No nice storm coming in over the weekend hopefully will blow through

Just have to get out there and hit some hills have not had an opportunity over the last couple of weeks.

Looking at your rides on an a daily basis on Strava, I have been thinking "you lucky bastid" Out riding at least twice a day, whilst I haven't been able to get out at all!

yeah, but it's mostly commuting, but I try to take funny/nice routes, this morning for instance, was through a nature reserve on some new trails I haven't tried before. I look forward to some full day event with coffe and sandwishes!

 

Glad that you are out there enjoying and getting value for money from the bike. Long may it continue.

hope so, my other e-bike is broken so I am really depedant on this new bike now. It seems to deliver good, have withstanded much already

 

ps. speaking of chainsaws, I saw some "gallery" with old Husqvarna and Partner saws the other day, some old 60's R12-model was the coolest thing I've seen in long time. Cool u knew about these

 

 

Is it not time for you to have 10 foot of snow yet ?

You are not giving the Swedish tourist board an easy time.

don't know what happened, it came in Sahara desert instead!! haha, no kidding, read yesterday they got snow for the first time since 1979 well well, here in south we don't get much anyway, but in the north they have plenty, here is video from Global Fat Bike day two weeks ago: http://tinyurl.com/j8h2l8s

 

And with that I take the opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy new year!

I didn't think I should get the time for another wilderness ride/fix photos. But... it worked so, this is the last ride this year! Soon I'll lay at the beach and enjoy the sun w/o bikes c ya!

 

This is the "closest" trail route from work to home, it goes straight through some nature reserve called "Paradiset". It's very cool, you see different types of forrest along the path, deep fur forrest, and after a while something completely different, and then comes the cliffs that makes you feel really small! Very cool. If you come here I'll guide you to some awesome trails!

 

Äspered Mountain View by Daniel Cederberg, on Flickr

Out on the South Downs this morning tentatively trying the knee in readiness for my Xmas morning ride. Just 23.5 miles with 2,292ft of elevation gain. It was one of those rides where you were taking your jacket off for every climb, then putting it back on again for the descents. The head wind was severe, and I should have known better than to ride East to West. Another school boy error. The chalk was pretty slippery today as well, so I guess that the recent rain has now started to soften the ground.

 

 

 

 

 

The seven sisters from both directions.

 

 

Great to see you back in business!

 

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

Thanks for that.

 

Sadly the knee doesn't look great again after today, and I still have a ride with my regular ride mate very early tomorrow morning, and then out again on my own Boxing Day for another very early morning ride. I was thinking of making the Boxing Day ride a night ride, but that would screw having a beer or three in the day time. Tonight is going to spent with a hot compress on the knee, whilst drinking a couple of beers.

 

In an ideal world, I might well take an off road commute home from work on Thursday evening, then back in again early Friday morning. I'll just see how things go though at the moment

 

I can then rest the knee again until New Years Day when it is back out again on the pedal mtb for an annual 27 mile on road/off road group ride to Eastbourne, then pick up a couple of other riders there, and head out again around the Pevensey marshes. Hopefully the Belgium restaurant in Eastbourne will be open for some Belgium beer and moules frites.

The Forest of Dean yesterday and a photo of a decorated tree a few miles into The Venderers. Dressed with a very Xmas bra and knickers! Reminded me a bit of Eddie's strange photos a few months back! 2nd photo of a guy testing my bike while his friends chain gets repaired.

A Merry Xmas to all on Pedelecs and have a great day.

The Forest of Dean yesterday and a photo of a decorated tree a few miles into The Venderers. Dressed with a very Xmas bra and knickers! Reminded me a bit of Eddie's strange photos a few months back! 2nd photo of a guy testing my bike while his friends chain gets repaired.

A Merry Xmas to all on Pedelecs and have a great day.[ATTACH=full]16964[/ATTACH]

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All these pics and stories are very good, in fact annoyingly so as they graphically point out how lucky some are to have places like this close at hand to ride through..

I wonder if Santa has magically transported me to such a place? Just looking out!..... nope.. still here.

Merry Christmas to all who read this, and to those that don't.

Gubbins, you have some of the best scenery right on your doorstep. Merry Xmas to all.

 

Xmas Day morning ride done and dusted. Now off for some family fun.

 

 

Gubbins, you have some of the best scenery right on your doorstep. Merry Xmas to all.

 

Xmas Day morning ride done and dusted. Now off for some family fun.

 

 

Hi mate

Its not the scenery it's the access to the forest trails that I am envious of.

All these pics and stories are very good, in fact annoyingly so as they graphically point out how lucky some are to have places like this close at hand to ride through..

I wonder if Santa has magically transported me to such a place? Just looking out!..... nope.. still here.

Merry Christmas to all who read this, and to those that don't.

 

I do class myself as lucky having a few trail centres within an hours drive but our 'wild' rides (picking routes from an OS map) are always more rewarding and beautiful.

Hi mate

Its not the scenery it's the access to the forest trails that I am envious of.

Just a quick search and I found Stainburn mtb centre that isn't too far from you and on their webpage links to other near by mtb centres. Ok, you'll need a car but they are not far.

Hi mate

Its not the scenery it's the access to the forest trails that I am envious of.

Here virtually the top of each hill you see is Forestry Commission or Welsh equivalent. The forestry is huge and there are a lot of hills here.

 

I had net been in them for 30 years until I got my eMTB.

 

Now I can't keep out of them.

 

Happy Christmas and I hope you all have a great day.

Christmas day ride with my son and his new Giant trance 2. On ground in background. This is taken from trig station at Belmont Regional Park in Wellington, looking south to harbour entrance.

 

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161225/b346546aac8c759310b4d282ab8b4380.jpg

 

Quite a climb ( for my son anyway) up to trig station even though we park car 2/3 way up hill. Did tow him in steeper sections, CX drive is quite capable of haul both us up some steep hills, problem is him holding onto tow rope and keeping control.

 

Been good 15yrs since I last rode here, the down hill MTB track is now a smooth gravel path. Great for walks and strollers but not for testing new FS MTBs. Off to MTB park tomorrow.

 

Nice having built in shuttle, at end of ride (sea level) my son waited while I road back to car in turbo mode.

 

On Saturday I rode to park (operational farm) from home via back entrance and spent a few hours exploring. Great farm riding with lots of gates to open/close or lift a eMTB over.

 

With eMTB riding 10km on road to access tracks not an issue as long as you keep enough battery in reserve for home trip. The other plus over car is not having to return car which allows for alternative routes home.

All these pics and stories are very good, in fact annoyingly so as they graphically point out how lucky some are to have places like this close at hand to ride through..

I wonder if Santa has magically transported me to such a place? Just looking out!..... nope.. still here.

Merry Christmas to all who read this, and to those that don't.

 

Deersleap Park is fairly close to me and I have ridden past it a few times but have no inclination to go in a trails type them park. My rides are to the N or S/Downs which are approx 18 miles riding distance from my house or I link up various tracks, bridleways etc to form a route. Browsing OS maps soon picks out suitable ride routes that will include some forest routes, for me routes to the N/Downs are better as there is more scope for NT/Forestry routes and bridleways. The N/Downs offers good riding though the views offer little as you are nearly always closeted by woods at each turn, whilst the S/Downs offers more scenic riding but also some wooded riding. Where ever you live you always wished you were somewhere else so just get on with it and make the most of your local area.

I have never really given much thought to what is in my area, and I just tend to go out and ride.

We have plenty of bridleways etc around here, although they become very chewed up by horses in winter months. There is also the old railway lines of Forest Way, Worth Way and Cuckoo trail. Very dull and boring, but handy for the odd winter ride.

 

I guess that I am spoilt for choice.

 

Deers leap http://deersleap.co.uk/mountain-biking/ is about 10 miles away.

Nealh, Deers leap probably wouldn't be worth while visiting. I occasionally pop into the shop and café, but the land is really set up for children and familes. It is pretty much just riding around the parimeter of fields.

 

Porc http://www.porc.uk.com/ is about 8 miles away, but is another place that I haven't bothered going to.

 

Bedgebury http://www.bedgeburypark.com/bedgebury-equestrian/holidays/mountain-bikes/ is about 16 miles away, and proves a very popular place. Again I haven't been there as I don't have the interest.

 

Bewl Water https://www.bewlwater.co.uk/activities/cycling/ is about 10 miles away. Yet another that I haven't been to.

 

Friston Forest is about 18 miles away.http://www.sxmtbstmaps.co.uk/maps.html Absolutely superb riding of all kinds to be had here.

 

Stanmer Park. is about 23 miles away http://www.trailforks.com/region/stanmer-park/ Another brilliant place that I know very little about.

 

Abbots Wood/Arlington reservoir About 18 miles away. http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-8zjjv5 Another that I haven't tried.

 

North Downs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Downs is about 15 miles or so away. Like Nealh, I don't venture there very much, as the views are generally not that great, and there are too many roads.

 

South Downs https://www.southdowns.gov.uk/ is about 18 miles away, and I can't get enough of the place.

 

Surrey hills is sadly about 40 miles away http://www.surreyhills.org/ Another superb place, but you really do need local knowledge to make the most of it.

 

Tilgate forest is about 18 miles away. http://www.moredirt.com/trail/United-Kingdom_South-East--London/Tilgate-Forest/361 Another that I haven't been to

 

Harrisons Rocks is about 3 miles away. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison's_Rocks No idea how many acres are there, but we use the site for winter night rides, as it is free draining and mud free.

 

Broadwater forest is about 3 miles away. http://www.highweald.org/explore-sussex/nature-reserves/broadwater-warren-tunbridge-wells.html Another free draining site which is popular with some locals for night rides.

 

Limekiln Forest and Park Wood. No link, but is about ten minutes cycle away, and is 44 acres of forest riding fun.

 

The bull track. https://www.southeast.bike/trails/sussex/bull-track is about 2 miles away and belongs to a good friend. I occasionally go there for a bit of fun, but it isn't really my type of riding.

 

Ashdown Forest. http://www.ashdownforest.org/home/index.php about a one minute ride down the road. Of course like every other mtb rider in the area, I would ever dream of riding on there!!!

 

Then I have the 500 acres of private woodland to ride on, which I can get to in about two minutes, and shown in yellow below. I am also trying to seek permission to ride in the ajoining 500 acres shown in red. That one has the downside of having a couple of public footpaths running through it. It is still a popular place for those with local knowledge.

 

 

Then of course there is the secret woodland, which is about ten minutes cycle away. Sorry for showing it again.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EOo-lDa_fU

Edited December 25, 20169 yr by EddiePJ

Tilgate Park/ forest is much on my door step (15 mins ride) and one I don't make use of it enough, suffers though from monkey bike users and other trails motor bikes esp in the evenings. It is one of the local council owned amenities, one I use to transit through and sometimes link up with St Leonards forest for a local 15 mile ride out and also include Worth forest and a bit of the Worth way for a 20/25 mile ride out . Probably my option for tomorrow was thinking of the S/D but more then likely very mucky up there now with the recent rain esp off trail proper, the clay tracks really cack the bike up. A few years ago local mtb/xc group set up a dedicated skills course with jumps and all else that entails but now has been abandoned through lack of support and the council removed all the earth works/jumps etc.

Edited December 26, 20169 yr by Nealh

Limekiln has similar issues with both youngsters on motorbikes, and adults in 4x4 vehicles. Neither are permitted.

 

The S/D was okay yesterday although slippery on the chalk sections, but I might have just hit lucky with my route, as another lad that I know that rode there, complained of muddy conditions. He was riding on the Brighton side though.

Malcom Campbell once owned the park grounds and the Manor House which once stood there, now a pub/eatery stands on the site. As kids we would fish in Campbells lake which it was known as locally and still is to the older generations, nowadays it is just Tilgate lake. The original grounds were mahoosive and the Barclays bank near 3 bridges railway St stood as the was N/E gate house entrance to the estate. Credit to CBC though as they maintain and manage the park excellently and it is one of the most popular parks in the county, with kids adventure activities , inc zip wires etc and a nice nature centre with lots of exotic and endangered species.

I left one out which is crazy as up until getting kicked out of there it was one of my favourite places to ride, and just 2 miles away from home. Over 2,000 acres of riding fun. The downside is that it is for the most part, an operational army training camp.

 

Just an example.

 

 

It isn't bad in the wet either.

 

Edited December 25, 20169 yr by EddiePJ

Had my first ride at local MTB with new bike, loving the FS and dropper seat on rough steep tracks. Swap bikes with my son on one ascent to prove I can still climb steeper tracks unassisted.

Ran into one of his classmates and gave him his first ride of ebike, he was impressed.

Malcom Campbell once owned the park grounds and the Manor House which once stood there, now a pub/eatery stands on the site. As kids we would fish in Campbells lake which it was known as locally and still is to the older generations, nowadays it is just Tilgate lake. The original grounds were mahoosive and the Barclays bank near 3 bridges railway St stood as the was N/E gate house entrance to the estate. Credit to CBC though as they maintain and manage the park excellently and it is one of the most popular parks in the county, with kids adventure activities , inc zip wires etc and a nice nature centre with lots of exotic and endangered species.

 

I recall carrying out some forestry work at a small industrial complex somewhere within Tilgate for Tilhill when I first left school. I often wonder what happened to the estate, but would have no idea where it even was. I expect that it has been redeveloped several times since 1982!

 

As for rides, the Boxing Day ride didn't exactly go to plan! When I serviced both bikes last week, I hadn't at that stage received a new front sprocket for the hard tail, so foolishly just fitted the old one back on again whilst I waited for delivery. I should have known better, and also registered that all wasn't quite sounding right yesterday, but as I have a constant battle with the 11 speed SRAM set up, I put the poor gear changes and rumble down to that.

Within the distance of the ride today, chainsuck reared it's ugly head again, and that was ride over. New sprocket now fitted a moment ago, and all is good again, or as good as an SRAM 11 speed set up is ever going to be for my riding. Job tomorrow is to get a Shimano 10 speed set up in the January sales, married to a Sunrace MX3 cassette, I can once again look forward to hassle free riding.

 

Not a good ride.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Totally my fault, and not that of the motor system.

 

Edited December 26, 20169 yr by EddiePJ

Was wanting to go paddle boarding or kayking but far to windy so went for a ride .Me on the Hai and my daughter on my old non assist cb did feel qulity at times but she is 30 years younger than me.

Edited December 26, 20169 yr by Altop1

Nice one SW.

 

Take two for my Boxing Day ride. New front sprocket fitted, and all good again.

 

 

Conditions are certainly now turning a bit damp. The newly fitted Hutchinson DZO's performed faultlessly though, and saved my backside at least a couple of times.

 

 

 

Edited December 26, 20169 yr by EddiePJ