Swinley yesterday

Ditch Witch

I broke myself


First I took Mark up to the drop spot (or whatever those little sharp descents are called) and showed him what we had done. He was very impressed! I even went off the big one a few times after talking myself into it again and it was no where near as scary as last time

Then I did "the triple" a few times and, on the last two bits, even went down without braking so that I got a little air (about an inch!) on the last one.

Problem is, the last one has a steep climb at the end which is rotten with tree roots and hard to get out of. Predictably, I got stuck and fell off, being unable to unclip. But, no harm done, as I was virtually standing still, and I went round again to make sure I still had my mojo (though I did brake that time! )

Then we took off to do Last Resort which was great with the exception of the entrance to it which is a really steep rooted 5 foot climb. I got stuck and the bike slipped under me and I got a big scratch just above my left knee.

We went all the way up Last Resort and I had to admit defeat at this point as I was thoroughly knackered. So, went all the way back down again and headed back to the car.

All in all, 2.5 hours and I feel like I've been run over by a truck this morning

Can't wipe the grin off my face though

SpinningJenny

result!

sounds great - if a little scary.

trying to persuade OH to invest in bike rack for car (I don't drive, for various reasons)... then she can take me to Dirt Divas....

Ditch Witch

WOOHOO!!

It's well worth the money And if you have a bike rack, you can get out to meetups with us!

Thewaylander

see flat pedals, and you'd have no scrapes or bruises

Ditch Witch

Now, see, I don't agree with that

The thing I found about being clipped in is that it stops me from putting feet down in a panic situation while the bike is still moving and causing even more scrapes and bruises. I used to do that a lot and end up in worse trouble.


What I REALLY need to do is go up there with a frigging hacksaw and chop out that b@stard root

Thewaylander

No thats just admiting defeat and that you can not ride the obstacle.

Remeber all the weighting of the bike you have learnt carry a bit of speed and hit it fairly straight and you will get it.

I do find im way more confident on flatties with speedmind, hard corners can stick a leg out for some air braking like a moto GP rider always fun

Ditch Witch

The problem here is that the tree roots are very proud of the ground and all pointing straight into a hedge. You just get up the crest of this very steep hill then you hit these tree routes which grab your wheels and point you straight ahead when you need to turn. I found that if you stay right over to the right, you can just get out without too much trouble, but miss it by 2 inches and you're railroaded straight on. Hate it

Thewaylander

Ah love challenging root climbs, Wm is always a laugh to climb when its a bit damp all the roots have you sliding anywhere but on the direction the trail wants.

View it as a challenge and everytime you clear you can pat yourself on the back..

Ditch Witch

Uh huh *slips hacksaw into rucksack*

Thewaylander

Don't do it lass!!! nooooooo

Major Dan

It was a hard ride yesterday, lots of climbing, very technical singletrack, and I enjoyed it immensely!

You rode awesomely hun, so don't be down on yourself for catching a tree root that has probably caught a lot of people out.

Well done hunny, give yourself a very well deserved pat on the back 8)

Thewaylander

Tree roots are dificult, and they catch the best riders off guard mostly because its hard to predict how your tyres are gonna go over it.

But still no need for that many uses of the word Hun in one post mind lol

Major Dan

Thewaylander wrote:

Tree roots are dificult, and they catch the best riders off guard mostly because its hard to predict how your tyres are gonna go over it.

But still no need for that many uses of the word Hun in one post mind lol

what 1? (the other was "hunny" )

Ditch Witch

My problem is that I'm always knackered at the end and can't seem to ride for longer than 2-3 hours ( steady on, boys :roll: ) so I don't feel like I'm improving, but I guess I must be.

I suspect it's because Mark has so gradually increased the difficulty of our rides that I don't notice the difference.

Thewaylander

Ok important fact you will figure as you get fitter and the rest..

It never ever feels any easier what so ever... you just go faster(sometimes with out noticing) or further but cos you feel the same you may not notice. sometimes you have to set you self a fixed route to time to see the difference in it all.

I use my local Cwn Carn, when i was fitter mid last year was doing it in 1hour9min.(crap i know) at the moment 1hour 22 or summat so i know im down at the moment

And hun.. hunny... be more inventive! lol

SpinningJenny

Major Dan wrote:

It was a hard ride yesterday, lots of climbing, very technical singletrack, and I enjoyed it immensely!

You rode awesomely hun, so don't be down on yourself for catching a tree root that has probably caught a lot of people out.

Well done hunny, give yourself a very well deserved pat on the back 8)

what does Major Dan want, hmmm? all those compliments.... sounds a bit suss to me

Thewaylander

Im with you Jen.. he's sliming for summat DW.. when you get him home tonight to bed with out a meal i reckons!

miss notax

Ditch Witch wrote:

My problem is that I'm always knackered at the end and can't seem to ride for longer than 2-3 hours ( steady on, boys :roll: ) so I don't feel like I'm improving, but I guess I must be.

I suspect it's because Mark has so gradually increased the difficulty of our rides that I don't notice the difference.

Yep - this is the same as me

I can generally only manage one 'big ride' (oooh er) a day or I am completely exhausted and quite frankly hopeless! We keep on thinking about doing Skyline at Afan but after 28 miles I would need airlifting to hospital I think!

Major Dan

For those that don't recognise it ....it's called be supportive! :P

DW has soooooo much improved over the last couple of months it's incredible.


Hun, I love you, and want to marry you!

The Northern Monkey

Major Dan wrote:

For those that don't recognise it ....it's called be supportive! :P

DW has soooooo much improved over the last couple of months it's incredible.


Hun, I love you, and want to marry you!

*insert barfing emoticon here*

I didn't like Swinley too much... its good in places, but the bits in between are poo.... probably the best I could get from SW london though.

Major Dan

bigbenj_08 wrote:

Major Dan wrote:

For those that don't recognise it ....it's called be supportive! :P

DW has soooooo much improved over the last couple of months it's incredible.


Hun, I love you, and want to marry you!

*insert barfing emoticon here*

I didn't like Swinley too much... its good in places, but the bits in between are poo.... probably the best I could get from SW london though.

If you know where to look, you can pretty much lin up an entire day of nothing but sweet singletrack.

Oh, and maybe it was a little sickly sweet ...but we ARE geting married in 2 weeks!

genspain

Ditch Witch wrote:

My problem is that I'm always knackered at the end and can't seem to ride for longer than 2-3 hours so I don't feel like I'm improving, but I guess I must be.

I used to be the same it took me quite a while to realise i was improving all the time.
I only realised this year how much i had improved when i went to Cwm Carn and Afan on the same weekend, I did 4 trails in 2 day's. So don't be so hard on yourself you probably don't realise how good you really are

oh and i fell off at the end of the last trail i hit a boulder (I'm so blind) and i have V8 pedals which gave me a nice scare on the back of my leg :roll:

Ditch Witch

Which is exactly why I like clipless pedals









(oh, and you doubters are just jealous :P )

SpinningJenny

naah, not jealous. me and my OH are still sickly sweet and we've been together for nearly 14 years (*barf*)

very happy for you both!

and looking forward to meeting this paragon of virtue in August when he drives me home to Brighton

Ditch Witch

14 years? You'd get less than that for murder.

SpinningJenny

yup, it's criminal.