Venturing out to fetch my bike from the shed, I became aware of the heavy downpour and questioned my sanity. Waiting for the torrent to subside, I set out to the ride start point. Reaching Reigate Hill I was relieved to find some company to join me for the training ride. Monika, Julian and Gareth appeared eager to start so we headed out along the ridge.

The rain had now stopped and the sky was clearing, however the puddles were in abundance with the spray going everywhere. Crossing Banstead Common, Gareth demonstrated how slippery the ground was as his wheels disappeared from underneath him. It was a real struggle to stay upright with each wheel having a mind of its own.

Heading down the single track to No Home Farm was more like white water rafting as we followed the stream with the cold water spraying up soaking our legs. Gaining traction up Sheep Walk was an exercise in itself with wheels again sliding in all directions.

The aim of the training ride was to take in as many hills as possible to improve our climbing techniques. We certainly found the hills where we climbed over 3600 feet along the 36 miles. This is a similar amount of climbing per mile as the South Downs Way.

Following a tea stop at Bockets Farm where we met the other MTB group, we then set off back to Reigate. The climb up to Stane Street was so slippery we had to work hard to make any progress. Riding down Tye Lane was a real effort as we pedalled through the thick gloopy mud. Eventually reaching Reigate Hill we were glad to give our legs a rest.

Next week the Muc-Off 8. It’s an 8 hour enduro event based locally, just beyond East Grinstead. We have 3 teams from the club participating and one solo entrant (SOLO SUE)!. Why not come and watch?

Richard Sterry