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Getting out and actually riding seemed like it had taken forever!

Since buying my new bike over three weeks ago it had felt like time had stood still and my trip to Swinley Forest seemed to not get any closer. I was itching to see how my new machine would perform, and whether or not I really needed 8 inches of rear travel?

The day started out just as it normally does when I am doing something fun, I woke up an hour before the alarm went off. So at 7am I went downstairs, put on the kettle and said hello to our pet parrot Jack. I made the missus and I a cup of tea and just after 9am I packed up my gear and headed out to Kingston station giving myself enough time to catch the 9:29 train to Twickenham, everything was on schedule, all going according to plan "Yeah Right!"

I had arranged to meet two of my new riding mates on the platform at Twickenham and catch the train to Reading but of course the bane of our lives here in the UK had struck again (no not the weather, for once!). No of course there was engineering works on the line and rail replacement bus service would not allow my bike on, so of course I did what any self respecting cyclist would do, I pedalled. Yes I pedalled for +-4 miles! If any of you have pedalled that far on a downhill bike you will know what I experienced.

Eventually I got to Twickenham and surprisingly enough I got there before the train arrived and as I got onto the platform the train arrived and I heard Tom call my name and I hopped on and we set off to Martins Heron. The moment the train started moving I got a text from Mik, he was on the later train so after a 20min wait at Martins Heron he soon arrived and we all set off for the Lookout.

The weather was incredible and by the time we got to the visitors centre we were all well up for the day ahead. With permits in hand we headed off and soon found the first bit of single track just to warm things up and pretty soon we were at the Expert Mountain bike area and we warmed up on a series jumps with a few nice drop-ins. After hitting a bit of air we decided to head up the hill to a few of the downhill runs.

Looking up at the hill there seemed to be a maze of runs, winding their way down, some tight turns and few little jumps just to keep things interesting. Getting up was a bit of a mission but damn, the descent was worth the push. We made about six trips up and down the hill, starting with the quick free flowing track before tackling the tighter technical one on the right. After hitting them a few more times we headed off to the other side of the hill and discovered an awesome stretch of single track running down the hill where a neatly placed jump gave us the opportunity to get a bit more air and provided the perfect spot for a few action photos. After spending about 40 minutes there we headed off in the direction of the TV Relay Mast.

As we neared the mast we peeled off to the left and entered the trees, the track flowed through the forest and then dropped off and flowed down toward a road that we crossed over and then got back on the track that opened up to a sweet section of steep downhills, hitting the right hand line gave us the opportunity to pick up some serious speed and the natural kicker at the end was an awesome finish to this wicked piece of terrain.

After getting our fill of this little gem we continued on toward another set of techical downhill but then just to our right we spotted something we just couldn't resist, "Drops".

A sick looking drop to be honest. After checking it out for a while we all decided to rather give the slightly smaller one a shot. Tom and Mik both hit the drop with relative ease and I thought what the hell, why not. Unfortunately for me it didn't quite work out the way I had planned. I nailed the landing but somehow instinct took over and my right hand gripped the closest available piece of bike, which was unfortunately my front brake lever. I took a dive over the bars and ate the dirt bigtime. All I can say is, the fifty quid I spent on my fullface helmet was money well spent, although at the time of writing this blog I still had a bit of a headache.

Taking a bit of time to get my breath back I sat in the dirt while some kid on a hardtail hit the big drop and only just made it, then some dude on a Marin hit the big drop, he landed it perfectly and as quickly as he had arrived he was gone. We all agreed that next time some body armour would make the trip and we would tackle that big sucker.

With just enough energy left we made our way toward a road that looked more like a wall than a road but after getting to the top we just had enough time left to hit one more run, which turned out to be the best run of the day, winding down , tight and twisty with loads of trees on either side of the trail it made for an awesome end to a cracking days riding.

Riding back to to the lookout felt like it took ages but damn, it was all worth it. We really cashed in on the awesome weather and quality terrain.

Swinley Forest is definately a place we will return to. To be honest it almost feels like I should have offered to pay a bit more than £2.50 it cost me for the permit.

Oh yeah one more thing before I stop my inane rambling, the 8 inches of travel, it was worth every inch I tell you .

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Comments (8)

stumpy_dan said:

	... nice blog.. shame about the head over but sounds like you really found some of the best of Swinley on your first ride you lucky so and so. I spent loads of times aimlessly lost wondering what the fuss was about. I like the downhill runs you mention where there are about four of them and you can session them over and over.
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May 11, 2008
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tomtomks said:

	... cool blog man .. be cool to meet up wiv ya over there some time.. as my frist time over there was a bit hit and miss...
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May 11, 2008
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motomouse said:

	... Yeah that would be cool tomtomks, I will let you know when we are out there again!
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May 11, 2008
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Buster said:

	... Glad you enjoyed it Motomouse. Those trains can be really tricky eh?
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May 12, 2008
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motomouse said:

	... Damn trains, I didn't let them ruin my day though, I laugh in the face of the trains!
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May 12, 2008
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i4_uk said:

	... Great post! Really enjoyed reading this one. It's cool to read about Swinley from aa DH rather than XC perspective for a change
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May 13, 2008
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flashdan said:

	... so you rate giants maestro suspension then motomouse?
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May 21, 2008
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motomouse said:

	... Oh definately, it makes for an awesome ride.
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May 21, 2008
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