A few days off work for myself coincided with Scott-rider taking some time off too. Tony said he’d ‘make a plan’ to get time off, so a date was set to go out for a trail ride on Wednesday the 17th of March. The weather forecast was looking promising and Wednesday was predicted to be just as good as the day before (warm and sunny). After a relaxed time getting up I loaded the bike onto the trailer and as it was parked on an angle in the driveway, I used a handy house brick behind the front wheel to keep it sliding back off the trailer. Unfortunately I was a little too relaxed getting ready so I was running late to meet SR at the usual spot near Mouslford on the Downs. Tony’s plans had come unravelled so I was making the 30 mile trek on my own. Getting near to the Jet Petrol station I had been expecting a ‘where are you call’ from SR for a while. Having missed breakfast I swung into the forecourt to pick up a flapjack. Low and behold who was in the garage filling his bike up but SR! However the biggest surprise was discovering the house brick still sliding around the bed of the trailer! Holy Shit! That thing had been on the back all the way since High Wycombe – and I’d not exactly been hanging around either, oops!

Once we’d got to the starting point it was time to get geared up – IN THE RAIN! What the ****, it was supposed to be another sunny & warm day and I was freezing my fat rolls off getting kited up. It was worst the second time round once I’d noticed my braces hanging around my knees and all my gear was on already – bollox!

Scot-rider early in the day....

It was a relief to be on the move at last and we headed up the hill on the byway. I was expecting the chalky hill to be tricky due to the little bit of drizzle we’d just had, but actually the going was dry and gripy. Instead of shooting straight down towards Chievely we did a few lanes at the top end of the Ridgeway, dissecting the ‘no go’ route a few times. SR led the way to a lane just to the East of Aldborne and although I had it marked on my map I’d never actually ridden it before. Pausing at one of the only puddles to take a picture a Southern Electric 4x4 joined us on the lane. We then head off down to Chievly as per normal but headed in the wrong direction so as to take in the Rat Run, a prerequisite of any rideout and found it in pretty good condition despite the bad weather we’ve had all winter. In fact I think the weather has been so bad that it’s more than likely put people off going out on the lanes, thus preserving the surfaces. The TRO half way down to Chievely is still in place till May and I have no doubt that this must be politically motivated as the ‘delicate’ improvements that have been made are nothing but some hardcore filled into some ruts. Something to do with the large house being built in the area maybe?

oh dear! What have we here then? How many can you spot?

Stopping for a break at the start of the lane formally known as the bomb hole we spotted a group of deer that were on the lane but hiding by a tree. As the going on this part is about as inspiring as an enema, we took the byway that lay straight ahead and once we hit the tar road we continued on to the Eastbury area where SR and myself swopped bikes for a bit. He’d been adjusting his suspension and had changed his gearing as well. I’d suggested we swop as I was running the same gearing as he used to run. Riding his 400exc the slight lack of ‘snap’ in the throttle was evident as was the movement of the bars when hitting some rough stuff when on the gas, something that the Scott Damper on my bike damps out almost completely.

We carried onwards through Lambourn and passed over the top of the M4 on our way to the start of sugar hill. The last time we’d been this way it had been closed so I was glad it was open. Once at the bottom of the hill SR got stuck in the large ruts and luckily for him it was drier than normal, but having the footpegs dig into the sides of the ruts made it hard to make progress. I’ll say one thing about Sugar Hill though – why the hell was it closed last time? I can’t see any evidence of any work have'n taken place so why was it closed?

the old bus... still doing good with 400 hours of hard riding

As we’d had a late start, we were runnig out of time now (and I needed to be home to cook dinner) so it was time to fuel up and start back. The fastest route to the Chiseldon services was via the road, but we were out for a trail ride so I elected to turn left at the bottom of the hill, turning right a little further on. While this byway is pretty rutted I sort of enjoy riding them. At the far end the little lane that comes out by the farm is fun as well. Heading for the tar road I was disappointed to find the byway by the radio mast had been completely ruined – yes the fun police had been there and totally resurfaced it, removing all the interesting bits.

SR at our lunch break spot on sugar hill

Having re-fuelled and bought sandwiches I suggested we head back to Sugar Hill to chill out and admire the view while we ate lunch. On the way I pulled over to let SR take the lead and sat behind him all the way through the rutty bits. As we got near the open byway I suddenly remembered the puddle near the end of the lane. SR sped up somewhat so I assumed he’d remembered it too and was trying to get there before I could try the classic ‘splash your mate’ written rule of trail riding. To my amazement he slowed right down, lifting his feet up to keep them out of the water. I opened the 450 up, hitting the water just at the right time to totally soak him from head to toe! Pulling up I turned around to see water dripping from everywhere and could just hear “good one John” over my own laughter!

where are those dam aliens?

time for lunch

on the way back.... a lane near Lambourn

Stopping on the top of the hill to eat our launch I shot a few pictures then jumped onto the top of the fence post to strike a pose. I love sitting on top of this hill, as the views are great. Chilling out in the sun (if you’re lucky) and with Buzzards circling above it is good for the soul. It’s easy to see why the aliens chose the field at the bottom of the hill to draw their crop circles!

The route back was the usual lonely affair as there was no one else on the trails. In fact the total count for the day was one young couple at the beginning on the day, one lady walking her dog on the farm track near the radio mast and one other dog walker somewhere and that was it in 99 miles. I’m still amazed at how dry the going was, it was actually dusty!

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