Really getting back into this whole riding thing. After a day in the office catching up with some bits and bobs yesterday I dragged myself out of bed for a spin round Winterfold and Pitch Hills with Mr Noble today. Nothing too crazy to write home about although we did manage to retrace our steps from last week and remember some great trails. Managed a fairly decent pace and the trails seemed to be in perfect condition this weekend. The sloppy section at the bottom of the forest trail still provided ample entertainment after it had been churned up by forestry vehicles.
Had some tea and cake and did a quick run down Barry’s before heading back to the van. Popped the GoPro on for a bit but not sure the helmet is the best spot. Gotta be the bars or the gimpy chest mount I reckon.
No riding next weekend due to deadlines but heading up to Wales the following weekend with Dad.
Not ridden on one obviously but shot rather nicely by Andy Waterman with film for Privateer Magazine. Very nice indeed. Must go there again soon. The rest of the set can be found over on his Flickr page.
Great to be able get two days riding in last weekend. I really didn’t feel like riding on Sat due to a little bit of a hangover but we pressed on and drove over to Richmond Park collecting Emma’s cousin on the way. Emma hadn’t been on her bike for a while so she stuck to some of the lower paths whilst Jane and I went around for a few laps before meeting back at the van.
Emma seemed to have a good time and saw a few deer as you might expect, and this one being close enough for a picture.
Having been on and off the bus during the week due to meetings it was great to get a few miles in and stretch the legs. Also so nice to be riding without a rucksack or any kit. All I took was the van key and a phone figuring it wouldn’t be too far to walk if it all went wrong. Emma was fairly impressed with the park and I think we’ll pop back for a walk there when we have Gina to stay again. So glad we got out as it cleared the hangover nicely.
Sunday I headed out to Swinley, collecting two friends from work in Camden on the way. The roads seemed to be completely empty so didn’t take long to get there. The trails were in superb condition with just enough moisture in the soil to hold it all together but not enough that it was a total UK slop and grime-fest.
We spent quite a bit of time at the jump gulley. Confidence was at an all time high by the end so thought it best to move on before I came a cropper. We also had a bit of a play with Darren’s GoPro which I think has provided some good footage from mounting it on the bars with me riding down the gulley.
After walking back up one of the trails Darren and I came round the corner to see a woman getting kicked up waaaay too high on a small table which then sent her nose diving into the gravel in front. She didn’t have time to put her hands out and took the full force on her head and shoulders. Unfortunately she wasn’t wearing a helmet and I found her with her eyes rolling around in her head gurgling. Terrifying to see. After keeping her entirely still and trying to work out if she had damaged her spine she got up and moved off the trail. She was heavily concussed and took a few moments to come round. She was talking complete gibberish for a while too. Once it became clear she was ok, off the trail and with friends, we moved on.
Our appetite for riding was somewhat lost after seeing this so followed the trails back to the jump gulley and then back to the centre for much needed cake!
And also a quick timelapse of us packing the van by Darren. The lady in the next car knocked on our window to say we had left our toolbox with camera on.
After seeing Vaughan and Gav with their respective vans recently I became sorely tempted with one. I’ve been trying to get out riding this year a lot more which I was using a small Fiesta for. It’s a bit of a pain getting bikes in there without wrecking the insides of it. With a more than a little help from Gav and hours and hours trawling eBay we ended up with a beautiful Fiat Scudo 2 litre JTD model in white. I would have loved a VW van but I would have had to double my budget which I didn’t fancy. So I sold the car and headed up to Swansea to collect it. Amazingly it only had 42k on the clock so hopefully has plenty of life in it.
In natural setting – Peaslake car park
So last weekend I was able to take it out, fill it with bikes and generally use if for its intended purpose. Three bikes fitted comfortably in the back with the important detail of all wheels still on.
I’ve got a bit of a plan for a few upgrades and even a small conversion but for now it’s great to have a convenient way to go biking. I bloody love the thing. It drives really well and that slightly higher position is really nice. Another ride next Sunday and then maybe a Wales trip or two soon.
Gav is in town this weekend so we popped out in his wonderful van to Swinley with Mr Noble in tow. Surprisingly dry under tyres until the heavens opened later in the ride. Spent plenty of time fiddling around with the GoPro and seeing if we could get some decent footage this time. I’ve thrown a few clips together below. The camera still needs to point further up the trail but it’s much better than the last effort. Still need to work out how to mount of the frame I think but would be good to make sure the camera doesn’t fall off.
Had the day off work today for a shoot which was cancelled so finished an edit from earlier in the weekend and headed out to Peaslake on my own for a bit of a spin his afternoon. I arrived to find an empty car park with only another car with two people packing up. Had a quick chat with them and got on with some pre-ride faffing.
Worried it might be crowded on the trails.
I’m not sure I’ve ever been for a ride on my own around the Surrey Hills. It’s the kind of thing I used to do when at Uni round QE Country Park or even before that in Box Woods many years ago. Since then it’s always been in a group of people but it’s been harder and harder to get the usual lot out to ride. We’re all much busier than we used to be I guess. Anyway, after getting of the slightly weird sensation of riding on my own I started to settle into the flow and head out to the trails I wanted to cover. It felt strange not keeping pace with anyone else and also not wanting to push it too much on the downs as I am partial to hugging trees at speed. One thing I noticed was that I wasn’t stopping as much, not rushing up a hill then re-grouping together. The trails seemed to flow better as a result and the only noise being my breathing. It felt incredibly peaceful to be amongst all the trees with no one around.
Just me, the trees and the wildlife.
I made the classic mistake of leaving the flat in my riding shorts and not packing a spare set – hey its sunny now so why not. The trails were obviously soaked from a good few days of heavy rain. Puddles everywhere and some of that famous UK Slop and Grime™ in evidence. I also used being on my own as an excuse to have a play with my new toy – a 2nd hand GoPro and gimpy looking chest harness. I got half way down T2 and thought, I love this trail and it’s flowing so well today why am I not filming this? Back to the top and tried to ride it faster and smoother, failed at both but ended up with this little clip below.
Not bad for a first go I guess but not entirely sure about the music. How do you choose sound tracks for riding videos? Add Metallica an hope for the best? I’ve never edited video before either but found it fairly straight forward in iMove ’11. In terms of the camera mount I think I like the perspective but it needs to face slightly higher to capture more of the trail. It’s hard to know how to set it whilst you’re standing as you’re in a different position on the bike. Will have a play next time. There’s more clips from today but I don’t think anyone else really needs to see them.
Beautiful light after the storm
Back to the carpark which was again empty, packed the bike away and sat in wet shorts back home. Wonderful. Looking forward to grabbing a few more solo rides in the future. Back soon.
I recently got a second hand Go Pro camera and took it away this weekend with me when seeing Nat & Cath in Bristol. Here’s the admittedly bad results but fun all the same. It was mounted to the front of the Brompton bag with the chest strap mount. A bit more experimentation needed but shows some promise I reckon.
Weekends are fairly precious and scarce at the moment. I’m usually working, tired, wanting to ride my mountainbike, wanting to hang out with Emma and catch up on all sorts of other things I usually should have done earlier in the week. Maybe even a quiet pint or two. I normally fail on all levels at this. Not this time though, managed to edit a shoot early Sat morning, send it to the client and then head out to meet some friends for a late lunch at The Riding House Cafe. Fantastic lunch and celebrating two bits of good news. Bit of a wander around Regents Park to walk off our food, pint at the Crown and Goose then home to fall asleep during a film.
Next up on Sunday was a ride around the Surrey Hills with Gary and Dave from work. A beautiful day for it and the Peaslake carpark was almost overflowing even though we got there early. The usual trails – xmas pud, T1, T2 etc then tea, cake, faffing, then over to do yoghurt pots, telegraph row, some steep one I forget the name of then back to finish on Barry Knows Best. We took it a little slower due to watching another rider being carried off the trail, heavily encased in a stretcher, then being loaded into an Air Ambulance. Then back to the flat to make pizza with Emma, have a nap and watch Homeland.
What a superb weekend. Hope the following is just as good.
Not what usually gets said to me when a car window winds down but made my day yesterday after cycling back towards Bellenden Road. I replied with “yeah sorry mate I was trying not to undertake you“, his response and that light is brilliant “It’s like the police behind me“. I said I was cycling to try and keep in shape, his response “keep off the carbs mate“… and on that note we departed.
Anyway, faith in humanity restored and a great ride back on the Condor. It’s off for a service in a few days and will then be used for the rest of the summer. Great riding geared again, you can get some real speed up on the roads. Love it.
Worried it might be crowded on the trails.
Just me, the trees and the wildlife.
