Sunday 10th Jan - Still in the Snow!
We left the mill at 9.40 with James, Simon II (Badbod), Tim, Fraser, Mark S and me Rich riding cautiously through the ice and compressed snow. Our easier route took us up the Nicky Line onto Cherry Trees Lane and past the stables into East Wheathampstead and towards Nomansland Common on the border of St Albans. We followed the route across some incredible snow covered bridleways which looked as though no-one had used them for days - with the snow 8-12″ deep in parts. All of us, although taking it steady came off at one stage of the ride - with my front wheel stuck in a drift first and the slowest “endo” being demonstrated, Fraser managed to catch my bike (he said it was the safer option-don’t what he meant!). With a short flurry of more snow on the ride, James took some pics with the mobile (to be posted soon). We took our normal route through Symondshyde and back to the John Bunyon Gulley - the ride took it’s toll on my Spesh when my rear hanger snapped ( I had a spare - of course) along with the chain and a buckled rear mech - thanks to the guys and Simon (Tim didn’t have a tool kit for some reason!) we were back and riding in 5 minutes ( we won’t mention the flat I got back in Southdown). An OTT first today- no visit to the Amble Inn !. I guess we only rode about 17 miles max, but the difficulty in virgin snow made it feel a lot more. - If you have not ridden in thick snow - give it a go it’s awesome - my standard S-Works Captain tyres worked a treat (full pressure - not low)
Cheers - Rich