by hattenburrow | Jun 7, 2023 | Adventure, Bike Packing, Biking Adventures
Ffion woke at 4:30, after many failed attempts for more sleep, Emyr & I embraced the early morning heading for breakfast just before 7.
Breakfast eaten, bikes packed we rolled out of Winchester not really knowing what the day would bring, hoping to make Amberley, 46 miles away in time for dinner at 6pm. After an exciting morning Ffion was asleep before we left the car park…
Leaving Winchester behind we climbed up Cheesefoot head and then onto Beacon hill, it was slow going mainly because of all the uphill, but there were a few faffing stops too! Going ahead of Emyr down Beacon Hill to get a good shot of him riding down the inevitable happened and he got a puncture. Worm inserted and a quick nappy change and we were back on the road.
We had been planning to go round Old Winchester Hill as the climb up is steep and rutted, however the Meon Valley trail is such a lovely bit of singletrack we decided to give it a go. Old Winchester Hill conquered we continued to Queen Elizabeth Country Park (QE). Looking out over the views from the top of Butser Hill over the rolling hills of the downs I was very impressed with what we had achieved so far, however we still had along way to go!
We stopped at QE for a brief refuel for us & a run around for Ffion leaving QE with our sights set on the Cadence Cafe at Cocking for lunch. As the miles ticked by, we couldn’t believe how amazing our tiny human was being, but a 4:30 wake up and random morning snoozes had really thrown her rhythm and she became a slightly disgruntled toddler as we edged closer to the cafe stop. Luckily Ffion’s favourite thing is running and so on stopping Ffion ran from inside to outside of the cafe for the duration of our visit with both Emyr and I taking a bite of food before trying to heard our little whirlwind. As you can imagine getting back in the trailer was not a popular choice! Thanks to Nanny for the sticker book which saved the day!
Cocking hill was climb 8 of 9 according to the Garmin, which I have to say was deeply wrong. I counted at least 4 if not 5 more climbs before our descent down to Amberley began!! From cocking hill, we continued along the South Downs Way all the way to Amberley, this is a part of the South Downs Way I love, as red kites circled above us, baby lambs jumped around in the fields and cows grazed happily as we rolled by the scenery made all the climbing worth it! With views out to the sea on one side and rolling hills on the other I thought how lucky we were to be able to call this our local riding spot.
After crossing the last busy road we dropped down a super descent into the village of Amberley, the valley was so different from the South Downs Way, flat and we followed the river Arun past reed beds and horses grazing.
Within the last 2 miles I decided to have a quick lay down in the grass, Emyr had told me about a step up onto the bridge but failed to mention the gate, as he stopped for the gate I just happened to be filming and couldn’t film, break and unclip at the same time. My foot decided it liked being in my pedal, refused to unclip sending both bike, phone and I to a soft landing in the grass just moments from the grasp of the River Arun. Which is the second fastest river in the UK (every day is a school day).
Cycling through the pretty village of Amberley to our Air BNB I was really impressed we had made it with 30 minutes to get ready before dinner at the Black Horse a pub I would recommend but maybe leave your toddlers at home!
Well done team what an epic day!
by hattenburrow | Jun 5, 2023 | Adventure, Bike Packing, Biking Adventures
Bike Packing with a Toddler.
After weeks of planning, re planning and more planning it was finally here – the day we would set off on our three-day bike packing adventure with our little girl Ffion. We had no idea how our 19-month-old would cope over three days and had scaled back our original King Alfred Way idea to a triangular route along the South downs. We did this for a few reasons but mainly riding trails we knew and having ‘emergency escape routes’ to get home if we needed made it slightly less daunting!
After two hours packing the Alpkit bags and Ffion’s Tout Terrain trailer we were ready to set off on the first leg. The first day would be biking from home, near Chichester, to Winchester and staying over night in the Premier Inn, mainly because we knew it was bike friendly and easy to get too!
We had never ridden over 20 miles with Ffion in the trailer so took the quicker road route through Rowlands Castle, Charlton and then up to Butser Hill before heading onto the South Downs Way. Ffion slept for most of this leg of the journey, waking just in time for lunch at the Sustainability Centre!
After a delicious lunch we headed onwards and upwards to the top of Old Winchester Hill, one of the real high points with views reaching far out over the Meon valley with rolling hills of crops and sheep.
After lots of open bridleway the Meon Valley trail was a welcome break from the sun as we rolled down through the trees before we re-joined a quiet back road through a few pretty villages and on to Beacon Hill. Back off-road, Ffion was busy playing with her ‘busy book’ (A book full of clasps, buckles, Velcro and zips which gives her endless fun).
The miles clocked up and the time ticked by and soon we were closing in on Cheesefoot Head, the final high point of the day. Open fields stretched for miles interspersed with woodland and down in the valley we could see Winchester, which still seemed quite far away!
We stopped for a snack break and for Ffion to have a run around on the grass, I felt so grateful to be able to share this adventure with her. Snacks packed away it was back to the trail and to continue our final descent into Winchester.
Arriving at the Premier Inn was simple as there is a bridleway which takes you almost to the door. Check in was easy and having the bikes in the room made it much easier.
Now time for that good nights sleep… apparently its guaranteed! What is not guaranteed is being able to get your toddler to sleep in the room where you are staying…
In total we rode 51km in 3 hours 12 minutes with an elevation of 724 meters.
by hattenburrow | Jun 3, 2023 | Biking Adventures
We hope you got out on your bikes today wherever you were! After our 100 mile South Downs bike packing trip this week and mountain bike camps for kids, we actually went to recce new ride routes on two feet!
Cycling UK have a 100 mile challenge from the 5th – 11th June, who is joining in? We’re going to try and get in 100 miles within the week between coaching and guiding sessions. Bike Week 100 is all about workplace cycling, but why stop at just cycling too and from work, getting out on your bike has massive benefits for your physical and mental health as well as reducing your carbon footprint.
The facts (from Cycling UK)
- Transport is the UK’s most emitting sector, making up 24% of emissions in 2020
- Commuting accounts for 98% of an individual’s work-related carbon footprint
- 45.1% of UK commuters travel to work by car, and only 2% do so by bike
- As many as three million commuters travel as little as two kilometres to work, making an uptick in active commuting one of the most actionable ways to drive down corporate emissions
- On top of the environmental benefits, evidence indicates that an active workforce is a happier, healthier and more productive one
Share your rides with us using our hashtag #architectsofadventure and tag us @beyondthemudmtb on Instagram and we will pick two lucky winners who manage the 100 miles in the week to win Beyond The Mud tee shirts!
You will need to be able to prove you did 100 miles, so keep those rides on your strava or other tracking app. If you use strava come and join our club @beyondthemud
by hattenburrow | May 16, 2023 | Uncategorized
On a bleak May day Hannah, Emyr and Ffion headed to Winchester for the third round in the British Cycling cross country series. This race was part of the national series which travels across the UK and attracts the best riders in every age category.
The racing started with Short track, a short course with high speed racing for around 20 minutes. Emyr was first on track for this race, his first ever short track battling a large field to come sixth overall in his age category.
As the rain continued to pour and the course turned to mud the hours ticked by until Hannah’s 2:30pm race. A big shout out to little Ffion who stayed in the car all day at only 18 months her first race experience was not the best! Nerves and conditions nearly sent us packing on more than one occasion this being Hannah’s first cross country race in eight years. But we stuck with it, and at 2:30 along with one other girl and a huge field of men she lined up between the tapes.
Riding her own race from the start and not letting the conditions let her down Hannah kept consistent lap times and consistently falling off once per lap! After 1 hour 10 minutes of racing she crossed the line in first place, ending up on the podium (very unexpected).
At home the kit clean up ready for Emyr’s XCO race on Sunday began… Three hours later, kit bikes and people were clean and heading to bed ready to do it all again on Sunday!
Up early again Sunday, choclate spread sandwiches in the car for Ffion and we headed to a now dry but foggy matterley basin. Although it was not raining the mud had turned to thick brown gloupe and the race was carnage!
Spending an hour and 40 minutes running and riding in equal measure Emyr finish in a very respectable 15th position in the vets race.
A great weekend in the saddle!
by hattenburrow | Apr 26, 2023 | Coaching
Over the Easter holidays we were delighted to welcome over 50 children to our camps. Using the new ITAG framework which we helped design each group from beginners to advance level riders worked on their trail skills and bike handling working towards the new ITAG grades.
Each ‘grade’ is achieved by the riders being able to do six skills, these skills are tailored to suit the grade of the trail the rider can then complete safely. At the end of each grade the riders get a band which shows the colour trail they are now ready to safely negotiate.
Over Easter we awarded several beginner (green) trail bands and a few learner (yellow) bands too. The idea of the grades is to help riders understand what they need to focus on to become better as they have a clear pathway to follow.,It also helps coaches know what riders should be able to achieve already in a competent manner.
If you would like to join us this May our bookings are now open.
