
With all the Canyon rigs on this ride I kinda felt left out on my hefty Turner. I know that my German climbs a darn sight easier with skinny 2.2's. The last few climbs were long and the gully up the final haul caught out the few who still had the legs to winch their way up.
Thanks to R2 for organising another great ride on some tasty trails.
Pic's
Tracklog
Posse: Chaz (Nerve XC), Darren (Heckler), Dozer (Nerve ES), Farqui (5Spot), Rob (Flux), R2 (Nerve XC), Sicknote (Pitch), Uphilla (El Salty), Willy (Spesh h/tail)
Mechanicals: None - not even a flat tyre
Weather: Overcast clearing to sunny yet breezy
The weather forecast didn't look promising but after driving thru a few small showers, saddlin' up and cranking a few clicks the skys brightened and the layers were removed. Reviewing R2's route we knew that it wouldn't be long before we'd be panting up another ascent. But "what goes up, MUST come down" and the pantin' was soon replaced with "whoops" :)
The route consists mainly of bridleways but as is the norm around here they're often dug into the landscape and provide excellent banked turns to liven up the long fast descents. Thankfully the drizzle hadn't turned the chalky ground into a quagmire but I can image the route would be a serious grind in the wetter months.The MG club followed us through the back lanes for most of the day which reminded us how far the old tin-tops have come along these days.
In preparation for our summer Alpine assault I decided to boot up with moosive 2.5" DH knobblies and give the new rubber a pukka test. They didn't seem to drag on a recent Woburn but my oh my was I getting fed up of constantly crankin' the blighters up 3k ft+. The trade off were completely solid DH run's were I could pick'n'choose my line with greater confidence. Mind you on the last flinty descent I had to temper my rapid descent as the sole of my feet were getting pounded with rocks kicked up by the front hoop ! Yes DHilla, I've finally been converted to Maxxis!
With all the Canyon rigs on this ride I kinda felt left out on my hefty Turner. I know that my German climbs a darn sight easier with skinny 2.2's. The last few climbs were long and the gully up the final haul caught out the few who still had the legs to winch their way up.
Thanks to R2 for organising another great ride on some tasty trails.
Pic's
Tracklog
Posse: Chaz (Nerve XC), Darren (Heckler), Dozer (Nerve ES), Farqui (5Spot), Rob (Flux), R2 (Nerve XC), Sicknote (Pitch), Uphilla (El Salty), Willy (Spesh h/tail)
Mechanicals: None - not even a flat tyre
Weather: Overcast clearing to sunny yet breezy
2 Comments:
Rob#2 said...
Thanks for the blog text..I really enjoyed the ride and what turned out to be great riding weather and fine Chiltern hills. It was good to ride with the posse and I'm already planning the next Watlington Blog invite. Perhaps July, once everyone has returned from France....I'll try to put together a ride that combines the very best of the downhills....guess it may involve a little more hill climbing!
uphilla said...
Great ride, thanks - some amazing fast, long and testing downhills that would not be out of place at a 'trail centre'. Weather was a big bonus, always better in the Chilterns when it is dry.
Look forward to the next one:-)
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