Another Day Out

A long weekend seemed like a good time to hit some more mountain biking. Saturday was something of a wash-out with rain all day so by Sunday I had watched all the terrible films on Netflix I could handle and was itching to get some wheels under me. I wasn't really up for another 8 hour round trip to the Peak District so I settled on a slightly nearer, but less dramatic destination and pointed the car through the drizzly morning towards Newbury.

Newbury threw up some less extreme but very good riding. Rolling out on stone based lanes and then heading significantly up hill into some serious hills it was a day out that tricked you into tiredness, never hurting too much until yet another climb reared up in front. It was all on chalk and flint and the wet conditions made this slimy and treacherous. Some of the longest descents of the area were fast and flowing, but required a gentle appreciation of the brakes to keep sliding wheels in order over loose slippery stones. The climbs were as challengingly slippery and a slick chalk ramp to the high point of the ride had me pushing. It's one to come back to in the dry and ride to the top.

I feel like these rides show some hidden parts of the country and some less well worn trails. For example, appearing out of the fog, was a small church in the middle of nowhere.

I was following directions from one of my favourite guides which was made complicated by the weather. Take, for example, what should have been the most obvious of landmarks:

A pit stop for diesel and a pasty and I felt like I hadn't had enough bike action. With my legs and arms burning from the brutal nettles I drove on to Bracknell with the intention of smashing round the Swinley trails.

I covered this centre recently and there is little more to say. I was soon feeling the full effect of the previous ride as I worked round, but overtaking people and not wanting to be caught again meant I pressed on as the sun got hotter into the afternoon and sweat poured off me. I rode until it felt like I couldn't ride on, but pressed through it and kept flowing through the turns, drops and jumps all the way back to the car, with the added fun of catching the family the I had overtaken at the beginning, before they reached the end of the blue trail, after I had ridden the entire extended red route.

Yep, I'm boasting, but I was pleased with it.

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