From one extreme to another - hitting the trails

On Wednesday I was enjoying a nice leisurely ride on a Brompton and this morning I hit the trails for some pretty intense riding on the North Downs - from one extreme to another!

I met Nick, Andy, Hilly and Mike at Peaslake car park at 8am, all experienced mountain bikers and friendly triathletes from the local Club.

Within minutes of leaving the car park I was straight into Heart Rate zone 5 as the first hill took its toll.

The plan was to cycle all the well known trails such as 'Yoghurt Pots, Telegraph Row, Summer Lightning, Barry knows Best, Reservoir of Dogs, etc.

Unfortunately a couple were closed for maintenance but it certainly didn't spoil the fun.

During the ride there were a number of comedy moments and classic wipeouts mostly from Andy and Hilly, although I shot over the handlebars on one narrow single track - lucky not too much damage - only my pride.

After about an hour and a half in the saddle we stopped at Leith Hill Tower for a cup of tea and cake / energy bars (pictured below). Once re-fueled we made the return journey back to Peaslake.

This area is 'Cycling Mecca' for most local mountain bikers and generally much more technical than the South Downs.

A great day out and another one for the bank to push me up to over 11 hours for the week.

Now to clean my baby (Ellsworth MTB).

Details on Strava - check it out!

N.B. Also check out Mike's blog on the ZigZag cycling blog: http://blog.zigzagcycling.com/?p=1505

The boys - tea break and energy bars

Leith Hill Tower - the highest point on the North Downs