30 Kilometres in 2 hours 7 minutes rolling time, Left Andover via Abbots Ann and Monxton under the A303 to Weyhill, just before Weyhill suffered a puncture to the rear tyre which was caused by a piece of wire, so stopped and repaired the puncture on the verge across from the Weyhill Fairground. We then cycled north up through Clanville to Conholt, where we then cut over to the old Roman Way which eventually becomes the Hungerford Lane at Knights Enham, then back through Andover which wasn't the most exciting route home. Did get to see a Fox on the lane at Abbot's Ann, but was long gone before we could take a photograph, The Fox proved to be the only interesting wildlife we saw on the route, though the weather was rather grey and it drizzled most of the time i was out.
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British Heart Foundation South Downs Way Challenge 2015 entry is open - would be a shame not to try this great Mountain Bike Challenge again, this time it's the 18th July 2015, so penciled it into the diary.
Right of Way Maps - rather handy addition to what can be found online, and cover's a large proportion of the county councils. Another handy website is Bridleway Map which does exactly what it says on the tin.
The Stique Multilever ML123, when announced on Kickstarter this idea of a combination bike took my fancy I backed it, it was now come to fruition, and it has now been have been delivered: "You'll be the first in the world to receive a 'Stique ML123 Multilever. It might 'only' be a beta version, or what we in England call a 'prototype', but then you always were ahead of the pack. We'll give you a certificate of authenticity, stating the date on which your ML123 was made, so that when 'Stique is a world-recognised brand, you can cherish the thought that you were one of the first to recognise its potential." Well we have it now and will put it to the test over the coming months.... Stique have provided the following handy information guide to all the functions that the ML123 has Due to a succession of dropped chains in recent weeks, I have replaced the Hope Chain Ring with a Moove Components Narrow-Wide 32T Chain Ring in anodised red, for a very reasonable price. This technology is becoming much more mainstream, so more vendor's are now arriving in the marketplace with their solutions. I will be running this one with a none clutch derailleur, so we shall see what all the fuss is about, the Hope Chain guard will remain on the bike, just pushed out of the way.
So today we took part in the Test Valley Cool Tour 2014, organised by the local council in cooperation with Gorrick; a mountain bike event organiser. The event comprised on a long and a short route, both of which rejoined before entering Collingbourne Wood, which is the main attraction of the event. Last year i had completed the long route, this year I did the short route, missing out the loop to Upton and back. I have seen rather alot of that area this year so didn't see the appeal. I had been wondering if the route would be the same as last year, and it wasn't which was a plus, it included the Roman Road now none as Hungerford lane which runs out of Samnell. The was a varied mix of bridle path, and country lane the biggest challenge was getting up onto the Chute Cause way which took you to the north end of Collingbourne Wood. It was a rather fresh bright morning, and I cycled over to the Start/Finish Venue which was at Charlton Lakes Sport pavilion, so was warmed up for the start. Got my registration pack and lined up for the off... It proved to be a lovely morning's ride out, Collingbourne Wood was great fun, not as muddy as last year, but the route took you through some rather big patches of mud and puddles. I had compromised on the tyre selection, knowing that Collingbourne is generally wet even without alot of rain, and had a Maxxis Ardent up front and a Geax Gato on the rear. This made it hard downing on the country lanes, but made ploughing through the mud in Collingbourne Wood, much easier, in fact alot of fun. So with Collingbourne Wood completed, the route popped us out behind Biddesden House and then back to Charlton through Penton Grafton, again using a mixture of bridle paths and country lanes. On Arrival back at the finish, I was informed i was the third finisher of the day and was presented with a Medal and some chocs... My GPS announced I had traversed 37.39 Kilometres in 2.28:53 minutes, not bad indeed, it also announced we had broken the 3000 Kilometres mark during the ride and my grand total thus far on the bike is 3016kms!!!
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January 2023
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