by hattenburrow | Jul 11, 2023 | Biking Adventures
Whether you are a novice mountain biker or have been enjoying the great outdoors by mountain bike for a number of years, one thing is certain, and that is that you will probably have spent a good amount to ensure that you have the right equipment.
The right bike, kit and even shoes don’t come cheap, but these items are a good investment when it comes to mountain biking comfort, and looked after carefully will last you for many years. Of course, having the right gear is only part of the trick to enjoying your time on your mountain bike. The other is knowing how to get the best out of the area that you are visiting.
If you are visiting a new area, then hiring the services of a mountain bike guide can be the best way to get the most out of your time there.
There are several different ways in which you can benefit from hiring a mountain bike guide to help you when you visit a new area.
The first of these is perhaps the most obvious one, and that is that if you hire a local guide who has experience mountain biking in the area, then you will be able to access the best trails without having to do lots of research. A local guide will also be more likely to know of any issues that have come up recently with any trails, the type of things that have the potential to disrupt your ride. This might be work that is taking place to trees down on a trail. A mountain bike guide will also know the places not to be missed, the single track that’s worth the hill climb and the views that will have you snapping pictures for 20 minutes. As the South Downs is mainly made up of natural singletrack and bridleways it can be hard to find the good stuff, so having an expert to help can save you a lot of time on back roads trying to work out where the trails are.
In addition to this expert knowledge of the best trails for mountain biking, a mountain bike guide in the South Downs will also be able to help you sort out other aspects of your trip, from recommending local accommodation to suggesting good places to eat. This means that you won’t have to worry about any of the little details of your trip and just focus on enjoying your time on your mountain bike.
One final benefit is that if you normally cycle on your own, hiring a mountain bike guide will mean that you are riding with at least one other person, and this can be a good idea when exploring new and unfamiliar territory.
If you’re interested in discovering the best the South Downs has to offer, why not get in touch? We’d be happy to show you around!
by hattenburrow | Jan 3, 2018 | Adventure, Inspiration, Walking
Last weekend Martyn, Luna and I layered up and headed out to explore the countryside. We started our adventure in a car park on the west side of the A286 on the South Downs Way near the village of Cocking.
From the car park, we turned west along the South Downs Way (SDW), on a wide surfaced track. As we climbed steadily pass Hill Top Farm, another 400m further and we were nearly at the top of the slope with sheep fields surrounding us, we turned left, leaving the SDW, passing a large chalk ball (one of several in this area made by the sculptor Andy Goldsworthy).
We couldn’t see much because of the drizzle, but on a good day you can clearly see Goodwood racecourse over to your left. Turning back around to survey where we came from the view over varied farmland was stunning, even in the drizzle. Walking into magical woodland we followed our directions “turning left at the next the three finger post turn left onto a wide chalky path.”
We walked further into the wood staying on the main track. The wood was alive with nature from various bird species, squirrels and deer. Luna was quite disgruntled not being allowed to pursue the deer.
Gradually the forest enclosed with tall spruce trees, after about 800m we reached an open area with hunter’s hideouts, not so hidden in the tree canopies.
Heading down a steep bank the path was covered in leaves and we were not sure we were on track, Luna seemed to know where she was going and soon enough there was a blue sign which indicated we were on track, well done Luna!
With our bellies rumbling we were now near our half way stop at Singleton and the Partridge Inn.
With beautiful beech trees to our left, spruce on our right it felt like something out of the Faraway Tree Books I read as a child. We kept wandering through the trees until our path popped out into vast views of farmers’ fields as far as our eyes could see. We took the path to the left down the farmers track towards a lonely isolated house.
Our path ran through Colworth Farm and then took a left back up through varied fields full of crops. We could see Singleton below and were excited about our lunch stop at The Partridge Inn. We followed the path down the right-hand side of a meadow, the path was steep and at the next stile Luna had to be carried by Martyn, as she was too big to go under the stile and too much of a wimp to go over it!
A steady march through the mud over the disused railway bridge, through cow fields until our last gate brought us out in Singleton. Finally the pub stop!
This dog friendly pub was a great find. With a big roaring fire and delicious sandwiches in front of us the idea of going outside to finish our walk was not
appealing…
We left the pub around 3.15pm with only 45 minutes of light left we would probably be finishing in the dark… little did we know the adventure that was about to unfold.
Walking down the little lane to the side of the pub, just after a river crossing and before the school, we turned left at a signpost on a wide track, passing a cemetery it was very muddy!
The path steeply climbed an open grassy field until we reached another wooden gate. This new open field had a wood to the right so we headed towards it and through another stile where sheep were grazing, with a Levin Down information panel on our left we were sure we were in the right place…
Our path descended down through black thorn bushes, as we reached the bottom we had a niggling feeling we had gone wrong, but where? Our instructions had stopped making sense and so we back tracked up the hill and took a different path, this turned out to be the off-piste route through scrub land and prickly bushes, a dead end.
Time ticking on we continued into a field with ponies grazing through a new gate and over a large grassy pasture the light was dusky and we couldn’t find a way out. Reaching the far side, google maps was needed to get us back on track! Martyn’s excellent map reading skills we found our path, a sign post showed the direction to each neighboring village which helped get us back on track. As a double check, the path had a wire fence on the left and a hedge on the right, which was mentioned in our instructions. Heading towards the dark and mysterious forest with only 30% battery left we waited until in the pitch black before turning on the torch to light our way.
Counting my steps Martyn and I walked silently through the trees aware of the silence and stillness around us apart from the odd cracking tree branch, what was lurking in the pitch black? After 700m we entered a clearing and the eerie light from the moon cast shadows and made the trees look very spooky indeed. Looking back from where we had come was like looking into a well. Crossing the chalky path and on into the dark woodlands Luna was on high alert watching the darkness, ears pricked and aware of every sound and smell around her, she stuck close to my leg as if she could sense my nerves.
We kept going until we reached the South Downs Way; from here we could not go wrong. Knowing this section well from biking the views are incredible in every direction. In the dark we just enjoyed the peacefulness of walking through the countryside just the three of us, our road lit by torch.
This mini adventure right on our door step, was a cheap and fun day out spending time with the people I love in the fresh air and stunning South Downs. I would highly recommend a trip to the South Downs.
by hattenburrow | Mar 1, 2016 | Biking Adventures, Racing
Last weekend was my first race of 2016! I had a major mechanical on Friday which left me a bit apprehensive as I packed my stuff. I like to make sure everything is sorted and in the car the night before as this helps banish my pre race nerves.
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The Wiggle Southern Rough Ride sportive started and finished in Amberley, Sussex, a pretty little village nestled in the South Downs. I am lucky enough to live in the South Downs and was excited to ride in a new part of this beautiful landscape.
After registration I lined up and the organisers set us off in group. A sportive is not a ‘race’ ‘race’ as it uses public land. Instead its a mass participation event with different routes for all abilities, I was doing the Epic, a 34 mile route.Each sportive has gold, silver and bronze finishing times I was aiming for around 4 hours putting me in the women’s gold position.
I set off with a plan to let my legs warm up for the first 30 minutes and then to ride hard, consistently. The first two hours passed by and I felt good, I had stopped briefly at the first feed station to fill up my water bottle.
The course was good fun with a mixture of open trails through farmland and scenic ridge paths.
After a while the course split where the standard and epic routes divide, here I came across a bit of a stumbling block the sign-age on the route had been great but myself and a group other riders miss read the sign and ended up on a mile detour back to the course!
Back on track I knew I had lost valuable time so pushed hard, to make it back up. This part of the course seemed a lot more hilly but after the final big push the last feed station was in sight and I knew there was only 8 miles left.
This gave me a new lease of life and helped me push towards the finish line.
My nutrition routine had been very good during the race eating three homemade apricot & nut bars, one each hour with a few jelly babies, a banana and a handful of salted nuts for good measure.
The course neared the end and doubled back on itself with an exhilarating downhill all the way to the finish line.
Crossing the line I was really proud to have finished in 3 hours 46mins even with a little detour of 2 miles. This put me well within women’s gold and was the time needed for mens gold!
Thank you to UK Cycling Events and Wiggle for organising a really good event.
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by | Jan 23, 2016 | Training
Today was the my long ride day. My ride was set to be 4 hours long in tempo heart rate for 220 mins (heart rate between 150 – 160 bpm).
I set out with Michelle my partner for the Trans Alp from Petersfield on a loop I had planned with as many hills in it as possible! Our first big ascent was Butser Hill, which usually has awesome views out to the sea from the top, today not so great!
After climbing Butser we made our way down and around to Liss, I was keen to take my new full suspension bike off road so we headed to the wood to try out some of the single track around Liphook. Living in the South Downs we are really lucky to have such amazing riding all around.
The new Era was such a comfortable ride, the 29er rolls smoothly over lumps and bumps once the bike is moving it just seems easier to maintain momentum.
After our ‘playtime’ off road we headed back to the tarmac to finish our long ride.
Altogether we clocked up 47 miles in 4 hours and 10 minutes, we climbed over a 1000m which was a great achievement but far off the 19,000m we will do over 7 days in the alps!
As ever all great rides end with cake today we stopped at Madelines Delicatessen for a slice of Almond and apricot cake totally awesome worth checking out this place.
I am excited to be back training properly again and working hard towards my first race, Battle on the Beach in March.
This week I have done 9 hours training so far and clocked up just over 100 miles. I am pleased with my progress and enjoying learning how to get the most out of my new bike.
My coach added a sprints interval session and a flat pedal technique session to my normal routine, it is good to have new challenges and goals to work towards. I have forgotten how tough sprints were so its nice to be out pushing my body to new limits.
