Right, back to the more important things - here are a few pics of mine:
Marcin made sure that we were out of bed in time on Monday morning
Possu putting his boots on for the second time after he had forgotten his knee braces previously...
We thought the Harley Davidson dealership would be an appropriate rendezvous...
(left to right: Possu, Dave, Dave, Berin & Rowan)
... for a group of trail riders...
(Marcin_gda2, 7cuero, Strobingred, Desert Rat, Dr JM, MrH, an innocent but interested passerby, another Dave, Possu, Dave, etc)
On Garford Field we ran straight into rush-hour traffic...
Next stop: the notorious Ginge Brook, which is far better captured in Marcin's photos earlier.
However, just to give you an idea of the - erm, 'run-up'... I think that's Dave
Bling Berin
... and Desert Rat on his lardy 1200
Re-grouping at the top of the hill
Mav on a potentially more appropriate 1200 for those trails - potentially...
MrH, Loz, Dr JM, Marcin, Possu, Desert Rat, Berin, Dave and Dave
7cuero and the Austrian patient...
On Green Road. "Erm, Berin, may I remind you of the TRF code of conduct and the bit about
not venturing off the trail?"
After a good measure of fast and furious lanes we rode through Aldbourne that just had its English Civil War Festival
... including a proper blacksmith
Wood turners...
... and grooms.
A great atmosphere and lots of fascinating historical details to look at.
Strangely enough, all my fellow riders seemed to be bothered by was lunch...
Loz showing interest in a total stranger's dangly bits...
Before things got out of hand I thought we'd rather do some lanes.
Desert Rat emerging from High Clear Plantation
No, the trail up the hill is not legal...
They should mow their lawn more often though...
Possu
... followed by Mav, Berin, Dave, Rowan & Dr JM
Desert Rat and Dave on the 'Shipley Bottom' part of the Ridgeway
Then we came to one of my favourite local lanes - Sugar Hill
Here is a line-up of most of our intrepid riders -
Possu
Dr JM
Rowan
MrH
Dave
Loz
7cuero - lacking somewhat in momentum...
Marcin
Mav
... and our trusty tail-end Strobingred
Oops, the Sheep Walk...
Sorry guys, I completely forgot that the chairman of our TRF Group had told me only recently to stay close to the field...
... but we all made it through - more or less - upright
On Gore Lane
Fuel stop at Great Shefford - Dr JM
Loz and his latest toy
Which part of "Look nice!" didn't you understand?
Short break at Pope's Wood. You will all have a wee - if you need it or not!
Woolvers Road near East Ilsley
Hey Dave, what took you so long?
Now there is a clue...
At that point we were thinking: should we ride to the start of Halfpenny Catch Lane on tarmac or sort of doubling back on ourselves onto Dark Lane? We went for the second option - nomen est omen...
Half way down the trail I managed to avoid the tree trunk in the middle of the track but not the deep root step afterwards...
It hurt like hell but nurses Dr JM and Mav did a great job stabilising and calming me down...
... as did everyone else with kind words and helpful advice. Thank you.
Apart from that - it was a great day's trail riding and I enjoyed myself immensely (most of the time...).
Thanks to Possu for organising, to Strobingred for tail-ending and to you all for your company and all the fun we had!
I look forward to the next one - even though it might take a while...
Ela
