Distance Cycled : 28.15 Kilometers
Time : 1 hr 55 mins 12 seconds
Top Speed : 58.7 Kph
Ave Speed : 13.7 Kph
Weather : Dry but cool
Temp : 18 - 20°C
Trail Conditions : Dry and firm

Wow, I really have been slacking on the web updates. I actually have been cycling but have had too much going on to get round to updating the blog. Now things are a bit quieter I will get back into it.
An early start this morning saw Pete and I riding over to Dorking and back. I though in Stane street on the return journey as well and we did some serious climbing on todays route.
Saw a few deer and generally had a great ride.

Distance Cycled : 35.00 Kilometers
Time : 1 hr 53 mins 12 seconds
Top Speed : 49.7 Kph
Ave Speed : 18.5 Kph
Weather : Humid and Raining
Temp : 18 - 20°C
Trail Conditions : Wet but firm

The weather over the last few days has been amazing; 30°C most days but humid. Not the best cycling weather though, as slogging up steep hills sweating buckets isn’t always fun.

Getting out early or later in the evening is often the best solution as it’s generally a bit cooler. Monday night was so hot that I didn’t sleep well at all. Getting up at 6.30am to go for a ride is not the best motivator when you’re worn out.

It was raining when I got up and this actually appealed to me. A good opportunity to cool down in a summer shower. So I set off over the downs and on towards Dorking.

The trails were in decent condition, as despite the rain, the hard ground was shedding the water well and there was very little mud.

The rain persisted until I reached Walton on the Hill but I pressed on over Box Hill and down to Dorking. I had to slow down on the fast downhill at Box Hill because the hard chalk surface was pretty slippery when damp, and there was two riders slogging up to the top.

I nearly got taken out by some dozy car driver who opened their car door just as I got too it, but managed to flick past.

I stopped in for a cup of tea with Andy R before cycling back through Leatherhead and home via Ashtead common.

I added a different return route via the stew ponds and it was 35 Km dead on.

No stats today as I forgot my computer.

An early start saw me collecting Andy R from Dorking and heading up to Holmbury for an extended ride. Normally Andy and I do a short loop of Holmbury hill but today I convinced him to do the Leith hill loop I had put together just before Christmas.
Andy was riding Emma’s Wolf Ridge, coming from a 1999 hard tail meant he had a lot of changes to get used to.

After parking at Holmbury we climbed to Leigh hill via a bridleway before climbing to the tower. A decent enough way to wake your legs up and by the top of Leigh hill we were both feeling the early morning heat.

The weather was shaping up to be fantastic and we were flying along on the hard packed trails. Down towards Coldharbour we hit the single track taking us to the top of deliverance. Down via some sneaky routes and into waggledance and then onto Summer lightning.

Following the tree felling summer lightning is a different trail. I actually think it’s better as some of the boggy sections are gone and there is great flow through the whole trail. Then down some more sneaky trails and the long climb back to the tower.

From there it was all fast down hill to the quarry and then the technical little trail beside it. I rode the whole section but Andy wasn’t confident riding the corner drop off on the borrowed bike, so he missed it out.

Then really fast all the way back to the car park. It’s a great ride in the winter but an awesome ride in the summer.

Distance Cycled : 18.83 Kilometers
Time : 1 hr 26 mins 46 seconds
Top Speed : 44.6 Kph
Ave Speed : 13.0 Kph
Weather : Dry and Sunny
Temp : 16 - 18°C
Trail Conditions : Dry and firm

Tonight was a lovely night for a ride, the weather was warm and the trails were dry.

Emma and I rode up to the downs to see what damage had been done by the Derby.
This year there seemed to be less damage and the cleanup seems to have gone faster than previous years.

We decided to try a variation of out normal ride and we followed one of the trails I had found over the winter.

Emma was suitably unimpressed with the climb (nothing new there) and the new downhill failed to tick all the boxes for her as well.

We both enjoyed the ride though, and it was great to get out of the house and into some fresh air.

This weekend was Emma’s birthday and we spent the weekend celebrating at Emma’s aunt and uncles’ house. Far too much BBQ food was consumed and so in an attempt to battle the bulge we all headed out to do a bit of cycling.

Saturday saw me reverting to the age of twelve when I spent the day riding around with Emma’s Cousins Lewis and Ryan. We built some dirt jumps and rode round parks, everything that you do when you’re that age.

Sunday morning saw Dean and I go route finding out and about around Kent where they live.

We rode about eight miles round various paths and tracks trying to link it all into one circular route. Not a bad route, with plenty of interesting tracks and some lovely scenery.

In the afternoon we drove out to an old fort and again explored a route that ran beside the river and through the marshes.

The weather was beautiful and we all enjoyed the countryside, Ryan (the youngest) did well to complete all the miles off road and we let him celebrate by riding though a huge muddy puddle.

The puddle turned out to be somewhat deeper than anticipated and one very muddy kid emerged from the other side.

Ahhhhhh to be twelve again.

Pictures:

Click Here