Evans Ride It - Cliddesden (Basingstoke) this Saturday 13th

dubcat

Wow i can only dream of a sub 3 hour time on that medium route! Sheesh... Don't think i will ever get there

dubcat

Wow i can only dream of a sub 3 hour time on that medium route! Sheesh... Don't think i will ever get there

Bobbinboy

Dubcat,

The puddle in question did have a road after it a bit like the one in the photos on the previous page except this puddle had a bank either side that was walkable whilst pushing the bike. It was so deep armbands would have been more use than mud tyres

Shotsaway

beechtree wrote:

To anyone who did the 25 rather than the 30, you missed nothing of real interest, about two thirds of the extra loop was road / concrete; 2 steep climbs (both muddy) and 2 shallow climbs (both hard pack).

Beechtree - I'm guessing one of the muddy climbs would have been Windmill Hill (From the road at Nutley to Berrydown Farm). I bet the decent from the top of Windmill Hill to Berrydown farm was awful? What was the other muddy climb?

I'm also guessing that the 2 shallow climbs were 1) Dummer Grange Farm to Dummer Village (Before the concrete section)? and 2) Dummer Clump (After the road climb) to Nutley Woods?

Shotsaway

Bobbinboy wrote:

Highlight of my day was one of the massive puddles that came up to my mates Knees (he thought he could cycle through it) and then when the same bloke went superman style over the bars and landed sort of 'splat' like face first in the mud.

I think I know about the point you are talking about. After the puddle did you turn right onto a road and then turn left onto another bridleway? I also saw a guy go over the handlebars at this point. He said there was an unseen log or rock in the puddle.

Shotsaway

Rider times are now available

http://blog.evanscycles.com/ride-it-eve ... der-times/

ollie_lucas1985

Delta5 wrote:

Ollie, Shotsaway - how did you guys get on?

Looking at the times.. not to well haha, should have got some mud tyres, the racing ralph seriously does not have enough grip and I have also found that between my tyre and the arch between my suspension forks.. theres not enough clearence .. and thats where all the leaves and mud became an issue..

Oh well onto the next one

beechtree

I bet the decent from the top of Windmill Hill to Berrydown farm was awful? What was the other muddy climb?

I'm also guessing that the 2 shallow climbs were 1) Dummer Grange Farm to Dummer Village (Before the concrete section)? and 2) Dummer Clump (After the road climb) to Nutley Woods?

The decent from Windmill wasn't too bad, it was a tad slippery in the tractor ruts, but perfectly rideable with more of less constant gentle braking down to the gate. Yes for the two shallow climbs, the other steep was the climb past the Preston Candover tennis courts up to the farm. From the farm the next 5 miles were tarmac / concrete or very well drained (ie climb up to Dummer Clump). The only 3 muddy sections were the climb from the tennis courts, Nutley Woods and the first section from the split point to the road.

ollie_lucas1985

I did quite enjoy the downhill bit towards the end, about 4 miles to the end.. it was amazing through the trees and that awsomeness!!

dubcat

I was scared of riding in to the stuff on either side of that narrow track on the long downhill bit . I braked the first half of that hill.

Ollie your time was about 50m faster than mine if i take out my big good Samaritan stop. If you think your time was slow then mine must have been off the chart slow lol. I could not have done it any faster than that at all. I REALLY need to lose some weight and get some muscles, do evans sell those?

deanstacey

Hi Dubcat.

I'm afraid we've sold out of 2010 muscles, you'll have to wait for the new 2011 batch due in next year

It's great to see you guys arrange to meet up and ride together on the event, and then share your experiences.

We've had a great year so far and have been really lucky with the ground conditions so were due a muddy one, and Cliddesden delivered!

The next event is Dorking and the North Downs which is a bit more weather proof as it's more sandy than muddy. Not that it will matter as it's going to be sunny.........

Cheers
Dean

dubcat

Haha dean to be honest biggin hill, gatwick and cliddesden all had great weather considering what it was like in the days leading up to the rides! Great organisation mate. I am not going to make dorking but am very much looking forward to the 2011 rides. Keep up the great work!

PPlum

Gutted I missed this one Sounds like you guys enjoyed it. Will be taking part in the Dorking ride though.

Shotsaway

All the other rides I have done in 2010 have been on sunny days, with hard ground, apart from Liphook when it was raining/drizzling.

This may sound strange, especially as I consider myself a fair weather rider but Saturday's ride was the ride I enjoyed the most from this year. It was the 1st time I rode by myself (I normally ride with 1 or 2 mates), so that may have worked in my favour as I wasn't held back but it also may have worked against me, as I had nobody to motivate me!!!

Anyway looking forward to Chieveley in the middle of January, just need to keep my fitness levels up between now and then, as the dark nights and cold winter mornings/weekends play havoc with my motivation.

Dean - Can I make a suggestion about future events. The MTB rides are always on Saturdays and the road rides on Sundays. Is there anyway you could mix it up going forward, so that we get mixture of Saturday and Sunday MTB events. For example Saturday is MTB day at one event, Sunday is the MTB day at the next event etc etc..