Ride Report: 31st March – Boys on the Black Stuff
The weather forecast was looking good and on the forum Dave C had suggested a return visit to the recently discovered Bingo Bongo Dave. With many Moles unavailable because of Mother’s Day, some unwell, and Kev doing something with Mrs S and seaweed in Cornwall, I was relieved to see a few Moles had made it to the Bocketts Car Park.
In fact Karl, Elliot, James and Chris had all avoided any summer time confusion and were ready to make the most of a lovely sunny morning.
We decided to head over to Headley first, have coffee at Pilgrims Cycles, then onto Ranmore to finish the day with BBD. Alsatian was soon dispatched and Life on Mars was starting to dry up nicely as we continued up to the carpark at Headley. A lot of clearing has been going on up on the Heath, so the start of Secret Singletrack was difficult to follow with the landmarks gone, but the rest of it was fast and flowy along the winding singletrack. Another quick climb and we took Gear Selecta – but again with the same problems finding the start with so many landmarks gone.
Next on the agenda was China Pig, but as we crossed the Headley Valley and picked up the road we decided instead to revisit a neglected old favourite – Bat Out of Hell. This was in excellent condition, although it claimed Karl down one gully and then me on an off camber route. But it’s in great condition now and well worth another visit. Unfortunately the price we had to pay was a length treck down the A25 and Pixham Lane over to Box Hill station for a visit to Pilgrim Cycles. The coffee was very good and the welcome was friendly, although there was not the same selection of cakes available at some other stops.
By now time was pressing for those who needed to be back on time for lunchtime, so we took the Denbies tarmac route up to Ranmore, and stayed on the black stuff for the hike over to Crocknorth and a run Down Bingo Bongo Dave. I left the rest of the pack at the A246 and got back home just in time for Mothers Day duties, and I hope everyone else did too.
A bit more roadwork than the Moles normally do on a Sunday, but a lovely day to be out, and plenty of miles covered. Let’s hope for more good weather next weekend.
About the author
John has been biking in the Surrey Hills since the late 1990s but only started riding with the MuddyMoles in 2008. In the couple of years since then he has learned more about mountain biking from the Moles than he learned in the previous ten.
Having remained loyal to his vintage pale blue and orange Stumpjumper hardtail since the last century, he has recently explored the limits of his storage space and his wife’s patience by adding an On-One Inbred Singlespeed and an Orange Five.
John is usually wearing or riding something blue and does not eat any raw fruit beginning with the letter T.
There are 8 comments on ‘Ride Report: 31st March – Boys on the Black Stuff’
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Elliot says:
I didn’t notice at the time but someone should have told Karl and James it was blue top day!
BBD was fun…totally worth a bit of road in order to be included. It wants a little more dry weather to reach peak shredability!
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Posted on March 31, 2014 at 9:46 pm
Karl says:
And someone handy with a chainsaw..!
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Posted on March 31, 2014 at 10:28 pm
Karl says:
I really enjoyed the ride, visiting trails I have not ridden either at all, or for ages.. Great weather, and a a very interesting route. Thanks for leading JR, and also for the ride report, and piccies.
Pilgrims Cycles at the station was a fab place to stop.. Must pop in there again one day.
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Posted on March 31, 2014 at 10:35 pm
Matt says:
Congratulations to Karl for posting the 7000th comment on this website.
Sorry mate, you don’t win anything but are allowed to feel a warm glow of satisfaction!
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Posted on April 1, 2014 at 12:12 pm
Karl says:
Matt, Random!
Riding out with the Moles in the Surrey Hills is prize enough.
😉
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Posted on April 1, 2014 at 6:52 pm
Matt says:
Yes, I’ve been thinking for the past few weeks that a lot of you guys are running the blue colorway (sic) this season. Except D’Andy. He’s out on his own of course!
I was at home with family duties this whole weekend, and as you can imagine, not entirely happy to be missing the great weather.
Amazed at how much tarmac you squeezed in, that JR is a cheeky chap!
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Posted on April 1, 2014 at 11:22 am
Dandy says:
Not true, Matt. There’s a lot of blue on my new Troy Lee top 😉
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Posted on April 2, 2014 at 11:29 am
ChrisH says:
Many thanks to John for leading, really enjoyed it.
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Posted on April 2, 2014 at 10:31 pm