Brighton

SpinningJenny

10am is fine for me - the cats will get fed

Walking up Elm Grove is a bit of a nono for so many people.... good job they don't live in San Francisco or they'd be housebound

Let's see if we can get more locals in on this in the meantime... it would be great to get a few more together.

And Andy - good luck on the job front.

Danielsan

Hi all! Fellow Brighton biker here.

Won't be able to make this Sunday but would definitely be up for a ride in the near future. Bought a BeOne Aspire last year and as yet it has only tasted Devon and Lake District dirt! Just been too busy to get out and find some routes so it'd be good to meet up with people who know where we're going!

Have a good one this weekend and let me know if anything else gets organised.

SpinningJenny

Danielsan wrote:

Hi all! Fellow Brighton biker here.

..... so it'd be good to meet up with people who know where we're going!

Have a good one this weekend and let me know if anything else gets organised.

I have no idea where I'm going - just following everyone else!

AndyOgy

SpinningJenny wrote:

Danielsan wrote:

Hi all! Fellow Brighton biker here.

..... so it'd be good to meet up with people who know where we're going!

Have a good one this weekend and let me know if anything else gets organised.

I have no idea where I'm going - just following everyone else!

Ha ha. I must admit, I was worried about getting us all lost. So much so that I rode the route on Saturday morning, sans map, just to make sure that I knew where I was going. Oh, and it turns out that it's a little over 20 miles, not 25 as I'd previously stated.

I'm just about to go out and explore the bridleways around Kingston, Rottingdean, Iford, Rodmell and Southease. But with a map this time. Doesn't look like I'll be able to make a massive loop out of it, but the countour lines look, err, interesting in places.

SpinningJenny

That sounds like good prep, Andy - much appreciated! I'll bring a map, shall I?

Hope you enjoy your outing and the weather!

RockyHopperShow

I'm not going to make it this weekend folks as I am working on the Saturday night. I might just have to make do with a short bimble over Truleigh Hill in the late afternoon instead. The good thing is there are a couple of nice watering holes sheltering in the Downs too.

SpinningJenny

that's a shame!

enjoy whatever you manage to do though

SpinningJenny

Have you seen the weather forecast for Sunday...?

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/se/brighton_forecast_weather.html

I expect i know the answer to this, but that route gets v. muddy, yes?

Hmmm.....

AndyOgy

Funnily enough, I just logged into BikeRadar because I'd seen the weather forecast and was going to tell you about it.

Parts of that route do get very muddy, yes.

I have seen the met office website do a complete u-turn when predicting the weather for more than 48hrs in advance. But if it doesn't change, shall we do the ride another time?

It's really gutting since I thought that the recent weather was shaping up to be the start of a really great summer. I've had a couple of really good rides this week and the South Downs had dried up nicely. I even got myself some really funny (but rather red) tan lines.

AndyOgy

I did post a link to an amusing picture of my sunburn in another thread but I can't find it now. Anyhow, if you fancy a laugh:

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak ... 3244_n.jpg

SpinningJenny

Lovely 'skin-vest' you have there!!!

Yeah, the met office do change their minds a bit, don't they! I must admit (and call me feeble if you like) but I absolutely do not fancy schlepping up to Stanmer in the pouring rain, wet weather gear or not...

Let's keep an eye out. I'll have to post on here by lunch time tomorrow as I'll be away from anywhere with a computer after then, unitl Sunday... I'm sure there will be dry weather coming up soon...

In the meantime, get out there whilst you can! The Downs looked lovely this morning at 6.45 as my train came out the other side!

AndyOgy

Ah, don't worry. I won't be calling anybody feeble. Sloppy trails do take some of the fun out of it and there is always an increased chance of falling off. Also, lots of mud and rain will significantly increase the wear and tear on our bikes. I recently had some Shimano XTR disc brakes fitted. I found out afterwards that replacing the titanium backed pads with the proper Shimano ones will cost about £90. Therefore, I plan to get as many miles as possible out of them, even if it means missing a ride here and there due to bad weather.

Did your Rockhopper come with the Fast Track LK tyres fitted? I had those on mine when it was new and they're an amazing summer tyre. Really fast and quite grippy in the dry. I fitted some Panaracer Fire tyres last year when I'd worn out the Fast Tracks and the trails had gotten a bit gloopy. Now that the trails have dried up (for now), they're noticably slower than the Fast Tracks.

I only just realised that you got the '08 model Rockhopper. That was a really wise move. The '08 models were better specced and I'm sure that you got a really good price because it was last years model. I didn't realise that there were still any '08 models left.

I just looked at the Met Office website again and they're predicting bright sunshine for Monday. So if we give it a miss on Sunday, I'm sure that we won't have to wait too long before we get another chance for a dry sunny ride. It'll also give my skin some time to recover from the sunburn.

RockyHopperShow

Ah, the commute by train Jenny. Do you do the new Gatwick Express service or travel Southern/FCC? The reason I ask is I drive for GE, but don't come down further than Three Bridges (daft isn't it!) I usually commute from Shoreham to Gatwick, change trains and get the Express up to sign-on for work.

SpinningJenny

Andy - phew! I'm not scared to get dirty or wet, but given that I am only a recent convert to the MTB lark, I do want to break myself in sensibly. For all I know, you're hyper-skilled and I do worry about holding people back. Better to get my skills sorted in the dry, dontcha think?! Deffo up for it in dry weather (sunshine not necessary and a bit of drizzle is acceptable!)

Well, you're the 3rd person to tell me that I got a great bike - in addition to the guys at Rayment! I'm so pleased I was lucky on that score. Price-wise - a good deal, definitely! as for the tyres... yes I did! Thanks for the info and heads up - very helpful!

RockyHopperShow - My routine is Southern to London Bridge at 6.37 in the morning (that's a great service now they've reinstated it) and then FCC from LB in the evening (or if I'm lucky to leave early, the Southern service). I hate FCC with a passion, for obvious reasons...

if it all goes Pete Tong, then I have to use the GE to Victoria and suffer the underground...

Btw - did you always want to be a train driver?

jimih73

hello all you brighton bikers

i also live and ride in this wonderful city. i ride as often as possible and am always looking for new people to ride with. let me know when you are planning some rides and i'll come along if i'm able, may even get my dearly beloved out once i fix her bike (gear hanger broke half way round the Evans cycles Ride it last saturday! i bodged it to singlespeed and had to ride it back! :roll: ).

AndyOgy

SpinningJenny - Don't worry about holding me back, I'm a long way from hyper-skilled. I only really got back into cycling last year after a break of nearly 15 years. I took MTB'ing really seriously as a kid but it's now more about the sight seeing and exploring for me. I did indulge in a bit of SCR'ing when I was riding the road bike to and from work, but it did kinda feel like I was the only one playing since it's more of a London thing.

jimih73 - Good to see another Brightonian on here. Keep watching this thread (and the Met Office website) and I'm sure we'll get another date for the ride sorted out soon. A couple of people were up for a ride but couldn't make this Sunday, so maybe it's a good thing that it looks like it's going to be postponed for now. Early indications show that the weather is set to improve again early next week, so we won't have to wait long.

I had a really good ride today. The trails are so fast at the moment and the bike is covered in dust. It's nice to get out during the week when I have the hills pretty much to myself.

SpinningJenny

AndyOgy wrote:

I had a really good ride today. The trails are so fast at the moment and the bike is covered in dust. It's nice to get out during the week when I have the hills pretty much to myself.

not at all jealous.... :roll:

i'm aiming to get out early on sat - as in 6.30am - it's the only time i have free all day :shock:

jimih73 - hello! it would be great to get a group of us together... let's pray to the sun gods for more of the dry stuff

AndyOgy

Now I'm the one who's jealous. There's something very special about rding early at the weekend. Especially if you finish a decent length ride before even the dog walkers come out. It's as though you're part of a very small percentage of the population who is actually awake and doing something.
No such pleasure for me this Saturday as the OH tells me that we're going out on Friday night. That'll probably mean a hangover on Saturday morning. Maybe I'll be alright to tackle a light route somewhere by Sat afternoon.

SpinningJenny

yep, i must admit i love getting out early! before we moved to Brighton, i used to wake up early and have no idea what to do with myself... that was BB though (Before Biking)

the first time I ever got out on my bike really early, i went down on the Undercliffe as far as you can go - it was a beautiful morning, but a bit windy, so the waves were quite choppy - I was blown away by it all and then realised THIS was why I lived by the sea....

enjoy the hangover

RockyHopperShow

Wouldn't you know it. I have a day off today and was thnking of popping out somewhere on the bike before the worst of the weather arrives and my missus decides I have to pick up a new clothes horse.....I mean ab training machine :roll:
Jenny, yes I did always want to drive trains really, although I split my service to try other stuff (big mistake, but you have to give it a go) I love it.......even the commuters, bless 'em

SpinningJenny

haha - clothes horse = abs machine - too true!

glad the train driver dream is what you wanted - how many of us get to do the thing we always wanted to do for a living....?

AndyOgy

I've got a spare clothes horse kicking about somewhere if anybody wants to swap it for their excersise bike that they're currently using to hang clothes on? I'd even settle for a cross trainer.

AndyOgy

Err, so what happened to this rain then?

Did you get out for the ride yesterday SpinningJenny?

I see that the Met Office is now predicting rain for all of next week.

luckylewis

Hi All,

I don't want to highjack this thread, but wondered if there might be any organised rides coming up.

I am new to Hove and new to MTB, but just got my first shiny new bike. I have started a thread of my own to ask about routes and rides, but just thought I'd drop a line on here in case anyone want to get in touch. Any suggestions of routes or any rides that I might be able to come along with would be great.

Thanks,

Chris

AndyOgy

Hi Chris,

I'd like to try to arrange a ride soon but I want to do it in nice weather. The Met Office website seems to have gone a little crazy though.

I'll see how the weather pans out during the week and we can maybe try again for this Sunday.

Fingers crossed..........

luckylewis

Thanks for the response. Not sure I can make this weekend unfortunately. I have my kids staying with me every other weekend, so will get them out on their bikes

Weekend after is good, and sometimes during the week as I am lucky enough to "work" from home fairly often.

Let's see what the Met office comes up with.

SpinningJenny

Andy - nope - long story

never mind... can't do this Sunday, but let's see how it goes!

Chris - welcome

AndyOgy

Ok, this is starting to get silly now.

The Met Office website says that it's raining heavily RIGHT NOW.

Assuming that there is some rain on the way at some point, I'm gonna take one for the team. My road bike is cleaner than it's ever been and I think I'm going to take her out for a nice long ride tomorrow. Nothing guarantees rain like taking an uber shiny bike out for a spin.

If all goes according to plan, I'll tease the rain out of the skies and hopefully there will be nothing left but sunshine.

On a different note - any of you guys or gals up for this:

www.brightonbigdog.com

A 6hr endurance race around Stanmer Park with a big party afterwards. Bit pricey at £30 but I'm still very tempted.

SpinningJenny

Well Andy, if you pop over to the Women's section, you'll see my commitment for Saturday, weather irrelevant! (Don't worry, us ladies don't bite - much!).

BigDog - I woudl SO love to do this, BUT:

(1) The word 'RACE' puts me off a little - don't think I'm quite ready yet for the competition aspect (although I am doing a 60 miler in 19 days' time - but that's for cheridee and not a race)

(2) The date - is the weekend we go on holiday. Ahem, at admitting to being under the the thumb only once in a while, the OH may not relish the thought of me knackering myself out at that point!

But I am tempted to come and watch....

luckylewis

I'll do my rain dance and see if I can help tease all the moisture out before the weekend. Admire a bloke that can take one for the team. Best of luck

BigDog - looks awesome. Not sure it's a newbie event though. Maybe next year. Sounds like it would be fun to watch, cheer everyone along and join the party.