Round 4. Porridgepot Hill 28/03/10

Steep & muddy were Alex's words but he still had a very good result 11/62 in the sport class , need him to be quick for Big Dog now some roadies have entered !!!  ( bring it on ).

And as for Ian , 1st in the grand vets in a very strong field of 19 riders ! All we need to do is to keep him awake at Mayhem , come on team Southdowns Kithurst !

Are You Tough Enough - Army Cycling Union Enduro 4th July 2010

Good memories of the above , especially for James winning the 4hr (but not for us!) , Amanda did well in the 2hr , I enjoyed the 6hr , but Ian face planted on his first lap , and missed out on a Dirtworker spot prize ! Hope he will be back this year . Join us on the 4th July

SRS Burgess Hill Springtime Sportive 21st March 2010

From receiving the group email from also new SDB member Reade, I agreed to sign up and enter my 2nd ever Sportive "SRS Springtime Sportive". The distances of the rides consisted of either 35,53 or 71 miles. Reade went for the 53 mile and myself 71 miles. The ride started in Burgess Hill and consisted of 1653 meters of climbing which included Pillow Mounds hill, Kidds Hill, Groombridge Hill and the short but steep 20% incline pig = Cobb Lane hill which was at the end of the ride. The forecast for Sunday was cloudy with no rain, but as normal it was chucking it down when the start approached. Luckily the weather improved and it became very dry. During 95% of the ride I was on my own (as I thought it would be good to leave it 20mins before the first start time to catch people up, but I guess the better riders went at the first possible time?), Oh well, I will learn from my mistake......

Reade finished the 53 mile course in 3hrs 34mins "Gold" (9th out of 124 entrants) and myself the 71 mile course in 4hrs 12min "Gold" (16th out of 374 entrants). Of course it was a Sportive so not an official competition, but we both had fun.

The ride was very well run, and I would recommend it to others !

Evening Rides

Those evenings are drawing out ! Nows the time to plan some weekday evening rides perhaps starting the 31st of March ?
The idea is a sociable but good medium pace to cover plenty of trail miles , alternating and exploring perhaps east and west alternate weeks , we have a wealth of trail knowledge between us and with Mr D'arcy on board now much more to the west to be added and with different tag on points , say Storrington through Whiteways and onwards west one week , then east the next week with storrington and say Chanctonbury meet points the next !
Open to ideas but lets make the most of the light returning using our lights with say a 3 to 4 hour ride but to include a pint on the way home , Sportsman , Franklands Arms ect ?
Please give input on ideas and an evening to suit , perhaps wednesday is a good evening to choose , but droping our ride not to clash with Martins shop ride ? With say a 6 to 6.30 departure from Storrington ?

Andy G at Black Park 14th March

Well I was billy no mates on Sunday perhaps because it was mothers day and that a large number of our fold were winging there way to Whistler mountain !

What a great simple race again held by our friends at West Drayton mtb, near sunny Slough.

A 3 mile lap of some gorgeous twisting single track linked by short fire roads , led to very fast , big ring laps (love the new duo rings).

Pleased with my efforts , I felt strong but seem to go out of the blocks to slow , must be my enduro mentality holding me back , but I do think i'm heading in the right direction , which does help in a race ! Please try and put this one in your diary for next year , you would love it !

Oh positon was 12/32 . 6 laps vet

Gorrick Saddle Skedaddle Rd 3 - 7th March 2010

More great results from the Skedaddle Series, yet again Ian Petherbridge and Alex Davey travelled up to race this time at Crowthorne Wood. Crowthorne is well known for its fast start, followed by plenty of fast singletrack with the odd tricky section to test skill levels, none more so than The Quarry and Corkscrew. Laps are always a little shorter here than other venues so the racing is sharp, close and frenetic. Many riders using the race as a sharpener to test their form prior to the forthcoming national races. As such it was great to see a turnout in the 600's, no doubt boosted by clear, bright blue skies. Ian came in 2nd in the Grand Veteran Male cat completing 3 laps in 1:05:51 and Alex 17th in theMaster Male cat completing 3 laps in 1:07:54. Well done guys perhaps we can get a few more of us riding the next round.