Ride report: Sunday 16 August – And then there were 3 (almost)
It was close.
I very nearly followed in the footsteps of Colin and Tony!
So, a small crew of moles set out from the car park on Sunday. Myself, Jem, DaveW and Ian made up the list of riders. Without JohnR we decided that we could still do the Newlands Corner run with a slight twist. Up Yew Trees towards Ranmore, followed by an uneventful (remember East to West is SAFE) trip along Badger Run and Collar Bone. We then turned left and headed for White Down but turned right after the gate and headed towards…
Confusion reigned. DaveW calls what we call Numbskull (but originally called Rooty Woods) Blind Terror. Dave reckons that what I’ve been calling Blind Terror is Numbskull and as they are two different sides of the road he was well confused!! So… no idea what is what now! Might go back to Rooty Woods, which is quite apt and also a great run.
From there it was the usual run over Abinger Roughs, up behind Gomshall and Shere, before heading down into Albury. At this point while climbing on an innocuous stretch of sand I suddenly found myself on the floor. Front wheel went away from me and bang, I was down. Nothing broken other than my pride but I still landed quite heavily on my left hand and shoulder so I took it easy after that while climbing up to the Cafe.
After refreshment we headed back along the ridge, managing to avoid being splashed and run over by Green Laners and eventually coming back to Collar Bone. This time it was West to East though, i.e. not good. The pace was fast, the ground was reasonably hard and offered plenty of traction. The root that clipped my pedal was unyielding.
So, Bike = stopped, rider = airborne, sailing over the handlebars. Well I’m told that’s what happened because I remember the impact of the root and next thing I recall is being sat at the side of the trail looking down into the trees. I was lucky, not sure how but I guess having no tree in the way saved me, I just grazed my elbow and strained my right hand again. The bike suffered a very small waver on the front wheel. Phew!
After that an uneventful final leg home and out with the scrubbing brush and saline solution. Nice!
About the author
Dave's been riding seriously since about 1997 and is one of the founding Molefathers — along with Matt and Mark — that came up with the idea of a MTB website for Mole Valley riders.
He's had several different bikes but it's now mainly 29ers in Dave's stable, apart from an Orange 5.
Current Bikes: Orange 5, Salsa Spearfish and Kona Big Unit
There are 6 comments on ‘Ride report: Sunday 16 August – And then there were 3 (almost)’
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Jem says:
Dave
Glad to hear your OK, just a bit bashed and bruised.
Did you recieve any INTENS(E)ive care from your nurse after the ROOT cause of your accident.
Lee. Not that sort!!
All in all a good enjoyable fast ride despite your tumbles.
I think i’ll be booking that first aid course soon.
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Posted on August 16, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Dave says:
I wish!
She almost fainted at the sight of me scrubbing the wound so I did it myself.
Sorted.
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Posted on August 16, 2009 at 8:04 pm
DaveW says:
Well done for getting away with it Dave (twice!)
It took me a bit longer to get home than expected as my rear Razer PR was penetrated by a rogue flint chip.
See you soon fellas.
D
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Posted on August 16, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Matt says:
That section of trail looks so innocuous but seems to have claimed another scalp.
It’s not until you stand there you realise there’s plenty of momentum involved when you’re travelling back in that direction, not helped by being tired after a long ride.
Glad you got away with it Dave, could so easily have been worse by the sound of it. Lucky there was no tree in the way!
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Posted on August 17, 2009 at 8:42 am
Stig says:
Oh no Dave, we can’t afford any more casualties – recent rides have been underpopulated as it is!!
Glad you got away with it.
Comeback imminent, see you on the next ride.
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Posted on August 17, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Dave says:
Thanks guys!
It’s also ironic when you think how close to a year ago that Matt actually christened the trail as well. My fall was further along though, almost at the top of LandRover.
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Posted on August 17, 2009 at 2:04 pm