High hills on holiday

With a small group for such a nice day of 6, we trundled out of Bramber and up into the Downs to fantastic views, bright sunshine and a fair bit of wind. Our first drop towards Worthing went on a little longer than planned when I missed the turning hidden behind barbed wire, so we had a bit more of a winch than expected to clamber back up to Devils Dyke.

Now, instead of the long, gradual slope of the south face of the ridge we had the north facing scarp to descend. Speeds rapidly increased to worrying levels on the open hillside, especially as the dry conditions meant loose earth further down. Then into the woods, with even Aled heard to remark that you might be coming in 'a bit fast', over some roots and shooting out into sunshine at the bottom. One hundred whole metres of height lost in no time!

What goes down and all that, so we wound our way along the base of the ridge and then up to Saddlescombe, bypassing the tea stop to continue to Pyecombe and then along the base of Wolstonbury Hill, pedalling on through the 'what are they doing there?' tank trap like holes in the path. Over and down with a nice coating of wet clay hiding between hedgerows at the bottom, then a 1 in 6 climb to the Jack and Jill windmills and I'm sure whispered threats of bodily harm to whoever laid on this route!

All that was required to get to the tea stop was a nice long run down and then a shorter, gentler spin back to Saddlescombe. Arriving rather later than planned, massive slices of cake were nevertheless the order of the day before the final stretch home. South Downs way all the way, which meant a nasty climb then a fast run along the top.

Unfortunately the grassy slopes and chalk proved treacherous for Aled in playful mood, with something skittering him face-and-shoulder first into the ground and leading to a nicely sliced cheek and almost certainly a fair amount of bruising. A slightly dazed Aled was patched up while two of us dashed back for cars to conduct an extraction (from the nearby pub).

Once a succesful rendezvous had been achieved back in Bramber, we went our separate ways, some battered and bruised, some tired, some a little sunburnt. Distance in the high 20s (of miles), lots of climbing and I'm glad to hear Aled is sticking back together nicely.

Mat

Event / Article Type
MTB Experienced Bank Holiday - South Downs
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