With the last few days being nice and dry, this morning looked perfect to tackle a couple of our local lanes. My rear tyre is pretty much done so the dry conditions should make the lanes reasonably ok to ride.
We met up early, fuelled up and rode over to the first lane. On our way down there, half a dozen very muddy mountain bikers coming the other way scotched my thoughts of a dry ride.
We stopped the start so Ade could take his mirrors off as the last time we were here he snapped both whilst falling off.
It was indeed muddy and wet. The worst I've ever ridden there but hey ho, in for a penny and all that.
Ade successfully negotiating where he'd previously trashed his bike in the big puddle to the side.
The second lane winds its way down to a ford. The last time I was here in January the lane was fine but the ford wasn't.
January
Today the ford was fine but the lane had been pretty chewed up by 4x4s.
Never mind. Through we go with no knowledge of how bad the climb is on the other side.
JR Hartley admires our progress.
The ascent was steep and rocky. I got up in one piece but Ade needed a bit of a push and encouragement.
We rode to the end and stopped for a breather. There was one further lane we could try but going by the conditions we'd already ridden and my skinny rear knobbly, we decided to go back down through the ford.
At the ford I somehow managed to go straight up the middle on the other side and got up in one go. Ade wasn't so fortunate and we had ten sweaty, muddy minutes dragging his bike back out and up.
We headed back up the other side with the rear spinning most of the way I'm surprised I managed to get up in one piece.
Then it was back to the really muddy and wet lane. Going through the first time we'd had the front wheel disappear under water on a few occasions, so falling off was going to be a very wet experience.
That was the last of the deep and long puddles we'd ridden through the other way. Buoyed by making it back unscathed I gunned it through the next one that I'd ridden around the first time....
The front wheel went down and further down until it stopped dead in the clay soup at the bottom. I then went straight over the bars to land on my back in three feet of mud and water.
After posing for the shot I walked to the bike, at which point I sunk to the nuts in watery clay soup. I didn't think we'd get it out. The bike must have had a bit of buoyancy as my chest was at seat height as I was standing in the mire.
All good fun and we got it out in the end.
Going again next weekend so I really must fit something better on the rear.
We met up early, fuelled up and rode over to the first lane. On our way down there, half a dozen very muddy mountain bikers coming the other way scotched my thoughts of a dry ride.
We stopped the start so Ade could take his mirrors off as the last time we were here he snapped both whilst falling off.
It was indeed muddy and wet. The worst I've ever ridden there but hey ho, in for a penny and all that.
Ade successfully negotiating where he'd previously trashed his bike in the big puddle to the side.
The second lane winds its way down to a ford. The last time I was here in January the lane was fine but the ford wasn't.
January
Today the ford was fine but the lane had been pretty chewed up by 4x4s.
Never mind. Through we go with no knowledge of how bad the climb is on the other side.
JR Hartley admires our progress.
The ascent was steep and rocky. I got up in one piece but Ade needed a bit of a push and encouragement.
We rode to the end and stopped for a breather. There was one further lane we could try but going by the conditions we'd already ridden and my skinny rear knobbly, we decided to go back down through the ford.
At the ford I somehow managed to go straight up the middle on the other side and got up in one go. Ade wasn't so fortunate and we had ten sweaty, muddy minutes dragging his bike back out and up.
We headed back up the other side with the rear spinning most of the way I'm surprised I managed to get up in one piece.
Then it was back to the really muddy and wet lane. Going through the first time we'd had the front wheel disappear under water on a few occasions, so falling off was going to be a very wet experience.
That was the last of the deep and long puddles we'd ridden through the other way. Buoyed by making it back unscathed I gunned it through the next one that I'd ridden around the first time....
The front wheel went down and further down until it stopped dead in the clay soup at the bottom. I then went straight over the bars to land on my back in three feet of mud and water.
After posing for the shot I walked to the bike, at which point I sunk to the nuts in watery clay soup. I didn't think we'd get it out. The bike must have had a bit of buoyancy as my chest was at seat height as I was standing in the mire.
All good fun and we got it out in the end.
Going again next weekend so I really must fit something better on the rear.
