MTB- A Day to Remember- 26/7

Having failed miserably to get out last weekend- due to a combination of an excess alcohol, a shortage of sleep and, in one case, an apparent lack of salt in his diet, we thought we'd make an extra effort this week.

Chris, Richard, Brian and John packed the bikes into our cars and headed for the bikers paradise of Aspley Woods.
As we unloaded and made our final checks a lone cyclist approached and asked if he could tag along. Introducing himself as Chris Day, he told us he was local and that his usual crew had gone away for the weekend- He'd be happy to show us some of the less obvious trails, so we welcomed him on board.


The first couple of miles were along familiar tracks, the only threat to safety coming from overgrown gorse bushes. However, body armour and a tricked-out machine should have given a warning of what was to come when Chris D asked if we fancied a bit of technical downhill but after a brief debate we agreed we were up for it. Flicking a switch on his handlebars to drop his saddle, Chris disappeared down a bramble lined gully. Richard & Brian followed, picking a slow but steady path down the partially obscured track. Emboldened by our colleagues' success, John went next, making a confident start but, 10 metres down the trail, his forks bottomed out . He flew over the handlebars, twisting spectacularly in the air before coming to rest in a bed of brambles.
This was the first of four full-on stacks for John. Fortunately nothing more than his pride was hurt but it did serve to remind us that, whilst fast & furious, our regular trails are relatively tame and un-technical.
Having checked that we were all in one piece, CD flicked the switch to reinstate his saddle and set off for the first of several grinding climbs. At least the ascents let the Ampthill crew regain some pride as our bike set-up allowed us to out-climb our guide.
We quickly learned that the sight of CD flicking the switch to drop his saddle was a warning of another hairy descent. Having all managed to master one such beast, albeit at snails pace, the shine was soon taken off the glow of success as two 12 year old BMXers emerged from the same trail.
We began to feel at home as the ups and downs were linked by some great single track and I think CD finally realised that we were not just old gits with bikes beyond our ability. After a roller coaster two hours we returned to the cars, grinning from ear to ear and feeling like we'd completed an epic ride. Incredibly, we'd only ridden about 9 miles- giving John an impressive CIR (Crash Index Rating) of 2.25 or one crash every 2 1/4 miles.
Hopefully we'll be back for more riding (and less falling off) in the near future.